Also, the units in the report are what was proposed and in the bid but we are planning to upgrade the SEER. Just trying to work out the size of the unit so that we can get the price on the various SEER levels. Another question: when we decided to foam the rafters, the hvac company said that would allow them to downsize the second floor unit and they gave us a $1000 credit which we're planning to use to upgrade the SEER. Would the foam not also affect the size of the downstairs unit? Our contract only specified the type of unit and SEER rating but didn't give a budget. We were told the foaming would reduce the cost of the hvac equipment but not by how much. I guess I've lost some trust and my concern is that a 5 ton system was budgeted but only a 4 ton system is needed and we won't get credit back for the reduced size needed for the first floor. Is it fair for me to ask what amount was budgeted for the hvac equipment? It is not a cost plus contract but rather a fixed price. Our builder is good about changing things and if it's cheaper, he adjusts the amount in our favor. Of course some things have been more but he's been very reasonable and I think he's just basically charging us the actual amount.

florantha - yes, I would want to protect the range from traffic more than in that last layout. The suggestions of opening up the long wall on the left are interesting, I don't think they are right for our family. We do want to keep a table in the kitchen and upon reflection, I don't really want the kitchen completely open to the family room since a little separation is nice when friends are over and the kids are watching a movie in there. I do think that the thoughts are ideas that could inspire other readers in their own planning. I am leaning toward option C (last) in the original post, but I am a little hesitant about the fridge location. I like it along the back wall because it leaves the sides of the room more open, giving more of a feeling of connection to the family room and to the outside through the window on the right wall. The room is long and my idea was to place the bulky fridge to shorten the room, not narrow it. Placing the fridge on the back wall in the corner also allows room for a bigger (deeper) fridge without interfering with traffic in the room - I'd like to maximize my fridge space without going to the expense of a large built in. But I also know that it's preferable to have the fridge on the perimeter of the kitchen. The proposed location would not drive traffice through the prep and cooking area, but perhaps it's still a bad plan? Feedback would be appreciated. For Layout C, the shallow pantry on the left side of the room is 12" cupboards, the space from there to the island is 41", the island is 41" wide, and the space from the island to the cleanup sink is 48". I've pulled the counters on the back wall so that the counters would be 30". Sorry not to have added these dimensions to the drawings.

~bump~ Hmmmm....the 156th post....did they remove the 150 limit??

Pagination is on the bottom of the list when using a desktop/laptop. There are 30 threads per page. Page 1 displays the most recent 30 threads that meet your criteria -- whether via a search or using the filters/tabs (Latest, Featured, Popular, Unanswered -- default is Latest) You can scroll through the thread list using the page #s, the "Next Page" button, or the left-pointing arrows ("<<" and "<"). You can also go directly to a specific page by modifying the URL. First, though, you need to understand how the #s work and how they indicate what a page a particular page is: If you look at the URL and use a bit of arithmetic, you can figure out the page #: Page 1 never has a #: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/kitchbath What's displayed? It depends Subsequent pages have a "/p/##" at the end of the URL. If you divide the ## by 30 and add 1, you can tell what page it is: Page 2: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/kitchbath/p/30 30 / 30 = 1 + 1 = 2 Page 3: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/kitchbath/p/60 60 / 30 = 2 + 1 = 3 The maximum # of pages is 167: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/kitchbath/p/4980 4,980 / 30 = 166 + 1 = 167 So, to go to a particular page, do the reverse: To go to page 50: 50 x 30 = 1,500 - 1 = 1,499 Add "/p/1499" to the end of the URL on the first page and it should take you to page 50. (Or, if you're already on any page other than page 1, change the ## in the URL to 1499.)