Hi Beth - I'm new to this forum, but not new to coastal Southern Cal rose growing, so I'll chime in too. I'm in San Juan Capistrano on the South end of Orange County and about 2.5 miles from the beach in a coastal canyon. So I know all about roses in the marine layer fog. Mildew, not black spot, is the bane of our existence here. The only blackspot I've ever seen in my garden was on florist roses. But I do spray. And the three most fragrant ones on your list -- Double Delight, McCartney Rose and Fragrant Cloud -- will mildew even with religious spraying. But, the fragrance is worth it and I grow all three. No one has told you about the rose societies here yet. There are several. I go all the way south to the California Coastal Rose Society in Carlsbad. That's probably too far for you. There are two other OC rose societies -- the Orange County Rose Society which meets very near to Huntington Beach in Westminster -- they focus on exhibitions and hold their show the last weekend of October every year at Rogers Gardens. There's also another one that focuses mostly on gardening, garden tours and garden parties -- no exhibiting -- which is the Saddleback Rose Society -- that one's a bit inland for both of us. Wholly different climate those folks have. You can get to either one by googling the names, or I've put a link in here for the OCRS. On the rest of your list, I've grown most of them, and they do just fine. But as a general rule, in coastal cool areas like ours, fewer petals is better. Many roses just won't open like they do in hot climes, and sometimes you just die waiting for a leeeetle bit of heat to get them open, which never comes. So, plan to have some that open without heat. As for colors, try these -- Pink -- Our Lady Of Guadalupe is by far the best pink floribunda. But also check out The Imposter and Lovestruck, both of which do well for me. For Hybrid Teas, I like Memorial Day. Purple -- Intrigue is okay, but try Purple Tiger -- it's better and it's striped. It does really well on the coast. For a Hybrid Tea, I like Neptune and one that Armstrongs carries called Della Reese that is a darker purple hybrid tea with occasional exhibition form. Orange -- About Face Red -- I'm still looking for a good one. Yellow -- Julia Child or Midas Touch. Or even Peace, which gets enormous blooms on the coast. Multi -- get some stripes -- City of Carlsbad if you can find it or Cabana if you can't. Have fun. I seem to move every few years just BECAUSE I get to replenish my garden. Enjoy it. Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Orange County Rose Society

Simpson Stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans) or Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria). Both are native and need no care once established. They are evergreen and dense growing and if they get to big tolerate heavy pruning. They also both produce berries for birds and the dense growth is good for cover and nesting. The flowers on Simpson Stopper are fragrant. With the Yaupon Holly, find the "wild" species type. A lot of the time nurseries sell the dwarf compact forms, such as 'Schillings', 'Stoke's Dwarf' or 'Bordeaux'

I don't think 12" is adeqaute to the left side of the sink. Here are the kitchen planning "rules" for reference. See, rule 11. From experience, we found that a 21" sink-side landing space wasn't quite adequate for handwashed items, soap dispenser, paper towels and-or coffee maker, etc. So that sink related stuff landed in the prep zone instead, which then cramped that prep space. I would do plan #2, modified. End-panel to support the countertop on the aisle-side of the dw --1", 24" dw, 27" sink-base (if available), 33" prep space, 30" range, 15" cab or drawer base and 2" filler. Plates across from the dw in drawers in the island. Where are you planning on putting the trash?

A load calculation is time they aren't selling a system, and once you have a good one, you don't need another. Some installers assume someone else will do it, some dislike wasting their time because it's not even close to even money they'll get your business unless they have a long history with you. These kind of calculations are often considered "unnecessary" once you say the old system worked OK. The problem is, you aren't qualified to know what OK really is. Also, a load calculation is malleable, which means that by adjusting assumptions, you can make it say whatever you want it to say. Mike and Tiger can certainly point you in the right direct for what assumptions should be made on your load calculations, but you'll need to read and understand it yourself. People will freak out and say, "Oh my God, my air conditioner is running all day" on the hottest day of the year...when that's exactly what it should do. I'm disappointed that no suggestion was made to you and/or that not even a cursory investigation was made regarding the too warm third floor. In addition to a load calculation, you need a plan for addressing the third floor issue from any installer. To make that plan, the bidder needs to know what is currentl;y installed, so anyone that bid without looking around a bid should be a red flag. The good news is you are already looking at matched systems and asking good questions. If you've been reading this forum long, you know the concerns about Lennox systems.