gardeningwannabe, thank you so much for the kind words! It's really hard not to become paranoid to have people you don't know tramping through your yard critiquing..... we weren't planning on this for a few more years. What's worse is that my mother was on the tour last year and she's got 30 years on me and would be a perfect photo shoot for Southern Living..... Grrrrrr. Dawn, thank you so much for your input! You all don't know how much I appreciate all the "silent" knowledge I've drained from all of you over the past couple of years. My grandfather was born in Love county (see I am a lurker!) and we have a lake cabin down at Texoma. Is this something that you all would want to know about, experiment with us, hear our horror stories, successes? Let me know, and I'll post whatever everyone want's to see and hear! Thanks again for your input..... watch out because we have some really trouble spots to cover over the next 8 weeks! Alex

Thanks so much for the feedback. I spoke with the architect and he was enabling the bath to be large enough for 3'0 doors and a larger vanity that he thought I wanted. I told him we were used to just a pedestal sink and toilet and would be thrilled to have the extra space in the kitchen. He is working on our revisions, but it sounds as if it will all work out. Our master bath and bedroom are on the main floor and is wheelchair accesible. So, that would be an option if ever needed for someone or us in the future. I really appreciate the comments, time and pitures. It is so nice to have real people who can share and help us get our dream homes as pefectly perfect as possible! I count down to the days we can break gound and share pictures. I hope we will be part of "It's June and...!" We closed on our 8 acres yesterday and it is just screaming for some action!!!

This is a year old, but I saw it pop up, and for anyone looking for info on staining with white quartzite, I have rare experience that I wish I came across a year ago. :) So... My quartzite...it won't etch. But, it is thirsty. It soaks up oil and water and does not always evaporate it back out. It was sealed with tenex proseal 2x. I can only guess that quartzite is very very sensitive to the type of sealant used, so be sure your fabricator knows what they are doing. I think that is the key. I have read that people with my same stone have had great luck with granquartz. Anyhow...my stone had some fabrication damage not related to the water and oil staining, but the inner parts that were not damaged have staining issues. And here is the puzzling part. Although the same slab, and identical in look, not all sections of my counter perform the same. The sample I took home from the granite yard, and the middle of my island? Truly bullet-proof. I cannot get them to soak in oil or stain. The middle of my island is pristine and still looks new, despite seeing the most food action. However, the perimeters are extensively stained. Water and oil. It just soaks it up so quickly. At first, I would poultice a spot out here or there, but it became so frequent and extensive, I just quit because I don't want to live with acetone paper towels on my counter every single day. I got the quartzite because I wanted the look of marble without the upkeep, but I cannot imagine that marble is harder to take care of, as the water and oil stains happen so quickly and are so hard to remove(or won't come out). And, darker stains bother me more than etching would...Here are a few pics: See all those darker dots? I placed a kitchen towel down as I washed a few pots. I placed them down on the towel, and when I came back to dry them off and put them away, these water spots were there. That was about 8 months ago. All the way to the left, by the range-do you see that darker area? That is oil staining. I have splatters from cooking, and I wipe them down quickly, but... I share this info as quartzite is touted as a surface that does not stain, but mine did. Many people here have great luck with this stone, so I really feel that my experience could have been different if my fabricator knew what he was doing. Perhaps some of this stone is super porous, or perhaps the issues may have been due to the wrong sealant, or even another chemical my fabricators used. They ruined the edges during fabrication, so perhaps they compromised the inner areas as well. I cannot say for sure...Just be sure your fabricator does not think this is just regular old granite, like mine did...it is different. I hope this helps someone!

Takagi TK3, installed 2004, no problems. And we love the endless hot water. But the other thing to ask is about your usage. Tank water heaters are a lot more efficient than they used to be. If you've got kids and/or are doing a lot of laundry and dishes through the day, tankless may not make sense. If your hot water usage is more limited, e.g., we shower in the morning, and don't use a lot through the day, then it may. There are also other things to make either tanked or tankless more efficient, like solar pre-heaters, pre-heating tanks, water recirculators, etc. But sorry I can't provide more than 3 years longevity data -- ralleia is right.