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Ah...smart idea. I have one for your home downspouts to keep them from being clogged with leaves...since you are a fisherman. Get one of your lead weights and tie it to the end of some fishing line. Toss it carefully up at your roofline and try and get to fall into the downspout opening. Once it does ..give it some slack so it can fall through to the bottom. You can then tie some line more stronger to it and pull it back through. Once you do you can tie the ends of the stronger line together and attach something like a little ball that can clear your downspout of leaves. Leave it connected year round. When things get clogged you just pull the ball through.

Great idea! Ever try leaf guards? There are some designs that work better than others and don't pop out. They make new types of gutters now with built-in leaf guards that actually work pretty well.

There's a new Azec/PVC gutter that's made to replace the old fir, wood gutters since those have a tendency to rot as you probably know. They work really well and last forever for those who need to maintain that "wood look" of gutters and don't like aluminum ones.

Was out today on a "little giant" type ladder with the chainsaw cutting half broken branches way up on my peach tree.

Nice. Careful! Ladder and chainsaw while necessary in some cases, is a dangerous combo! :-)
This video was one of many videos that instructors played during our OSHA continuing education safety courses for CS licenses.

 
I actually did something very similar to this once..except I tied a rope (it's pricey and thick) to the end of the branch and had my wife pull on it while I was cutting. Maybe looking back that wasn't too smart relying on a little 100lb Chinese woman as an anchor. Well at least she wasn't sitting inside doing nothing.

Never really tried leaf guards. I just heard from people they do work but when they do clog up they cost a lot to clean them out.
Maybe instead of just the downspouts I can run the cord horizontally through the gutters too.
 
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I actually did something very similar to this once..except I tied a rope (it's pricey and thick) to the end of the branch and had my wife pull on it while I was cutting. Maybe looking back that wasn't too smart relying on a little 100lb Chinese woman as an anchor. Well at least she wasn't sitting inside doing nothing.

LOL! That is funny.
Is that you and her in your avatar? That girl doesn't look Chinese, though, more like Philippine maybe. :-)
 
LOL! That is funny.
Is that you and her in your avatar? That girl doesn't look Chinese, though, more like Philippine maybe. :-)

Nope. That pic is from this article which I found rather funny:
https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/05/09/“free-for-foreigners”-date-night-sparks-fury/

BTW I do know somebody who after he got divorced (wife cheated on him, DNA test showed his 4 kids weren't his) life a wreck..moved to the Philippines. He certainly doesn't have a shortage of girlfriends.
 
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How amazing was that pilot who brought that Southwest airline to a safe landing after one of the engine's fan blades separated and shredded the engine shooting debris into one of the windows and killing a passenger?

Listening to her cool calm and collected voice as she spoke to the control tower and dropped the aircraft from 30K ft down to 10K ft in a few minutes and then safely landing the aircraft with 1/2 power. The pilot was one of the first female pilots to fly a fighter jet. That military training came in handy. What a great job, saved a lot of lives.

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Last time we saw Sully bring down a plane into the Hudson with no engines and save everyone. He was also a former fighter pilot.

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234 years ago today, Paul Revere made his famous and historical midnight run from Charlestown to Lexington. One of the many, great, historical events in American history that took place here in the State of Massachusetts.

One if by land & two if by sea. And I on the opposite shore will be. Ready to ride & spread the alarm. Through every Middlesex village & farm. For the country folk to be up & to arm.

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One could easily say this event marked the essence of the 2nd amendment.
 
Earth Day.
Massachusetts is the most energy efficient state in the United States. I can attest to that as a builder with all the necessary energy codes. Insulation codes and R-factor requirements have increased in the last few years along with the usage of more closed and open cell foam insulation, better insulated windows and the use of higher energy efficiency appliances. What's strange is Cally is 2nd. Who'd thunk that?
Funny how that entire stretch of Midwest states are the worst.

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Earth Day.
Massachusetts is the most energy efficient state in the United States. I can attest to that as a builder with all the necessary energy codes. Insulation codes and R-factor requirements have increased in the last few years along with the usage of more closed and open cell foam insulation, better insulated windows and the use of higher energy efficiency appliances. What's strange is Cally is 2nd. Who'd thunk that?
Funny how that entire stretch of Midwest states are the worst.

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So as a builder which building material do you think would be most efficient for New England weather...wood frame, concrete/cement block, or brick?
 
So as a builder which building material do you think would be most efficient for New England weather...wood frame, concrete/cement block, or brick?

That's the age old great question, my good friend. Hotly debated by engineers for a bazillion years lol.
There are so many factors that make both vary in efficiencies, that's why it's very difficult to answer. Good, solid, air tight construction & insulation practices and values as well as proper windows (and especially proper ventilation & heat exchanges) will make both just as efficient. Reduce the quality of any of those factors and that will impact them both pretty much equally.

