Hi Casey, Sorry to disappoint you, but whoever told you about the origins of the Spirit and Genesis are mistaken - both the Spirit and the Genesis barbecues are being manufactured in China. The difference only being the Genesis barbecues are being assembled in the US. Chinese parts, American assembly line. The only Weber models that continue to be manufactured and assembled in the US are the Weber Summit series of grills (though I would imagine that economics will be changing this in short order as well).

What worked best for us was putting our appliance package out to bid to three different stores. (I'd already checked eBay, Sears, etc., so knew what prices they had to beat.) Several of our appliances had pricing dictated by the manufacturer (e.g., SZ, Bosch, etc.), so everyone came in the same on them. However, by consolidating all our requirements, I found stores willingly threw in other benefits (e.g., free delivery and financial incentives) since it was a "large buy." Also, depending on where you are, there may be a store that does direct buying without requiring a membership fee. In Seattle, there's a great store called Direct Buying Service that does that; however, you'll need to place your order a couple months in advance. For most of us building, that's not a problem. Good luck!

We seriously considered ordering from Sheoga Flooring. (sheogaflooring.com) I'd read great things about them on the flooring forum (can't say the same for Lumber Liquidators). They answered emails promptly and sent samples quickly. Oh, I just investigated further, and put in your state and hit 'request for quote' and it says, "Please contact our distributor in your state that will offer a full variety of Sheoga hardwood flooring products. Buckeye Hardwoods Arlee MT 59821 406-726-2008 " Apparently they don't have a distributor in my state so I had to talk directly to them for my quotes and info. Maybe this means you might save on shipping...Since no matter where in Montana you are, Arlee must be closer than Ohio! ;-) Here is a link that might be useful: Sheoga's white oak

Both are good for outdoor areas Garapa is a little less $ Good place to get them>> EastTeak Lumber 800 338 5636 J.