Brent, I'm not offended at all. It's just everybody keeps stating this and it's become urban legend. It's true we have stricter regulations. CV is formulated differently for California, actually not all of California, in some counties you can still use the 550 VOC version instead of 275 VOC. I've asked the chemist at Valspar(one of the the biggest coatings manufacturers in the world) here in LA many times what the difference is. The 275 VOC has a little less solids and some different solvents but it is still CV and has all the same properties. There are more that twenty suppliers within miles of where I am that sell CV so they are probably hundreds of shops using it, big and small. With the green movement on the rise I'm sure it won't be long before the rest of the country is held to the same standards. I'm going to be trying out Valspar's water based CV which has been in use for several years by some of the larger O.E.M's and is just becoming available to smaller shops here. It suppose to be just as good as solvent based. If you've ever sprayed CV you know how nasty it can be. I think people are more aware of toxic off-gassing issues today and the safety hazards this presents to their families and would be open to this. Especially if it provides the same protective finish.

Or one of these...but they're narrower Fagor 6HA200TLX 24" Single Electric Wall Oven with 1.98 cu. ft. Oven Capacity, 10 Cooking Programs, Left Side Door, European Style Convection, LCD Touch Controls, Child Lock and Telescopic Pullout System http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/6HA200TLX.html?mv_pc=gg_pla&st-t=googlepla&utm_source=google&utm_medium=adwords&utm_campaign=pla&utm_term=&gclid=CJfGy6CPncUCFVUbgQodir0ACw ============================================= Frigidaire Gallery 27" Single Electric Wall Oven w/Convection http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?pid=115619&mode=buyUsedOnly&sid=IDx20110411x000008&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=U991115619&gclid=COuCzs-PncUCFVFp7AodD1cA8g

Jackie, You started in the right place. Ask questions on this board. There are a lot of resources available from the experts and those who have been on both sides of the hammer. We will tell you when it's something to really worry about. Respect is a two way street. Hire the best people that you can find. Let them do their job. Monitor what they do. Question things if you don't understand them. Ask if there is an alternate way of doing things. Be flexible. Trust, but verify. Understand that the really good professionals are always busy, but never too busy to answer a sincere question. If something doesn't seem right, ask about it. Don't be afraid to ask why? Question every one of your decisions by asking if there is a better way to complete something? When you are asked to make a decision, give it quickly and decisively. If you don't know the answer, tell them you don't know or don't understand. If you encounter something that you don't like, and you will, talk about it with the GC. Let your GC handle the subs. It's his job to yell at them, not yours. That's what they get paid to do. The GC gets paid to answer to your satisfaction unlimited questions. Try not to bother the subs too much. Always be friendly. A sense of humor will go a long way to get through this process.

cpartist The picture of the window you saw up above is just the style of brick pattern that I found. I think it will work well around my dining room windows. 3 windows will not be molded together but separated by narrow brick pattern. It is not reflected on the front elevation. We have not picked out the brick or the stone yet. The brick color in the picture is way busy, and I agree with you that color brick would not work with stone. Speaking of brick, we drove around new subdivisions today to get some ideas of brick and stone combination and let me tell you, I am more confused now than when we started :) Building a new house is fun and exciting, but so many decisions to make.....