I've had 2 sets of Scanpans - the first I had for 30 years and the 2nd I bought for my son 5 or 6 years ago. The original Scanpans were not truly nonstick, they were stick RESISTANT. I used mine heavily and they lasted. But I have to say, the pans I bought for my son are *even better*. The new Scanpans really are totally nonstick. They don't "scratch" from the point of view of scratching through the surface alloy. They don't peel, blister, or otherwise wear through. My son's pans lived in his bachelor household for the first 3 years or so with 3 to 4 other bachelor roommates. They had cast iron stacked in them. They had metal utensils used on them. They got banged around, misused, abused, and generally were treated very very badly indeed. Yup, there are scuff marks on the bottom, but you know what? They are still absolutely non stick. Not only that, not a single pan has warped, discolored, or otherwise shows any damage. According to Scanpan, if you start to lose some of the nonstick ability, use Barkeepers friend and it will restore them. These haven't needed that yet. Yes, it's true - if you don't clean them properly they will build up gunk that will interfere with the nonstick coating because it's COVERING it. That's what they meant when they sent the pan back and said it hadn't been cleaned properly. The way to clean them is to stick them under cold running water straight off the stove - the bottoms are thick enough this will not warp them. If you don't like doing that (I only do it once in awhile myself but its all good so far anyway) you can boil water with some baking soda, or as I mentioned earlier, take some barkeepers friend to them. I had one pan - ONE - that blistered, and it was because of misuse on my part. There was food in it, which was stored in a refrigerator. Well unbeknownst to me, my brother sold that fridge and had it hauled away without my knowledge. By the time I realized what had happened, the food had been sitting out on the counter and it had molded. The mistakes were 2-fold: 1, don't EVER store food in one of these pans, and 2, for heavens sake don't let moldy food sit around in one at room temperature in the summer! If in 30 years of use and abuse (I am not at all shy in my handling of my cookware) that was the only time I had any damage, I think it's a good bet that somebody did something wrong somewhere if every single pan flaked. I'm not sure that can even happen with the new Scanpans, even if abused as above. The "wrong thing" may have been a manufacturing error - in which case Scanpan would replace the product, if it was sent back. Instructions for restoring nonstickiness or getting something stuck off: Boil with dishsoap, then clean as usual (I didn't measure the dish soap, just glopped some in and it worked ok) one tablespoon of baking soda per 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand 30 minutes. Clean pans. Make a paste of water and Barkeeper's friend. Scrub the interior surface to remove built up gunk. According to the manufacturer, this is how to restore your finish if it's built up gunk over time. BTW, do not EVER use Pam on this or any other nonstick surface. There is other stuff in Pam besides just oil, and that other stuff will build up a gunky surface that will cover the actual surface and make your pans sticky. If you've done this on a Scanpan, go at it with the Barkeeper's friend.

For the last 35+ years I repaired/serviced my own laundry equipment. My Kitchenaid and Whirlpool TL washers and dryers lasted 20 to 25 years and were replaced when I moved or when the washer finally rusted at the top of the inner tub. Nine months ago I sold the TL washer and dryer that were in excellent condition and purchased a Speed Queen FL washer and dryer. I hoped to save water, electricity, detergent and most importantly clothing wear and tear. I recognized a better built product when I saw it. If you take the units apart and you will observe commercial quality components without the fancy options. I do not need fancy options to clean laundry. Based on my observations with the FL washer and dryer, Speed Queen is not cheapening their products by substituting plastic for metal. After researching the issues, I placed my money with Speed Queen and I expect reliable and long lasting products. How many manufacturers use a stainless steel outer tub? Have you heard of mildew/mold problems with Speed Queen equipment including those abused at Commercial Laundromats? In addition, the size the FL is fine for my family of four. The FL gets the clothes clean without needing long cycle times. The dryer dries quickly and its moisture sensor works better than the one I had in a Kitchenaid dryer. In my opinion, Speed Queen marketing could be significantly improved to allow better public access to their products. Seeing, touching, inspecting, and comparing products would allow the consumer to make an informed decision based on component quality, reliability, warranty, price, cabinet size and energy efficiency. Speed Queen designer colors consist of stainless steel and white. Speed Queen can not compete based on initial cost or fancy features. If consumer priority is based on cost over a 20 year period, Speed Queen is very competitive. As the size war (interior volume) continues in the home washing machine market, consumers need to ask themselves how big is big enough for thier use and space allocated for laundry equipment. Speed Queen has years of experience in the commercial laundry business, but only markets one size washer (either FL or TL) for the home consumer market.

Agree with the others; however, you can have an inspection just before closing (we did). There was a long list of small items, which the builder fixed, some of which we may not have found ourselves. However, for the big items like quality of materials or workmanship, it depends. If it's an individual builder you're dealing with, you may be able to specify certain things IF you know what is important. For example, we talked to an architect friend and then specified certain upgraded materials, including caulk quality, extra sound insulation, certain pipes, upgraded furnace and water heater. We were also able to stop by and check on the tiling and kitchen installation and had them redo some tiles that were all crooked, but I'm sure that there are probably quite a few things behind the walls and ceilings that the builder wouldn't allow in his own house :) Bu tif you feel that you need to check the foundation and whatever, then maybe that builder isn't the right choice.

There are new ducts in the 700sf addition, but the existing HVAC unit was over-sized for the original old house, so the installer said I don't need to replace it. There are replacement ducts for the old kitchen (will be a den), dining room and two upstairs bedrooms where I moved walls. Most of the supply ducts are on the interior walls, but the two old air returns in the floor are under windows. Everything in my renovation/addition is permitted by the city and inspections have all passed. They also inspect the "old" part as it isn't grandfathered in when doing a renovation of this size. I've replaced any electrical and plumbing that weren't up to today's code. The furnace is located in the basement that has brick walls and a concrete floor, but there is also 21 foot section that is chest high that is open to the dirt floor crawlspace. 6 mil plastic is being added to cover the dirt. R-15 insulation was added since I wrote this and it seems to be helping. All window sashes have been replaced with new energy-efficient wood sashes (had to be custom made to fit the old window openings). Thanks!