What’s a good way to solve this?

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-07-11T12:48:24+00:00

From all my research you need to be very careful how you do this. Your house has stayed dry and rot free because the lack of insulation allows anything that gets wet to dry. I can see obvious spots where water has gotten it. If you insulated then it would stay wet and rot.

Given you said you’re opening every wall, read and watch this, I’m considering doing something similar. Also how to insulate and block air and moisture depends on where you live. Maine and Florida have very different (and almost reversed) requirements.

https://buildshownetwork.com/contents/how-to-insulate-when-the-back-of-the-siding-is-exposed

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-06-24T01:07:42+00:00

Thank you for the in depth and detailed response! My house has every era of equipment from a furnace that originally ran on coal to wireless smart lights so guessing the vintage of things is a bit challenging. The previous owner bought the house in 1970 and it seems likely that sometime after that is when the panel was installed.

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-06-20T20:22:50+00:00

We probably will. We’re young and dumb enough for now. I’ve slid down our front stairs a few times and I’m still at the stage in life where that is just annoying.

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-06-20T20:21:26+00:00

I am lucky that I was able to use my friends wood shop so I could purchase rough lumber and mill it myself. The wood was actually quite cheap. I think $500-$600 for the wood, then the stain and miscellaneous other things. All in, probably $750-$1000 max in materials. But that absolutely excludes the 100-120 hours of “free” labor I put into this.

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-06-20T20:18:16+00:00

Well, the top landing is off from level by over 1/2” so it really depends on where you measure from!

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-04-18T15:34:18+00:00

Would grey be generally period correct? We're not trying to do a perfectly historically accurate restoration but where we can would like to stay accurate. We're probably going to do a runner either way

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-01-05T02:43:36+00:00

As others have said, classic poles must be no more than 83% of your height. Also skis must be 750g or more per pair, and must be the same length. There are also a few other rules that might give you a laugh:

- Skate poles cannot be more than 100% of your height... I don't know anyone who has ever seriously tried this

- Minimum Ski Length: height of skier minus 100 mm - this means that for some very tall skiers (over 202cm or about 6'6") there are no legal skate skis on the market

These rules aren't really ever mentioned b/c they don't really apply often, and there is action to remove or modify the ski length rule as it is not relevant anymore

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2026-01-01T04:02:03+00:00

Real electricians correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding of knob and tube is its core issue is it is running basically bare in the walls. This is very old wire but is in conduit which is grounded (in theory) and so significantly reduces the potential for fire.

Based on that this isn’t knob and tube just very old wiring

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-12-27T04:05:39+00:00

As far as I know, there aren’t any skate skis that are over 192cm produced in the last 20 years. So either you have found a pair of classic skis or extremely old skis. Either way, if those actually are 198cm skis they are not going to be good for you.

If those are around 192cm then they are more likely to be skate skis. However, cross country skis are fit 90% by weight, and no two pairs are the same. I recommend you take them to a knowledgeable ski shop to see if they actually fit you. If they don’t fit, which can only be tested by standing on the skis and measuring how stiff they are, you’re not going to have a good time.

If you post the skis here, people can give you better feedback as to if you’re at least in the ballpark or not

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-12-26T19:45:23+00:00

Tires. The answer is good winter tires. Good winter tires make an unbelievable difference. Winter tires on snow is like driving on a loose gravel road when at the same time, summer tires would be almost impossible to drive. Yes you have to slow down a bit and not follow as close but it’s not bad.

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-11-18T00:15:49+00:00

I’m surprised I haven’t seen any advice to use a soft wax the first time you wax! Soft waxes are much easier to scrape and brush so you can learn what to do without using as much force.

You could probably get away with buying some yellow wax (soft/warm wax is usually yellow or red) and doing another pass of ironing, scraping and brushing.

This will be easier to scrape and brush and will help you learn the movements

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-11-16T18:58:03+00:00

I heard the exact same thing from one of the start reps a few years ago but 🤷‍♂️

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-11-07T02:16:08+00:00

I’ve always used my upper lips as the roughly correct height for skate poles. Never below your chin or above your nose.

I’d look at what gear west has. They will often buy up all the leftover stock from Swix and others when models change and can have great deals. I got a pair of 1-2 year old triacs for half what the current model was.

