Many "landscapers" and some "horticulturists" will come in and plunk down a thin layer of soemthing they call "topsoil" and plant and then for the next several years you try, diligently, to keep the plants from dying spending a lot of money on fertilizers and sprays to keep insect pests and plant diseases from consuming those plants. Better is to take the time now to make the soil you have into a good, healthy soil that will grow strong and healthy plants that can better resist insect pests and plant diseases. Your soil should be well endowed with organic matter so it is evenly moist but well drained. While animal manure can add nutrients it does need more vegetative waste to help hold those nutrients in the root zone and provide a home to the Soil Food Web that will be feeding those plants. If your soil is sand the organic matter will fill in the very large pore spaces between the sand particles which will help hold both nutrients and moisture in the soil. If you have clay soil that same organic matter will open up spaces between the soil particles so your plants roots can move around and find both the nutrients and moisture that are now more readily available. Perhaps these simple soil tests might be of some help. 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. A good, reliable soil test, maybe from your state universities Cooperative Extension Service would also be a good idea.

Go with the larger hood. When I was researching for my hood, I found that it was recommended to go with a hood larger than your range or cooktop. I have a 36" cooktop and a 42" built-in hood. I think it looks great and I am glad I didn't go with a smaller one. Also, the height placement of your hood will be dicated by a number of factors including: local building code, cooktop specs, and the hood specs. Mine had a very specific range in which it could be placed. The bump-out should be fine - just be sure to bump your hood foward too so you can capture the steam/oils etc.

Scone911, I think our requirement is an air admittance valve, but I will double check - thanks for the reminder/heads up! Funkycamper, that south wall actually only has about 6' of wall on the right-most side. The rest is open. Thanks for the suggestion though. :) As and you'll see below I totally took mama gooses' and your suggestions to move the DW. That said, I've revised the plan based on feedback received (again, thank you all!!!). Reduced the width of the tall cabinet and moved the microwave to an under cabinet position. Dishwasher is now to the right of the main sink with a 30" drawer for plates to the left. Beverage fridge is now in the island (which I forgot to center to the range - this will be done). I also reduced the width of the two upper cabinets on either side of the range hood, gave them glass fronts, centered them over the lower cabinets, and corrected the heights. What do you guys think now? Better?

Uneven weeping from soakers is usually due from one or two things: Excessive pressure and/or excessive length of the hose. Oh, yes. Another factor is change of elevation.