Yes party_music50, that's what I'm looking for. I checked out the activity tab that you suggested, I'll be curious to see if the ones with activity since the last read post will be bumped to the top or somehow will show that there are unread posts. I have been a member of some other message boards where threads w/ unread posts were marked a different color, so you could know there was something new since last time. That was very convenient.

I'm not from Maryland so I can't help this time. But, let me know when you need help next time, it'd be fun to be quoted in an article. I've read some of your articles before this in various places, and they've always been informative and fun to read.

Your salesman is 100% correct. No window company, unless they are idiots, would ever warranty condensation on the surface of the glass. That is an issue new windows or a window company simply has no control over. Condensation between the glass that cannot be wiped off will be warrantied. That is the result of a seal failure. Surface condensation is caused by humidity as well as leaving your blinds down. New windows that are very efficient and air tight can actually cause condensation. Why? Your old leaky windows allow moisture/ humidity to freely move through the windows allowing mositure to escape but with a cost. Old leaky windows that allow mosisture to leak out also allows heat in the home to leak out and cold air to leak in. They will also allow hot air in the summer to leak in. Keep humidity levels lower and raise your blinds.

Agree with all the above on Manual J and S and addressing all this in the design stage. Ensure they're not fudging numbers or using "rules of thumb" (if it works out to 500sqft/ton or thereabouts, they likely didn't do the calculation). We had load calcs done on our house by 3 contractors. One came up with 6.5 tons, the other 2.5 tons, the third 4 tons. The 6.5 tons one was clearly just fudged/used a rule of thumb. Our builder would have gone with it had I not asked/researched the types of questions you're asking, so good on you! A few things that came up in our build I wished I'd known earlier -- ask to lay out the supply/return registers ahead of time so you can plan around furniture and such, and also the size of the returns -- if you want 4" thick filters, make sure they know and plan for that, and also make sure that the size of the returns match commonly available filters vs having to special order them. Return size can affect noise as well, if too small. Also on returns - good to understand if they'll do dedicated returns in each bedrooms, transfer grilles, or jumper ducts. Make sure the system will stay balanced when the door is closed.