Thanks everyone for their Comments. I thought the labor would be alittle bit cheaper, but I am having one more GC coming in tomorrow, and if that doesn't work out, I will probably hire my own brother who is knows how to do all these for a cheaper price. As someone mention, I may need to hire a plumber and electrician for the work that my brother can not do. I have all the appliance ready, so this is the only thing that needed to be done in order to finish the kitchen completely. The GC that gave me the first estimate, He knows how to do everything (plumbing, electrician, and etc) so it's everything in one. I think he will have at least 2-3 of his helpers who will help him out. Sorry if I didn't get to answer any other question, but I will answer when I have more time. I need to put cabinets because we bought a foreclosure and their missing doors and the previous owner took all of the drawers. Thanks for everyone input.

Window warranties aggravate me about as much as faucet warranties, which are only slightly less annoying than setting my hair on fire with kerosene and putting it out with a brick. I don't know of a single window manufacturer that really stands behind its product. Almost all claim to have life-time warranties, but if you read the warranty, they actually promise very little. At most they will, eventually, send you a replacement part, but actually getting the window fixed is up to you. Not to be impolite, but this is crap. The window fogged up because it was not manufactured properly. There is no other explanation for fogging of an unbroken window. The homeowner did nothing to cause the problem. It is entirely on the manufacturer, who, if he was actually standing behind his product would also pay for the labor to install the window. I am not at all impressed with the fact that a window company makes a video showing the homeowner how to install replacement glass. Why should the homeowner have to install it? He didn't cause the problem. If we install windows for a customer, and they have manufacturing problems, we take care of the problem. We deal with the manufacturer, we install the replacement parts. And we keep track of our time and costs and bill the manufacture for them. If they have not paid in 90 days, we sue. Most people are not ware that the manufacturer's written warranty is not the only warranty a homeowner has. By law the manufacturer warrants the windows to be merchantable, workmanlike, and fit for the purpose for which intended. If the manufacturer violates these warranties by, for example, providing a dual-glazed window with seals that leak so the window fogs up (not merchantable, not workmanlike), he has to pay for the parts AND the labor to install the parts. That is the law, and has been the law for over 100 years. Manufacturers' warranties are not written for the purpose of protecting the customer, they are written to avoid, as much as possible, their duties under these common law warranties. The effort is only effective if the customer lets the manufacturer get away with it. We never do, and we never lose. My suggestion for homeowner is not to deal with warranty issues themselves. Get the company who installed the windows to deal with it. You may have to pay them to take care of manufacturing problems (but not installation problems -- that's on them). That way you avoid the finger-pointing that is common in window warranty claims. The manufacture says its an installation problem, the installer says its a manufacturing problem and no one does anything. Take pictures, get invoices, keep close track of your costs. Add them up and bill the manufacture. The company will probably deny their liability since labor is not covered by their written warranty. Don't spend any time trying to explain your rights under common law warranty -- just sue in small claims court. The judge will provide all the explanations necessary. At $15-45 to file a small claim, it is one of the best judicial bargains around. Keep in mind also that most window companies are members of the Better Business Bureau and as members have to submit to binding arbitration if your ask for it. Ask for it. Let the BBB collect for you. Stop taking crap from manufacturers over warranty issues. Regards,

I think it is fine the lites are slightly larger, given that the window is larger. I think, seeing the whole front of the house, you might consider taking out about 20 feet of the current driveway, and plant that area, and building a low brick wall to give a horizontal emphasis at end of driveway as reconfigured, with a planter in front of it to signal start of the sidewalk to the front door. Maybe put a house number on the wall, and some low voltage uplights. Good luck!

With an 8 ft ceiling you won't have any trouble maintaining a 6-4 code minimum clearance under the beam so an engineered wood beam would work well for a full or partial span assuming it supports only one floor. As mentioned above, the footings for the posts at each end of the beam would need to be designed and the existing bearing wall footing is unlikely to be adequate. If that's the case, Increasing the footing size will be a construction means and methods challenge. I did this recently with 100 year old concrete footings and the labor cost was high but it might be cheaper with recently poured concrete but rebar may be a problem. LVL beams are horizontally laminated (like plywood) ready to be cut to length on site. They're usually cheaper and can be built-up on-site by nailing two or more 1 3/4" thick members together side by side so they're usually easier to install but they need to be wrapped with drywall, etc. in a finished space. Glulam beams are made in one piece (like stacked 2x4's) and are usually made to the correct length for a specfic job but can be exposed with a clear or opaque finish.