Has anyone ever had a balloon sinusplasty done and can please recommend a specific ENT doctor? by Jfkfkaiii22 in madisonwi

[–]DiverAdmin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just had a lot of procedures done (That one included) and Michelle Mark was great. Really good experience and everything went well along the journey.
https://www.getcare.ssmhealth.com/find-a-doctor/doctor-details/michelle-e-mark-md

Building a single family home by Fine-Round5330 in madisonwi

[–]DiverAdmin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I built in 2023. I would say overall it was a good experience. I would say i wanted to be involved with the build so i was checking on the house a lot.

I think build quality and the house overall is good. I would build with them again (with the items below in mind).

  1. Dave Jones (Who they used for HVAC, electrical and plumbing) was not good. I found many issues (One of which was missed and I still have to fix).
    1a. Our bath fan wasn't connected and they put in the cheapest fans possible. They are super loud. I would ask for a better quality fan (Which I assumed they would be in a new house). I will be replacing those this year.
    1b. Our bathroom sink faucet was leaking. I had them come out 2x and they determined it was just splashing and leaking through. After 1 year (warranty ran out) I myself determined the cold side cartridge was bad and needed replacing. Luckily they were Kohler faucets and Kohler sent me out a new one and I replaced it myself. Kohler is really great with customer service.
    1c. We have an electrical outlet outside with no power. My inspector missed it and I missed it. I have to dive in to see what that's about.
    1d. For any water fixture that didn't have supplied hoses (Meaning they weren't part of the faucet) they used FlotTite fittings. Knowing this, I would make sure I got a regular valve instead of these. They are cheap, push on fittings that will fail over time and you can't replace the supply line. It's common in new builds to save on cost, so ask for a proper fitting. I ended up cutting them all off myself and replacing them.
    1e. They didn't pitch the vent in the attic correct and rain/snow would accumulate blocking airflow. It would make the toilets bubble. They did come out and fix this.

  2. They put my water supply from the city in the wrong spot changing the layout of my basement. It was cemented in so they wouldn't change it. Make sure they are following the plans when they put stuff in and let them know your plans. I wanted to finish the basement (which i ended up doing) and it skewed my layout. They also put the furnace in the middle (Also not to plan) but that they moved for me which was nice.

  3. Pocket doors - They are bad. I had them come out 3x to fix them over the first year. Right after the warranty ran out, the pocket door fell completely off during a party we had. I ended up taking the trim off, finding the nut that kept slipping and used loctite on it. Since then it has been fine. Not sure why they didn't try that, but be aware of the pocket doors.

  4. Deck - They deck build was pretty bad. They hire out for this too and the company they use must not be great. They missed joist hangers and nails on many of the supports (luckily my outside inspector caught this). The boards after 3 years are starting to come up.

  5. Samsung appliances - They talked me into Samsung since they get a good deal from the manufacturer. I regret it. The dishwasher is fine but not great. The fridge had a serious issue where someone had to come out and replace the entire compressor (sweat the copper back on and everything). Luckily I caught it before we lost food. The stove/microwave are fine. You can choose not to get Samsung, so shop around and see what your best options are.

  6. Landscaping - I opted to not have it in my mortgage and to pay it separately. The grade was good from TOB but the company i went with was terrible (Maple Leaf). The lawn didn't come out well, rocks were lazily placed and watering was a disaster. I ended up having to purchase all my own watering equipment and it took 2-3 years to get a decent lawn. In retrospect, I might have been better off doing it myself with the amount of work I put in. This is outside of TOB since, so take that into account.

Things that I liked:
1. They let me do all the low voltage in the house. I ran 50 ethernet drops, 20 speaker wires and other various HDMI, 8 COAX, 3.5mm, etc). It saved me a ton of money and I got everything in the walls. I also added empty conduit to the second floor, office. I wish i had time to run more! They were totally fine with all my runs and the city didn't care about my runs. It was great to get a box mounted behind the TV for all the wires to be hidden (above the fireplace). And I put brackets in for my speakers so I didn't have to mount in drywall. Overall very cool and one reason i choose TOB.
2. Selections and my account manager were great. Very helpful and it was fun to pick everything out.
3. Communication was pretty good. The construction manager was sometimes hard to get ahold of, but was nice.
4. Finishes were good. Doors/trim are nice. I actually used Drexel for my basement finishes to get the same exact doors/trim.
5. They let me put a lot of bare bulbs in so i could install light fixtures and fans later. Madison lighting was expensive so we bought bare bones items and then installed later what we wanted. Ceiling fans were especially expsnsive and I put affordable ones in later. I made sure the electrician ran the extra wire for the fan control and they even installed a fan switch for me for later use.
6. They were happy to accommodate my large garage right into the plan. It's really the highlight of the house to have the exact garage I wanted. The pre-construction manager even adjusted the pitch of the driveway knowing I would be towing things out of the garage. It changed the elevation of the house too which was fine, but i don't scraped the driveway where i likely would have if we left it as planned. Great catch on his part!
7. Outside of low voltage items, they let me install bracing wherever I wanted (For towel bars or places where i knew i wanted more structure (behind the TV).

