Very interesting about the Benchmark line. Thanks for the info! Strange, I thought the Bosch 800 NGM8654UC had a 17K BTU center burner because that's what it says on ajmadison, but now I see 18K everywhere else. It looks like the 36" cooktop will be around $1550 which is not too much more than the 800 series MSRP $1300, but the single wall ovens will be closer to $3K, which might be too much additional $$. Do you think there will be rebates or sales after the Benchmarks come out in April (on Benchmarks on on Bosch in general)? I'm now leaning towards Bosch for cooktop, dishwasher, and single wall oven. Built-in refrigerator too, if I'm convinced about paying a premium for built-in vs a counter depth (Kitchenaid, for example). I'm also not sure how to avoid a Bosch microwave while avoiding a strange mix in the wall oven cabinet (if in the wall). We had a convection microwave before, and while I reheat things in it all the time, I never used it as an oven, so a cheap microwave seems like the best idea. I'm at a loss where to put the MW, though.

Re sale. Funny I used to think that way, but then I realized that where I live, most seem to buy the house then redo it to the way they want it. My neghbor next door bought her house, redid it(interior only since we cannot change anything about the outside) and didn't move in for 8 months. She also removed the good appliances(I thought they were good) including the sub-zero in the kitchen. This has happened in several of the houses around here...they are bought..and the insides are replaced.... and these houses are far from being "run down" or in poor shape. So I am not going to worry about resale value when it comes to what appliances I have in the house. I buy what I want and I don't really care what my neighbors think about them, because when I am gone my ideas will get replaced.

Sorry weedmeister, I guess I forgot to check off that I wanted any responses sent to my e-mail, so all this time I thought no one had responded to me. Our 36" height counter will have granite installed on it. The cabinet to install/surround the 30" wall oven would be 33" width. Thanks for clarifying that the 4 1/2" toekick area was a maximum and not a minimum. My builder tells me that he thinks he could make it work, but it will definitely be only a couple inches off the ground. The alternative is to change the kitchen design and put the oven to the left of the cooktop where my 33" wide drawer base was going and move the drawers under the cooktop instead. (I'll lose one drawer and they would now be only 30"). Not sure of this compromise and not sure if the oven will look weird sitting to the left of the cooktop, though it may be easier to put things into the oven directly from the cooktop with this configuration. I'm still plugging away, but at this point my builder is at a standstill until appliances are picked so electrician can come in. Any other thoughts appreciated.

I can answer the BS oven door question. My 36" BS RCS was installed two days ago (haven't used it yet, hopefully this weekend). During the burn off of the oven (high temp is 450 F for an hour) I checked how hot the oven door got, as that has been a big issue noted on these boards. On my range, the SS part of the oven door did not get hot, just a bit warm. The glass on the oven door got hotter but not that hot. What did get quite hot were the sides/edges of the oven door. I could touch the side but not for long. Definitely quite hot. Not instant burn/scald though. There are vents (or look like vents) right there so it makes sense that those areas heat up a lot. Your kids would have to press their hands up against the 2" side of the door for several seconds for it to affect them negatively. More likely a kid running around will touch the front of the door and that is not a problem, on my range at least.