Hi M-I-M... IMO, it's not brevialata but incurvula. I have that one (and it was on my list to send to you, so I guess you don't need that one now, huh!) It's a great little-leaved one. Sweet little flowers. Ann Wayman (who co-authored the most recent book on Hoyas) e-mailed me a few years ago when I found mine and there was a bit of a debate on DG about whether it was brevialata or incurvula and said it was (in her opinion) incurvula. That was good enough for me... Anyway, congrats on your new acquisition! Denise in Omaha

Welcome back April. I am glad to see you have done some more homework. I own Carrier Infinity equipment, so I know it will keep you comfortable in the cold Michigan winters. I have heard mixed opinions about Lennox, but I have no direct experience. I am going assume Contractor #3 is a competent installer and he has sized your equipment properly. I am glad to see he is offering the Carrier rebates. Here are my comments for the Contractor #3 options: Furnaces: Option 1: I would not recommend an 80% AFUE furnace for your winters. Option 2: This is the two-stage Infinity furnace. It is a good furace and will work with the Infinity controller. Option 3: For $300 more you get a three-stage furnace. This would be my recommendation with the Infinity controller. Air Conditioning: Option 1: This is a single stage compressor. I think 4 tons is oversized for your climate. Option 2: This is the two-stage compressor. This is the AC to get if you have humid summers. This AC will work with the Infinity controller. I believe this AC with the 58MVC furnace will qualify for the $1000 Carrier rebate. Option 3: This AC in my opinion is over kill for your climate. It is not worth the money. Ask contractor #3 how much a 10 Carrier labor warranty would cost. You should consider getting this warranty for peace of mind for the next 10 years. I would also want to upgrade to a 4 inch media filter. This should not be a costly upgrade assuming you have to room to fit it. You should also qualify for the $500 tax credit if you haven't already used it.

April, You keep starting new threads so it is difficult to review what advice you have received. Contractor #1 Option 2 is the nicest combination in my opinion. It is a Infinity 2 stage furnace (58UVB)and 2 stage condenser (24APA7). You could consider upgrading the furnace to the 58MVC for about $400 in order to get the middle stage. I still think the 58UVB qualifies for a Carrier rebate. Please check this. I have not heard of a Carrier armour coil. I know the tin plated coil is an improvement of Carrier's old leaky coils. This is the coil I have. The contractor needs to size the equipment by doing a heat loss and gain calculation. This is known in the industry as a Manual J calculation. Have each contractor explain how he calculated the size. I assume the summers in Michigan are not too hot, so the 3 ton unit may be the correct size.

kharamarie - Your kitchen choices so far sound beautiful. I have been quite enamored with gray these days. I am curious, do you like more of a single tone from counter to cabinet (say white cabinet and danby marble counter) or a little contrast (say gray cabinet with the danby marble counter?) But don't think I am lobbying for marble, you can get the same looks with the quartzite and swapping the counters. Personally, I appreciate both but lean toward contrast - where are you? Full disclosure, I have a white quartzite island but LOVE marble (didn't think it was a good fit for our family) so I guess I am not really biased. You are choosing between two lovely stones. The surprising part of the quartzite is it isn't as 'loud' once on your counter horizontal and it looks amazing with soft white cabinets (my island is BM Dove Wing which is white with a slight gray/almost green to it.) It provides a some contrast to the white without being as dark as a soapstone (which I also love with white.) I did hone mine, which was a fantastic surprise (soft with small areas of quartz that shine slightly in certain angles.) Here are a couple of photos to get the big picture and see if it is the look you are going for (we have gray pietra del cardosa counters in the perimeter.) One of the first things that everyone comments on about the kitchen is the island - everyone (non-GW :) thinks it is marble. Shot of kitchen with super white quartzite A higher angle, just of the counter Another thing to consider for counters are your "views." My perimeter counters are viewed from a distance, it is a more softer subtle look - like a gray soapstone - with tone on tone lines, some white and black veining - I call it calm and relaxing. It is a great 'backdrop' for the kitchen but when you are working on it or looking up close (which most people don't) is has a lot of interesting detail. I view my super white at both a distance and up close when you are sitting at it. You see the 'whole enchilada' were the perimeter is more bits and pieces and on an angle because you never sit at it. If you were to use superwhite on a perimeter you would even soften it more because it was viewed at a distance and in bits and pieces. So the three questions I see are: (1) Do you prefer more single tone to contrast(this hinges on your cabinet color) (2) do you prefer white with gray (marble) or gray with white (SW) and (2) do you prefer the clunking of SW (my husband said it reminded him seeing glaciers from an airplane) or the linear look of the marble. Last question - is there an island in the kitchen? Would you consider quartzite on the island and the marble on the perimeter (or vice versa?) Not sure if that would be too busy for you. It is another play on the traditional soapstone/marble kitchen. I love soapstone and understand there are different varities that have different colors (gray, black, greenish) as well as durability (my friend has soapstone and I love it but there tons of chips in the sink which would bother me, must have been a softer one.) I think you can't loose here - just what speaks to you. I have included a link to my nearly finished kitchen album. I could not get enough of photos of counter and cabinet combos when I was in the process. I would also recommend searching google images for "marble island" "gray cabinets." You may find some real inspiration. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: My kitchen with Superwhite island