Gibby: The only application I might give pause to recommending a Solatube is where the dome is visible at the front elevation of the house. Our Solatubes can be seen along the sides, but with the angle of our hipped roof lines, you cannot see any vent stacks or either Solatube when you stand directly in front of the house. Now as you walk around the house, you see them (of course). We have a brown roof and they really have a low profile so they don't jump out at you. And since most bathrooms are towards the rear of the house, this shouldn't be a problem, but thought I'd mention it. I believe that the Solatube brand can only be installed by dealers or contractors, but that might be the case in Texas. Home Depot also sells a comparable product, but I don't know about the quality. We bought the 10" diameter tube with a plain opaque lens, and it gives off plenty of light. Any bigger and we'd have to wear sunglasses in our bathrooms! Here is a link that might be useful: Solatube

We just did a whole kitchen remodel that include removing a non load bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room and enlarging another opening which was a load bearing wall by three feet. This involved installing a laminated beam to carry the load. We also reconfigured an outside wall with new windows and a new door. We are located in the Midwest. I did the demo on gutting the kitchen, removing cabinets and the removing the non load bearing wall. All the other work was hired out. Total was $ 61195.00, our original budget was around $ 45000 with out appliances then you get into the project and you realize for instance the even though your old oven is fine and still looks good you rationalize that you can't put an old oven in brand new kitchen so the costs add up. Only appliance we reused was the fridge since it was new. Then there is the collateral damage like the new dining room set, painting the rest of the floor, new this, new that all of which is not included in the $ 61195 an probably is adding another $10000 to the project The actual numbers are shown below Kitchen Design and $24,500.00 includes cabinets and installation Appliance installation $805.00 Plumbing (relocate sink, gas line, water lines, vent $2,250.00 Dishwasher door (cabinet panel) $160.00 Cab Hardware $350.00 misc $539.00 Carpenter rough - rebuilt exterior wall, install windows/door, install lam beam $2,750.00 Carpenter Finish Millwork install $700.00 Materials Door oak exterior $804.00 Windows (2) $824.00 Lumber yard materials $700.00 Mill work $553.00 Paint $200.00 Exterior Siding $1,500.00 Electrical Rough $2,475.00 Lights $800.00 Counters soapstone $5,850.00 Drywall $1,657.50 Sink silgranite $405.00 Faucet waterstone $1,350.00 HVAC reconfig ducting $804.00 Water Heater Vent $350.00 Wood Floor 3/"4 oak $3,150.00 Oven KA steam assist $2,740.00 Hood BroaN $771.00 MW KA undercounter $1,022.00 DW Bosch $1,194.00 Cooktop Wolf with griddle $3,649.00 Total $ 61195.00 Hope this helps

Thanks, HomeSealed, for the reply. I contacted the two companies that gave me full replacement pricing and they only want to do the job as full replacements. Basically, my pricing for 14 openings: 3 sliding glass doors (72x82), 7 gliders (3 - 72x 55; 4 - 72 x 55), 1 72x72 picture window, and 3 double hung (avg 30x50) is around $20- 21.5K. This includes installation, and new wood trim inside and out. I would have to stain the trim myself. Is this reasonable? Will the wood portion of the "wood-ultrex" hold up better over time than traditional wood windows (like my current ones?).

Alright, got some more quotes and we've pretty much made our decision. Here's the rundown: ORIGINAL QUOTES: -Wallside Windows (local manufacturer & installer with a solid reputation): $9,000, *double* pane -Berkshire Elite from Window Universe: $10,000, triple pane, steel reinforced sashes (which I feel is probably necessary given what I've seen on here about Berkshire Elites). -Sunrise "Premium Vinyl" (Sun Home Improvement, a local, highly rated contractor): $14,000, *double* pane -Sunrise "Premium Vinyl" (Sun Home Improvement): $17,000, triple pane, FiberCore reinforced NEW QUOTES: -Sunrise "Pure Core Platinum" (Pure Energy Windows, a local, highly rated dealer): $11,600, triple pane, foam insulated frames, but no special reinforcement. -Soft-Lite Pro Series (Pro Bros, a local, highly rated contractor): $13,700, triple pane, standard pro series reinforcement. -Soft-Lite Nirvana from Zen Windows: $17,000, triple pane... blah blah blah, too expensive. VERDICT: We signed up for the Sunrise "Pure Core Platinum" from Pure Energy at $11,600 (though I have 3 days to back out if I need to... but I'd rather not). This seems like a good price point for a good window that'll still hold up if we stay longer than our 5-8 year expectation. Highly rated dealer/installer, 50 year fully transferrable warranty (including accidental breakage), and after their initial in-person "pretend" first offer of $13,500, they brought it down to $11,600, which is where I wanted to end up. My final question is: Is it imperative that I go back to them asking for reinforcements of some sort? Sunrise does have something called "FiberCore" reinforcements in some of their other lines. I think the "Pure Core Platinum" is proprietary to Pure Energy, so I'm having a harder time finding exact details that allow me to compare it to others, though they tout themselves on having iUPVC vinyl that is supposedly stronger than other vinyl windows. I asked the salesman about FiberCore early on and he said their version doesn't have it, but that they have this stronger type of vinyl. Not sure what to make of that. I'll be going right by their showroom tomorrow so I could stop in and ask some more questions and get my hands on their samples again. Anything I should check out while I'm there? Thanks!