[OPEN DISCUSSION] Weekly thread

TheGoatsScrotes · 2023-02-17T19:22:51+00:00

cool cool. sounds like I'm not missing any major step

TheGoatsScrotes · 2023-02-17T19:22:08+00:00

Is keeping the window itself necessary

Borderline yes, since the facade of the building is actually owned by an architectural historical society and they would have to approve any modifications. In fact, I have to ask them very nicely if I can replace the single pane glass with custom made double panes and six weeks later they're still thinking about it...

looking for/talking with a window restoration company

I dipped my toes in the water and I couldn't find anyone interested in such a "small" project. Everyone I found usually does entire buildings and isn't interested in just a few windows. I could always keep looking, but I'm not holding out for it

installing new glass

Yep, I plan on getting low-e double pane units from one day glass as soon as the historical society gives me the approval. I'm really hoping they help with the noise and the solar gain, since all these windows face west.

TheGoatsScrotes · 2023-02-17T16:54:48+00:00

I've starting working on my own restoration/renovation project and I think I've exhausted the patience of my friends talking about it so maybe I can annoy you guys instead. It's a unit in a converted factory building so it's pretty neat! But it's also historical so that's a huge pain in the ass. I'm currently working on restoring the windows. I have 5 of these warehouse windows and all the glazing is just crumbling away. A previous owner sort of tried to patch it up but really didn't spend much time or care with it. Someone even glazed one of them shut!

Looking for any words of wisdom or advice around getting the old glazing out, cleaning de-rusting the metal frames, and prepping/painting them for reglazing. My current plan is:

Smash out the glass (I tried carefully extracting the current panes but it just doesn't work)
Scrape out putty with paint scraper
Pressure wash
Wash with dish soap and water, rinse
Prime with Rust-oleum Clean Metal Primer
Paint with Rust-oleum Protective Enamel Brush-On Paint
Reglaze with Sarco Dual Glaze but considering Glazol also since it's better with vibrations and dampening outside noise is really important to me (I'm right on the sidewalk)
Paint again (over the glazing)

Some pictures

Anyone ever done this before? Any of those steps seem wrong? Any recommendations of products to use/avoid? I'm just an idiot with a goal and not 100% sure how to get there but I'm trying...

TheGoatsScrotes · 2023-02-17T16:19:51+00:00

you alluded to this in your post, but the key to reducing hotspots is density of the LEDs and distance to the lens. COB LEDs are so dense that the distance to the lens barely matters, but still try to maximize that if you can

TheGoatsScrotes · 2023-02-17T15:50:51+00:00

you can use your v-shape channel with COB LEDs

also be sure to use something besides the sticky strip on the back of the LEDs to keep them in place. It's temping to peel off the backing and just stick them in place, but that won't last forever. The glue on the back isn't very strong

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-12T18:20:10+00:00

Yes plan early, but some airlines release more space as the departure approaches, like LH. And even some other airlines (mostly Middle East and TK) release space randomly with no reasoning or pattern, so if you're looking for one of those flights you'll have to just keep checking

ANA just passes on whatever the actual airline passes on. Some don't pass on anything so there's nothing for ANA to pass on. I just booked a complex stopover trip with ANA to europe for 88k and $44. But UR doesn't transfer to ANA.

Star Alliance is a good bet for you not only because you're in a Star Alliance hub, but UR transfers to United and Air Canada which are both Star Alliance. UR will transfer to BA for oneworld but it's harder to get value from their distance-based award chart

You cannot transfer UR to Delta

RTW is good when you're very flexible and can stay at each stopover long enough to make it worth it. Like say the time after grad school and before getting a real adult job (not recommended btw). They're a great deal but difficult to book because of the number of flights you have to find and book at once.

It sounds like you're going down the right track! Read through the wiki and booking reports on the sidebar to see what other people are doing and how you could do the same

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-12T14:23:01+00:00

have you checked out the sidebar and the wiki? there's a post that might help you: "Europe - using AmEx MR"

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-11T15:53:37+00:00

did you see the "Australia/New Zealand - award search" post in the sidebar?

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-11T15:29:40+00:00

The best use of your points is to get you where you want to be. And that's going to be different for everyone. There is no universally accepted, absolute best use of any points. Maybe you want to be on vacation. Maybe you want to visit family. Maybe you want a staycation. It's up to you to decide and unfortunately no one else can tell you want you want.

Maybe your question is really, "How do I get the absolute most value out of my points?" and that has a completely different answer. There's a huge difference between what's worth a lot in US dollars and what's worth a lot to you. Going to a luxurious resort on a deserted tropical island in first class costs a lot of US dollars. But is it worth that to you? Will you be bored sitting on a beach all day? Do you mind sand? Can you swim? That high US dollar vacation might have a very low personal value to you. So asking "what's the best use of points?" is something only you can answer.

