Put a refundable deposit on a Mini SE sight unseen based on its build sheet, carfax and battery report... When I got to the dealership I was excited to see my future next car until I looked down and saw these monstrosities. Couldn't pull the trigger! So bummed.
Close to pulling the trigger on this Mini direct from a dealership here in Canada I love the way it drives and will be perfect for my 100km daily (total) commute.
Is it a good deal? Any words of advice to provide?
I'm evaluating a Mini SE 2023 with 40,000 km on it for $26k and BMW just sent me a battery health report showing 100%. Is this even possible?
I'm about to mount govee permanent lights on my soffits and I want to eliminate the cones of light effect that these lights typically have when mounted pointing straight down. I tested a strip of lights and I'm really happy with how the wall gets washed with an even amount of light when they are pointed back at the house at a 45° angle.
A month or two back I posted a bunch of AI mock ups and going consensus was to keep things simple. So we did!
Really happy with how the house has turned out, a relief to have it all done. Can't wait to get the soffit lights installed!
I own a summer cabin that I'm slowly updating to year round use, there are no joists in the ceilings/floors of the home, just 2" thick tongue and groove cedar and a layer of plywood between the beams. On one end of my house the tongue and groove and plywood combo is exposed directly to the outside as the floor to a balcony on the second floor. I want to add some insulation to the balcony floor before refinishing with a vinyl deck top and was hoping to use Zip Systems to add an structurally sound insulative layer... But it's not readily available in Canada. Is there something similar that I can use?
EDIT: After some research, I'm thinking I'm going to use DuroSpan GPS 250 Insulation with a half inch layer of plywood on top. This will achieve the same thing as ZIP and the plywood will be a better weight distributor than the OSB on the ZIP system.
Installed an awesome LED setup in my house four years ago, hired an electrician for the instal. Has worked perfectly for four four years and now when turned in the LEDs sim then flashes on and off. Is it my driver (https://www.diffusionlighting.com/product/dlmulti-024-150w/) that is likely dead already? 150 watt driver, LED strip is 4 LEDs per inch (https://www.gescan.com/products/18-lighting/02-fixtures/04-indoor-lighting-fixtures/04-led-indoor-lighting/09-led-strip-lights/p-RElGU0w1SU4xMDAyNFZSR0I=-rj-cross-architectural-100-ft-24vdc-2700k-sl-5-rgb-series-linear-led-strip?srsltid=AfmBOooqMkwUzdYZHmoZre9SyC40H9y_HK1s4zPZhZsZEYzZeoYRnGTm)
I'm installing permanent lights in the next week or two and wondering if anyone has done an analysis of what the lights look like at different distances and angles to the wall? I'd like to avoid the typically visible cones of light on the wall if possible. Currently have them installed on my staircase and love them.
Whose idea was it to play a ten second loop of music for a half hour straight while boarding and waiting for take off? It's literal torture listening to those chimes and beats endlessly...
Last night vancouver had the most insane lightning storm I have ever experienced. I've lived here for 25 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I experienced lightning storms that lasted longer than just a few strikes.
Last night the storm and lightning went on for hours, constant intense lightning and associated massive booms of thunder. It was extremely unusual...
Is this caused by conditions more likely due to climate change? Just a freak one off?
I'm worried about my home burning down in a wildfire in the not too distant future. I'd like to hear from people who have lost their home during a fire and were forced to rebuild their homes. What was this process like? How well did your insurance company treat you? How long were you out of your home for? Was your new home as good as your old home once it was finished?
My home is right in the middle of the forest here in BC and every year I get more and more nervous about my home being taken by a wildfire. I purchased my home just over four years ago and it's been a top to bottom renovation and I'm currently doing everything I can to firesmart my house and surrounding property. However given my house and land it's been an incredible amount of work (new roof, new siding, brush clearing, tree cutting/pruning) etc. and has frankly been a multi year process and will likely take another year before I'm completely happy with things.
My home is in the forest on a mountainside and we have had multiple forest fires nearby over the past five years. I feel like it's not if, it's when my home will face a serious fire.
My question is, how hard should I fight to save my home? Should I spend $3k or more on a rooftop sprinkler system? Should I cut trees down that are close to my house? Do I bust my butt clearing my land and doing everything I can to save my home or is it all wasted effort?
What are people's perspectives on this?
Wildfire seasons keep getting worse and worse and I want to outfit my home with an off grid wildfire suppression sprinkler system. Some say to just let it burn and start from scratch but I've put 4 years of endless weekends and evenings of work into this house and want to do my best to save it.
Given that the system is off grid and I don't have a pool, my water supply will be limited to IBC totes so I want low flow sprinklers. Seems that Nelson R10T Rotator Head is a good option, but I can't seem to find metal ones?
In particular the copper piping is exceptionally expensive... anyone got a better option? My research says that 1.5 inch piping is best as it limits the pressure drop. Any advice, insights on my setup below would be appreciated.
| Component | Item Description | Qty | Unit Price (CAD) | Total Est. (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pump | VEVOR 3" (SCWP80-II) Est. Max PSI ~61.5 | 1 | $300 | $300 |
| Storage | Used IBC Totes (275 Gallon) | 4 | $75 | $300 |
| Piping | 1.5" x Copper Pipe | 80' | $17/ft | $1360 |
| Sprinklers | Nelson R10T Rotator Head | 2 | $10 | $20 |
| Filtration | Rusco Spin Filter (Filter roof recyucled water) | 1 | $100 | $100 |
| Random Fittings | Reducer Bushings, Tees, and Cam-locks, PVC to connect totes | 1 | $300 | $300 |
| TOTAL | $2,380 |
Installing my first ever glass railing and shocked at how easily tempered glass cracks on its edges. Three of twenty chipped, luckily two of them will be covered by the top cap... Unluckily one has to be installed upside down to hide the chip... But then puts the glass engraving right in the middle of the view... Any way to polish this out and make it less noticeable? This is DIY, so all hiding shenanigans will be known by the end customer :).
Fifteen Fifteen by Bosa in Vancouver: https://fifteen-fifteen.bosaproperties.com/
I'm not a structural engineer, in my head I imagine most of you spend time designing mundane things and rarely get the chance to do something like this. I'm not trying to poke a stick in your eye with it, rather share something awe inspiring that hopefully gets you guys more excited/interested than me.
Vancouver is building so many unique/crazy buildings these days... it's awesome and depressing all at the same time. Awesome for obvious reasons, depressing for the fact that these buildings are all for the ultra wealthy and are killing the soul of the city.
This bicyclist was just bombing down the cut on HWY1 yesterday morning, even slaloming near the bottom. there is barely any shoulder to this highway on most of the hill. Why take this risk? Mountain "Highway" is literally parallel to this and is a much safer option.
My house has a cute shed and my wife and I feel that it's integral to the look of the home.
After four years of renovating other parts of the house, with the thought of repairing the shed looming over me, I'm finally getting around to sorting out the shed.
I've dreaded the work for some reason and at one point was convinced it was best just to demo the shed. But as with all projects once you get going it's cathartic and totally manageable.
Still a fair bit to go but making great progress.
