VAH squirrel cage design blowers use the blower to impel grease particles onto the local blower surround instead of letting them pass by and condense on the ducting, where they could be a fire hazard. Hence they act as both a blower and a filter of sorts. Baffle designs separate the filtering function from the air movement function. Baffles allow the blower to be roof or exterior wall mounted, thereby reducing noise, among other modest advantages. My view, occasionally expressed here, is that the most efficient and effective hood designs are by necessity those used in commercial kitchens, which have a very high electricity bill due to ventilation needs. Residential hoods that emulate commercial designs are deemed to have some of their advantages, while usually providing tolerable aesthetics. It is of course always possible to made A look like B without B's benefits, so some care in selecting A is needed. I believe hood systems made by reputable sources will all work as described. Unfortunately, the descriptions are never complete. I am certain that my Wolf 1500 cfm rated roof blower with Fantech in-line silencer is quieter under my Wolf Pro-Island baffled hood at fullpower than a similar rated flow rate VAH would be at full power in the same sized hood. Clinresga on these pages a few years ago reported measuring two similar hood systems, one VAH and one non-VAH in two houses he owned, and found the then VAH noisier. This is because fan blade tip turbulence noise dominates, and can be suppressed when the fan is roof mounted, but can't when the fan is in the hood. Once that is suppressed, then the next dominant noise is baffle noise, and at 90 cfm per square foot of aperture using reasonably designed baffles this is only a hiss lower in amplitude than a wok doing its thing. kas

I hope this thread's not too old to add to. I did some investigating today. I've only seen soapstone a few times but have read every thread on here. I visited Designer Surfaces and Grantops in Frederick today. Very interesting! Designer Surfaces had Green Mountain Original on display and gave me a quick quote based on a very rough drawing. I was told they had very little stock but were expecting more very soon. At Grantops, I was shown a few slabs outside that were very green, and flakey /crumbly. It seemed quartz-like to me, with white crystals mixed in? (I am not a geologist!) I was assured that is was soapstone, but it looked extremely different than the display and sample I saw at Designer Surfaces. It was marked (I think) "Savon Pierre" on the side. A google search shows that this may be Canadian, and good for carving? Very strange! I made a quick stop at Home Depot tonight as my son wanted some duct tape. I walked thru the kitchen area and noticed that they are selling this exact same soapstone (same name too). I asked the store associate ( a very, very young man) about it and he told me it was real soapstone, but you couldn't put it in a kitchen because it was extremely porous. He said it was great for bathroom vanities. Bizarre, don't you think? I also called Carapace last week and they said they only had "the green kind that nobody wants". Maybe he too was referring to this "Savon Pierre"?

I have selected this Brazilian Quartzite (called CRISTALITA WHITE) for my kitchen countertops...two book matched slabs. The slabs are being sent to the fabricator. No one at the distributor was able to tell me what the coppery looking areas/veins are. I do like them a lot, but I am wondering if they are going to cause any problems down the road, based on what is in this thread. They are smooth to the touch areas - same as the light gray/white that surrounds them. Does anyone have any experience with this type of stone - Brazilian quartzite with copper/iron veining? A second question is that these slabs are currently polished, and I was leaning towards a honed finish. Initially, my fabricator told me that they hone all quartzites as a policy, based on their experiences and outcomes. But now he is saying that my slabs don't need to be honed - they should stay polished. I have used this fabricator before with excellent results, so I trust them, but I am looking for input from other professionals and remodelers regarding my specific type of quartzite slabs with the veining. Thanks.

decker-That's great that you have enough to use the whiter sections! We had a similar scenario with our slab; it was darker at the bottom, so we used the upper, lighter section for the long counter run & a different chunk for the desk area on the other side of the kitchen. I had a cutting board (although I don't cut on it!) made from the darker section of our slab & keep it on the lighter section next to the sink. The contrast is lovely, & I wanted to preserve something from the beautiful darker section. You might consider; many fabricators give a free cutting board. Or you could make a Lazy Susan (we did this with a leftover piece from our soapstone island). Your slab is so beautiful and interesting! Love Sea Pearl. Pls keep us posted on your progress!