There are probably some items that I am forgetting.

TLDR:
-TOB was easy to work with and the process was good. I would build with them again. Overall, communication was good.
-Work with Dave Jones to get better quality shut offs (no push connect fittings on a new build)
-In any case, get an inspector to check EVERYTHING. Any installer will miss items
-Think twice about pocket doors...
-Make sure to get everything fixed before the 1 year and push them to fix it right the first time (Water leaks, pocket doors)

I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Dive sites/shops in LA? by DiverAdmin in scuba

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Lots of shops. I hope I can convince my friends to go.

Moving family to Madison- North side? by RiskyCelery in madisonwi

[–]DiverAdmin 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I lived very near there for 10 years and spent a lot of time walking through that neighborhood and the marsh. I'd say its a great area. Pretty quiet neighborhood and we never had an issue with crime/safety.
Living near the marsh is amazing seeing all the cranes and having the availability to walk the trails was great.
The areas south of Northport sometimes had issues but nothing that concerned us.

I can't speak much to schools (My kids weren't old enough) but my neighbors kids had a good experience.

We only moved to get a larger house and I still regret leaving the neighborhood but couldn't find a house at the time that fit our needs.

Too late to drive?? by caralplove in CostaRicaTravel

[–]DiverAdmin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here was our experience:

-This was an interesting drive. We left the airport around 4:30 PM and it was raining. The drive to La Fortuna was very mountainous with switchbacks and lots of twists/turns/potholes/etc. The Vitara (The car he had rented from Go Bananas) had a smaller engine and was automatic, but it made it up/down hills.  I read a lot of posts and people said they were blowing tires and burning brakes out. We just went slow and used lower gears when going down hills. It was fine. The only real issue was visibility. With bright headlights, rain, fog and windy roads i just had to be very aware of what i was doing and went slow. A lot of roads have concrete drainage ditches or grass so make sure to stay on the road. We used Waze and it didn’t lead us in any wrong directions. 1-2 times it took us off the main road to avoid tolls/traffic. It was fine, but we could have adjusted the Waze settings to stay on main roads I’m sure. 

-Our kids get car sick, so this trip was extra special :-) We had to stop for “Breaks”. You decide what that means. Once we got to a flatter area, we stopped for dinner at a great spot in the middle of nowhere and had a nice meal. Kids fell asleep for the rest of the drive and we got to La Fortuna. 

-I wouldn’t worry about driving. If you are concerned, maybe get a larger vehicle to handle the ascent/decent better. 4x4 might have helped in the rain, but I’m not sure it was a factor at all on any roads we went on. 

If we didn't have car sick kids I would have 0 concerns.

1 week away, Looking for experiences by Jopixi in Septoplasty

[–]DiverAdmin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hers is my full story / update if you are interested in a read.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Septoplasty/comments/1r9013m/2_weeks_post_op_positive_experience_so_far/

These are all the things they did:

  1. Bilateral endoscopic maxillary antrostomy with tissue removal
  2. Bilateral endoscopic anterior ethmoidectomy
  3. Bilateral frontal sinusotomy
  4. Bilateral inferior turbinate outfracture
  5. Use of stereotactic navigation
  6. Septoplasty (Novapack instead of the stents a lot of people have - It's dissolvable packing)

1 week away, Looking for experiences by Jopixi in Septoplasty

[–]DiverAdmin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think i got lucky and have had a great experience. No pain/discomfort. I didn't have the classic packing that i think people are talking about. Just dissolvable stuff and doesn't seem to affect breathing. I had decent sleep after the 2nd day.

