If you are impressed with it when you see it (and please let me know), then I say grab it at that price!!! Since posting my first response to you, I have found too many complaints against the online sites with the lowest prices. I didn't think there were any local retailers, having searched for appliance retailers in my area, but when I went to zephyr's site (I believe it is zephyronline.com), I was able to find two local sources. I'll be calling them today to see if they do indeed have or can get them. I did print out the page for the lowest price I found online and will take it with me when I visit the stores to see if they will price-match. If they come anywhere close, I will buy locally.

I have a prewar NYC apartment, and spend about $36,000 in 2004. $16,000 was labor, including electrical (3 new circuits), moving a door, installing soffits, only a LITTLE bit of plaster work. Ripping out the floor down to the beams and leveling. Installing cabients & flooring. All the rest was pretty economical in choice: sheet vinyl floor, not-too-expensive appliances (the biggest splurge: a $650 OTR convection/micro). $7,500 for cabinets; splurged on a Corian counter for $1,500. I'd hoped to be $30k or under, and did not succeed, quite. Not when I counted the extras like faucet and knobs (there was a big splurge: $450) I don't think you need to go all the way down to the studs (w/ prewar, you may not even be ABLE to go that far down; the solid plaster walls make it difficult) I spent much less than you on appliances. And if money is tight, I believe that is the place to save, because they are easily swapped out (except for fridges, but they die every 11 years anyway) DW: I spent $450; if money is tight, I'd go even cheaper here. They'll all fit in a 24" space. I spent $600 on a gas range, and got power burner, simmer burner, huge oven. I can't imagine getting a range w/ more BTUs, esp. not in an apartment w/ weird venting. You may not be able to vent outside, depending on your co-op's views, so don't get all excited about a powerful range until you know how that will work. I have a $600 fridge, and I *wish* I had a $400 one. I think your electrical and plumbing are a little high--but as I said, mine were part of the mix, so maybe I'm not as up-to-speed as you are. You can't move much around in an prewar apartment bldg--the sink can move about 3 feet away from the spot where the drain enters the wall, that's all. Custom: Check out Piros Custom Furniture in Astoria--they bid $5,700 for my 11x7 kitchen, which I thought was pretty good; it would have included installation. Ikea's another great choice; the kitchen I took out was Ikea, and we nearly went w/ them again. Not sure exactly why we didn't. You're going to need a licensed GC, w/ adequate insurance, because your co-op board will require it. You can't do the electrical yourself, probably for the same reason, I'm betting. But you can get awfully close.

Ah. My apologies for abusive engineering descriptions. Sometimes I tend to unconsciously assume that all the previous stuff here has been read and digested, so all I have to do is present a reminder. Capture: The plume expands as it rises. The actual expansion angle is greater than 10 degrees outward, but ten degrees encompasses most of the higher velocity components for relevant cases. This means that the cone is wider the higher one measures above the pan base. At 36 inches hood height, for example, with a tangent of 10 degrees equal to 0.176, the plume has expanded outward by 36 inches times 0.176 or 6.4 inches. Similarly, for 30 inches, the plume has expanded by 30 times 0.176 = 5.3 inches. (Exactness is used here to clarify the calculation, not assert a defined boundary exists at the plume.) Suppose a pan base's maximum extent from the wall was 19 inches (which would be true of my induction cooktop if it were against a wall). Then one should aim for a hood aperture that was 19 + 6.375 = ~ 25 inches from the wall if 36 inches up. A 27-inch hood with lights in front of the aperture is close enough. Hence, your drawings have the angle going the wrong way. Imagine a really large traffic cone (without it weighted base). Slice it where it is the same diameter as the pan base and invert it over the pan. This inverted, truncated traffic cone, or rather a set of them perched on all the burners or hobs, can be imagined as defining the required boundary of the hood aperture. The desired hood aperture for good capture is independent of whether the structure of the hood is all metal or is metal inside of wood. Depending on your configuration, it may be best to space a smaller hood outwards and fill the gap at the wall side with some sheet metal. Side cabinets can help perform the function of side curtains in commercial configurations. (Note re pillog's comment. There is a small zone of high flow rate at the edges of the hood, and this has the effect of a slight increase in effective aperture.) Containment: Your analysis is correct. If the aperture is 6 sq. ft., then the desirable actual flow rate at full power is 90 x 6 = 540 cubic ft./min. Now where did I pull the magic number 90 from. Briefly, there are studies that have been published of plume velocities as a function of surface temperature, with induction and with gas. The gas cooking velocity (because the gas combustion products are entrained in the plume) causes more than a meter per second of plume rising velocity. The velocity with induction is typically less than a m/s. At the pan, the hood has NO effect on the velocity, and this essentially holds until the plume is close to the hood aperture. Another way to put it is that the hood captures the plume due to the plume's upward momentum (mass times velocity), which will not change until accelerated or decelerated by some force. When the plume reaches the baffles, it can intercept a gap and pass into the baffle space, or it can hit a metal part and potentially reflect. To keep the reflection in check, the air flow velocity of the hood has to be enough to change the reflection momentum to near zero and let the plume part be pulled into the baffles. When the air velocity is 90 ft/min average across the baffle space, it is about twice that at the baffle gaps, and this velocity is equal to that of the plume velocity. Also, I have observed this level working for the plume over my induction wok, and Greenheck suggests 85 ft/min for similar cooking (Figure 4, page 9 of the previous reference). So think of 90 ft/min as a suggestion that I don't think will prove to be too low. Too low of a hood velocity (CFM/sq. ft.), hence too low of a hood flow rate (below). Enough velocity (below) Blower specification: Yes, the factor of 1.5 is used to make up for the fact that blowers are specified by themselves (usually) hanging in free air, and what you have is a restrictive system that has to deal with baffle restriction, duct, and make-up air pressure losses. The relationship is given by the so-called "fan curve." For example, the Broan blower fan curve immediately below is just about done at well under an inch of water column pressure. Your requirements, depending particularly on baffles and MUA, may require a more "powerful" (higher nominal CFM) blower, as in the second figure. If the only loss were baffles, then the first figure would be barely good enough, because the baffles might have a pressure loss of about one or two tenths of an inch, w.c., at 90 CFM/sq. ft., depending on their aerodynamics. Throw in ducting and pressure losses in the MUA system (a whole giant topic of its own), and the tenths of inches build up leading variously to a need for one of the higher nominal flow rate models.Ekes out 540 CFM at a very low pressure drop (above) A blower with the 1.5 factor achieved (above). Keep in mind 1.5 is only a guess. A blower that would make up for many installation crimes (above), but which drives an unnecessarily more expensive MUA system to keep house pressure up. kas

Hi, We are in middle of kitchen remodeling, going with All white kitchen with white based quartz. My kitchen is a small size U shaped opening to dining area. I am going to use existing appliance, Gas range 30". Our contractor recommended this brand for hood and I have no idea how good they are? Mostly looking for quite, easy to clean, under $1k and made for busy kitchen as we cook both times of a day. Please suggest if you have any other recommendation meeting the requirement. Thanks KG