Laura12, I have looked heavily at many of the floorplans, our builder we will likely go with already has it and lucky us my really cool sister in law is an architect. We plan on trying for a solid LEED certification as well "sola tubes, green foam, new roof sealing technology, stained concrete etc" I am stoked about adding the folding rear doors to the pool, think it will make the house. A floor drain is a pretty cool idea for the mudroom. You could almost have a "Italian style" shower drain if you have the room to wash off boots etc, people with reef saltwater aquariums use these a lot and plumb skimmers directly to them. I want to have a large cabinet under the center island for all of the appliances, the only caveat I will have to add is a way to run the cables up the top and close the door still for things like a crockpot or breadmaker. This is a basic DJ control panel, would create stickers for the switches to label them, and probably wire a manual switch underneath to turn the unit on, so two switches and go. http://www.amazon.com/American-Pc-100A-Mount-Power-Switcher/dp/B0002GL50Q Cheap vampire timer http://cableorganizer.com/belkin/conserve-socket/ http://www.igo.com/other-power/power-smart-tower-with-igo-greenr-technology/invt/pm000110004/?source=165_75 Things like this should in theory allow me to plug in nearly all my appliances and just about cut vampire wattage. Thank you for the option on the sinks, I am checking them out vs dark copper. I am thinking of the eletrostatic non replaceable air filters that are washable, any thoughts? If so I could wash it monthly and that would cut down on dust etc. I am also thinking green foam insulation and ceiling up the attic totally, as we have more of a heat issue and leaving the attic floor wo insulation resulting in heat rising "all our cost are in cooling here in Texas". Have talked to an owner that did that and his attic is amazingly cool/home.

I found this one to be quite funny. This guy hopefully didn't quit his day job to become a salesman!! Really, really ugly coffee table - $5 (77065 Cy Fair) Okay, this coffee table is ugly. It's REALLY ugly. I can't even believe I'm trying to sell it, it's so ugly. But it's also VERY sturdy. You can sit on it without even worrying about it collapsing beneath you. It'd be really a great thing for someone who just needs SOMETHING to put a big TV on, who wants to bedazzle furniture, or who doesn't want to send the "good" old coffee table to college with her son. I mean, hey, we all need some utility furniture at one time or another, right? Maybe you even want it to refinish it and sell it for megabucks... I promise I won't judge you for buying it if you won't judge me for having it to sell in the first place!We will be home tonight (Sunday) between 6 and 8 if you want to come see it. If you can't come then, just drop me a line and let me know whenuld be a better time for you, and we'll work it out.�Disclaimers: As is. Cash money only. No refunds. No phone calls, please; email contacts only.�

I think your existing kitchen layout and your wife have already nixed a "proper" hood if you mean one with an optimal design. As has been said elsewhere here, we work with the kitchens we have. A lot of us have to work with less than optimal hood choices and that is just how it is. Just because you can't have the best possible thing doesn't mean you cannot have something adequate. For searching on hoods and MUA, our resident ventilation guru is kaseki. If you want advice on "optimal" above a 30-inch NXR, then you want something that is: 27" inches deep (front to back) for best coverage and capture above all four burners; 36" wide (side to side) to capture cooking effluent that might go a bit sidewise because of turbulence; and a canopy tall enough (probably 18" high at least) to provide good containment. Sound like a no-go for you? Rules of thumb for CFM? These take no account of hood design. (ETA -- I only saw Eric's post after I uploaded this, so I apologize for the duplication). For electric stoves (including induction) and less-expensive standard brand gas ranges and cooktops, the rule of thumb is 100 CFM per linear foot of stovetop. For a 30-inch wide stove --- that is 2½ linear feet --- the rule of thumb is 100 CFM x 2.5 ft = 250 CFM. For pro-style gas cooktops and stoves (including the NXR) the rule of thumb is 1 CFM per 100 btu of burner ratings. With the NXR having 4 burners of 15k each, that translates to 600 CFM. You mentioned reading Nunya's NXR postings from two and three years ago. I'm guessing you've seen the discussions and photos about using 400 CFM OTR/MW units over NXR ranges. We work with the budgets and kitchens and preferences we have. (Verdict on OTRS? Adequate for those folks' cooking but not optimal and maybe requiring opened windows sometimes.) My own old-house kitchen is such that I only had room for a 650 CFM Zephyr Cyclone. It has a flat bottom (as opposed to a canopy), is only 5½" tall (so no room for much canopy anyway) and only 23" front to back (but, at least, that is far enough back that I'm not bumping into it while cooking.) At least cabinets were high enough to allow for a 36" wide unit, though. What this gives me is: tolerable for heat removal from the room (better than nothing for the person standing at the stove but fine for the rest of the kitchen); it collects and fllters much the greasy effluent (I clean the traps regularly and do not have to clean grease off the cabinetry and counters very often). Mostly adequate on steam collection. (I also tend to put the big pots in the back where the collection/pick-up is a bit better,) Seriously suboptimal for anything smokey even with the windows opened and the ceiling fan helping out. (I don't do heavy-duty wokking and blackened whatevers and serious grilling get done outdoors.) Note, whatever you get, you will want a smooth and hard-sufaced, easily cleaned backsplash because you will get a bunch of goo back there. It needs to go all the way up to the bottom of the hood (if not behind it). I had our local glass shop fabricate a tempered glass plate for me and it is very easy to clean. Other options include a metal plate (a lot of folks like stainless steel) and tile (specifically something with a hard glossy surface as on subway or glass tiles.) Quite apart from whether you have code requirements, you want to pay attention to MUA issues. Its the laws of physics that are important here, not just regulatory requirements. Depending on your house's design and construction, MUA can be simple and cheap or complicated and expensive. With my gas water heater and furnace in the basement, well away from the kitchen range hood, I was able to build MUA systems for them for very little money (less than $20 each). I have had no problems with backdrafting from the range hood. YMMV.

Even later in this post and my problems continue. My question relates back to grout not being waterproof and it is expected that moisture will inevitably be behind the tile but not going past the kerdi. Above "Every grout manufacturer will tell you their grout is NOT waterproof. Tile is not waterproof. Sealer adds some measure of stain protection but is not waterproof either. Waterproofing is achieved by a variety of approved methods which fall into 2 categories; 1- Surface applied membranes such as kerdi, Hydroban, AquaDefense, Hydrobarrier, Nobleseal, Dalseal, Kerdi board and its competitor foam board from USG. 2- Subsurface membranes such as the classic vinyl liner WITH a moisture barrier behind cement board such as tar paper or sheet plastic. As a member of the National Tile Contractors Association, I can easily attest to the above information. But it's your shower and your money and you get to decide what you want to do." I have Kerdi board behind the tile so it is waterproof but the tiles continue to gray. I may need to redo the shower surround with different tile.