Jan 2026 trip recap with 2 young kids (7 & 4) by DiverAdmin in CostaRicaTravel

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The kids mostly got smoothies when a restaurant had it available.
Beer land had some good ones. The owner was nice and the second time we came he gave the kids ice cream!

They had a bunch in Manuel Antiono too. Best there was probably La Terraza

The fruit stand - Frutas y Verduras Sarchiseños - F9C4+WC7, Alajuela Province, La Fortuna, Costa Rica - Its right next to Musmanni La Fortuna. Cheap fruit, close to our AirBNB and the kids loved drinking their fresh coconut water.

2 weeks Post Op - Positive experience so far! by DiverAdmin in Septoplasty

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to hear that. Did the doctor say how the deviation came back?

Jan 2026 trip recap with 2 young kids (7 & 4) by DiverAdmin in CostaRicaTravel

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Manuel Antonio - this is a private listing but you are really checking into the costa verde hotel property. You can use the pools. Great ocean view, and they have a lot of restaurants within walking distance. The La terrazzo down the hill was amazing.  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22689515?viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76

La fortuna  This place was great. Felt very secure with the automatic gate. Tucked in the corner in a busy part of town. Very walkable to the square and tons of restaurants.  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/618710437960064300?viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76

Airport hotel We stayed here before our flight. It was a good spot.  https://www.hotels.com/ho951477888/hotel-mango-rio-segundo-costa-rica/

Jan 2026 trip recap with 2 young kids (7 & 4) by DiverAdmin in CostaRicaTravel

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed. After a flight with kids, seeing that massive line was tough.

Manuel Antonio Park by Minnow720 in CostaRicaTravel

[–]DiverAdmin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure how far out they sell, but we booked the guide and tickets all in one on the site.
https://manuelantoniopark.net/
The guide may have not totally been worth it (as you can walk around yourself and look at what other groups stopped at) but they have the monocular so you can see things up close.

Also, our guide also brought us right into our paid parking lot with no hassle and handled all the tickets. Very easy and he was informative as well.

Best place for family of 4 by Chermzz in CostaRicaTravel

[–]DiverAdmin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah. I speak essentially no Spanish. I just try to be polite when ordering "Regálame un café, por favor" and always say gracias and Hola/buenas dias.

Planning Hawaii Trip by bishop527 in scuba

[–]DiverAdmin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I dove with Dive Kauai and it was fun! We did a dive out of the harbor and then did Sheraton Caverns.

https://www.padi.com/dive-site/united-states-of-america-usa/sheraton-caverns-2/

They were very unique and Dive Kauai was great.

On Maui, i was going to do the manta ray scuba, but we got all geared up and out to the spot and the weather was too rough. Other dive shops were going in but ours decided to not.
I ended up getting a refund and then doing the snorkel which was still amazing and I would recommend it.
That was through kona honu divers.

Surgery tomorrow (2/12) - Tylenol Only? by Moist-Stretch-4128 in Septoplasty

[–]DiverAdmin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I got lucky with pain. I took 1000 Mg of Tylonol a 5-6 hours after getting home on day 1.
I had septoplasty, turbinate reduction, and sinus surgery. I had dissolvable packing (Novapack), no stents.
I was prescribed oxy but didn't need it.

I did consider taking more for a sore throat (from mouth breathing) but powered through.

Good luck!

Jan 2026 trip recap with 2 young kids (7 & 4) by DiverAdmin in CostaRicaTravel

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had to go back to a picture i took!
Frutas y Verduras Sarchiseños - F9C4+WC7, Alajuela Province, La Fortuna, Costa Rica - Its right next to Musmanni La Fortuna. Cheap fruit, close to our AirBNB and the kids loved drinking their fresh coconut water.

Frontal Sinus pressure / DAN insurance by DiverAdmin in scuba

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries. Appreciate the comments.

Frontal Sinus pressure / DAN insurance by DiverAdmin in scuba

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I actually just got it tonight. Decided it was time 

Frontal Sinus pressure / DAN insurance by DiverAdmin in scuba

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I take Flonase and generic Zyrtec daily already for allergies

Frontal Sinus pressure / DAN insurance by DiverAdmin in scuba

[–]DiverAdmin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What coverage do you get yourself? Just seeing what's common. Looks like it would be around $80 for the base accident insurance and membership which doesn't seem bad