We recently had our home rebuilt after a fire last July. We used to have a semi flat roof and now we have a new house witha Gable roof,Dark shingles and it gets very hot up there. On each end of the attic are two stationary vents that measure 13"wide by 15" long . We have no soffits and would like to know if we can install a attic fan on the inside of the vents and would one fan be enough. The roof is a 12-12 pitch and measures 50' long by 30' wide. It gets so hot up there that the cold water pipe has hot water coming out for a minute or so. Can I install a attic fan with the existing vents. They are stuccoed in and I will not be able to replace them.Also what type of fan should we get. Any help will do. We live in Southern California and it gets very hot out here. Thank you Jerry T

That about describes me. My basement is mostly made of dirt. 5 feet deep in someplaces, 4 feet to 18 inches in others. I want the entire thing dug down to 7 feet from floor joists to basement floor. I have been told that I can save a lot of labor costs if I dig out the basement myself. What I want to know is, how much should I leave around each foundation wall to keep the house from caving into the basement? I am thinking to have a contractor do this - dig it out, rebuild the foundation walls, and pour a concrete slab, will come out to somewhere around $20k. I am not sure how accurate that is. Any comments, suggestions, or advice? Thanks