I'm baaaackkk! My contractor responded to my question to him about why the heat pump quote was so much higher than the non-heat pump quote...He didn't really answer it, but he has revised it to include the Infinity furnace (variable I think) along with the Infinity heat pump-a/c. My total payment after rebates is about 13,500. This includes the system below, 50 gal powervent hwh, 950 sq feet of r-19 blown in fiberglass and air sealing gaps in attic and as needed elsewhere. I have no idea what a reasonable price for this Infinity system is. I know the hwh and insulation are a little high, but not crazy. Any ideas what this hvac alone should cost? He doesn't list Infinity control but maybe that's an oversight as one of the units (a/c?) seems to require it. I would ask for it to be included in the price. This is the same price as he originally gave me for the 59TP5 furnce..the only diff is the furnace, is it much more in cost? � Remove and dispose of existing furnace, coil, line set, and plenum located in basement � Clean duct system. � Install new 2-stage, 100,000 BTU Carrier 96% gas furnace. (Model 59TN6A0100E2120) � Install new 4-ton Carrier Infinity 16, 2-stage heat pump condenser on legs. (Puron) (Model (25HNB636B) � Install new matching Carrier evaporator coil. (CNPVP4821A) � Install new properly sized disconnect/ whip. � Install new media cabinet and filter. (MERV 10) � Install new Carrier Edge programmable thermostat control. � Install new plenum and duct adaptation to existing supply and return duct. � Install new copper line set to connect units between indoor and outdoor equipment. � Install new condensation removal system terminating to exterior. � Connect to existing intake and exhaust piping to exterior. � Includes Carrier Limited Lifetime warranty on heat exchanger. � Includes Carrier Limited 10-year warranty on heat exchanger. � Includes Carrier Limited 10-year parts warranty and 10-year labor warranty. � Includes 1-year maintenance agreement. (Fall 2012 and Spring 2013) � All UCC required permit fees included Of course I do know that if my unit dies I could replace it with something for around 8-9k...but don't know how much Infinity would cost or if it's worth it. Also, He wrote his in the email, "This project will save over 27% of Total usage but I used 25% reduction over the course of one year. Using your utility bills from 5/11 to 4/12 you spent approx. $2,397.00 on electric and $1,040.00 on gas. (Keep in mind this was one of the warmest winters on record. From 4/11 to 5/10 you spent $1,375.00 on gas). Taking theses costs and deducting the 25%, we have an average monthly savings of $21.66 on gas and $49.93 on electric which equals to a total average monthly savings of $71.59. Remove that cost from the $83.33 loan payment you have $16.74 per month payment which equates to paying back $2,008.80 on a $10,000.00 loan." BUT, isn't part of my electric my fridge, computers and tv??? Also, I doubt the people who paid 8k got a 10yr pt/labor warranty...which does have some value.

I think it sound a little high but its hard to say without seeing it.

I totally agree with you that it seems like an unfair burden for her mother to be placing on her. Please don't think that by what I am about to say that I am in any way critisizing or trying to you what YOU should do. I am simply relaying what my husband and I did, and please also understand that we expected, and received, full reciprocation from her mother and SF. When my SDs started getting into those teen years to where they began complaining about something at the other parent's house that was 'unfair'? Well, what we found is that by offering any sympathy at all, they basically saw as validation, as if we AGREED they were being treated "unfairly", and you know what happened then? Next time mommy told them to do it, they screamed, "That's not fair! Even DAD thinks so!" That actually happened, and of course, dad never said any such thing. All he thought he was doing was offering comfort to his child, who complained about having to do the dishes. His actual words were, "Oh my poor baby!" And his daughter also didn't feel she was lying, and she really wasn't, she was simply "interpreting his response in her favor", which one of the many things teenagers do. Although my husband had no intention of doing so, his daughter interpreted his words of comfort as agreeing with her that her mother was being unfair--which triggered her to become defiant, rather effectively undermining her mother's authority, creating a disciplinary problem. Didn't matter that it was completely innocent, it had the same effect as if he had intentionally "badmouthed" BM. Now, if anything had gone on at their mother's house that was harmful, dangerous or illegal, most certainly we'd want to hear about it. But "unfair"? Well, what is fair or unfair is a matter of opinion, and unless I actually would request BMs opinion on how I should run my household, I'm not interested, and again, the reverse applies as well. We all have the right to our opinions, but expressing any type of opinion to a child as how the other parent should run their household? Well, if you do it to them, how can you not expect them to retaliate by doing it to you? And once that starts happening, how can you possibly be certain that little disciplinary problem with "defiance", won't start escalating, until it's out of control? So we came to an understanding, that if the kids complained about the rules at the other parent's house or what they had to do was "unfair", we supported the other parents decision, and they supported ours, and we all kept our personal opinions to ourselves. It's not like we went overboard praising the other parents decisions, it was simply "their house, their rules," and basically discouraged this practice with the reminder, "what happens in Vegas should stay in Vegas." So, that's what we did, but again, we expected reciprocity, and received it.

I think you are doing exactly the right thing: vent here, clam up everywhere else. In my opinion, all out of towners should be invited to everything during the weekend, but I know local customs vary. Even so, as the SO of someone who is invited, I think they should have invited you. The shower is irrelevant in my opinion (but it just goes to show you how easy it is to get into trouble with anything to do with a shower or anything else where someone, especially a close relative, asks guests to bring gifts. Let me get this straight: the BRIDE herself, along with her mom, is giving this shower? Yikes.) But so what? Obviously, it's not personal -- they just clearly don't have a clue (or don't care) how they appear. But there is no need to react to their rudeness or cluelessness. It's not for us to teach others manners or class, anyway. And where would it get you? Sounds to me like you'd have more fun sitting in the hotel with a pizza watching a movie or reading a good book than hanging out with this crowd! And as this is a relative of your boyfriend's, I think it's very important NOT to be seen as criticizing them or doing anything they could call "making trouble." If you marry this guy, they will be YOUR relatives, too, so even though they are wrong, I wouldn't antagonize them (or even make too much of a fuss over it to your boyfriend, who may feel defensive or just plain embarrassed about his family) over the sake of a dinner!