Although full concrete structures are not as common here in NE, the more appropriate comparison would be brick vs stick, as we usually call it in the busy. Wood frames have their advantages in that they go up fast, cost less and give you much more versatility in future renovations, not to mention having easier conduits for plumbing and electrical. While at the same time, almost all brick homes in NE are not exclusively brick as many would think. The outer layer is while the inside is wood-framed for finishes. In other countries, it's cinder block walls in between the reinforced columns and beams which is then treated with a sub-stucco layer that accepts the plaster finish for the smooth interior walls. We don't have that here in most of the US, certainly not in NE.

So I personally think that a brick layered outside shell with an interior wood frame is ultimately the best form of home construction. Brick homes tend to hold in temperatures well so it's easier to stabilize any fluctuation of temps, either cold or hot, hence you use less heat or cooling. They're also much better sound insulators, exterior and interior but they also cost more.
 
That's the age old great question, my good friend. Hotly debated by engineers for a bazillion years lol.
There are so many factors that make both vary in efficiencies, that's why it's very difficult to answer. Good, solid, air tight construction & insulation practices and values as well as proper windows (and especially proper ventilation & heat exchanges) will make both just as efficient. Reduce the quality of any of those factors and that will impact them both pretty much equally.

Although full concrete structures are not as common here in NE, the more appropriate comparison would be brick vs stick, as we usually call it in the busy. Wood frames have their advantages in that they go up fast, cost less and give you much more versatility in future renovations, not to mention having easier conduits for plumbing and electrical. While at the same time, almost all brick homes in NE are not exclusively brick as many would think. The outer layer is while the inside is wood-framed for finishes. In other countries, it's cinder block walls in between the reinforced columns and beams which is then treated with a sub-stucco layer that accepts the plaster finish for the smooth interior walls. We don't have that here in most of the US, certainly not in NE.

So I personally think that a brick layered outside shell with an interior wood frame is ultimately the best form of home construction. Brick homes tend to hold in temperatures well so it's easier to stabilize any fluctuation of temps, either cold or hot, hence you use less heat or cooling. They're also much better sound insulators, exterior and interior but they also cost more.

Hmm..bare brick outside. Doesn't brick have an issue with breathing (weep holes) and water permeation?
 
Hmm..bare brick outside. Doesn't brick have an issue with breathing (weep holes) and water permeation?

Maybe the really old stuff that's been exposed to water draining off the roof for a very long time and areas like porches and decks that weren't flashed very well either. Old mortar corroding and falling out etc. Almost everything needs periodic maintenance and also proper ventilation in certain areas. Still, much longer lasting than exterior wood finishes like cedar shingles and clapboard. Notice all the new stuff is almost exclusively synthetic materials now. Long lasting and virtually maintenance free.
 
Maybe the really old stuff that's been exposed to water draining off the roof for a very long time and areas like porches and decks that weren't flashed very well either. Old mortar corroding and falling out etc. Almost everything needs periodic maintenance and also proper ventilation in certain areas. Still, much longer lasting than exterior wood finishes like cedar shingles and clapboard. Notice all the new stuff is almost exclusively synthetic materials now. Long lasting and virtually maintenance free.

This is the issue that spooks me.
 
This is the issue that spooks me.

Yeah that's one of those things that really isn't necessary if the brick work and flashing etc. is done correctly. Notice the placement of those weep holes are on top and below the windows? The ones on top of the window are if water gets in at the roof line or a window above and finds its way down behind the brick, it can exit before it reaches the inside or lower window (even then there's no guarantee the water will line up with those weep holes, it can roll down in between or beside them lol.) And the ones below the window are in case the sealing of the window (particularly at the sill) isn't done well or breaks down in time and water gets in and down into the basement & foundation, it has a chance to come out before it gets stuck and creates mold and rot inside. Same thing, no guarantee the water finds those weep holes.

Just preventative measures that really aren't necessary if all the other things I mentioned are done right, which they're supposed to be. Plus why would you ever want an open mortar seam (that not only lets cold air in, but bugs and also water lol) just for the possibility of a rare, eventual leak? It's silly IMO.

Weep holes are necessary in things like a shower drain flange, for example. That flange is embedded into the pitched mud floor of a shower and there is a lot of moisture from people taking showers and the tile grout lines that can crack and open up letting water seep into that mud floor and filling up in the copper or PVC pan. Then it has nowhere to go and will take forever to dry. The weep holed in the drain flange allow that trapped water to escape back into the drain. That makes sense and there are a few other obscure applications for weep holes but on outside brick walls? I wouldn't do it.
 
Starting to see Tesla Model 3’s driving around. I thought you had to pay $1000 extra if you wanted a color other than black. I’m seeing (or maybe just noticing) just silver ones.
 
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Starting to see Tesla Model 3’s driving around. I thought you had to pay $1000 extra if you wanted a color other than black. I’m seeing (or maybe just noticing) just silver ones.

Haven't seen any yet myself. Probably only a matter of time before you see them like ants, kinda like the way the Prius invaded the streets.

@Nilgiri , are you watching the Toronto Maple Leafs / Bruins series at all? That was a great game 6 on Monday and after that terrorist attack in the city, you knew the mood was going to be extra ramped up for that game and it was, Toronto forced a game 7 tonight in Boston. Should be a good one.
 

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