Ciao all- Easy: Opalka, hands down. It's a champ, produces very well and is my machine for just about any tomato product you could make from sauce to V8 juice to ketchup to salsa. I can't say enough good things about this awesome variety.

My recommendation is to shop, shop, shop for a rate and a plan. You obviously have access to the internet, so use it as a tool and see what the big boys have to offer. Our banks are offering 6.5% for construction and a little less for the mortgage. My credit union will go 5.75% on the construction loan and the current 30 year mortgage is 5.85%. I am located in MO. This one thing will make a world of difference to you for quite awhile. I've been told that Sally Mae is going to really start restricting who can borrow and how much. New borrowers are supposed to have a credit score of 740 to qualify and forget 100%; 97%; and even 95% loans. I know this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it sure makes moving an existing house a little more challenging. Good luck to you in your search!!! Saftgeek

Don't want to upset anyone but, particleboard is not as strong or the same as plywood. It's that simple... Particleboard is basically sawdust loosely glued together covered by a thin coat of veneer pressed with heat and heavy weight to create a side wall or shelf... Plywood is larger wood fibers either sheeted or interwoven wood fibers glued and pressed gathering huge strength over particle board vertically and horizontally... the big reason people want plywood over particleboard is that is lasts longer and it holds up to stress better... one big issue is moisture... particleboard is like a sponge and water wicks very quickly through particleboard...It swells very quickly and starts to crumble the sidewalls and veneer coating bubbles and cracks...all integrity is lost on a particleboard cabinet with moisture contact overtime and pretty quickly... plywood worst case will warp slightly with excess moisture but integrity will remain... Sorry but if anyone believes particleboard is just as good as plywood that is not the case... if you believe that then why not cut some more corners and instead of plywood subfloor, plywood wall sheathing and plywood roof sheathing for your house structure be swapped out with particleboard... I hate particleboard if you can't tell... Every cabinet structure has its time and place construction methods are different but standards of the majority are the same or should I say corners are cut to maximize profits... The vast majority of buyers either take advice from a friend, family member or quote-un-quote trusted dealer or tradesman... the problem is this... family and friends are trying to help with what they believe is accurate information by using a bias or heuristic in their decision making process... now the trusted tradesman could be using a bias as well because all they know is how to install them and not necessarily build them... the dealer may or may not know one thing about true construction...they are what I call gentlemen/women dealers/contractors where they have never picked up a hammer or truly understand construction, materials, or methods of execution outside of a design program... then you have the people who only want to make a sale and they realize you will probably buy more items for something that looks like you want but may be lesser quality and less expensive materials but, they tell you what you want to hear that its just as good when in reality its not... The real deal is any dealer/contractor selling you semi-custom particleboard cabinets is making more money then if they sold you plywood... the reason you will spend more over the coarse of the transaction because you feel you are saving money and they have a higher markup on particleboard cabinets because they cost less to produce and they will keep the price close to a higher dollar cabinet to increase profits and so you believe they are just as good... a truly quality constructed cabinet will pay for itself overtime whether construction integrity or resell value... Oh yeah don't reface particleboard cabinets big mistake...just because you have a solid wood face frame just like all traditional frame cabinets do... doesn't mean you should waste your money refacing them... you can buy quality all wood cabinets cheaper if you know where to look and what to ask... European and traditional frame cabinets each have their place I like them both and depends on situation when they should or should not be used... The 1st poster on here I would be interested in seeing your cabinet list for those prices... as another poster provided you can get a lot of cabinets for that price...you can spend as much or as little as you want depending on your budget and what you want and what you need...and of course where you would like to cut corners... Oh and the center stile on the cabinet can be removed on the vast majority of cabinets if you ask right... (i.e) if you are quoted for a B24 it will have 1 door but ask for a B24 BUTT or B24B and it will have 2 doors...what about the stile? Right... a B36 will have 2 doors and a center stile however, a B36 BUTT or B36B will have 2 doors and no center stile... not all cabinets can have center stile removed "BUTT" most can... My 2 cents...

My husband and I ran into a similar problem when we had our big addition/remodel. What my husband did was contacted both the bank and the appraisal company and showed them our building plans and asked that they base the appraisal on the prospective build out. The bank worked with us. The residential lending officers actually visited our home on three separate occasions to ensure that we were in fact upgrading the home to the level we proposed we would, understandably they needed to ensure their money was going where it should be. So about midway through the project they increased our construction loan by 25,000, and 3/4 into the project they gave us the final 40,000 they agreed to lend us. This was still about 25,000 shy of our desired amount. In addition to our discussion with the bank, we sat with the contractor and asked where we could cut some corners. He offered us the opportunity to do some “homework” throughout the project which included cleaning up the work site at the end of the day ourselves and preparing the area for the following day, drilling holes in the framing to save a ton of time that we would normally pay the electricians 125 per hour to do, and the biggest savings was painting the house ourselves. You may not have the time or desire to do this much hands on but I gotta day not only did we save enough to complete the project, but we came in under budget enough to furnish a few of the rooms. Best of Luck!