karenlee56, When I purchased a GE Profile from Lowes in Nov 2006 it was about $700, also got a GE Washer and Dryer that was about $1500 for the pair. After two months I had to have GE send a tech out about the dishwasher. The racks would not close right (had to push them really hard), and there was a loud whistling sound when it would fill with water. They replaced the rollers on the rack and the water line and pump. A week later the whistle sound was back when filling with water, and then the rack rollers started to act up. So within a year the repair tech were here 6-7 times replacing the same parts. So since I had it all documented, I spoke to the manager at Lowes and they gave me an in store credit that I used for an Electrolux $1200. They had issues installing it, as the side springs on the doors kept rubbing the wood cabinets. So after Electrolux sent a repair guy out, and he said the springs were made too large, I again went back to Lowes and they ended up just refunding it back to my credit card. I was then 2 years looking and researching, and decided to go with a Miele Diamante Plus that was about $1500. After using the Miele for a couple months with their detergent tabs, they ended up changing the formula and it was making a lot of suds. So the Miele techs came out and looked at it, agreed it was the newer Miele tabs that was causing the suds, even though I was using half. I then tried the Finish Quantum tabs, but they were discoloring some plastic items. Then changed to Method Smarty tabs (half) and have been using them for two years now.

75-250 is indeed a pretty large range. But not too unusual to do that. According to https://www.ysi.com/water-hardness that would be somewhere between soft and slightly hard (no particular endorsement; this was just the first site that I found online). I don't think you'd go horribly wrong by telling your oven to treat this as "medium". Worst case, it prompts you to descale the unit more frequently than strictly necessary. That'll waste a little money on supplies. But if in doubt, that's better than wasting money on repairs. I recommend you buy the descaling tabs in bulk. They regularly show up on Amazon and other online services. And they definitely get cheaper if you buy a bigger package. You'll need two per descale cycle. I usually need to do so every six to nine months. But that might not be the same for you. We use the steam oven very frequently, but we have very soft water. Also, you absolutely want to make sure you have tabs on hand, when the unit needs it. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you can't use the oven for a few days while waiting for supplies.

Yeah their stuff was amazing - here's their coffee table that opens up to become a hi-fi and a TV projector: But anyway, there's an estalished "grey market" in selling items intended for sale in foreign contries in the US by companies other than the company's authorized US distributor. It's completely legal, and it's how many of us bought our cameras in the '70s through '90s, but you can expect the manufacturer's warranty won't be honored in the US, so you'd have to haul the thing back to Canada to get LG to pay for repairs the first year. After that, since it uses virtully the same parts as a fridge that was sold for many years in the US, finding someone who can repair it, even authorized LG service agents, should be easy. Companies never like grey-market imports taking business away from their chosen importers, so don't expect LG to give you the green light. Instead, call an appliance store near the border, ask them to look at the placard inside the door (or in the use & care or installation manual) and see if there's any reference to American service addresses, phone numbers, or at least UL certification. Some will have US yellow "EnergyGuide" stickers on them, often reversible to Canadian energy guides. you can probably find a dealer along the southern border willing to send one across state lines - especially smaller mom & pop independent shops that need every sale they can get and are less tied down with corporate-HQ policies to follow. If all else falls, plan a trip to Montreal or Toronto - plenty of interesting things to do there besides scoping out exotic appliances.... just bring a truck, van, SUV, or some wagons large enough to hold a boxed fridge, probably on its side.

Veneer is real wood, real walnut, it is a thin sheet of wood. A good cabinet maker can match the grain exactly. Some people opt not to have the grain book matched, that looks great too. Solid walnut doesn't make a lot of sense financially (it will cost a fortune) or probably environmentally too. Veneer cabinets done well are as good quality, or better, than solid wood. I can't access my photos right now, but I've pasted a link to my reveal thread, you can see my book matched walnut veneer cabinets. I'm told it is tough to do solid wood slab panels due to concerns with warping, hence the battens to reinforce I guess. Both could be good quality, but you lose space with battens. Here is a link that might be useful: Book matched walnut veneer slab cabinets