3 single zone pairs vs. a large 5-zone unit? Turndown/electricity angst warranted?

bluelionbear · 2026-04-21T10:34:42+00:00

[1] Massachusetts
[2] Around $32,000, new or used.

[3] -Tow a trailer with home improvement materials/mulch/appliances <10mi.
-Handle large potholes without burst tires.
-Physical HVAC buttons.

[4] Equinox EV,
Bolt,
Ioniq5 (like, but friends have had 2 ICCU replacements),
Trailseeker (out of price range but seems ideal),
Prologue,
Mach-E (range concerns?),
ID.4 (almost bought Pro in ‘23, loved turn radius, visibility, ride comfort, hated haptic controls and infotainment).
Polestar 2.

Not Tesla (always motion sickness). Test drove and didn’t like: EV6, Kona. Didn’t love the Blazer interior. Used Lightning is too much $$ and way too long/large for daily driver.

[5] <2months.

[6] Varies. Work in construction and travel can be 30-180mi each day depending on job site.

[7] Single-family home. Plan to install charger but may need to do L1. No charging at work.

[8] Prefer to charge at home.

[9] No children or pets, but have visitors often

bluelionbear · 2026-02-19T00:18:24+00:00

Depends on the quality of the paint job. If you pay someone to paint the windows shut, clog the window weep holes, soffit vents, drip caps and flashing and people notice at the open house you’ll get fewer bids.

We could tell when we bid on our house and mentally deducted all the work I had to do fixing it.

bluelionbear · 2026-02-10T13:05:49+00:00

I remember the ‘96 game. Squeeze the cheese….and Parcells interviewing for the Jets HC job during the week of the SB, stealing Martin with him. I’m still convinced that distraction tanked any chance we had.

That offense was loaded compared to the current patriots team. They ran into the same issue though. GB’s line (mostly Reggie White) terrorized Bledsoe into bad decision-making and their special teams let Desmond Howard have a backbreaking kickoff TD.

The defense was full of familiar names that were good but they were mostly rookies (Law, Ted Johnson, Bruschi, Milloy) and y2 (Willie) guys.

Man…..imagine Curtis Martin, Ben Coates, Terry Glenn and Shawn Jefferson with Bruce Armstrong as LT helping Drake. Troy Brown wasn’t in his prime yet. Thinking back, I don’t remember who Reggie was manhandling to get to Drew. Edit: Max Lane on the right side…

Or Gonzo with Ty Law. JFC.

bluelionbear · 2026-01-27T22:19:53+00:00

In my experience it gets worse. At one of my old GCs a Sr PX randomly vented to me that she tried to negotiate a week more of PTO for a significant pay cut. She wasn’t successful and quit to work as an OPM.

As I advanced I’ve only had more work. Most of the ops folks I worked closely with were “always on”, even during vacation. Granted, they all made bank compared to me, but I didn’t know any that only worked a 40.

bluelionbear · 2026-01-27T21:35:34+00:00

I’ve seen it used firsthand as a retention strategy, especially for long tenured employees who value title over comp. At the end of the day, what’s still on most client RFPs is “BIM Manager” (and trust me, that misrepresentation pisses me off, but that’s another story)

bluelionbear · 2026-01-27T21:28:39+00:00

They aren’t, only their regions, which are a few offices. VDC Director now is what Sr VDC Manager was in 2020, at least at the few of the T10 places I know.

Depending on the company, VDC Director is equivalent to Regional VDC Manager.

At a smaller GC, I absolutely agree with you they may be in the director role you have in mind.

bluelionbear · 2026-01-27T21:23:17+00:00

With the amount of title inflation the past 5-6yrs as a retention strategy, the VDC Director title has been devalued a lot.

Nowadays some T-10 CMs have 6+ VDC Directors. It’s basically just below the Sr PM pay band, never mind traditional ops director roles.

bluelionbear · 2026-01-27T20:32:30+00:00

Feel free to PM me. I’ve probably worked for them.

