sierraeast - The views are somewhat subjective. The city/ocean view is on the west side of the property. The east, south and north sides have OK views, but nothing dramatic. The units already have lanais on the living floor not to mention an accessible rooftop deck. In a condo setting where people have no access to exterior living areas, I agree... a lanai would be preferred so people have some place to be outside while in or around their home. But in this case, people have a couple options to enjoy a little outdoor living. Also, the traffic noise can be loud during some times of the day and evening so I wouldn't think people would want to stand outside the lanai, especially in a bedroom. Believe it or not, most condo owners in Hawaii have their lanais enclosed if the governing association allows it. I guess if people want to be outside, they just go down the street to the beach : ) lorraineal - yes, I thought about that. I would think that people would clean the area as they would any other interior plant collection. From a cleaning perspective, having this exterior planter is no different than having a few plants inside your home. You have to pick up the leaves every now and then but in an exterior setting, this can be done less frequently than if the plants were indoors. The plants will be mostly accessible from a sliding door (center sliding door, similar to a french door so 50% of the area is accessible directly from the edge. The area is not large - only 26" deep, so it should be fairly easy to reach/maintain. I was hoping to get a few thumbs up... so perhaps my idea is baked.

The contractor probably does not want to recalculate the load calculation because he may find a mistake and then you will use it against him. The calculation is probably correct. I am a little skeptical about the duct loss. What he has seems low. I would want an explanation on how that number was generated. There could be an additional 0.5 ton of loss that is missing just in duct losses. I am also concerned that this is the first time he has installed this equipment and in 5 trips he has not been able to solve the problem. When you talk to American Standard, tell them the contractor is having problems getting the equipment to work correctly. Installation issues are not their problem. Let them know you have a load calculation and the unit size is matched to the calculation, but the equipment does not seem to working as per the spec sheet. Tell them it is a new installation and with new duct work. Hopefully they will work with you and send someone to inspect the system.

I mentioned way up thread that you should talk to friends or your real estate agent and ask for the name of an a/c company that they trust. Explain your situation and have them come out and do an inspection. It could be a very simple fix, like a duct tear. You are more likely to get someone to come out now when it is slow than in the dead of summer. Don't go into a long complicated explanation. Just say you feel like the a/c is not working properly, the builder is ignoring calls, will you come out and do inspection? If the a/c inspection finds a more complicated issue then take some photos and you will have ammo against the builder.

Carol, I did not know that. Very cool! AOK, it's not what you asked about, but since you mentioned the parking knife, have you ever seen the spiral pineapple cutter? If you use one, you have to choose pineapples that are the right size (more or less--it's pretty forgiving) and they can't be too crooked, but it was a total game changer for me, for serving pineapple. You cut off the crown, center the center of the cutter over the core of the pineapple, and start twisting. It cuts easily and just spirals on down. Pull it out and the fruit comes out on it. Remove the handle, push the sectioner down over it, and it cuts the spiral into large bite sized pieces. So much easier than a knife, and a lot less exposure of the hands to the painful acid/enzymes. I've been looking around for more answers, but Carol's wax paper is the only thing I've seen past airtight container in the fridge. They do say "fridge or freezer," so maybe the trick is to freeze some? I don't know what it's like thawed though. Maybe better for cooking. I hope someone chimes in with something better.