I'm a compulsive shopper. I way way way way way overthink any purchase of more than $100, and I live in terror of not getting the best deal possible. I have been known to waste $5 in gas to save $1 in groceries. So when, like many homeowners, I was caught last Winter with my pants down and heating oil $4/gallon, I started wishing I had something else. We don't have a good spot for a stove, which would have been my 1st choice, but we did have a wonderful masonary fireplace/air conditioner so we decided to go that route. So I started to do my homework to pick the "best" insert for my fireplace. I wanted ease of install, plain black w/ no frills, STEEL FIREBOX, the most glass. I narrowed it down to two: PE Summit and Lopi Freedom (I found the Regency dealer too late). After figuring the demensions and installation constraints I realized the Summit wasn't going to fit easily, and that I'd have to do som major demo to get it to fit. I wanted the biggest firebox I could get. I also wanted the option to completely flush mount the unit, and that was something the Lopi would allow me to do. I went with the Freedom,(not the bay I swear those things look so gawdy in the pictures). It was more when factored on a price/cubic ft of firebox but I really wanted the largest firebox I could get. Larger firebox=more heat right? Well, yes and no. You can get more heat but you may not want it. My insert is in a room about 300sqft, and at a perpetual 80 degrees. The rest of the main floor of the home fluctuates between 65 and 72, depending on how long I'm burning hot and how many fans I have blowing. I expected this. I think I could've easily gone with a smaller insert, because save for 1 overnight burn I'm tending the fire every 2 hours anyway, so I could just as easily toss in more wood at that time. Also, I did the survey/install myself. An experienced dealer may have known from experience whether a larger Regency (in hindsight my fist pic) or PE Summit would have fit, but I was hung up on flush-mounting the stove into the hearth. I love the stove. Its a quality/lifetime item. The large glass is great, and I don't miss the hearth at all. It stays clean with dry wood, and if I choke it down and it gets dirty I run it hot the next morning and it burns right off. I'm buring my own wood from my land. If you have to buy wood I'd suggest you get a pellet stove. This being said, to do it again I'd get the mid-size Regency or PE. Afte all the concern of wanting to flush-mount the insert (little ones) we mounted it forward, so we could have a stovetop. It was the right decision, and when the power went out for 7 days it was a really really good decision. I can't move all the heat this stove puts out, and the other ones are just as good and cheaper. The regency is close to the same insert, and the blower is standard on their unit. My friend has the mid-size Regency, and he saved $500 over what I paid, which is like getting free installation. DO NOT BOTHER WITH AN INSERT IF YOU DON'T GET THE BLOWER. Trust me, you'll be disappointed and you're wasting your money.

mls99, I think you'll find in the US it means a beautiful, custom, Smallbone-type "scullery" period (or period-inspired) kitchen, the kind that one would likely only find in the most lavishly "done up" high-end homes and London flats! That said, a look at B&Q online these days (I snooped around just for fun) suggests that the American-type fitted kitchen now dominates in Britain too so perhaps as houses are being redone over the years the kitchens are more functional. I remember when we left we actually had a wonderful Hotpoint fridge/freezer of a size and shape that would actually suit in my small home here - it was smaller than the average AMerican sarcophogus but well designed and held loads. I loved that the bottom freezer was nearly the size of the fridge and fitted with several internal drawers (great for organizigin! That said, although it was a single unit it looked like a pair of stacked separates as was still often found in homes. Interestingly, from my reading it seems like "high end" London is now going for the minimalist look again - in fact I remember reading in the Guradian Gaurdian Guardian (sorry, British in-joke) a while back that somebody took a GORGEOUS traditional intact Pimlico 4 story house and spent a FORTUNE gutting it, and replacing all the early 19th century charm (including the fireplaces, moldings, floors - everything) with Scandinavian modern/urban loft style. Personally I consider that sacrilege, but I guess times change..... It's not QUITE as bad as the millionnaire who had a period house in Bath and somehow got planning permission to gut it and replace the glorious Regency with Andy Warhol modern.....

Ladies, How are you all today? I'm feeling much better, thanks and I hope I can bring you some hope, too. Since my last post, I've had a rough time. I can honestly say I have been through as dark a valley as I've ever been in before. I have definitely used this to get closer to my Lord and there is at least that. My doctor put me on blood pressure meds because mine was 185/90, but it was both a cause and effect thing, I think. Other that that, she found nothing. No fluid in the ears, no infection, and all my blood work came back normal. Good news bad news there, right? The good news is your levels are normal. The bad news is YOUR LEVELS ARE NORMAL, SO NOW WHAT?? It's not thyroid, it's not female hormones, anemia, infection, etc. etc. She gave me antibiotics anyway at my insistence, because I was convinced I might have a closed dental infection which could help explain all of this, right? Yeah, so today, I went to the dentist for just x rays. Guess what they showed? NOTHING. Seriously?? I told him about all this stuff; he said, "Nothing's impossible, but I don't see anything at all here which would cause dizziness or the full head feeling." He gave me more antibiotics (just in case) and off I went, home to cry in despair. Did I mention that I quit a 25 year smoking habit the day I got the blood pressure meds? Yep, I felt so bad and was so convinced I was having a stroke that I just put 'em down. My husband then found stuff on the internet to suggest strongly that I was having major withdrawal from that, on top of everything else. Whee. Anyway, the second Dr.I saw at a clinic here in my little town suggested I might have had a virus, which I dismissed at first, but after I got over my crying fit after the dentist today, I started searching online more. I hadn't been doing much of that; it tends to cause anxiety, doesn't it? :) I found this: http://www.healthboards.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-65960.html Doesn't this sound like what we've been experiencing?? It feels right to me. I'm not saying there's not other stuff involved, too. I do think so. But I also think that for me, at least, this is a partial answer at least. There's a link from there to a page of vertigo-type exercises to do; other than that, it's just wait until you get over it. I'm feeling much better, but it has been a month and I'm still not "normal" yet. I no longer want to eat a bullet, though, and that's more than wonderful. I hope this turns the light on at the end of the tunnel for some of you guys. I sure appreciated all your posts here. It always helps when you know someone understands.

You are correct in that using a drum sander is not at all DIY friendly. But it's the only way to correctly sand a floor down to smooth and ready to finish. You will take years trying to do the same thing with an orbital. The rental rate for the sander is going to be more than hiring the right pro with the right equipment.