Cooking on induction absolutely rocks. Immediate response, consistant temps--it's wonderful. I hate to clean, but cleaning up an induction cooktop rocks just as much as cooking on one. Nothing ever burns onto the cooktop, ever. Make a huge mess. Swipe with a soapy rag, swipe again with a clean, dry rag, shiney and clean. Done. Haul hubby out to a different demo. If you can find a Miele or Wolf showroom, go to one of those. Then he can be impressed with the performance but shocked at the price point, and you can "settle" for something much less expensive that works well but with fewer bells and whistles, and he'll be impressed with your research and happy to come in on budget. And you can be a happy cook with a spotless range and very little effort. ;-p Cj

If the reason you're doing this is for enhanced aesthetics, and that's the only reason anyone chooses a slide in over a free standing, then you want to make sure that the decisions you make will actually look right. With laminate counters, unless you replace the counters entirely, it will not look right to have the attached backsplash for the counter and then have it interrupted for tiled section in the middle where the range is (without the laminate backsplash section). It will look like a mistake or afterthought. Considering that you're saying money is too tight to do a backsplash right now, much less a counter top, and that a slide in range costs about double what a free standing range costs, it really doesn't sound as though choosing a slide in would be in your best interests economically. Replace your current range with another free standing one if your range needs replacing due to functionality issues. If you have your heart set on a slide in, then pick up a "new to you" used freestanding one on Craigs List and save your money to be able to do a new range, countertop, and backsplash all at one time. That's the only way to integrate a slide in range successfully into an existing kitchen design.

caroleannboyle-- Were you hoping that there would be a simple answer? No such luck. I think that there is more to consider than just an abstract choice between gas or electric --- or induction or dual fuel. For example, saying you are planning on a freestanding range implies you are not considering slide-in ranges. Slide-ins do tend to be more expensive that the freestanding versions. (The basic differences are that slide-ins will have all oven and burner controls in front with no backsplash/riser at the rear and many of them will have some overhang on the sides above the counters. Almost all major brand freestanding gas ranges and dual-fuel ranges have the burner controls down front and the oven controls on the backsplash/oven vent. Almost all electric ranges have all the controls on the backsplash. The exceptions being GE's "Artisan" line seems to put everything down front on the electric ranges as well as the gas ones.) Budget is also a consideration. Dan mentioned the Miele induction slide-in (Miele 1622i, I think) . it is a wonderful stove. If you had space limitations but no budget limitations, you might find it very interesting as an option for an electric range. But priced at $7k, it is well beyond the budgets of many of us. WIth a budget in the range of, say, $3k to $4k range, you could get a lot of discussion here (as has started) comparing and contrasting the pros and cons of say, the very sleek and spiffy looking Bosch HIIP054 slide-in induction range ($3100+) with a Blue-Star RCS pro-style gas stove ($3500 +/-) and maybe throwing something else into the mix like the GE Cafe electric, dual fuel and/or all-gas ranges ($2500 to $3000, depending.) Some of those who post here regard what they do with these kinds of stoves as "ordinary family cooking." Others might not. If you are planning on a stove budget of, say, $2k, the mix of tradeoffs and choices will change some. You may get different sets of pros and cons for choosing between the gas versus electric versus induction versus dual fuel ranges that are available in that price range. If you are planning on a $1k budget -- and I do not mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with that ---- some different considerations will apply. For one thing, we won't be talking induction ranges any more. The least expensive induction range that I know of is a Frigidare whose price fluctuates between $1300 and $1500 depending on when and from whom you buy it. In the $1k that price range, there still will be some tradeoffs between the gas stoves and electric stoves and those might or might no matter to you. Some other considerations. Do you live in a warm or hot climate. Will you have an externally venting range hood or OTR?

Ratdogheads - in answer to your question, I could have sworn my HOE was own root, but it was actually grafted from Jackson & Perkins about 9 years ago. I strongly suspect it has gone own root since I no longer see a graft and I didn't know to bury it in those days. I wouldn't hesitate to plant it own root. I love the changeable color and style of the blooms, all of which I think would complement Darcy Bussell nicely. In this relatively dark bloom, there are hints of the crimson-purple DB shows: She can tend toward an orange-apricot color in cool temperatures, as she was here this May: Most of the time she's a blush color with nice cupped but open blooms like this: To give you an idea of relative size, here is HOE mixed in with other large shrubs in my zone 4 pocket of part shade. The shot is a little bleached out, but HOE is the palest rose mostly in the center of the shot. You can see my 5' black fence behind it and it is already up to the fence in an average year by June as seen here: Bottom line - it's a lovely survivor for me. Cynthia