Hey guys. Just wanted to say hello from Northern California. My wife and I will be moving out to Esko, MN in April of this year and am looking forward to meeting a few of you. We will be building a house and quite honestly only know of a few builders and I am interested if anyone here knows of any good contractors.
Welcome to Minnesota (Soon Anyway). Esko, is that by Duluth?
Thanks and yes it is just southwest of Duluth right by Cloquet. I a know it takes me about 10 minutes to get to Downtown Duluth via Midway Road and I-35
An early "Welcome to Minnesota". April is a decent time to move this direction. My wife and I moved back here after 35 years in Southern California in April of 1998 when I retired. Great place to live and I hope you enjoy it here as much as we have. I'm in the Twin Cities metro area so I can't help with referrals but maybe a member in the Duluth area will pop in.
Larry
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2004 Tundra V8 Limited Access Cab 4X4, Michelin 265/65/R17 LTX-AT2's, Auto Dim Comp/Temp Mirror, Aero Turbine #2525 muffler, Access Roll Up Cover, Optima D31A battery, Multi-Vex adaptive outside mirrors, Eclipse AVN5510 Nav unit and Sirius SIR-ECL1 tuner, as of 10/07 pictures in my photo gallery
If a combo of all these whizz bangs met their claims you'd have to siphon gas out of your tank every second day and sell the excess horsepower on the third????
If your engine doesn't consume ANY oil it will seize???
Some people should not be allowed access to tools without books!!!
Esko eh? Good luck with your move. Welcome to Minnesota.
Builders. Well, if it were me building new, I'd look into one of those which are built in a controlled environment. Factory built. I looked into one of those about a year and a half ago and would have purchased if I had not run out of time and could have found a decent lot in Duluth.
Square footage price was lower than stick built and much better quality.
Walls are super straight & plumb, and make hangin cabinets a breeze, not to mention trim work, etc.
I tried to find the name of one here in MN that I had looked into...but darn if I can find 'em now. Thought they were down near Brainerd and/or St. Cloud.
Anyways, there's my two cents. Good luck. Oh yeah, good stick builder in Cloquet is Ray Riihiluoma Incorporated. Had a friend work for them. I guess theyre a class act. I found a website for them: http://www.riihiluoma.com/
Welcome to Minnesota! Sorry I can't help you with your question, but we're glad to have you. What part of northern CA are you coming from? I spent 4 months living in Redding working on a construction project at the city power plant. That was a fanastic area to be in. I found out that all my stereotypes of Californians didn't apply up there. Great folks!
1) Yeah I would agree the controlled environment for building walls is a nice option but as I am a Custom Home Electronics guy and most of the support in my walls will be wire rather then wood I will most likely go stick built.
2) Ray Riihiluoma has a FANTANSTIC reputation but my understanding is most work has been handed off to the son in law at Legacy Custom Homes
3) OK What to do about 4x2 in the snow up here holy crap i get very little traction
- Have highway treads on now and need to switch
- Yes I have 4 sand tubes in back
- Have a Snugtop Topper on the back
- Also have a carpet kit
4) Redding is pretty far north I was about 50 miles north of San Francisco in a city called Santa Rosa.
Sand is good, but with 4x2 you are as you mentioned going to want some tires with grip. There are a bunch of threads with tire suggestions. When I grew up here (40's and 50's) we just put snow tires on the rears and lived with it. It seems now there's an advantage to having them at the four corners. It must be a real culture shock if this is your first winter. I know I had to relearn winter driving when we moved back here in 1998 after 36 years in So Cal.
Larry
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2004 Tundra V8 Limited Access Cab 4X4, Michelin 265/65/R17 LTX-AT2's, Auto Dim Comp/Temp Mirror, Aero Turbine #2525 muffler, Access Roll Up Cover, Optima D31A battery, Multi-Vex adaptive outside mirrors, Eclipse AVN5510 Nav unit and Sirius SIR-ECL1 tuner, as of 10/07 pictures in my photo gallery
If a combo of all these whizz bangs met their claims you'd have to siphon gas out of your tank every second day and sell the excess horsepower on the third????
If your engine doesn't consume ANY oil it will seize???
Some people should not be allowed access to tools without books!!!
Well I guess I have now been officially welcomed to MN. Drove from Duluth to New Hope via Coon Rapids (Wife had to get her haircut) on a pretty hairy day of driving with the snow. All was good until the way home. Driving around 35-40 on 35 North I am going straight no turn at all and all of a sudden I am spinning like a top straight down the road. No flipping idea how I didn't hit anything or flip it must have been karma as we just left grandmas house. Man I think I need a 4wd
I doubt 4X4 would've made any difference under the conditions you describe. It doesn't take a lot to spin around when it's icy. It may have been just a change in the I-35 contour or the finish on the road surface (groove pattern, etc.). Tires would probably have a greater impact than anything cruising at a steady speed. It sounds like you and your wife came out of it OK other than a helpless feeling and a scare. The weather has been really nasty the past few weeks with the freezing rain, sleet and snow and driving conditions have been pretty treacherous for all of us.
Have a great new year, Larry
PS: Our home is just across Highway 169 from New Hope
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2004 Tundra V8 Limited Access Cab 4X4, Michelin 265/65/R17 LTX-AT2's, Auto Dim Comp/Temp Mirror, Aero Turbine #2525 muffler, Access Roll Up Cover, Optima D31A battery, Multi-Vex adaptive outside mirrors, Eclipse AVN5510 Nav unit and Sirius SIR-ECL1 tuner, as of 10/07 pictures in my photo gallery
If a combo of all these whizz bangs met their claims you'd have to siphon gas out of your tank every second day and sell the excess horsepower on the third????
If your engine doesn't consume ANY oil it will seize???
Some people should not be allowed access to tools without books!!!
Well i went out and bought all new snow tires yesterday. Went with the Bridgestone Blizzaks all around and with the weight of my H/T in the bed as well as the new tires I stuck to the ground like a rock. Just in time for the freezing drizzle
Moving to Minnesota
I will most likely go stick built.
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