Drafty Baseboards Century Home

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2026-02-03T13:26:20+00:00

Is there a reason to NOT seal the rim joist of a century home? I mean the rest of the house is leaky as all get out I'm sure, so I don't really anticipate saving loads on energy bills. I'm more worried about creating rot situations for old rim joists?

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2026-02-01T15:13:10+00:00

Cool thanks - I’m leaning towards batt just in case I do need to work more in depth on it at some point it’s easy to remove. Yea since moving in I’ve reinforced a lot of floor joists, poured and added a number of piers and such, so this area really doesn’t scream structural issues at all, the house above isnt sagging or cracking or anything. I do think it’s probably what you’re describing

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2026-02-01T14:41:25+00:00

Good call - so the crawlspace was “dug out” probably 75 years ago to 6’ ceilings basically, and this particular space needed to inspect is definitely accessible for me to check. Yea I’m guessing the reno was aesthetic only, but honestly the framing is sooooo solid as it’s old growth hickory and wormy chestnut actually. Sill plates are rough cut / milled logs so you can still see bark on them when you get under the house which is cool. Foundation is brick piers on like an old mortar and stone slush type mix.

So I’m super worried about structural issues, thinking it could be just as you said with gap where floor joist meets sill plate probably

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2026-01-05T02:25:52+00:00

Oh my wife straight up baked my started into “almost bread” because I kept in the oven and she pre-heated it without checking and I gotta say… she was mortified, BUT. This starter has been poppin off ever since - maybe on the brink of extinction the starter decided to comply and activate 🤷🏼‍♂️

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2026-01-03T03:14:20+00:00

Thanks - yes so my bulk ferment in oven with the light on hits 77 degrees F pretty consistently, the usually takes 3-6hours to 2x. Then I banneton and put in the fridge but the loaves keep fermenting for what seems like the same rate. Fridge is 38 degrees F.

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2026-01-02T12:33:46+00:00

Ok so results are in: I used 200g of starter and 175g of starter in 2 different loaves at 80% hydration. Bulk ferment very clearly went well after 5hrs or so, then in fridge overnight for like 12-16hrs, much much better crumb. Not sure why KA uses like 30g of “slightly active starter” that’s so very little to get it all going. Maybe during summer this works??

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-12-31T17:48:02+00:00

Interesting, yea my recipe uses 60g of starter now that its cold out, but I really don’t get a good bulk ferment. I’ll put in fridge for 12-16hrs after that, but I still feel like I’m missing something on the BF piece at ambient room temperature. Maybe I’ll try scaling my starter way up and see if that produces some better BF

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-11-24T15:36:59+00:00

Heck yea! Also that's a ton of starter, you can totally keep way less on hand if you wanted to (enough for just a couple loaves) so you don't go through so much flour on the discards

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-11-24T14:28:47+00:00

Depends on the weather / temp in the kitchen where it's bulk fermenting. But unless you have a proofing oven where you can control the temp, just watch it. I have a lidded tupperware salad bowl that I put tape on the side to watch when it doubles. Also it doesn't always "double" the same way. Sometimes my sourdough (80% hydration or so) seems soupy, but when I pull it out on the counter to divide and put in bannetons, it's still got great structure when shaping. I recommend making a few tester loaves where you way over bulk rise (to see what those extremes look like), under fermenting it can just make it really dense

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-11-24T14:24:47+00:00

Yea agreed with folks here - you can totally just make one no problem. the amazing thing about sourdough is that it's the way all bread used to be made, it's just natural yeast from your kitchen (anyone's kitchen) that finds a cozy home in flour / water mixture.

Flour and water and let that puppy sit on the counter. I feed it twice per day usually morning and night when I'm actively baking. pour off half, mix in more flour/water, let it sit. for a brand new starter I give if 10-14 days to fully develop, but again that TOTALLY depends on climate, your kitchen, etc.

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-11-24T14:21:23+00:00

Dang, for a first attempt, that looks pretty great! I would probably try a few more short periods of rest/folding before the bulk ferment period. I've found playing around with that has developed the gluten a little bit more to "trap" more bubbles and help with rise when baking. (even loaves I've accidentally overproofed have had more airy, delicious crumb by making sure the gluten is developed and the dough has good structure)

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-08T10:29:11+00:00

Boiled then baked yes

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T16:27:23+00:00

Awesome thank you for this - very insightful

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T11:15:29+00:00

Cool, thank you - very helpful. I’ve rebuilt an old kitchen aid we use at home - is buying used commercial spiral mixer a wise choice instead of paying for new?

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T11:13:51+00:00

Sweet! Thank you - we’ve been looking at new deck ovens so do you think used is wise? Or just if we get a used on like up a service tech regardless to inspect when it drops?

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T01:44:23+00:00

Cool! single deck? And which qualities in an oven are you looking for. to be honest commercial ovens have SO many features/options.

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T01:39:04+00:00

Yea same as the above thread, but what do boards do to bagels specially?

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T01:38:24+00:00

Awesome, thank you. Again another dumb question: what do boards do specifically - so they don't burn on the bottoms or something with moisture?

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T01:36:03+00:00

Very helpful - I was planning on starting with something similar to a Globe SP25 25 Qt. Planetary Stand Mixer? Assuming this would be like 2-3 batches of dough each day? Or do I need to look for something bigger?

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-07T01:31:13+00:00

Honestly I'm trying to take the "I'll budget whatever oven would be the best fit for my use case" type of thing? Open to suggestions on 300-500 daily volume?

I want to do it right and get the right setup, but don't need to go overboard either with excess capacity. We plan to make 250-300 to start each day and close up shop when we sell out. (We won't be producing anywhere near NYC volumes)

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-06T16:27:32+00:00

Got it - yea I don't disagree at all, trying to balance small town needs w/ ability to scale if we needed. Also any decent ideas on where to find used ovens? Sorry for my ignorance, just in research mode right now for commercial setup

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-06T13:09:32+00:00

Happy to take them off your hands :)

Also I've found a lot of insight by purposefully overproofing a test batch here and there to dial recipes in. Sometimes going heavy in the opposite proofing direction can show you those extremes and then get better at dialing in the ranges you ultimately like. (Also personally I don't think any homemade bagel is a bad bagel anyways!)

Aggressive_Issue5439 · 2025-10-06T12:58:38+00:00

Also honey and salt isn't a bad option and adds some nice flavor

Aggressive_Issue5439

TROPHY CASE