I too need to buy a new grill. I am replacing my old Weber. First I thought that I would buy a Weber Genesis, but I really want a larger grilling surface--especially if I'm going to spend so much money. The grate is 25" x 19" on the Genesis and the price is about $800 to $850 depending on which options you choose. It has 3 burners. One appliance store is getting a "close out" shipment of Ducane 5400 Stainless LP Gas Grills. This has 5 burners compared with 3 on Genesis. It also has a larger grilling surface (620 sq." vs approx. 500 sq.") I don't have the exact grate dimensions, but let's estimate for now that it is about 31 sq." x 20 sq."). Is this a smart purchase or some ploy by the salesman to dump inventory? (He does have the Weber too.) Also, I liked the specs on a Charmglow (Charglow?) model #720-0578 that I saw at Home Depot this morning. It has five 10,000 BTU burners and the grate measures approx. 33 sq." x 20 sq.". The grate is porcelain-coated cast iron on this one vs. stainless on the other two. Price is $500. To get the larger grate on a weber grill the price jumps to $1,800 or so, which is out of my price range. Any wisdom/experience/opinions to share?

As for grill vs griddle, It really depends on your cooking style, and if it's it's convenient for you to grill outdoors. I recently ordered a range with griddle, since we have both a charcoal, and a gas grill just steps outside the kitchen door. Also we live in So Cal where only a few days a year does weather prevent me from grilling outside. If this weren't the case I would likely have gone with the indoor grill. Also don't get hung up on the idea that the griddle is for pancakes only! In my on line research, I found many a pro chef argue how much more versatile the griddle is over the grill, basically, (except for attaining grill marks), almost anything you can put on a grill, you can put on a griddle but not vice versa...

We also had venting drama...our KD told us: "In my 25 years of being a KD I've only come across a handful of kitchens that couldn't be vented outside...and yours is one of them." Our GC told us: "External venting is impossible in your kitchen." My response? I refuse to accept that w/o more information. So, I asked for details and then I told them to start thinking outside the box and come up w/a solution and how much it would cost. Then, I told them, I'll decide if it's worth it. For several of weeks we went round & round with this... It caused a "stop work order" to be put in effect b/c of this + a couple of other issues (they thought that would make me give in b/c our kitchen & PR were totally gutted)...but I told them I'd rather have the delay while we work everything out than settle for less. Issues we had w/venting externally: Shower drain pipe blocked access We had smaller ceiling/floor joists than expected & they were closer together than expected (just barely met code) [We have part of the MBR & all of the MBA above our kitchen] Ditto for the wall studs in the wall behind the cooktop Well, after about 5 weeks they came back w/a cost of $4,800 to move the shower drain. They also insisted there was no way to fit the 8" round duct in our ceiling...I mentioned a rectangular duct conversion and they both claimed they didn't know of any; but my KD came back the next day and said she had called Vent-A-Hood and they told her yes, there was such a thing. We decided to build the wall out 6" to allow the duct to run up the wall. So that left the shower drain issue. The estimate was ridiculous! So, we went and got 3 outside estimates for the move...and they came in ranging from $550 to $1,000... Needless to say we went w/an "outsider" (all the while our GC claiming anything other than their solution wouldn't pass inspection...wrong!) After 9 weeks of no work, we finally ironed out all the issues for venting (and the pantry issues & measuring issues we knew about) and began work again. Bottom line: I very much doubt there's no way to vent externally. I would get an outside opinion b/f accepting what your KD or GC say. What I also learned, btw, is that if a GC doesn't want to do something, they will usually do one of two things: (1) tell you it cannot be done or (2) give you an outrageous estimate hoping you'll say no (and if you don't say no, they make killing on you!) So, if they do present you w/a ridiculous estimate...get outside estimates on the work like we did! HTH!

Tracie Your concerns regarding balance are valid. In order to address them there are a number of issues: What are the other sizes of windows on this side of the house? What is the configuration of the windows? What type of replacement windows are you using - are they close to the original design, material? For me the exterior should be the first consideration that drives the decision, the interior 2nd. Looking at windows of homes IRL is also helpful. For example my home has 6/1 configuration windows are roughly 30" wide by 53" long - putting a huge window would throw the entire exterior balance off - additionally replacing the 80 yr old windows with vinyl would total detract from the exterior Taking a picture of the exterior of your home is beneficial in determining what will work.