1.I would want to see a load calculation in writing for each zone. I question the sizing especially on the furnaces. 2. Keep in mind basements at or even partially below grade have a very low heating and cooling load 3.assuming you have no installation issues with outside venting, I would get a price on Carrier's 58MVC high eff furnace for the main floor/basement zone. 4.as far as heat pumps, you would need an analysis of your electric and at gas rates. 5. If you have humidity issues in the basement, you need to address the issue of why before trying to solve with dehumidifiers. 6. Dealer should address your temperature issue with the master bedroom with insulation check and ductwork size check. I will assume room is the opposite in the winter heating season. Windows are high quality? 7. I always prefer new and correctly sized refrigerant linesets. IMO

This bid is high. Knowing that are you purchasing through a national store chain such as Sears, the bid may be higher than necessary. Sears takes their cut from the job and usually farms the job out to a contractor. Because of this, Sears' bids are typically the highest there are. They want you to finance it on your Sears card so the amount doesn't matter so much in the short term. In the long run, you are just about going to pay for the system twice unless you pay it off quick. True, a 4 ton is harder to qualify for the tax credit. To get in range for the credit, you may have to upsize your evaporator coil to get to the efficiency needed. This can result in sub-standard de-humidification in some applications. Carrier does make a high end model (with a scroll compressor and an ECM condenser fan motor)-- that has a higher efficiency. Of course, that unit is more expensive. I can't be sure what you are getting without model numbers. What you are paying so much extra for are (1) the two stage compressor and (2) the Infinity Control which is proprietary and (according to most) unsurpassed in comfort control. The two stage compressor is more efficient because it runs longer (fewer starts and stops) and can run at lower speeds most of the time. This results in better de-humidification, lower sound levels and more even temperature between rooms. Is it worth the extra money? I would say so. However, some would disagree with me on that point. You can check out other forums (and on this forum) to see what others think of the Infinity system. I have two of them myself and am exceedingly pleased with mine. Good luck!

banana, stonesmama, cdavmd, smbnobles - LOL!! :) It IS nerve-wracking, isn't it? You're right, it's like one big long suspense movie, like a really bad "B" movie or something. It's 112 degrees right now, good GRIEF. I laughed about you needing pot holders to open the car, but it's so true! The BBQ area is so hot right now we can only work for about an hour at a time. I think I'll put the sprinkler on this weekend, just so I can endure it a little better. Wish we had a pool.......................OK, wish we had a pool with WATER. Tired of looking at my big, empty, three-tiered flower pot in the backyard. Give me petunias, or give me water. Either way, this big empty shotcrete shell has gotta go. They start the thoro-seal process tomorrow, so at least we'll have a different color to look at for a few days. If pebblesheen doesn't happen on Monday, I'm filling this dang thing up with water anyway. It will be fairly watertight with all this sealant. It might even be a new hit color - "thoro-seal brown". I'm not trying to wish anybody's weekend away, but I'm hoping that Monday morning comes around very quickly! This thread is going to max out, so on Monday morning I'm going to start a new one (the FINAL chapter)! You can think of me on Sunday night, with my face glued against the window, looking for the Pebblesheen truck. When you hear the joyful screaming from the southwest, you'll know the truck is here :). Until then, I am offically on strike from posting on this thread. Thank you, smb, for the beautiful water picture!! Anyone else want to throw theirs in for a finale for this thread? See you all at pebblesheen!

The only compelling argument I've heard to have a separate filter for the negative edge is if the pool is large enough (>50K gallons) to require the use of 2 pumps to get adequate turns per day for chlorination and filtration at lower, more energy efficient speeds. Our pool is 35K gallons and only has 1 main filter..no filter for the infinity edge circuit. We have to run the main circulation pump for 20 hours per day in the summer to get adequate chlorination and filtration at low speed on our 2 speed pump. If our pool were larger, we would have likely added another filter and chlorinator and it would have been logical to add it to the infinity edge circuit. Another thing to keep in mind...the addition of another filter and chlorinator doubles the maintenance and replacement expense down the road in addition to initial installation expense. With only one filter, we've had no problems with the infinity edge pit water clarity or cleanliness...it gets turned over 10x per day using another 2 speed pump for the infinity edge which pulls water from the pit and provides water to our waterfalls as well as 4 returns in the main pool. Agree with the other posters....the engineering of the wall and plumbing is highly dependent on the specific design of each pool and how the pool sits on the site. Also, the sizing of the pit is critical along with the adjustment of the autofill level in the pit. Think of the pit as a surge tank with widely varying water levels throughout the day....tile the first 12" or so of the top of the pit rather than just 6" as is normal for the rest of the pool. This will allow the level of the pit to be adjusted lower via the autofill setting so that water loss out the overflow is minimized during surges. When surging is not happening, the extra 6" of tile will ensure the plaster is not exposed for long durations when splash out is not happening and the water level is lower. Surge levels can be minimized by making the pit larger and this is where each PB may differ on how the pits are sized in relation to the main pool area. The larger the main pool area, the larger the pit will have to be sized to accomodate splash out. Think of pit size in terms of inches of water lost from the main pool and resulting volume that ends up in the pit and you'll start to get an idea of how the two are related to each other. Lastly, surge level can be minimized by running the infinity edge pump at higher speeds. This will keep the water moving faster from the pit to the main pool when lots of splashing is occuring. Occasionally, we'll turn our infinity edge pump on high speed during parties when lots of jumping, diving and splashing is occuring. The additional people in the pool also displaces water from the main pool into the pit, so this should also be considered when sizing the pit. Also, remember that filters and chlorinators reduce efficiency of circuits, especially at higher pump speeds. This is another reason not to install a filter or chlorinator on the infinity edge circuit if high speed operation is expected. Some people like the sheeting of negative edges..especially when the water sheet is highly visible (like lakeside lots)...sheeting requires high pump speeds, so desired use of the infinity edge should also be considered in overall design. Our negative edge was primarily for the negative edge reflections and views and not so much the water sheet wow factor...your specific needs may vary. Hope this helps.