pkguy: If it is of any help... I have narrowed my list down to... - Lawn-Boy Platinum #10797 - Honda HRX217HXA The above are the only mowers that I have found in my local area that have... - Blade brake/clutch... which is essential to me when it comes to leaves/needles in the fall. As re starting the engine 25+ times every time I bag leaves/needles in my yard is such a nuisance to me. - Over head valve engine... I think this is the best bet since it is more efficient... which for me means I will get good performance out of it and it will be better for the environment pollution and fuel consumption wise. The two mowers above have Honda OHV engines... which I feel is a plus as well. I took a look at the Toro SR4 today... nice mower, well built, rolls well with bushings in wheels, sold by knowledgeable dealer with good local reputation. The way the bag attaches and detaches is solid once on... two metal hooks that latch around a steel bar. The hooks weren't as easy to hook in as the way the Honda bag went on (see below). The personal pace thing... looks solid to me and for me isn't a real plus or minus either way. But the engine on the Toro not being a side valve/lhv takes it off my list. You can get a Toro SR4 with a OHV... but it doesn't have a blade brake/clutch I also took a look at the Honda HRX217HXA today. I really liked the versa-mow selector for mulch/bag. I thought it would be a plus for leaves/needles... as you could set the lever in between and mulch/bag. I also liked how the bag attached/detached... sturdy and easy to do by feel - meaning you wouldn't have to look down or work at attaching it. The bag attach/detach was better on the Honda then on the Toro. Granted the slots on the Honda were solid/solid plastic where on the Toro they were metal. The bag frame on both the Honda and Toro were metal. The only things I am not sure of on the Honda after seeing it... the strength of the blade brake/clutch lever (seemed real plasticy in terms of the lever on the handle). The overall design of the deck... doesn't look like there is much room under it for the grass to circulate. Heard some comments from local dealers how Honda engines are solid but the mowers themselves aren't the best. The exterior of the transmission box looked pretty chincy... although it is inside of the box that counts. The wheels didn't roll or feel as solid as on the Honda as they did on the Toro. I haven't gotten to look at the Lawn-Boy in person yet... the two dealers in my local area don't have their shipment in yet (we still have some snow on the ground). My hope is the Lawn-Boy will take what I like on the Toro and spruce it up a bit. Specifically, the pictures of the Lawn-Boy show how easily the bag attached and detaches. From the pictures it looks similar to the way the Honda bag attaches/detaches... except that you don't have to mess with the hinged plastic cover. By the way... Ariens and Snapper don't have a blade brake/clutch. The Ariens SW21 is a solid piece of machinery in terms of how it is built... has a Kawasaki engine which is a plus to. The Ariens didn't have the blade brake/clutch feature... which takes it off my list. Besides... the Ariens dealer in my area is a Deere dealer... and his prices are full/full retail and their service rates are much higher then anyone else in the area (that's Deere for you). Troy-Bilt did or does (not sure)... but it has lots of issues according to the service guys. Besides... Troy-Bil is part of MTD and most if not all of their consumer mowers are total junk... throw away type mowers sold only at big box stores (not all of them... but the vast majority). The Toro blade brake/clutch is solid and performs well... as does the one on the Honda. Anyways... more then you probably wanted to know. But figured the info might come in handy to someone. -------------------------------------------------------- * Posted by pkguy (My Page) on Mon, Apr 9, 07 at 17:09 Like Easternupstate I'm also in the market and have looked at the Toro's LB's, MTD, Sears,other makes and Ariens. I just got back from Ariens today and they're carrying a new design lineup called Blade Runner along with their traditional looking deck models, all to add to the confusion. I've also got tons of leaves from 8 giant oak trees in the back yard along with all the associated twigs etc that fall off. The bags on the Arien LM21S are pretty easy to dump, on the new Blade Runners, not so easy because they have the attached bag cover, I think the LB's have the easiest with that fold away handle. Anyways, I'm still looking. Heck I'm spending more time deciding on a lawnmower than I would for a new car LOL

The same applies to the 'isolation rooms' used to allow practice for musical instrument players. It can approach painfully load in the room with no noise audible on the outside. HA. As a semi-professional saxophonist and former music major in college, I've spent an inordinate amount of time in practice rooms. Even the good ones are far from soundproof. Yes, the sound is reduced, but you still can tell the instrument (or voice) being practiced in the next room. Recording studios spend vast sums preventing sound bleed (consider the drum booth), but few homeowners would go to that extreme. Sound dampening is a more realistic goal. I gather that it is too late to reconfigure your floor plan for separation of these rooms, but in addition to earlier suggestions, I would consider where your theater system components are located and the direction speakers are aimed, ways of preventing vibration (especially for the laundry, and sound absorption through your choice of carpets, curtains and furniture. Not that you would want to do this in your beautiful home, but many music students in college towns set up practice rooms in their rented houses and apartments and avoid neighbor complaints by hanging blankets, rugs, and eggcrate mattress pads on their walls. Ugly as sin, but it is a good example of how effective sound absorption can be.

Thanks for all of the replies...it's taken me awhile to get back online, I've had sick kids. All this info is good. In my case, the cabinets are framed (inset, Shaker style), with maple plywood boxes and maple hardwood (which will be painted). All lower cabinetry is drawers with the exception of cabinets for the pantry (floor to ceiling, 15" interior depth), the cabinets under the sinks, a tray cabinet over the wall oven, a utility closet (floor to ceiling) and dish cabinet (counter to ceiling). Based on this, I will stick with the 5/8 inches unless someone else chimes in with objections/different advice. Live_Wire, thanks for the info on the hanging rail, that was a good reminder to double-check these details. Babushka cat, you are right on. Thank goodness this cabinetmaker has worked a lot with other folks on our team and their end product is excellent. But I agree, some items were verbally agreed upon and not spelled out in our contract. We are lucky in that the cabinetmaker is standing by their word. But others in our situation might not have been so lucky. My recommendation to those who are using a custom cabinetmaker is to ensure everything is laid out in the contract beforehand. Unfortunately, in our situation, some items were not apparent until we reviewed the shop drawings. So it's important to work with someone that you can trust to do the right thing in the end and stand by their work. And I'm willing to pay for items that I think are fair (i.e., we did not discuss and are expensive add-ons); and our cabinetmaker has not charged us for smaller items/changes. A good end result! Davidro1, I already had chosen our cabinet style, but just strongly recommended frameless to my best friend who is redoing her kitchen. Her space is limited, so even more important to utilize space efficiently!

The reason we went with Karmen originally was the solid cherry box and the 1/8" eased edge on a shaker style door. The eased edge wears so much better over time. Mind you, we got the cabinets and the solid cherry turned into a picture of cherry ironed onto the front of the doors which didn't have eased edges at all...they had hard cuts, which were mostly chipped. (This is why those cabinets went back). When we ordered the second order from Omega, you'd bet your sweet boppie we made it clear that if the edges weren't eased....someone's pocketbook would be eased really hard! Ummm that's my way of saying eased edges are nice LOL