Thank you! I'm leaning towards the garnet myself.. because I am too a red kinda gal, but was afraid it would be too loud if you know what I mean. I was thinking it would be more serene with the blue/green, however the granite has specks of garnet in it, which I think would look really nice. Its called bourbon blend and found it online. http://www.glasstilestore.com/bourbon-blend-p/bourbon%20blend.htm

You have been quoted 200K BTUs of heating (one furnace is 80% AFUE). That is enough to heat two houses. The new condenser is 4 tons. How big is the other condenser? Did this contractor do a load calculation? Please post your location, the sizes of the first and second floors, and anything about the insulation qualities of the house. The sizes of the equipment seem very over sized. Why is the part warranty on the furnace only 5 years, but on the condenser it is 10 years? Is this a typo? I think both quotes are high considering what you are buying. Get some more quotes and find at least one contractor who will do a load calculation.

Thanks Aloha -- when I start a new thread I will definitely add that! Have you tested "png" or "gif"? I'll test those as well. [I'm going to start a new soon -- the exising one is around 200 posts and it's getting unwieldy.) Oh, and I think I'll add something about converting PDFs to JPGs for those who only have PDF. Again, thanks -- great addition to the Read Me thread!

Hi, Water softening is commodity process. It works the same regardless of who's label is on it. That said, there is a difference in hardware quality. The two most critical parts of the water softener are the resin and the control valve. The control valve has mechanical parts and will be the thing that will give you the most difficulty if it's low quality. Many, probably most, companies have gone to lower-cost imported resins. That means that the primary differentiation is going to be the control valve. The two most reliable control valves are the Clack valves and the Fleck valves. Clack is not sold online. Fleck based water softeners are. So, if your choice is between a Clack based unit and a Watts based unit - I'd go with the Clack. I've been a big fan of the Fleck based softeners being sold on Amazon. For ~$600 a complete unit is shipped to your door. Of course, that doesn't include testing the water, sizing the unit, installing it, or initial setup.