I am remodeling my house and saw in this thread that someone had mentioned Kolbe windows. I want to share my experience. I just ordered expensive wood K-KRON Kolbe and Kolbe windows for my entire house and it's been a nightmare. They arrived dinged and with these suction cup marks between the panes (which can not be fixed without replacement) and on the outside of the panes that takes some mystery cleaner to get off. There is sand between the panes (which they don't consider a flaw) and the caulking on the inside and out is sloppy. To top it off, after about a two months,the wood in my sliding glass doors started to crack. I have to replace almost every single window and door in the house due to all of the problems. They say that my case is rare, which it may be but in any case it's not acceptable. So going on 4 months after installation, and a lot of arguing with the distributor and Kolbe.....the problems have still not been resolved. The last of my replacement windows and doors have not been delivered as promised. AND it's stalled my remodel. So do NOT order these windows. I wish I had gone with Pella and paid the extra money. The money I "saved" by going with Kolbe has been eaten up by the sheer inconvenience and delay in getting the rest of my project done. They have been a nightmare to work with. I'd be glad to share anything you'd like to know about my experience. I find this website very helpful!!!

Hi Carol, I am building out my hometheater in a basement and can help you a little on your speaker/placement issue since I have researched the topic. You have a giant space that you want filled with sound. Given your layout, for TV/Movie watching, I would stick with a 2.1 or 3.1 system (Front R, Center Channel, Front L) and the .1 is the subwoofer. Your rear speakers (for a 5.1 sytstem) are too far away to be used in that manner. Also, given how big your space is, you would need a massive subwoofer or 2 to properly pressurize the room for theater type bass. However, that doesnt mean you cant enjoy some of the bass. Proper placement of a subwoofer involves doing a subcrawl, however, for your purposes, I would probably place it in a corner maybe under the TV. This is will give you some "corner loading" which can maximize some bass (although its more "boomy" rather than a nice even bass sound". Don't put the sub in a cabinet. Ideally, you want the center channel directly under or over the TV aimed out the main listening position so you perceive the dialogue as coming from the TV. Now you also stated that your husband wants music and if you want music in your den and in the dining room, I would put two speakers in the dining room area and hook these up to the "zone 2" section of your receiver. That will allow you to play music in your den and dining room at the same time or each area independently (the midrange recievers, <$600, will allow you to play the SAME source in each zone. If you want to play two different sources, you will need to spend more). If this were my floorplan, this is how I would do it, even though you will have to sacrifice a "true 5.1" setup because your space doesnt really allow it, unless you are willing to put two in ceiling speakers (as rears) above the wing back chairs or speakers on stands behind the wingbacks. Now for products. Receiver: Get a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver with Zone 2 functionality. Denon, Yamaha It seems like you want things discreet, so I would recommend bookshelf speakers. While small, you can achieve great sound for your space. Chane (http://www.chanemusiccinema.com/chane-loudspeakers), Wavecrest (http://www.wavecrestaudio.com/products/hvl-1-two-way-loudspeaker-pair), Infinity (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-WY7c39wmgNu/fg_37900_FFBrand%7CInfinity/Infinity-Bookshelf-Speakers.html). Ideally, you want matching speakers for your FR, C, and FL. There are a million speaker companys out ethere. These are in a good price range, recommended often around the internet. And as a disclaimer, I am in no means a pro or audiophile, these are just some ideas I came across in planning my own room.

I don't think anyone can guess when a board might go bad, though by my own reckoning, if it's made it this long it should keep on ticking. The question I'd have would be whether replacing the compressor and evaporator could bother it.. Have you priced the part? If there's only the one board, and it's $1000 or less, it might be worth buying on spec just for piece of mind. Talk to some independent repairmen about the parts issue. Some parts houses, for some products, will stock them long after the manufacturer has discontinued them, but control boards may not even be the kind of parts that parts dealers keep on hand. I've been so unimpressed with the current state of mid-level appliances, however, I'd still go with the repair. Maybe get a three month full guaranty that it will be in proper working order after the repair. $1000/year of cold and convenience sounds worth it to me, and the rest, past those three years is gravy. I think the point would be to make it last until you're ready for a full remodel or a move. That is, it would be for me.

If when you pull out the built-in MW, the inside of the cabinets are finished, I'd just buy a $125 (or less) countertop MW, plug it in, and be done. Your situation is why I always recommend on this forum that people never buy built-in MWs. I guess the solution for your issue depends upon what the inside of that cabinet looks like when the built-in MW is pulled out. Even if it's not finished, you would have to decide if you can live with the unfinished interior cabinet or not, in order to have a simple inexpensive solution to your issue. Regarding buying a MW trim kit, I think it depends on the dimensions you need to cover. I will look for the website that makes a bunch of after market trim kits (seen on this forum), and post back. They custom size the trim kit for your cabinet. You can also call them for their recommendations for your situation. Edited to add: Here is a link to the website that makes MW trim kits: https://www.microtrim.com/microwave-trim-kits/