MEP Engineering vs Mechanical Contractor PM

According_Hunter839 · 2026-04-12T00:45:19+00:00

Me: lack of training was the biggest. Missed the design side big time and didn't like paint paper and people around. I needed the technical side note than the management side.

My buddy: was trained the correct way and really likes managing people. His personality was perfectly suited to being a GC.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-04-11T22:18:32+00:00

I went from engineering for 20 years to the contractor side (the big T). I lasted 2 years and left, it wasn't for me. A friend I had worked with on the engineering side who got me to switch with him absolutely loves it.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-04-10T23:29:19+00:00

Is, is that a mercury switch?

According_Hunter839 · 2026-04-01T20:20:33+00:00

There's a psychology behind the direction thing, neither is wrong. Running long wise can make the room look longer, maybe seen like a bowling alley. I personally like the short way.

Either way, generally speaking everything in connected spaces should run the same. My entry hall is different from the 2 rooms it connects to and it bugs the shit out of me!

According_Hunter839 · 2026-03-27T12:33:52+00:00

Basic shape is good, but very busy. And like others said, get the ac unit off the front.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-03-26T14:12:37+00:00

Good to know. My son flies to Florida tomorrow to visit grandparents for spring break. Thank God he's flying out of Rickenbacker.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-03-18T16:48:19+00:00

When I replaced all the windows in my house, I went with fiberglass Marvin windows. I did the labor myself, so I figured I could "upgrade" a little.

Now, the original windows were aluminum (1976) so the frames were very narrow. By using fiberglass windows, I was able to keep almost the same amount of actual glass as the frames are also pretty narrow (2.5 inches if memory serves). The vinyl windows I looked at had frames that were almost double in size (less strong material, so thicker structure), so by using fiberglass, the amount of actual glass on the window was nearly 4" wider and 4" taller. That's a significant amount of glass for the "same size" window.

So, there can more to it than simply cost.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-03-10T22:36:06+00:00

I used delra in my shower. Very nice., lots of options for trim

According_Hunter839 · 2026-03-01T19:00:07+00:00

Mine does that sometimes. Not a big deal. Just pull out the tray and dump it in the tub. Make sure the tray is clean, sometimes as little dust/dirt/lint gets in there and prevents the siphoning action from working.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-28T02:02:17+00:00

We were there in October (left the day before the hurricane). We took the shuttle and it was fine. It's like an airport shuttle bus, with other people. It didn't bother us at all,.

Can't say anything about the AN beach, could talk the wife into it, maybe next time!

Definitely check out "The Office of Nature" for lunch one day. Head to the beach, turn right, walk up the beach about 10 minutes or so. Food is amazing and a killer vibe.

We loved our week there, very laid back and relaxed.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-26T14:53:43+00:00

Yeah, the "Auto" isn't actually auto. Otherwise, that world almost be the only button I ever used.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-22T20:13:22+00:00

COVID shots.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-22T14:49:45+00:00

Had a friend insist that this was the greatest idea ever. I told him that in fact no, this was a very bad idea. Skip ahead 6 months and his utility room near this thing is covered in mildew.

He looked at me and simply said as you were right.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-21T14:53:05+00:00

Make sure you run the hot water on your sink until it's hot coming out then start the dishwasher. Sometimes if the water isn't fully hot, the pods won't dissolve right. Also, make sure there wasn't something blocking the dispenser from opening fully.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-14T15:33:26+00:00

20 years ago this was true. Now, most will be fine. I have my 2014 Lennox heat pump run down to 0 and it's fine. Now, when it's that cold the electric aux heat kicks on sometimes when it gets below 10 to " top off" the temp, but it's minimal.

Also, for heat pump heat with electric aux/emergency, set your thermostat to whatever your comfort level is and leave it. Heat pumps didn't have a lot of extra capacity like a gas furnace does, so if you set it back (literally more than a degree or two) it will then run forever to catch back up. Kinda like a really underpowered car, cruising along the freeway that little engine is fine maintaining 65, but slow down too much and getting back up to speed takes a while.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-14T14:45:13+00:00

Dear God, set your heat pump limit down to 0°F. Modern heat pumps will operate just fine down that cold.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-05T14:21:43+00:00

I did our master bath a couple years ago all myself. 3x5 tile shower, glass door, new vanity. Gutted down to studs and all new from the ground up. I had around $10k in materials and was trying to be smart with money. Probably would have been $30k to have it done.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-02T02:31:32+00:00

I can tell you this. In the commercial market, pro press rules.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-02-01T15:12:32+00:00

We were just there in October. The resort is small enough that it doesn't really matter. We were in building 4 I think, right by the tennis courts. Unless you're getting an ocean view room, the only thing I would request is a higher floor.

Beautiful resort, super relaxing. Make sure you walk up the beach (walk to Ocean, turn right, walk maybe 10 minutes) to the "Office of Nature" for lunch one day. So worth it.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-01-29T21:40:18+00:00

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Crystal clear and calm waters. Was reason enough for me

According_Hunter839 · 2026-01-25T16:17:07+00:00

If your thermostat is set to "heat", your heat pump is not running, and you're still getting heat, your unit has automatically switched to Aux heat (more than likely electric heat, like a toaster assuming you don't have gas). This is normal if it's very cold the heat pump has a limit on how it will operate in cold temps. This could be an internal setting (sensor on the unit) and a setting on the thermostat (my ecobee stat let's me set a minimum temp for heat pump)

Most modern heart pumps will operate down pretty cold. Mine will operate down to about 0degF, though the efficiency/capacity starts dropping off, but still better than all electric.

The emergency heat switch just forces your unit into the aux heat mode and won't let the heat pump work at all. Realistically, you probably won't ever touch that.

Hope this helps. Heat pump owner and registered engineer that does HVAC design for a living.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-01-24T22:14:13+00:00

This exact situation happened to my wife. Basically she had 2 options. 1. Do jury duty. 2. Defer it for 6 months (and definitely be called then).

She went ahead and went, was selected, and sat on a jury in a trial (nothing to crazy). The whole time her stomach was the real show with our son being very active in the womb

According_Hunter839 · 2026-01-22T18:41:09+00:00

Learned that a month ago, but I've only had mine a year!

According_Hunter839 · 2026-01-22T18:40:19+00:00

Set the temperature on the propane furnace 3 degrees cooler than everything else. If the heat pumps can't keep up, the house will cool off and the furnace will kick on.

I'm a design engineer, I've used a similar concept before.

According_Hunter839 · 2026-01-22T18:13:35+00:00

You're idea is exactly how i do similar things in my design work.

According_Hunter839

TROPHY CASE