I am so upset by what I am reading and what I have experienced over the last 12 years .. I am in the process of two major kitchen remodels and have 6 more to complete before I have them all done. Based on what I am reading here and on the internet blogs, I have ended up unwilling to order ANY new appliances. Over the last 12 years the only things I have purchased that have had great customer service are my Jura Capressa coffee makers and my Tempurpedic mattressses. All other purchases have been major headaches or outright nightmares. I am at the point that buying anything at all literally makes me sick at my stomach (and this is not just because I am a guy who does not enjoy shoppping in general). I have noticed that I have become openly hostile to sales people in general. With very few exceptions, I have never met a "sales" person who had even the scant ethics of even a democrat politician. The fact that I am now expected to buy appliances from one of these ingenuine sociopathic sales types is so upsetting that I have my two kitchen remodels on hold. I have great inset all wood custom cabinets with great custom granite counters ... and no appliances. Friends of mine in CA hate their Miele, friends in Henderson Nevada hate their Subzero and Dacor, friends in NY hate their Monogram, friends in Naples Florida hate their AGA and Viking, friends in the Netherlands hate their Miele, friends in Carmel Indiana hate their Traulson and Miele, friends in Arizona hate their Kitchen Aid ... and it goes on and on with nightmare after nightmare of new appliances defective out-of-the-box, incompetent installers, unethical distributors, sales people that grab the big commissions and then can't even return follow up calls, manufacturers that don't honor their warranty committments or try to stong arm the very customers that their business should be treating with dignity and integrity. To add insult to injury, many regional better business bureaus rate these retailers and businesses A+. No wonder consumers have stopped purchasing ... it is not the recession that has stopped people from making major purchases, but, rather, the expectation that after-purchase headaches will take months and months to resolve with stress levels higher than paying for your childrens' college educations. Short of having an attorney produce a contract that the appliance supplier has to sign and be held to legally, does anyone out there have any other magic process. A process that assures the customer won't be setting themselves up for an extremely stressful experience with underpaid customer disservice departments trained by the Insurance claims industry to intimidate and wear down the customer to a point of having to just give up? signed - a potential appliance customer in limbo

I looked through the Signature website. Signature cabinets look very nice. I'd seriously consider them if I were you. But, remember, an inferior installer and an inferior designer can make high end cabinetry look bad. Shop carefully for installers, designers, cabinets, . . Check the Better Business Bureau ratings for everyone. Make sure the contract is clear and precise about every detail you can think of. Don't leave anything to verbal agreements. Good luck.

Thanks millworkman. I am having my house resided and also replacing all windows, using new construction windows (most double-hung, a few casements). I now have builder's grade vinyl which have water leaks and are warped considerably. This made me think that the wood clad T400s would be a good direction to go for the new windows. But then I started thinking that even though vinyl clad, the wood windows would be more susceptible to moisture damage at some point. Do you have a sense if the T400s or high-end vinyl would better? If vinyl, can you recommend any reputable brands. (I've been looking at Simonton but seeing mixed reviews.) (My house is in eastern PA on a hilltop, so we get a fair amount of wind driven rain).

Brasstech under the ownership if its founders Ross and Geoff Escalette1 established a solid reputation as a high quality faucet manufactured in the U.S. Brasstech under Masco is no longer a U.S. manufacturer. The company designs and engineers its own faucets and provides full post-sale customer support, including a a customer service staff and replacement parts operation. The faucets are made, according to company sources, from solid "German" brass (although we're not sure what the difference is between German brass and un-German brass, and we're also not sure how German grass gets to China.). Unfortunately, many of STSR's valves contain a lot of plastic, including some plastic moving parts. We don't feel that plastic has a place in a product meant to last a lifetime. Brass and stainless steel valves are to be preferred. The company used to use valves from Fluhs Drehtechnik, GmbH, but that appears to have changed. The company lost points in our ratings for its extensive use of plastic cartridges. If you have a choice of an all-metal or metal-plastic valve in your Brasstech faucet, opt for all metal. In many cases you will not have a choice. All metal cartridges may not be available. the Better Business Bureau rates Brasstech customer service "F", the lowest rating possible http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/sources.faucets2.htm#newportbrass_namelink