Hello, IMO Dallas is a good place for quality work at reasonable prices. Last year, I read one post that was quoted $27,000 for a 3-ton system installation. I also read a post of a $2500 3-ton replacement. This is a lot of difference. The typical price is between $3000-5000 for a 3-ton system replacement. Duct work during the summer can be very expensive. I have heard of guys charging $2000 a day to work in the attic during the summer. These are not dishonest companies, just guys that do not want to work in the attic on a 100+ degree day. If your system is in the attic, do it while it is cool. (Now) There are so many quality HVAC companies in Dallas. Quotes like yours are for people made of money. I read and heard of many 3-ton replacements last year in the $10,000 range. I can not imagine what caused the cost to be so high. A typical system can be installed in a day with 2 men. Labor and 2x markup is nowhere near $10,000. Even in Legacy, this is a high price. I am helping someone that was hosed last year with a 5-ton installation. He now has the state of Texas involved. He was hosed so bad, that his case was placed in front of 30 previous cases waiting for proscution. The sad thing is the company that did the hose job has a fair reputation. The installation was incomplete, yet he spent $6200 for a 5-ton replacement. The company tried to charge him an additional $2k for a 1/2 days work replacing a couple of ducts. His summer bills were over $1000 a month for a 2600 sqft house. Get multiple bids. I know of one wholesale installer that will replace a condenser for under $200 labor. (Last spring) This is very cheap for Dallas. This is less than I charged in the 1980's. If you intend to replace all three units at one time you should talk to this company in Austin. He manufacturers a system designed for Dallas and hot climates. His equipment is like commercial equipment, and is truly efficient. http://www.alliedenergysystems.com/thermal.html Replacement of lines depends on the requirements of the new equipment and not age or condition of the lines. Sometimes this is needed for maximum efficient operations. Any handy person can install new duct. The key to a good job, is to seal all joints and seal the insulation properly. Many installers use a mastic to guarantee the joints are sealed. For a very efficient duct system consider using foam spray insulation on the ducts. Installing a system requires a few tools. Guages, Vac pump, torch for silver solder, Volt-amp meter, and a few sheetmetal tools. Basic mechanic tools also. For legal service work you need a recovery machine. By law, you need a CFC certificate to buy freon, or systems. You are also required to have it to adjust freon. Most cities require a permit to replace HVAC equipment, but less than 20% of the residential work is permitted in the Dallas area. Now, for the good news. The state of Texas will issue you a voucher that allows you to purchase equipment for your house, if you have a cfc certificate. Kinda neat. If you have specific questions email me. I am in N. Texas area.

The paint color on the lower half of the wall is just a very light lavender. The upper half is more purple. I actually mixed the lavender myself, by adding a little of the purple paint to some white paint. The fake tile (sheet vinyl) floor came from Linoleum City in Los Angeles. I looked and looked and looked for that vinyl and Linoleum City is the only place that sells it. I called a salesman there and asked about it. He said they had a unique contract with Tarkett (I think) to produce this product and he didn't think it was sold anywhere else in the country. Their number one client is Hollywood. Set-building people buy it by the roll to use on the sets. The sheet vinyl creates the look of early 20 Century hex tile floor in a jiffy. :) The light fixtures and medicine chest are reproductions. The light fixtures came from Rejunvenation Hardware and the medicine chest came from Van Dykes Restoration hardware. All these years of writing about old houses and I finally got to use some of the resources I've been writing about. Thanks for all the nice comments. Rose Here is a link that might be useful: linoleum city link

My thanks to all of you who posted comments, both good and bad. I can't begin to tell you how feedback about my florals opened my eyes, so I was able to change things for my next set of photos. I'd never think that removable "props" would turn someone off. I also have to say that you're taking it well and seem to appreciate the feedback. Those of us selling can now see our house through strangers eyes and what a potential buyer might think when seeing our house online. How the photos look will dictate whether they take the time to actually walk our houses. The last time our house was for sale we did not get any feedback, so I'm very thankful for this forum and hope that the feedback you got helps you. I noticed that the wallpaper in my home got some of the most frequent and critical remarks and it's left me wondering about something. Is wallpaper no longer in vogue in new or remodeled homes or is it that my particular wallpaper is not to the liking of most of you? I've walked a lot of new communities with model homes and can say that here they are still using wallpaper but not in all of the rooms. You might pick the nicest rooms to keep the wallpaper. I love the foyer wallpaper but not with the door color and not with the flooring. You might think to leave some of it up and paint other walls, using it as an accent. Back entrance wallpaper - I would take it down. Half bath - I like the wallpaper but not with the light fixture. Study - I've seen similar paper used in homes I've walked. Utility - dislike the walls - would sheet rock & paint 1st floor master - would paint 1st floor master bath - I like the paper but not for a room like this. I would paint and think about putting up beadboard 2nd floor master - while I like the top paper, I think it would look better painted. The wood on the door is much too dark. I'd also think about putting up a scarf on the windows, then opening the blinds for the photo. While I like pink, others do not :( Second floor vanity/dressing area - this paper you could get away with leaving. Bath 2, second floor - I would try to lighten this room up or leave the picture out. Living Room - I would paint this I also realize that the paneled family room is dated but my thoughts on that is to either paint the paneling a neutral color or rip off the paneling, put up sheetrock and then paint. I also want to install engineered wood flooring in that room and perhaps extend it in to the foyer where, I admit, the tile color is also dated. Another area of critical comments was due to my home having so much carpeting. Has carpeting also gone out of style or do I just have too many rooms with carpet? We just did this in the master bedroom. I would sheet rock. The carpet wouldn't bother me here. I'm one of the weird ones that actually likes carpet, especially for my bad back. Walking on wood floors kills me. BTW, the Saint Bernard that appeared in at least one photo and brought about a comment or two that some people wouldn't even consider buying a home where a dog had been passed away on June 10 much to my hurt. I'm in the process of cleaning up all traces of his presence here. That is, everywhere but in my heart! Very sorry for your loss. After 22 years, I still miss our German Shepherd.

Well the more the employees are not able to provide the service needed, the more a one of the bigger arguments against a modified flat tax or simplified tax code (fewer employees needed so jobs would be lost) goes away. I had a problem where the IRS accepted the income, including an IRA distribution from my dad's estate, but didn't recognize the withholding on that same IRA distribution. As a result, they sent us a letter saying we owed additional tax payment. We checked the return -- all the amounts and forms were there and we were owed a refund. DH tried to call multiple times and I tried to call. DH wrote a letter and mailed it in to explain, line by line, where the error was and that we were owed a refund. No reply -- just more letters asking us to pay more and adding interest. Tried calling again (some of these resulted in disconnects also). Never got through to anyone. Sent a note to the attorney who helped me with my dad's estate to ask about it. She said it took time and to give it one more round. Contacted my siblings (who had the same attorney prepare the same type of returns) and verified that neither of them had a problem with their returns -- I was the only lucky one. Then heard from the IRS again -- another letter saying we owed the additional payment with more interest and a penalty. We had an appointment with the same attorney to sign new wills soon thereafter. When we met with her, she had us sign an amended return for the IRA to try to get the full amount of the withholding refunded there and then had us pay the additional taxes, interest and penalty (added about $35) on our personal return just to clear the whole thing before adding more interest or penalties. Well, we haven't gotten demands for more money, but they haven't sent the refund either. This on our 2014 returns and has been going on for months -- and there's no way to reach anyone to get our refund.