I am curious about how the actual flow rate was measured. Typically, a door opening is utilized as an instrumented flow path. At the door, one could measure by the pressure drop through a calibrated venturi, but in that case there would be a pressure drop and not only would that cut the actual flow rate of the hood, but there would be some house leakage not measured. Alternatively, if there were also a fan in the path keeping the house pressure at zero to the outside, while also measuring the flow through the fan (by whatever means), then the flow rate measured should be the static value for the entire hood system. Of course, without the test fan providing zero differential, the actual flow will be less depending on where the MUA is sourced. No magic is involved. kas Correction: In an early message above, I asserted: "A fan at the hood can more easily overcome flow resistance between the hood and the outdoors, but normally this resistance is small, a few tenths of an inch w.g., so attic and roof mount fans work fine when properly sized." I now doubt that it matters much whether the restriction is before or after the fan, as most fans have fan curves that are based on total pressure drop around the path and do not differentiate between pushing and pulling. Differences could result from turbulence interacting with structures on one side or the other of the fan, and in such cases the actual flow might differ slightly for the same fan. I don't know how VAH squirrel-cage blowers might behave in this respect.

OK - not to hijack this thread - but I just have to say that my experience so far with Lowe's and Kraftmaid has been GREAT. Affer I placed my order at Lowe's I read a thread on here that had me scared to death I had made a terrible decision. I actually haven't read much positive feedback on Kraftmaid here so I wanted to put in my two cents. I had gone through several KD's, then basically took the design I liked best to Lowe's and had them order the cabinets according to the design I brought. It was a very large order as we will have a pretty big kitchen when this is all done. (combining 2 rooms) Anyway, we are smack in the middle of our remodel now. Our Lowe's kitchen cabinet guy warned me that it was more likely than not that some cabinets would arrive damaged, but that he could get a replacement within 2 weeks, so not to panic. I level set my expectations to expect this. All of the base cabinets have been installed, and they all look great! We had a few small problems - a few drawer fronts had the wrong style front on them, and some trim that wasn't finished right. But no scratches, dents, or anything like that. I am guessing that all Lowe's are not like this - but the cabninet guy has come to my house several times to "check on the installation" (even though our installer is not affilated with Lowe's at all) - and when he saw the small problems he immediately went back and ordered replacements, no questions asked, I don't even have to send back the wrong fronts, or take picures, or anything. And he has the Kraftmaid rep coming to my house next week to look at the problems with the trim to see if he can finish it on site - but the Lowe's guy went ahead and ordered replacements to be on the safe side. So, so far so good for Kraftmaid. I haven't seen the uppers yet, they are stacked in my garage in a way that I can't really get to them until they take them out to install them. But I'm less worried about those, at least by that point I will have the granite in and can get my kitchen in "working" order.

It's definitely not too late to consider this plan-- however, I'm still not entirely convinced it's the right plan for us. a) This pantry is a fantastic idea-- in theory. However, DH and I feel we lack the DIY skills necessary to pull it off. We'd have to be very careful to bring it out close enough to the garage door that we have room for a bi-fold pantry door. Also, it would be very, very difficult to get the measurements just right so that the rest of the cabinets line up correctly with the window and wall. It would also be very difficult to find a reliable professional who would come out for such a small job! Once I pay someone to put in that pantry, the money from less cabinets is no longer saved. (And that's IF I can find someone to do it.) b)It still doesn't really allow me to have my pull out pantry near the stove-- it's in laxsupermom's drawing next to the 24" pantry, which I would no longer need with the drywall pantry. I don't think I'd want to put a pull-out pantry next to the wall so it pulls out in front of the garage door. I suppose I could do a short one on either side of the stove. I have no idea how to set up the other wall/base cabinets... This: vs. This (only withOUT the short pullout): c)I don't think it would be nicer to look at from the living room. In fact, all you can see is the dining area from the living room, but when you walk in the front door and head for the kitchen, there is a hallway on the left (not portrayed in my drawings). If you're walking directly into the kitchen from the living room or hallway, the first thing you'll see is the wall directly across from you, which is where the fridge is in laxsupermom's drawing. I don't think that's nearly as attractive to look at as the wine wall with the glass cabinets... This would be the view walking in: vs. This: d)I lose some of the functionality I wanted, which is even more important to me than the counterspace by the stove and the pathway from the garage. I would lose my pet center and my peninsula drawers would be narrower (because of the lazy susan), and the peninsula is where I wanted to store my plates/bowls. Argh, I feel like my head is going to explode!! :)

I'll let the pros chime in, but I'm surprised no one mentioned the clearances around the table that you pointed out. There are a number of pinch points on the end and it will make it seem cramped and crowded. (As drawn, there is only 16 12 to 17 inches of clearance after accounting for a counter overhang) Perhaps you could move the bar to the other end? Or shift the table down, inverting the side with the leaf and leaving the larger aisle to the top of the diagram. You could also put down a small coffee table or something in front of the bench and make it a cozy reading nook. If you have not done so already, put some mockups using cardboard boxes or at least tape marks on the floor, so you can see if you are satisfied with this placement. I would also steal two more inches between the sink and the island, making this a true 42" wide. I see you have 42" from counter to counter, minus whatever edge treatment you select, you could end up with less than 40". That starts to begin to feel tight. This post was edited by gooster on Sat, May 18, 13 at 13:15