@brickeyee As I've stated REPEATEDLY and CLEARLY in many threads discussing this subject on this forum... A traditional recirc system is preferable to a retro fit if it can be done cost effectively and with acceptable inconvenience. For new construction it is the way to go. Recirc as an after thought can be very expensive and very inconvenient. In those circumstances a retro fit recirc can work well with few compromises and at modest cost with ZERO inconvenience. Your position that the only way is the traditional recirc flies in the face of my 10+ years of perfect service from the Laing Autocirc. How much experience do you have with a retro fit recirc? Any experience with the Watts recirc? The Chillipepper? "If you think having previously heated water with its greater load of contaminants leached from piping in your cold water supply is acceptable go for it" Another excuse but not a reason for not using a retrofit recirc. That water is flushed within the first seconds of opening ANY cold faucet. I've had a chemist buddy take samples and make sure.

I'm not sure what the purpose of installing a check valve in either the cold or the return would be. I do suggest that you insulate all of your hot water lines. They will hold the heat from the hot water and waste less heat to the surrounding air. They will also hold the heat longer and not cool off so quickly between uses. Once you have insulated your pipes, you can decide on a recerc pump.

I think matching the counter would be good in your situation. Don't get a really cheap one is all I can advise. They FEEL cheap. I have an Insinkerator (feels like metal!) and it has an extra outlet in the box thingy under the sink which is kinda nice to have but probably not really very important if you're not having all sorts of items plugged in under there. DW and disposal should be all since you have no instahot and won't be charging your cell phone down there.

Water is very precious resource in drought-stricken CA.. so we don't want to literally flush clean water down the drain. We are planning on installing a HW recirculation system that is activated on demand. the system we're thinking is to have one continuous HW loop on the farthest and most affected bathrooms and have a pump that is activated by a switch with a timer that will run for about 25-30min and then stop. so when you are ready to take a shower, when you first walk into the bathroom you turn on the pump (set to run on a timer) and while you're getting ready to get into the shower, enough of the hot water will be circulated in the line that when you turn on the faucet/shower, there will be very little cold water to be purged before hot water starts to come out. so the circulation pump is not on all the time, and only on demand... this basically eliminates wasting 5-10gal of water while waiting for the hot water to start coming out and instead of the water going down the drain and into the sewer, it goes right back into the HW heater to be reheated... which essentially is the same as replenishing it with with the source cold water.. same thing would have happened if you don't have recirc system... so not much energy wasted there. our system energy wasting would be the electricity to run the pump for 30min or so when we are heating up the line (and the cost to install the long return line that mates with the supply line, appropriate backflow check valve on the supply line and the pump/switch system itself). so it shouldn't be too bad. We dont' intend to run the pump all day, so.. we probably ought to think about grey water system, but couldn't really get our act together to plan for that this time..