Mohawk for many years got their flooring from Columbia that is a domestic mill. Some products are no doubt imported as are products from almost any other flooring mfctr. Mohawk is never as price driven as is Shaw who is determined to be the low cost flooring provider. Just because its from a major cpt retailer wouldn't deter me. You have a major brand backing your purchase which is a whole lot safer than a no name import from an internet company.

I used to be a Heinz ketchup snob but no more. One of our tastes have changed, whether it's Heinz or mine. I'll buy generic before Heinz now unless Heinz is much cheaper. And I don't use much ketchup anymore anyway so it doesn't make a difference. I tend to use BBQ sauce or steak sauce where I used to use ketchup and I have never been one to bury things in ketchup anyway. I mentioned to a few people I know that I didn't like Heinz anymore and they said basically they found the same thing. And then I saw America's Test Kitchen did a couple taste tests and the perennial victor, Heinz, lost the last couple times to Hunt's. Guess I'm not the only one who doesn't like it anymore. It's also interesting that Hunt's is cashing in on the corn syrup paranoia. I've been meaning to see what sales impact if any they can attribute to that aspect. For most other things I always look at store brand/generic first, then compare to name brand. There's one where I find real superiority and that's Green Giant canned vegetables. But the price is *so* much higher usually that it's not worth it to me. Occasionally though they'll go on sale if I happen to catch it. But I don't buy as much canned veg anymore either. Using more fresh and frozen. Although I still prefer canned corn to frozen. Most household cleaners however I seldom find store brand to be adequate. There I look for clearance, coupons and sales and that's quite often. Dish soap is Dawn or Joy only. I don't waste my time with anything else unless I use it for hand soap. I've bought the store brand "Magic Erasers" and they seem OK. Generic laundry detergents seldom do the job on real dirty stuff unless I doctor it up and that increases the cost so I might as well just use Tide Free. Bleach is bleach, baking soda is baking soda and all aspirin are alike to me. Speaking of aspirin, I found it interesting that the Target I was in this week only carries Bayer aspirin. No store brand anymore. And 100 count bottle was over $9! No way. I stopped at a Walgreens a day or two later and 100 count bottles were $1 each. Now for a quick rant: Since when did people become so stupid they'll pay $7 for 50 count of "low dose" aspirin? A female friend of mine is on that and I said why don't you just bite a regular aspirin in half and toss the remainder? Net cost of a penny per dose rather than 12¢-14¢ per dose. And since it's daily, it'll start to add up. $45-$50/yr savings there and if she cut them in half and used both halves you double the savings. End of rant. I am shopping Aldi more and more so there you get mostly store brands. For the most part they're just fine and usually much cheaper (but know your prices - they're not always cheaper). Paper products vary. Lately I've done well getting paper towels on clearance and put a $1 off coupon on it and have better product cheaper. I buy paper plates at Aldi. They're fine. Toilet paper? I used to be a Charmin snob but then for a while it was so dusty I quit, especially when the price went up. Now I usually buy the 1000 sheet rolls, usually Scott because they're so much cheaper than anything else and I'm pleased with the product. I buy them at about 25¢ - 50¢ per roll. That equates to about 5-7 rolls of any other brand. Won't find it any cheaper and it all goes down the toilet anyway. I haven't found store brand deodorants to work as well as name brand and with clearance and coupons I usually buy good brand names for under $1. I like foaming hand soap and the store brand is fine but there too I watch for clearance and it can be cheaper. With any of them you have to try them and see what you like or don't like. But you also have to be a savvy shopper because they're not always cheaper. Know your prices and compare sizes too. Size of items is ever-changing.

Here are my thoughts... The people that get in power on the board for your HOA are usually real idiots who will mismanage the funds and make everyone's life a living hell. It doesn't matter what the price range of the community is. You have to live with this. The maintenance fees can and will go up especially if you have a lot of ammenities and not a lot of homes to offset the cost. New construction homes typically come with no improvements so you have to put up some cash in the beginning for blinds, and appliances and whatever. If you have a reputable builder who gives a warranty... or not... you will be fixing minor (hopefully it's minor) stuff for the first year or so. If you're one of the first homes in the hood, you will be blessed with construcion noise for however long it takes to finish. Now for some plusses, you get to live in what sounds like will be a well maintained community consisting of well to do residents and your property will probably be very desirable years down the road long after the community is closed out. You get a new house for less than a custom build on a city lot. (usually) You get ammenities that you will probably never use but even if you do, it's a lot cheaper than building your own tennis court. And last but not least, having neighbors is kind of nice sometimes if they are nice neighbors. If you have kids, there will be other kids to play with and other social events. Things to look out for... The placement of your lot... make sure it's not at the beginning of the community or you will have a lot of traffic passing by you. On the other hand if you are way in the back you will have to drive slowly through the neighborhood anytime you want to get somewhere. Make sure you're not on a thoroughfare where people will speed and not on a corner lot where people run stop signs and drive on your lawn. Sizes can be decieving. Make sure the driveways are sizeable and there is adequate space between each lot for comfort. Look at all the other floor plans and make sure you've got one of the smallest ones. Never buy the biggest or most expensive home in a community! And make sure you don't have a lot of townhouse type things that might be potentially rented out if provided for in the rules. Last but not least, talk to existing residents either in this neighborhood or others the builder has done and ask them what their experience was like and if there have been any major problems to look out for. Ask them if the temporary management company is tending to community maintenance and responsive to phone calls.

All of the brands of granite sinks can potentially develop cracks during shipping. It's a byproduct of their durability, actually. Hard items are also brittle items, and in an unsupported situation, like shipping, they can be stressed and develop cracks, especially at the corners. Once installed, they are among the most durable type of sinks around, so as long as you inspect the particular sink well before your counter install date, the sink is unlikely to develop problems down the road.....unless the plumber overtightens the drain connection, which has also happened. That happens with china or fireclay sinks as well. An experienced plumber should be able to gauge the torque needed. And, the HD granite composite sinks are made by Blanco, so you are getting Blanco quality without the Blanco price. Many of HD's private label merchandise is made by fairly reputable manufacturers at a volume discount---and quite a lot of it is completely horrible Chinese made garbage. You just have to ask about the particular product, and often, even the HD person doesn't know.