I know we have all those other forums, but I don't think it's useful to expect a novice to know which questions would apply where. And surely anyone who posts here could answer many of them. In fact, most of them are probably BEST answered here. 1) They say it would be best for us to leave our home for 5-6 weeks while they do all the work? No, absolutely not. It'll be at most a week of absolute utter mess, and then a week or two of sort-of mess. Cooking will be a pain; you'll need an alternate kitchen somewhere (basement, dining room, your MIL's house) Also, 5 to 6 weeks seems extreme. If all the stuff is ordered and ON HAND before they start, they need about 2 to 3 weeks. If something went wrong, then maybe you'd need 6 weeks, but most of that should be during finishing touches--waiting on a cabinet here and there, or waiting a week for the counters after everything else is done. So you can certainly live there w/ that. (2) Is the flooring done before or after the cabinets are installed? It can be either. Some people want their flooring to go all the way to the walls (often this is the case w/ linoleum or sheet vinyl, w/ ceramic tile; perhaps not as common when you use hardwood). The SUBFLOOR work (if there is any) will all be done very early, of course. Before almost anything else (but after demolition). Having the flooring go under the cabinets will add to the cost. If you choose not to have the flooring go under the cabs, then your contractor should install, under the cabs, a plywood layer that's AS THICK AS you final flooring will be, to lift the cabinets up to sit at the same level they would if the flooring DID go under the cabinets. I have this prejudice (I have no idea how true it is) that moisture can be trapped under the cabinets, and so I might not put hardwood all the way under the cabs. I *would* put ceramic tile, vinyl, or linoleum under the cabinets. But it's a personal preference, really. If I did hardwood, I would want it refinished before cabs were installed, w/ the understanding that the final coat of finish would be applied after installation. But that might not be smart, either. (3) Do you have to use a company that specializes in flooring or is it reasonable to expect that a good carpenter carpenter can install and finish) hardwood floors? You can often DIY hardwood, so I would think a carpenter can do a good job. If you have site-finished floor, however (instead of prefinished), it's probably smart to get someone experiences and REALLY good--you only want to have to do it once. (4) At what point in the project is the lighting done, i.e. before/after the floor, cabinets, etc. Very early--probably the second thing or third thing after demolition. 1.rip out the old kitchen 2. deal w/ subfloors and moving of doors 3. put in new plumbing if needed 3. put in new electrical (wiring & junction boxes for new circuits, new light fixtures, new outlets) if needed PLAN AHEAD VERY CAREFULLY HERE. This is the one area that I did NOT have planned well and marked well, etc., on my kitchen remodel. I had a vague idea of what I needed, but it would have been far better to have spent more energy deciding which lights I wanted where, which outlets where, etc. You should plan your backsplash and your countertop outlets (come over to the Kitchens forum and get some advice on placement; most electricians simply slap the outlets bang in the middle of the backsplash area, and that's not always what people want)), and maybe discuss w/ your electrician whether he can leave enough slack here to allow him/you to adjust the exact positioning later, if it turns out that the outlet will fall in the middle of a tile detail or something. Also, you have to poke holes in the wall, patch holes, etc., to put in new lights. You want to do this during the "messy" stage, before anything is installed. We are debating between granite and Silestone. (5) Does anyone have any experience with both? (6) Does anyone have any recommendations? This is something that you'll get a LOT more detail on from the Kitchens forum, so come on over! We are debating between GE Profile and, after something I saw today, KitchenAid appliances. (7) Does anyone have experience with either/both of these? And if so, what should we be on the lookout for in terms of things to avoid and/or things to insist on. The Kitchens forum and the Appliances forum are both good places to get more info on this as well. Discuss it on both, and don't let anyone on Kitchens shoo you away to Appliances, because there are lot sof folks w/ input to give you, who never make it over to Appliances. I will say this about appliances: do some reading to see what features you'll want most. Then get the appliance that's got what you want, at a price you can swing. And never buy an appliance you haven't seen in person. Here is a link that might be useful: The Kitchens forums

Is the dining room on the sink side of the room? I assume this is Plan B? I don't know where you'll have walls or openness, and where all those doorways lead, and I think that would be helpful. You are living with certain things now that may work for you, and may be the same as what your plan shows... But I'm really worried about the narrow doorways/walkways into the room. I am especially worried about the situation at the bottom of the plan in which your fridge will be opening into an doorway that I figure to be barely bigger than 2 ft. The fridge door won't open very far. In addition, the 30", 15" deep cabinet on the right of the plan will really tighten things up, I think, and someone is sitting in the doorway, between it and the counter overhang. Waiting to hear more before I might have suggestions.

@somedude - I like a range of burner output. There is no question that an open burner with star configuration will give even heat. The issue is with control of the lowest output burner -- complaints have come up repeatedly on this for BS and Culinarian. Not to say there aren't exceptions or work-arounds. With due respect to M, I don't want to adjust a burner grate to simmer. I absolutely require a 100% dependable simmer burner which I use every day for something as simple as sweating a soup base, or making a quick sauce for fish, simmering tomato sauce or beans, cooking oatmeal or cream of what without lumps etc. Also, say I'm reheating 2 portions of soup or a serving of beans. I use a 1 quart saucepan for that and I don't want that tippy or tricky on a monster burner. With little ones that can become an issue since reheating food happens in small quantities for their meals. This is top of the market stuff. Things should work as promised. Service should be excellent if needed. You had mentioned a griddle. With that, there are only 4 burners. So high power burner front left; simmer burner front right. I don't think a 22K burner is useful in back. I would want 15s there. Here's why: whatever you're cooking, high power and low power cooking requires more attention. Once that's done, the pot/pan can usually move. With 6 burners, then the high outputs would be on either side and simmer in the center with medium output in the back. I would never need more than a single 22K burner because I rarely saute and never deep fry. I'd use it for boiling water for pasta, for searing, and for cooking large pots. Usually I grill inside or out and oven roast. Even heat is very important. But I can tell you from learning to cook when no residential stoves had high output burners, good cookware can make a huge difference. A single French copper saute pan or a Deyemere saute will make any high heat cooking task easier and smoother. Also how much anyone is cooking at a time makes a difference. I certainly understand have a larger number of higher output burners if someone is cooking for six or eight people or more all the time because quantities are large. Then you give up some of the control for the output. Seems like the pivot is: how important -- given your needs now and going forward -- is another 7K on any single burner vs better control and excellent service should it be required down the line? Re Hollandaise and melting chocolate. The first can be done in the food processor without any cooking on the stove. The second is easiest in the microwave. Anyone using a top for those is working too hard with too much clean up. I view those as marketing ploys.

Its really hard to know about flooring, etc. until you open it all up. That doesn't really help you much because by then you're pretty well committed. Take photos as best you can with measurements of the boards. Also pull up a register cover to see the cutaway of the flooring. Take that info to a couple flooring showrooms or lumber yards to try doing some homework ahead of time. You will also need to repair the ceiling. IMHO that extra SF is worth it. Another thought. If you procede, Perhaps you could bump out the back of the fireplace through the outside wall so that it is flush with the current wall. Probably needs a footer, but relatively straighforward framing and frees up even more room.