cooksnsews: Seems to me there was a discussion of cost and brands a couple of months ago but for some mysterious reason, I can't find the thread. Oh well, here's what I remember from the thread and from having looked into "telescoping" vents for a friend about a year ago. The most basic downdrafts are just a vent louver in the stove or countertop, the most infamus being those on the Jenn-air stoves. Those are the ones for which folks here say, "down draft does not work, period" as eleena reported. (BTW, eleena, I apologize if my response came across as saying that was your opinion. I understood you were talking about GW postings. I would have been clearer if I had said: "opinons are not so categorical.") The basic telescoping (or pop-up) downdrafts start at around $500, but only rise up to six or seven inches. The lack of height means that they basically only work for frying pans on back burners and otherwise don't really work very well. The mid-range versions rise up to around 10 to 12 inches and costs gor from around $900 to $1500, price depending on brand and blower CFM capacity (generally 400 to 600 CFM). I think Bosch has one that goes up to 14 inches high and costs IIRC around $1300. There are units by Dacor, Thermador (similar to Bosch which is part of the same company) and Gagennau. IIRC, these rise up to a bit over 14 inches, have a variety of options including blower placement (internal, inline and outside) plus other options. My recollection was that these cost upwards of $1900 when you get all the components together. The Thermador, if memory serves, ran about $2200. djdoggone: A cabinet-hung slim hood might be your best bet. That's what I did with the small kitchen in my small old house. Putting glass in the cabinet doors keeps the old-fashioned look and keeps the cabinet from seeming to loom over the room. I've also seen double and triple glazed windows placed behind cabinets. (I'm trying to remember where I've seen pictures of this. Maybe try the Fine Homebuilding magazine web site.) That could helps with your concern about light. I thoroughly agree with Holly Springs that a bath fan would be a bad idea for a kitchen. With a nine-foot ceiling and all the windows, you could consider installing a celing fan to help drive smoke when you get it and that supplements the range hood.. I've done this in my own kitchen and it does help when good cooking goes badly awry, as it sometimes does. Some other points to consider. First,downdraft and telescoping systems eat space behind and beneath a cooktop. You may not be able to fit an oven beneath the cooktop if that is what you were planning on doing.. Look at installation diagrams. (The AJ Madison and Lowe's appliance sites often have links to the manuals if you have trouble finding them on manufacturer web-sites.) Second, you apparently have made up your mind to get a 24" cooktop. I do not remember seeing any 24" pop vent systems. They all seemed to be 30" and wider. Third, Summit makes the only 24" induction cooktop which I recall seeing for sale in North America. I believe it is carried by at least AJ Madison for around $850.

Thanks for the response. The installer is very good, experienced, and will use a board over the installation, so the decking will not catch fire. I am confident that he will do terminations and seams well. My cheif concern is how a torch down (modified bitumen) roof will work in this type of installation where there could be some small puddles forming (about 1/8 inch deep)? Renovator, you are correct that PVC would perform better and last longer. However, it is more than twice the price AND most local roofers don't offer it. For the contractos that do offer it, I have no information on their work quality.

