u/YeastOrFamine

I live in Minnesota and am converting my detached garage into a workshop. Approximately 575 sqft, 9 foot ceilings, R13 in walls, R49 in ceiling, insulated garage door with green hinges and draft sealing. Basically, about as insulated and sealed as a garage can get without building from scratch.

I don't really care about cooling capacity, but I'd like to keep the garage in the 50-60F range for most of the winter. This includes weeks of single digit temps. I've estimated I need about 24k but of heating for this, but I'm thinking I may pay for a CoolCalc to get a more confident Manual J calculation to verify.

I've been researching mini splits and have determined that the Blue Ridge XS5 24k BTU appears to have the best cold weather performance and HSPF2 Region V rating among the "direct to consumer" mini splits. Their XS6 18k BTU has great cold weather performance and efficiency as well, but I'm worried it won't have the oomph for deep winter and they don't have a 24k BTU option.

I don't need a DIY option, I'm comfortable renting the equipment to vac the line sets. I have received multiple quotes for this between $8-12k which to me is absolutely obscene. They try to really sell me on the warranty but I can replace a unit 2-3 times over for that price. I'm open to any brand or model that sells directly to consumer and has good support. Alpine Home Air has blown me away with their support so far.

Just knocked out my first glazing attempt with many more on the way. I bought a glazing kit from Atlas Preservation, which includes the Sarco dual glaze. My strategy was to grab a ball of glaze with my left hand and use a knife in my right hand to smoosh off a bit into the rabbet. When the ball of glaze was spent I would grab another ball and continue.

The problem was that by the second/third ball of glaze in my hand, it became a sticky, almost glue like mess. I'm trying to find a resolution to this but I feel like I've found conflicting information. Some people say to knead it before using it. Others say kneading it makes it sticky. I've seen videos of people making a tube/snake of the glaze and kind of feeding it into the putty knife as you go along the rabbet. That was completely impossible for me, there would be no way for me to shape this stuff into a tube without it getting gluey. Looking for any guidance on this. Weather-wise, it was low 60s and very low humidity.

Follow up question/issue: I completed my glazing and was mildly satisfied with my first attempt. I put everything away, cleaned up, showered, went out to dinner, and came back into the room that contains the window and noticed that the glazing is just too thick. It extends too far beyond the rabbets. I didn't notice this from outside but it's very noticeable from inside. I'd like to cut it back, but it would be at least a full day before I could get back at it. Is there any issue with attempting to trim it back after a few days? Or would it need to be fully reworked?

Some kids went up and down Oliver street last night smashing car windows in southwest. Police responded quickly but the kids got away. If you have any information or doorbell cam footage please send to the police.

My wife and I recently moved to SW Minneapolis and are struggling to find a familiar Texmex joint. The kind that sets a basket of chips on the table as soon as you sit down and keeps them topped up. There are plenty of authentic burrito/taco places around, but what we really want is the generic pile of chicken, rice, veggies, and beans, white queso and bottomless chips. So far the only one we have found is El Lorito in St Louis Park, we have been twice and both times there were quality issues with the food. These types of joints were on every corner where we are from, so it's been kind of a surprise to not be able to locate one (besides El Lorito).