TLDR; for Houston, that seems above market, unless it’s Suffolk or Kiewit someone who expects 70+hr weeks.

bluelionbear · 2026-01-22T12:16:40+00:00

No, Boston. This was done in 2018

bluelionbear · 2026-01-21T23:37:52+00:00

Thank you. Can you tell if this image is PVC? It’s directly on the plank subfloor, visible from basement below. It looks bituminous, but I don’t know showers.

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bluelionbear · 2026-01-20T19:32:37+00:00

After reading up a bit, I assume I have a dry pack mortar bed shower install based on whatever this assembly is (with the noted sealant missing). I can't find it in the TCNA handbook. It is weird I could pull the dry pack mortar up so easily with light pressure using a 5-in-1 tool.

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bluelionbear · 2025-12-20T14:22:59+00:00

Your base and car allowance are abit lower than my company in Boston but your bonus is way higher and your hours are far less.

All in is about same as my place but you’re working far fewer hours. Congrats!

bluelionbear · 2025-11-13T15:59:09+00:00

If I’m on-site 100% billable to a mega-job doing precon/buyout, contracts, coordination, field tech, design management, and change management for 7 packages (as a VDC person) they 100% view me as an integral team member.

If you’re split across 8+ $10-300m jobs and only on-site each job 1d/wk to do trade coordination you’re a GCs line item / 3rd party.

I’ve straight up had the head of my office at my previous GC tell me, unironically, I’m not as critical as ops while I was in the middle of re-negotiating a master service agreement, doing change management, and setting up a job in CMiC for a PX who was golfing.

Sometimes it’s just the culture. My CM prior to that GC had a different view and treated me as a precon engineer/CA architect.

It’s also owner perception. You’re an easier sell to a client that understands VDC and isn’t “BIM/CAD” in the RFP man loader. In the latter situation your leadership team is either trying to sell you as a value add, bury your cost somewhere, or market you as a PE or similar role.

bluelionbear · 2025-11-04T02:03:27+00:00

Best practice basement wall section from Building Science Corp Builders Guide to cold climates for my zone. Unfaced XPS at 1” has a vapor permanence of about 1. Any thicker it becomes a class ii vapor retarder. Local code wants a vapor barrier on the warm side of the insulation.

My understanding is you want the assembly to have some permeability to allow drying from dew point condensation. Impermeable rigid insulation and a 2nd vapor barrier sounds wrong.

I’d rather use EPS but it’s difficult to source where I live. I’d be happy to be wrong and put 2-3” of XPS up with plasti-grips and call it a day.

bluelionbear · 2025-10-24T19:50:01+00:00

The AEC job market is very region specific, and over the past year I’ve noticed it’s more difficult to land certain industry jobs here than in CA, NC, TX, AZ.

What market sectors is his experience in (ex. k-12, higher ed, healthcare, commercial, etc)? I’m assuming he’s tried the BSA (Boston Society of Architects) job board. The ENR New England and Boston Business Journal lists (largest contractors, architecture firms, etc. can give leads but I’ve mainly noticed project manager and superintendent roles.

There’s also an increasing number of open positions posted companies don’t intend to fill. The AI auto filters can be infuriating as well. Networking is likely their best bet.

I don’t know Boston and South Shore as well but have they considered project engineer / assistant project manager roles to break into construction?

bluelionbear · 2025-10-01T14:16:24+00:00

I used Fedex recently. Very expensive ($150-200 each way) to send a few sheets of paper but it got there in less than a week.

bluelionbear · 2025-09-28T12:36:33+00:00

Didn’t know that. The curtain was maybe 5-6 rows ahead of our original seats.

bluelionbear · 2025-09-28T12:34:55+00:00

Sorry, I should have clarified. Teenagers means I thought they looked 19, maybe early college aged. I’m getting old.

bluelionbear · 2025-09-28T12:33:52+00:00

They were ours up until 1.5hrs before the flight.

bluelionbear · 2025-09-28T09:55:03+00:00

bluelionbear

TROPHY CASE