Monica, thank you for all your help. I did find an unopened package in the kitchen (I had a new employee here and I just did not notice the package on my kitchen table that had other papers on it about dishwashers that I was analyzing). They never opened the instructions or they would have seen a separate instruction small pamphlet explaining how to install the moisture strip and this was in a separate plastic sealed package inside the sealed instructions. Amazing, Eric from KitchenAid did not tell me about this pamphlet and had no idea that the moisture strip was with the instructions. Also amazing that the installers do not read instructions when installing a new model. I am feeling so sad tonight. Monica due to your gorgeous granite counters with the coloring that I love so much and the black color of the dishwasher, despite the controls showing, it looks right since they are not half showing so it matches and to me looks intentional and pretty. But mine looks like the dishwasher was not closed all the way and the dishwasher is 2" too long for my counter and I feel I should have realized this from my prior posts in measuring but at Karl's (I did not buy from them but he is the one who told me it would fit and explained why and he was so wrong) I was told it would fit perfectly since the hose is under the dishwasher. So I stopped looking at the Bosch that would have fit perfectly. So I guess I will have to live with the lighter shade of stainless that is lighter than my refrigerator, the pretty thicker handle that does not match my LG Refrigerator's much slimmer handle, and the controls showing due to listening to the guy at Karl's when I was questioning if the KitchenAid may not fit all the way in due to the measurements of my counter only being 1/2" longer than the measurements depth of the dishwasher. But my dishwasher is 2" too deep for the space. Maybe one day I will have money to change out the counters but I know I first have to change the 20 year Linoleum kitchen floor, the 20 year old almond colored range and my 20 year old hot water heater so it may be awhile before the kitchen cabinets or the counters can be changed since I have only my income and a high mortgage. It just cost me so much money to install the Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors downstairs and porcelain tile in the two foyers right after last year having to replace the air conditioner/heat/compressor unit that was amazingly very expensive. One day, I would like to have counters the exact color of Monica's.

Oh Boxer! Those pantries are simply stunning, especially the first with the french doors. I wish I could do that. >>sighTinycastles--I had thought about the in-swing double pantry doors, but I don't have enough depth for them to fit inside the pantry. It's only 24" deep and the shelves are 12" deep. That leaves only 12" of wall space on the sides for a door to rest when pushed in. It's a great idea though! I'm not sure I can go there with the Viking for cost and their issues. Please report back on your satisfaction with it. I'm curious to see. Thanks. LL--I'm considering two brands of wall ovens. One is about 23.75" deep and the other is 24.25" deep. Whew! Glad I checked on that. I'll have to go to the house and see how the fireplace feels moved over towards the door. We've got it mocked up with ladders and old interior doors now and there's definetly not too much there now, but maybe somewhere in that area something can be fudged. Thank you. Laughable--what a great idea! If I was going with a single-door, I probably would have done solid wood. If french doors, definetly glass. The fabric attached to the back of the door idea is genius! (I don't think an actual fabric panel itself swinging loosely is a good idea in my kitchen.) My wheels are turning! Thanks!

HomeAgain, water left in a drawer or appearing later is 99% of the time caused by incorrect arrangement of the drain hoses. Check your installation and make sure the drain hoses are looped up high as possible under the sink before they connect to the plumbing. If one or both hoses sag down below the drain connection level, water from draining the sink can backflow "downhill" into the unit, or water draining from one drawer can backflow into the other. My F&P unit is 7 years 9 months old, I've never had backflow or standing water in it. No repairs of any kind thus far. mtnrdredux and others: All the DD instruction manuals I've seen up to now have advised that only powder detergent is to be used. I checked a current manual online a few mins ago. It still instructs that liquids/gels are not to be used. Tablets are not recommended but can be used (not placed in the detergent dispenser, of course), with a warning that performance may suffer. I personally would not use tablets in any dishwasher. There's no way to control the dose. There's risk the whole thing would either dissolve in the prewash and/or prerinse leaving no detergent for the main wash ... or on a shorter/low-temp cycle the tablet may not dissolve fully in the main wash, leaving detergent exposure in the rinse.

The only reason you might want a shortened blacksplash is if you are very short...but there are drawbacks. Your KD's comments sound, to me, like she's trying to cover her you-know-what b/c of mistakes she made and she's hoping she can convince you to not make her do it right. 18" vs 16" (or anything The standard is 18"...regardless of the reasons why, it's still the standard.. How this affects your kitchen.... Refrigerator and other tall cabinet heights...Because wall cabinets are meant to be mounted at a standard height, cabinet manufacturers take this into account when designing tall cabinets. Tall cabinets are designed to be the same height as the installed wall cabinets so the tops all line up. When you change the height a wall cabinet is installed at, it affects cabinet top alignments. (Note: With custom and some semi-custom cabinets, this is a non-issue b/c the cabinetmaker/manufacturer can adjust for this. I'm assuming that since you are getting fully custom cabinets, your KD/cabinetmaker can make these adjustments.) With the refrigerator you can usually mount the upper cabinet a little lower OR order a shorter upper cabinet, but be sure you don't make the alcove any shorter than 72" tall b/c newer refrigerators are 70" to 72" tall (and seem to get taller each year!) With other tall cabinets like oven cabinets and pantry cabinets, they're a standard height and designed so they're the same height as the wall cabinets when those wall cabinets are installed 18" above a 36" high counter. If you have custom cabinets, this may not be an issue b/c your cabinetmaker can adjust the cabinet heights. But, if you are using stock or even some semi-custom cabinets, you cannot change the height. You can often get taller cabinets for use w/36" or 42" tall wall cabinets, but not shorter for 30" mounted lower. But, even those that are taller are also adjusted based on standard wall cabinet heights + an 18" backsplash height. Small appliance height...Small appliance manufacturers often design their products to meet this 18" standard...for example, my KA stand mixer (bowl lift) is around 17" and many coffeemakers and blenders are just short of 18". So, you need to be sure you have room under the cabinets + light rail to fit those appliances. Small appliances... Keep in mind that if you're using an appliance on your counter, you must be sure you have room under the base cabinets to move that appliance around easily. Don't, for example, tell yourself you're only going to use it in front of your upper cabinets so you don't need to worry about its fit. In reality, you will be moving things around on your counter while you work and most likely your appliance will be moved under the cabinets at some point. You don't want to tear your light rail off or damage it (or the cabinets). Also remember that "standard" upper cabinets are 12" deep + 1" for the door...so they stick out 13" over your counter...leaving you only 12" or so of...