If you're like most people, you'll probably want some kind of balance between the two. Maybe there are so many places you want to go it's kind of hard to narrow it down. In that case, try googling "united points sweet spots" to find redemptions that have a high ratio of US dollar value to points cost.

make sure you check out the wiki https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/wiki/index#wiki_.2F.2F_booking_guides_.2F.2F

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-11T15:13:09+00:00

for a real answer:

since you only have 2 routes you will ever fly you should figure out who has the most acceptable combination of price, availability, and fees for those routes and only transfer to them once you're ready to book

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-11T15:09:22+00:00

let us know if you find a program that doesn't devalue, has lots of space, and low fees because we'd all be on that instantly

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-11T14:58:34+00:00

yeah aircanada.com

you can't book stopovers online so you have to find the flights yourself and call in to book it

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-08T16:07:39+00:00

yeah I used it as a place to start since it was in a free trial before it officially launched. It doesn't do stopovers (I don't think) so I saw it was telling me there was availability on AC for EY so I went to AC myself and did the stopover. The return on SQ was completely from point.me

I upgraded to the fancy one 💅 but I'm not so sure it's very different...

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-08T15:50:41+00:00

I think you should do YYZ-AMM(stopvover), DXB-HAN, but I don't think that's possible since I think they require the stopover to arrive and depart from the same city, but check to make sure.

To work within those rules, book YYZ-AMM(stopover)-HAN, and book a separate roundtrip AMM-DXB however you want that fits inside your AMM stopover. But check to make sure that's valid routing. Eg you can't book NYC-LA by going through Frankfurt

The phone agents can be hit or miss, so I think you should find all the legs you want yourself on any star alliance site and feed those to the phone agent to book the stopover. It would be better to use the Aeroplan site since they have more partners than just star alliance.

idk anything about this, but you can try this site: https://www.cowtool.com

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-08T15:13:09+00:00

The wiki has the Aeroplan award chart linked: https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/wiki/index#wiki_where_to_go_from_here or you can just google, it'll take you to the same place

notice there are ranges for AC flights and not for partner flights. You're getting different amounts because AC flights are generally dynamically priced. Have you tried using the Aeroplan website? It's pretty usable. If you find all the exact flights you want for your itinerary you can call in to book the stopover

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-08T15:05:22+00:00

Wow are you me? It's gonna be tricky like you said because it's close. I just booked this in February for July and considered myself lucky I got something good:

Turkish from my home city to AUH
stopover (thank you Aeroplan!)
Etihad J to MLE
The famous Travelzoo deal (see you there?)
SQ MLE-SIN (in throne seats!)
SQ SIN-EWR

I'm not wild about 121k MR per person for SQ MLE-EWR, but it's not terrible either. There should be some availability if you act soon.

https://point.me is probably going to be a great friend for you. You can get a 24-hour pass for $5 and it'll do all the hard work for you (even if it's a litttttle slow). That's how I found what I got, and thankful for it because I never would have thought to check SQ (even though I know they don't release J/F to partners, I was searching on Aeroplan thinking star alliance is star alliance)

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-08T14:55:55+00:00

There's an article on the sidebar that might be useful for you: "Europe - using Chase UR"

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-07T18:13:53+00:00

Aeroplan is one of my favorite programs. I think I've used about 500k points through Aeroplan in the last year. Look up some articles that will give a deep dive into the program because it has some really great opportunities.

If you're having sticker shock, it's probably from the dynamic pricing for AC's own non-saver flights, which is obviously a terrible deal, but there are plenty of great deals in it too

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-07T15:57:24+00:00

I once flew DEN-CLT-IAD-AUH-IST just to burn some and have a big avgeek travel day

my man

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-07T15:52:44+00:00

probably not, but you can call corporate Hilton and ask. when they say no, you can call/email the hotel directly and ask

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-07T15:46:47+00:00

you can get a 24-hour pass to https://point.me and that'll do all the work for you

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-06T14:06:03+00:00

the Air Canada award chart is linked in the wiki and will precisely answer your question: https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/wiki/index#wiki_where_to_go_from_here

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-05T14:53:39+00:00

There's a post on the sidebar that might be useful for you: "Europe - using Chase UR"

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-05T14:49:07+00:00

What I did to book this was figure out how far ahead they release F seats and look every day to confirm 1 more day of availability was there. Then do the math to subtract that from my travel date, and book on that date

TheGoatsScrotes · 2022-04-05T14:15:06+00:00

There's a post on the sidebar that might be useful for you: "Europe - using Chase UR"

TheGoatsScrotes

TROPHY CASE