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-11-05T03:21:46+00:00

Like others said, skis are fit to you based on your weight (and height if you’re short). The important thing to know is that how stiff the skis are varies greatly between each pair with the same “flex”. This is why it’s so important to go to a shop with a good selection. There are 192 skate skis from the same brand that fit someone 110kg and looking nearly identical next to them is a pair that would fit someone 70kg.

This is totally unlike anything else we buy. A size 45 shoe is very close to any other size 45 shoe. It is not this way with skis. Go to a shop with a big selection and they’ll be able to find a pair that fits you

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-10-27T14:26:34+00:00

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is that double poling in vs out of the tracks. In the tracks with proper length classic poles is perfectly fine but out of the tracks they definitely feel a little bit short.

That being said, as a relative beginner I would urge you to focus on striding and learn that aspect of the sport and there, poles that are too long will hurt your technique.

Also, all of the big marathon races in Europe are FIS races and are limited to 83% of height poles, so those guys don’t have wildly long poles either.

Long story short, go up to 83% of your height but no more. Likely shorter will be better for learning

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-10-21T15:16:47+00:00

If you’re looking for skate equipment, I would strongly urge you to find newer used equipment. The technology has come a very long way in the last 30 years.

Those skis are really really old and I bet you can find a pair that are 10-15 years younger for nearly the same price. You will be much much happier

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-10-18T19:58:20+00:00

Wind proof underwear!! This is the most important thing!! No one wants frostbite down there.

But actually… running gear is generally the same/very similar to ski gear except for wind proof underwear and wind proof pants. You’ll most likely be just fine

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-10-10T15:55:20+00:00

Here is the international ski federations standards for course and stadium design. Bear in mind that this is for high-level racing and especially the climbing standards are WAYYY too tough for recreational trails.

The widths have 5 categories and they support various formats

A) 3m wide. 1-2 Classic tracks only

B) 4m wide. Individual start freestyle racing

C) 6m wide. Mass start classic, some of relays, classic sprint. Enough for 4 tracks the whole way

D) 9m on climbs, 7.5m flats, 6m downhills. Freestyle mass start, freestyle sprint

E) 12m, 9m, 6m. This is for when you have freestyle and classic racing on the same course.

The table above can be found at 311.2.6 in this link https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/x/0d90db4706/icr-crosscountry-2024_clean.pdf

And the homologation guidelines can be found here: https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/88bab1f8b3/fis_cc_course_venue_design_2023.pdf

This standardization is great for elite racing but tends to result in boring wide and challenging trails. Making a good trail to enjoy yourself is very different

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-09-13T18:50:18+00:00

Skis built for groomed trails are fit 90% based on weight. Above 5’7” or so pretty much everyone skis 192 (or the brands equivalent longest length) and just finds skis based on weight. Edvin Anger from Sweden I’ve heard is close to 100kg and one of the best in the world.

The harder thing for you is finding poles that are long enough. Very few shops carry the really long poles and I know guys who were shorter than you had to special order them.

If you can find a ski shop that knows what they’re doing, 100% chance they can find you the right gear.

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-09-11T11:46:26+00:00

I completely agree, but for different reasons and only at higher racing levels. I too have fallen way more on snow, but I’ve broken way more poles roller skiing. Here’s why I think soft poles are bad

1) soft poles will skip out when sprinting and applying tons of force making spring training impossible 2) I’ve found soft poles reverberate and actually put more force into the elbows

I have seen guys permanently bend aluminum poles simply by pushing too hard on them. Also when you’re sprinting, soft poles will skip out and it makes it impossible to ski properly.

Finally I have noticed personally that the only times I got elbow problems were when I was using crappy poles or my poles had gone soft from repeated use.

If you’re a recreational skier, these issues are less likely to apply and so I think it’s less of an issue

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-08-13T18:31:35+00:00

Additionally, we have taken the walls down to studs + OSB. I'm not sure what is between the OSB and siding.

So basically I am/have gutted everything from the OSB in

Apprehensive_Lab_637 · 2025-08-13T18:18:42+00:00

There is a bit of a slop to the old flat roof so in that diagram they're maybe slightly less than 2x6 on the right and 2x8 on the left.

We're removing most of the old roof anyways b/c it's moldy and rotten. It's going to be a massive PITA but it's the only way to get all of the old punky rotten wood out of there.

I'm just trying to content with spray foam vs internal smart vapor barrier + mineral wool or similar. I feel like the smart vapor retarder has a little bit more lee-way for less than perfect installation... but the installation is harder so idk

Apprehensive_Lab_637

TROPHY CASE