actually concrete block can be quite efficient if done correctly. by placing the insulation on the exterior, it allows the interior mass to store your heat (or cool) for the house and keep temps a little more consistant. Most of our commercial projects we still build with block and exterior insulation. We typically add 3" of XPS to the exterior over an air barrier coating applied to the block. In your climate you can get by with a lot less. You have to decide how you want to finish the interior. You can adhere gyp or you can also plaster it. There are other finishes they can talk to you about.

Next Wednesday we are installing a heatpump hot water heater. My husband and I live beachside in Central Florida and in the 11 years we have lived here, we've never had a freeze. The HWH will be in our toasty garage--insulated to beat blazes and hotter than the hubs. Three cars--if one comes in hot, the garage stays stiffling for 12 hours. Good place, me thinks, for a heatpump HWH. We were able to find a local plumber who has installed two of the Rheem water heaters. He will charge a total of $2100 while Home Depot offered to install it for a total of $2700. Later in the week we will also upgrade our a/c with a Rheem 15 seer. It looks like there will be about $2000 in rebates on the a/c system. Oh how I hope this all works out. I'm really excited about the hot water heater. Strange old lady, I tell you, really, really strange! I don't know anyone else who would be excited about this!

Good morning Nick, Exactly as WoW stated above, you can get in the low .20's with a dual pane but you aren't going to reach .2. Per triple pane, in addition to what was brought up in earlier posts, for a triple pane with a laminated impact lite included you would need to find a window company that had a glazing reglet, or glazing channel, that was at least 1-1/4" wide (and possibly wider yet - 1-1/4" is really pushing the lower limit) in order to accommodate the width of the finished IG unit. As you stated earlier, you are looking for clad wood windows - and as follow up to that, did you really mean the cladding to the interior and wood to the exterior, or was that a misstatement? If you really meant that you wanted the cladding internal and wood external, I strongly suggest that you reconsider for two reasons: first, I don't know of any window company that can or would make a window in that configuration simply because it would be a very bad idea. second, refer to the first reason. There are companies that manufacture windows with really wide glazing channels to accommodate wide triples. If they are vinyl companies, then they are likely to be using European extrusions for their windows since European triples tend to use wider IGU's than their North American counterparts. Over near Vancouver BC there is a company called Innotech that offers both wide triples with U values as low as .17 or so, and Miami Dade tested impact units. I suspect that they may be seriously willing to talk about the idea of a triple pane impact window, but the cost (especially when you throw in shipping) could be scary. Innotech windows use European vinyl extrusions. Per wood manufacturer's, Loewen, Marvin, Kolbe, Weathershield, Jeld-Wen, and others, all make triples and all make impact. I don't know if any of them have ever combined the two. Per dual pane impact windows, there are literally hundred's of companies in that pool. Wood, fiberglass, vinyl, aluminum are all available. Energy performance is going to vary by both material and manufacturer. For the very best U value performance you are going to want a triple-silver LowE coating on IG surface 2 combined with a surface 4 coating and a 90% argon fill. That will get you numbers in the low .20's. Some companies will offer windows with the laminated impact lite to the exterior and some companies will have the laminated lite to the interior. Some even offer it both ways depending on product line. There is no difference in energy or impact performance either way - assuming that you are making an apples to apples comparison. And as a final follow up (for this post at least), as I mentioned earlier, based on my review of the requirements, I do believe that companies who are ASTM E1996 impact certified can manufacture a triple pane impact window that is within their certification, even though they certified a dual pane, without having to retest. (anyone know a grammarian who might grade that last sentence/paragraph?) However, every company that I mentioned earlier is Miami-Dade certified and MDC doesn't even recognize the existence of triple pane. In the past five years or so (probably longer), I think yours might be only the second or maybe third truly original question that I have seen online...all else aside, you brought up one heck of an interesting idea. This post was edited by oberon on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 9:01

If the drain works, then there is no need for a condensate pump. Who somebody trying to sell you a pump? I did not see a response as to whether the 2 ton AC kept you cool in the summer. What temperature do you set the thermostat? How is the humidity level? The Bryant 214 is part of the legacy series. I would rather see you spend a little more money and get something from the Bryant Preferred series. Trane makes a very good heat pump and from everything I have read would have no hesitation to buying their equipment. Many warranty problems are due to bad installations which seems to be common in Florida. Trane may have refused to honor warranties where the equipment was improperly installed. Tigedunes knows heat pumps. So I recommend you consider any of his recommendations. Consider all options, but the decision may come down to your budget and the size of the closet. You also need to find a contractor who know how to install a heat pump properly. Some of the comments you have posted so far makes me suspicious.