Just tried Paulo's suggestion for using the "temp" settings on my Max Burton and, by golly, using the 250F setting did hold my pressure cooker at 15 psi. (Actually, a tiny skoonch above the second ring, but otherwise steady for five minutes.) It seemed like maybe the 210F "temp" setting might hold the 7.5 psi pressure, but haven't had time to test it for any length of time. Anyhow, it seems that the MB's temp settings may give one the ability to make the equivalent of half step adjustments between the whole-numbered power settings. Thanks, Paulo. For clarabelled, I think the Electrolux you bought offers .2 power increments in the low end of the heating range (between "Lo" and "2.8"). On hoods, that 440 cfm hood will work. A general rule of thumb for electric stoves is the minimum hood draw you want will be 100 CFM for every linear foot of cooking surface. For a 30" stove like your Elux slide-in, the minimum would be 250 CFM and you are above that. Do have somebody check to be sure your won't need make-up air. Even a 440 CFM hood can backdraft a fireplace chimney or a gas water heater in a very tight house. (Don't be unduly alarmed, though. "Can" means it is possible, not that it necessarily will be happening.) This post was edited by JWVideo on Sun, Oct 13, 13 at 18:03

Here are some resources on sound-reducing construction. The one immediately below, and the one that is hyper-linked, look pretty good. The other one (''Suppressproducts'') might just be an advertisement for their products, I am not sure. Basically sound is vibration that is transmitted from the source to your ear by rigid materials (sound travels well through hard materials like wood) and air. To reduce sound, you want to reduce the transmission of vibration. Air gap is better than a rigid connection. A heavy, soft material (e.g. rubber) is better than an air gap. Techniques are: - Double layers of drywall with dampening material like the referenced ''green glue'' between them (not simply screwing one sheet of drywall to the other) - Staggered studs w/ separate floor plates (essentially making two walls, no physical connection from one side to the other) - Sheet of sound dampening material between the staggered studs (reducing sound transmission through the airspace) - Sealing openings in the walls (electrical boxes, holes for plumbing, gaskets around and under door frame) - Special doors, or (less good) a conventional solid door, or (maybe an in-between alternative) a conventional door w/ a sound dampening layer on one side. - Dampening material between subfloor and joists, and between ceiling drywall and joists - Sound-proofing paint (I've not heard of this stuff before, I am skeptical it does much) Since the bathroom is a small space, you can use these techniques without too much additional expense, and just the loss of about 6'' if using staggered studs and double drywall layers. http://www.soundproofingcompany.com/index.php?/library/articles/elements_of_room_construction http://www.supressproducts.com/soundproofing-articles/Soundproof-Sheetrock.html Here is a link that might be useful: Link

mama_goose: thank you SO MUCH for that link! I have searched and searched for this but could not come up with the right set of words to bring this up. I too want to be able to see out into the garden and not stare at a wall with high-ish windows. I actually talked to a contractor about options (I was thinking of having subtle brackets that could hold a back piece that we could slide in to form a back rest) but this would be even better, especially as I only need it at the two ends where someone might want to lean back and read. The window seat (window bed?) is so deep that no one will be able to lean back if facing the table. I am also going to use tempered glass to cut down on the number of people leaning backwards and ending up in the emergency room. Brilliant...maybe I will even have the fold down bit under the seat cushion so it is not visible most of the time. Good to know that problem has an elegant solution. holly-kay: this takes me right back to why we had that peninsula in the drawings. And why I am on the fence. I wish I could try each out for a week. When cooking for dinner parties and holidays the whole kitchen ends up covered in pots, pans, roasting trays and goodness knows what else and I thought we could use the extra counter to serve from. Then I got feedback that I had created a one person kitchen (when the distance from sink counter to the peninsula was drawn to be 4'6")...so I ditched the overhang, made the peninsula narrower (2 feet wide) in order to get more room inside the kitchen. The span is now about 5'6" in between sink and peninsula. Do you think the peninsula is too narrow? I have visions of Julia Child sliding things over that toppled to the floor? original plan was 3 feet wide but probably don't have the room for that And what do you think about the width needed so that two or more people can be in the kitchen without bumping into one another or having to scootch by sideways?

North Iowa here.. What no one on this thread understands is there are no "green spaces" here. We have Habitat ReStore. We have Menard's or maybe Lowe's or Home Depot. Iowa people help each other all the time. Craig's list has junk. I did a kitchen gut 10+ years ago with Menard's hickory cabinets and laminate counters. No back splash. Existing Vinyl floor. Used my just fine white appliances. My house was built in 1880 so no open concept here. My kitchen is a room. A small room by comparison to almost all kitchens on here. I had a handyman who worked cheap. I had known him for at least 30 years so when I left for work I knew he'd deal with whatever came along. He was gone when I got home and I did clean up. I also did the gutting of the old kitchen; dead mice in the light fixture but he warned me about the potential so I was prepared. Maybe I was very, very lucky but I got a great kitchen for $10,000. I don't know what inflation would do to that price today. Compared to what I started with I now have a palace. You are a long way from final plans and I think you will do just fine. It takes a lot of price comparison shopping to get there. And shopping on eBay and Menard's sales. Don't over look the consignment shops. If you do Menard's cabinets wait until they have the 11% off. If you visit the cabinet people there regularly and tweak your layout, you will find people you really like and who like you and they will tell you when the sales are coming up. You can also make your own laminate counters for cheap. I didn't do that 4 inch backsplash thing and even though I didn't do any other kind of backsplash, I'm glad I didn't add it. Right now I have wallpaper but I'm thinking I might tile some paneling that's cut to fit so that if I get tired of it I can pull it off and put something else there.