Sliders are great if space is a concern. As you won't have to worry about the door opening into walls or furniture. They've come a long ways since the old aluminum doors. Vinyl is the most common door material (at least where I live) and they come in a few colors. Provide you buy the right glass package they are energy efficient. Some even come with a foot bolt that is additional lock instead of having to use a broom handle. Patio doors (like a French door but one panel is stationary) are great if you have no space concerns. They typically have wider openings than a slider door. They also have sliding screens so you can still enjoy having the door open without bugs. These doors come in variety of materials from vinyl to steel to wood to wood with aluminum cladding on the exterior. Typically these doors are harder meet the current energy efficiency standards. Which that is mostly determined by which material the door is made out of. These doors can come with multipoint lock systems which means while they lock in the middle they also lock at the top and bottom. Which makes a glass door as secure as it can. Both a good doors just depends on which look/space you have for the door.

I lived for years - YEARS - with a cracked top that gradually became a more cracked top, that became a top with chunks of ceramic missing. Three or four hundred boil-overs and I long since stopped worrying about it affecting performance or being a fire hazard. I'm in the midst of a remodel and meant to put it on Craig's list for free so someone could replace the top and give it a new life, but I guess I forgot to mention that to my contractor who took it to the dump. That said, I'd never live with a new appliance like that. Suck it up - $400 hurts, but it's not a nice new range if you're patching it up with tape. I'm not happy with Amex right now but I bought all my appliances with them due to their protection programs. ps I've mentioned this before on this forum, but my terribly abused cooktop broke but never had more than superficial, barely visible scratches until something scratched it good a few months ago.

Whomever told you that your windows needed to be impact rated did you a disservice and made you a target for salespeople to push expensive impact windows on you. Impact windows only need to be used if you are not going to protect whatever windows you decide to install with approved hurricane protection. So, in a way, you might be viewed as an "easy mark" as someone stated earlier. Don't feel bad - I hear these stories every day. You would be surprised to hear the many folks that I speak with who say "I don't need shutters - my windows are hurricane proof!" There are no hurricane proof impact glass windows available to the general public. Simply stated, if you windows are made from glass - no matter what king - they're going to break - period. Click on the link below to see what happens to an impact window during a large missile impact event: Impact window test This leads to my next question of, "If you opt for the more expensive impact windows, how are you going to protect them from breaking?" You see, impact windows ARE resistant to hurricane wind load pressures but they AREN'T that good when it comes to being impact resistant. They are a "sacrificial" form of fenestration designed to break when impacted but remain in place to preserve the integrity of the building envelop and thus prevent pressurization of the structure during a tropical weather event. They were never intended to "survive" or "withstand" a hurricane impact. Quite the opposite is true. And as you can see from the video, once they are impacted they no longer pass air infiltration or water penetration standards and need to be replaced. Those impact windows weren't cheap when they were installed and they aren't going to be cheap to replace. So, no matter what windows you choose, protecting their investment cost only makes sense. Whether you decide on a high quality aluminum framed version with a 50+ year life expectancy or a pvc framed unit that only lasts for 25-30 years, protecting them is something to consider to avoid the expense, mess and inconvenience of having to replace them when they break. The bottom line is do your homework before you plunk down a ton of cash for new windows. There are dozens of types, styles, construction materials & methods, glazings and sealants used for manufacturing. If you're environmentally conscious you'll probably want to stay away from pvc because of their toxic hazards during the manufacture and disposal. However, if you're a "flipper", you'll most likely opt for the low cost of pvc and not worry about lifespan or toxic effects. If you're looking for something dimensionally stable, steel frames might be your choice. There's also aluminum, fiberglass and wood models to check out, as well. Once you decide if the up front expense or long term payoff is more important, your choices get easier. Good luck with your search.

The practical definition of a Juliet balcony is a deck that doesn't have a platform, only guard railings. The code interpretation issue is whether or not the exception to R311.3 that allows a landing less than 36" in the direction of travel is satisfied with a dimension of 0". The next question is what dimension would be allowed (2", 4", 6" etc.) I suspect you will find that your contractor knows what he is talking about. You won't be the first person to ask the building department for an interpretation of the exception to R311.3 and you may be successful but the only thing that is certain is that they cannot refuse the 4x6 deck the contractor proposed and they might accept brackets down to the existing foundation that would avoid foundation piers. They might also accept a 3x3 deck. The biggest waste of money would be the construction of two foundation piers that would later be abandoned. Ask your contractor if brackets to the foundation would reduce the cost of a 4x6 deck. If so, that might be the best solution. The contractor's offer to install the ledger board is a sign of good faith. Make sure it is through-bolted and properly flashed according to the new more strict code requirements added to the IRC after so many fatal deck failures. I recommend Grace Vycor Plus under the building wrap and over the top of the pressure treated ledger board and that should be protected with metal flashing (no unfinished aluminum). Metal flashings do not weather well when in constant contact with water on top of a ledger board so the vycor will prevent water intrusion when the metal flashing inevitably fails. the metal is essentially protecting the Vycor from UV rays. I stopped using ledger boards 40 years ago even for decks close to the ground. I always use Maine Deck Brackets.