I just bought a set of the Canadian Professional to replace a previous Canadian made Paderno set that does not work with induction cooktops. I think the previous set was just a pad on the base and a single wall up the sides. I used and loved the set for many years, with pride. This new set however is try layer throughout the base and all the way up the sides. It feels like a big improvement. I had actually been researching All clad and considering their copper core line, but am very happy that I went with the Paderno professional line as it seems to have the same clad technology (sans the copper core, closer to the all clad d3) but much better value. I would consider this a high end set.

Jellyben, returning to your original question, I'd like to offer my two-cents. It's true that Lorton has no cachet among the residents in NOVA. Unless, you are close-in, any commute into the District is nasty. My BIL lives in West Springfield. He carpools to the Library of Congress up 395 and his commute is better than most...30 minutes door-to-door if it's not raining. It's a great area with nice family neighborhoods. My concerns are a bit different. You are very interested in new construction. I'd caution you to approach new construction throughout Northern Virginia with a gimlet eye. New developments and homes were constructed lightning fast during the boom here. Lorton is an example. I have real reservations about the quality of the production building circa 2003-2005. We are renting a house in Oak Hill (bleeding edge Reston and Herndon) that was built in 2004. Technically, the houses are detached but are really squashed together on teeny strips of land. In 2002, huge swaths of this area were still farmland. By 2005, townhouse farms and SFH Vinyl Villages had taken over, like weeds. The owners bought the place for $576,000 and the value zoomed to $740,000 in 18 months. You'd think that a half million bucks would land you good solid construction with nice finishes. Nope. This house was built on the cheap. It has all the requisite bells and whistles so it looks nice superficially. But...that lovely granite island is plywood covered with very thin laminate veneers. The shiny hardwood floors scratch and dent with alarming ease. The vinyl siding is beginning to separate from the house. Nails pops are everywhere. When we sit in the family room, our hair blows from the drafts coming in through the back door and windows. We joke that the truck drove past this house on insulation day. Heating/Cooling runs us about $350-$400/month. Crikey, even the toilets require 3 flushes. I could go on and on...I'm just blown away by the low level of quality combined with a high price. For a two-year old home, this house is showing unbelievable wear and tear. The construction 7-10 years ago is far superior. We moved back here last summer (after a one year job transfer to Ohio) and decided to rent for many reasons. One of them was to take a good hard look at what you can get for 500-700K in newer SFH's. I'm not impressed. The townhomes at those price levels may be of higher quality...I don't really know. I'm not suggesting that you write off new construction. I'm just saying you may want to approach it with a very careful and skeptical eye. Upon close examination, the look and feel can be very deceptive. In the long run, that brand new construction might cost you more than tweaking a somewhat older home in an older neighborhood that has a nice lot for your kids. I've read your prior posts and think that the Burke/Springfield area might suit your commute and lifestyle desires. By the way, homes identical to our rental were selling at $740,000 in 2005. They are now sitting for months at $700K. Most recent sale was $650K. A trend? Beats me but we'll see what the spring brings. I am one of those fully loaded buyers sitting on the sidelines...not because I'm looking for a bargain or a give away. I'm looking for the right combination of price and value. Between 2004-2005, those wacky price jumps of $200-$300K in all types of housing were completely disconnected from value IMHO. And that includes the house I sold in Falls Church in the summer of 2005. If I'm going to spend over a million bucks on a house, it better be pretty close to perfect. So far, no cigar.

Follow up: We ordered the American Range and it's just been installed. So far there have been no issues and it's all I could hope for. Some minor notes based on concerns I've seen expressed elsewhere on the net: - It came packed very securely on a wooden palette in perfect condition. No rust, scratches, or any other issues. I didn't perceive any quality issues: parts seem sturdy, all cast metal and stainless steel, with no plastic in sight (even the knobs are cast metal). - While the grates are elevated pretty far above the burners, the high burner flames easily reach the bottom of the pan. I don't think I'll have any issues getting enough heat. - I love the fact that I don't have to turn the knob to a "lite" setting. Just turn the knob to whatever level you want and it automatically sparks until lit (if you blow it out, it automatically relights itself). - Simmer was initially way too high. After some research I figured out that under each burner knob, to the top/left of the shaft, there's a little set screw to control the simmer level. Turn on the burner to simmer, pull off the knob, and adjust clockwise to lower the flame to the desired level (if you go too far, the flame flickers and the auto-spark starts firing). I think the simmer on the lowest burner is as low as one might need. The high (25K BTU) burner simmer is still a bit high, and also as you adjust the set screw to the minimum level the high burner valve starts to make a slight hissing sound. - Granite company had no trouble at all cutting the granite, and the installers were able to retrofit everything into our existing cabinet (albeit with a lot of cutting of the cabinet and building a shelf for the cooktop to sit on).

Perrennials ia a 100 % solution dyed acrylic.fabric . It seems Revolution is polypropylene. Two different things. All solution dyed fabrics .........indoor/outdoor usually, bleach capabilities etc. are more costly. The cost is made up by performance and easy care. It's a fast growing category, as textures mime that of indoor only fabrics. Matters not whether from Thibault, Kravet, Schumacher.......wherever.. There are plenty to select from, but all with the feel and look of indoor textures will be more $$$. In any case, get the fabric you will love for a long time, on a quality sofa. Which mean a support system of eight way hand tied construction, spring down cushioning etc. Don't make the mistake of the high priced spread, on a frame that will not compare in quality with the fabric that tops it.