A couple of things... "Grout" is probably deck mud. Could be regional, could be poor word choice on the part of your new contractor. "Deck mud" is a lean portland cement mixture, generally 5 parts sand to 1 part portland cement. Mixed with just enough water so it sticks together like beach sand used to build a sand castle. It's not concrete, it's not mortar, it's not grout, it's deck mud, or dry pack. Saving the "pan" for re-use? Nope. Have them provide you with a new membrane. Take a good look at the cross section of the shower that terricks posted. If the membrane is flat on the floor but still water-tight, all you're going to get is a slow drying shower floor. The mud bed under the tile may saturate. The grout may stay wet for extended periods and mildew. You might see wet grout at the bottom courses of wall tile due to water wicking up the walls a bit. But the curb? The curb structure should still be as dry as a bone. There's either a leak in the membrane; in the membrane itself, at the clamping drain, in a corner, or the membrane is not properly detailed despite being flat on the floor. Despite the membrane being flat on the floor, the curb should not be wet and blowing apart due to swelling. So there is no way on earth they can reuse the "pan" or membrane. Also look at Terrick's graphic, where the membrane turns up the shower walls. The membrane should run 8" to 10" up the shower walls. You can see that the membrane goes against the wall studs. The poly or felt runs down the wall and laps over the membrane, The cement board or tile backer board then goes on the wall, but does not get screwed or nailed where the membrane is. Remember, no fasteners through the membrane. The only places where the membrane gets fastened is at the top edge where it runs up the walls to secure it to the wall studs. On the outside face of the curb. And it also gets clamped at the drain. So how in the world are they going to remove the membrane without removing the bottom rows of wall tile and cutting away the bottom section of tile backer board? "He will construct a new curb is damaged"? The curb is most definitely damaged. The wood most likely expanded due to moisture absorption, right? So that wood will not be used either. What Bill needs to do is: 1) demo the curb to the membrane. 2) Demo the shower floor, remove tile and deck mud to expose the membrane. 3) remove the bottom few rows of wall tile up about 10" to 12" above the height of the shower drain. 4) Cut the tile backer board horizontally a couple of inches below the bottom of the remaining course of wall tile. Careful when cutting, as you don't want to cut into the felt or poly (6-mil thick polyethylene plastic sheeting or #15 tar paper). 5) Fold up the poly or felt and tape it to the tile higher up on the wall. 6) Undo the clamping drain and remove the membrane. Toss it, it's no good. 7) Make any repairs to the exposed subfloor. Then rebuild it properly. The guy doesn't want you there? doesn't even want to see you? Right. He's really earned the right to work unsupervised, hasn't he. To let him work unsupervised is not a wise move. I think letting him do the work is not wise. He's not trustworthy. But that's my opinion. But my other opinion is that either you are there or your new contractor is there. He's already proven to be untrustworthy and to not do proper work. Remember, the core issue is not just a flat membrane. Water somehow got under the membrane to saturate the curb. I'd want to see the membrane detailing around the curb. The folds at the inside corners, see if there are any nails or screws in the top or inside face of the curb. The thing is that if he didn't detail the folds or if he put fasteners through the membrane the first time, he's going to do it again. He'll just do it with a sloped membrane instead of a flat membrane. I will raise a warning flag about your new contractor. So okay, we know the membrane wasn't sloped. But why did the curb swell and expand? How did water get under the membrane and into the structure of the curb? I'm not sure if your new guy knows how the curb failed, or if he knows how to repair a shower, or how to build one. I'd want eyes on the project when the demo is carried out. I'd want to see the membrane with the tile and mud off of it. I'd want to see if he just nailed cement board to the faces of the curb, nailing right through the membrane. I'd want to see if he nailed through the bottom edge of the backer board on the walls, nailing through the membrane, creating little holes. Hey, maybe your #1 guy did a great job (with the exception of not sloping the membrane) and it was an errant something or other that accidentally poked a hole in the membrane. Or maybe he's ignorant and apathetic when it comes to building a proper shower. My vote is that your #1 contractor is #2.

Cost per square foot for remodeling versus building new is always going to be skewed. Reason? To remodel, the existing structure must be disassembled to a point to rebuild. Double labor. New construction is simply building to finish. Single labor. The tipping factor where remodeling is more expensive than rebuilding varies tremendously. If the building requires plumbing/electrical/HVAC reworking plus structural changes, chances are building new will be less expensive. And may be faster. Minor plumbing/electrical/HVAC/structural is always less expensive. In your case, the tipping factor is how much you intend to do. Straightening walls/floors can be a major overhaul, especially when a complete roof is in the plan. Adding bigger windows is a major remodel, and is more expensive than simply replacing windows. Reason? Sheet rock has to be removed, exterior siding has to be removed past the dimensions of the new windows to allow proper framing of the new openings. New window costs, labor to tear out, and labor/materials to replace sheet rock/siding. If the siding cannot be reused(after being removed) new siding has to be bought/installed/primed/painted. Replacing four windows can easily require residing that entire side of the house. Leveling floors will require tearing out the old, repairing/replacing the joists. Same with the walls. Roof may need complete rebuilt to be right. Rip off all the old roofing/sheathing/rafters and rebuild from the top plate of the walls. Could all that be done without all that tearout? Not if it is done right.`