Kurt, I apologize for the extreme lateness of my reply. Seems my junk mail filter is a touch overzealous, but it's great that you're getting other feedback on this too. So there were two things that really made the biggest difference on keeping the blue flame heater alive at night in the sealed gh. One was the incoming pipe from the outside, and the other was the sealing off of the rest of the air inlets on the heater. As I dig through my photo archive here… I guess I can start at the beginning… https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/P1010008.JPG 8x16, mostly double layer plastic hoop house. Note the thing jutting out to the right of the door, attached to the inside wood brace. That's the dryer vent cover. Up close: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/P1010007.JPG Inside there is the flap for one-way airflow. This is really important because you just don't want warm air being blown out through the sidewall. The lower you can mount the vent, the better, to take advantage of natural convection currents. On the inside: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/P1010006.JPG The fan is there to shove the heat down the length of the gh. Note how the piece of air register vent metal is attached [and reasonably well sealed] to the heater. I also pulled the thermostat bulb out from the heater housing so it would be more exposed to the greenhouse air… which helped better regulate temps. Skipping ahead a couple revisions here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/PICT0031.jpeg Better sealed. And time-warping again to a subsequent revision: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/PICT0029.jpeg Note how black duct tape takes on a decorative and functional role around the front… completely obscuring the holes. The top vents stay open, as those actually have nothing to do with combustion air. That's where the heater's internal fan hangs out and does a pitiful job of blowing air around. I don't bother with it. My original version of my greenhouse was REALLY heat lossy, as I had to cut too many corners for fiscal reasons. Ended up paying for that with the loss of most of what I started that first year: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/P1010012.JPG It was nice for awhile at least… :) The plastic was contractor grade… not UV treated. About a year later, it finally gave up the ghost… life got in the way… and I had to effectively abandon ship. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/100_0106.jpeg But the durable parts got a second life… https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/PICT0002.jpeg Slightly smaller, but built smarter. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/PICT0019.jpeg Note the insulated north and west walls. Still double layer plastic… still contractor grade, but much easier to replace given the size. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/PICT0024.jpeg And there were much happier plants. Also got some work done in there - hooray for wifi! https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/PICT0022.JPG Sadly, after about a year I moved out from this location, and the gh was dismantled yet again. The heater and a few other items will be making the jump to a new greenhouse I am designing for this year. This one's going to actually have a PLAN first, and will be using a whole bunch of windows that we replaced in our house last year. The heater will live on… It's in the basement, just waiting for me to fire it back up again! :) https://dl.dropbox.com/u/374870/GardenWeb%20Post%20Pics/PICT0021.jpeg Hope this helps a little. I've recently made some new friends in the area and will be helping them to put together their first hoop house. Between my plans - where I know for sure I am over engineering things simply because I don't know any better - and the plans my new friends have... I hope to be up to my eyeballs in experience by the end of the year! Best of luck - and drop me a line if you have any questions. I promise to not let your email end up in my spam bucket. Oh, one thing - I don't have a clue how GardenWeb lets you reply to an email that you send thru GardenWeb... there doesn't seem to be a 'GardenWeb Inbox' or anything like that... so while I got your email [eventually] I could only respond by doing a post. *shrug*

Thanks! I've already done away with the wall at the end of the island, actually. We do need a column there but it can be narrow. I think we do need a column someplace along the sink wall. It's the original exterior wall of the house so very load-bearing. I think without it we would need a very huge new header, and since the ceilings are already very low (7'9") I don't want it to get too deep. Plus, this new design, while it solves a LOT of problems, is actually shorter on storage than our original plan (which had a remote pantry no longer possible with new layout). And- in the old plan I had a hanging pot rack over the side window for pots and pans. In the new plan, since it's dominating the house, I don't think I want the pot rack hanging in the middle of everything... so that means I need to give up substantial base cab space for those items. Anyway I am getting nervous about lack of space so I made that pantry full-height to compensate. However, to accomodate the structural column it can only be 18-20 inches deep, which is a pricey upgrade. Maybe it's not such a great solution. Can you guys think of any other ways to gain more storage while still keeping the openness? I am also having a heck of a time figuring out the detail of the end of the run of uppers (to the right of the range.) Is it totally weird that they'll have to end 4" or so in from the normal location, to accomodate that header? The backsplash would continue along 4 " before terminating at the corner. Weird, huh? Actual measurements are just slightly smaller than what's drawn on the plan above. I'll scan the larger scale drawing. Actual dimensions from the OUTSIDE of the stud wall next to the fridge, to the OUTSIDE of the new header (I lined the back of the bases up at that point to squeeze inches out, even though it looks a lot better to place then INSIDE that line) is 9'11" If I allow 8' from the fireplace wall to accomodate the chairs and traffic flow between them and pulled-out stools at the island, (allowing 39" aisle between range wall and island) it's only 10' wide. So basically 10 x 10. Can I make the aisles narrow than 39" since it is such a small kitchen? 36" would help... Any other suggestions? One thing is that I don't need cookbook storage, since they can go in the adjascent bookcases.

I also wanted a 48" range for my kitchen, having never had one, I really looked for a Wolf or Viking at a discount...but found nothing I felt comfortable shelling out the money for. Even on Craigslist/ebay....found some, but still, IMO the deals were very risky due to no warranty or fall back if something went wrong. We did purchase a 48" kitchen aid range...granted I have never had a wolf or Viking.....but I absolutely LOVE my Kitchen aid range. We purchased it at Sears outlet/discount for about 60% less than retail (small scuff mark at bottom) and we did get an extended warranty. I love the way this range cooks!!! I love the convection oven and the fact that I have a smaller oven to cook in most days. I am not sure if you have ever had the higher end appliances, I have not and so this is a total upgrade for me and I have a peace of mind knowing I have a warranty. Also, we purchased the Sharp microwave, 24" I was able to get this for 70% below retail from Sears outlet also (not sure what was wrong with it, it was still in original packaging) ...we love it.!!!..total space saver and my DH who is 6'4" can even use it with ease. The controls tilt up so NO bending over to use it. I highly recommend getting the Sharp microwave, everyone who comes into our kitchen raves about it! Also, don't rule of 48" kitchen aid range, you can find some good deals.

Well, there's no heat from the cooktop, but there is heat from the pot! And the pot does heat up the cooktop, so be careful right after use when it's hot enough to burn you. The original AGA cooker was designed for the blind. No adjustments and dials. A range that works like a hearth. The ovens are different temperatures depending on how near or far from the fire, and the mass between them and it, and they're hotter nearer the fire, requiring turning. The hotplates have one hot (which if both have been closed for a long while can boil) and one lower. They're hotter in the middle like French tops, I think. AGA also makes similar looking ranges which have proper burners and knobs for the sighted. :) Induction uses magnets which run on electricity. The oven is probably electric as well. Did you find that in your research?