For a 36" five burner cooktop, I also would look at the less expensive DCS or even a Bosch which, IIRC. is sold by AJ Madison for under $900. The Bosch has standard sealed burners. so not as versatile as the DCS. [EDITED TO ADD: just saw bmorepanic's post and I defer to the greater knowledge there on Bosch and Dacor.) My experience with cleaning sealed cooktops is that stainless is no easier to clean and sometimes harder because it can scratch more easily than a porcelain enamel surface. What I've found makes a big difference is the depth of the burner wells and the material used for the burner hardware. With deeper wells (typical of the more "pro-style" appliances), the cooktop surfaces are a but further away from the flames, so less bakes on. The porcelain-coated single-cap burners on the Bosch will require scrubbing with Barkeeper's Friend (BKF) where (I think) the DCS is using brass components which are less likely to stain and spot. I'm guessing the Dacor will be similar but have no experience with it. I have my doubts about a magically more easy cleaning surface. I wound up buying an NXR stove a few months back. It has no magic anything and it's cooktop is one of the easiest to clean that I have owned. Only induction was easier and that was mainly because I didn't have to move the big grates. And speaking of induction, your stainless pots may or may not be induction suitable. You need to test with a magnet. If a refrigerator magnet sticks, the pot will work on induction. However, a lot of stainless cookware is not magnetic. That said, induction has a lot to recommend it and there's a wealth of info and opinions here on the subject of induction cooktops. With your house being built, it probably would be a fairly simple thing to have a 240v 40a line installed for connecting an induction cooktop. Might want to have that done for future proofing in case you decide to swap out the gas for something else. As for fridges, top freezer models are the most energy and space efficient and the least expensive to buy. SO, I would psend a bit less on the cooktop and apply the savings to a bigger fridge. Seriously, a 14.4 cu. ft fridge is tiny for a house where you will be cooking on a 36" cooktop. Unless you shop everyday. The current Maytags are made by Whirlpool (which also owns and makes Amana and Kitchenaid and some of the Sears Kenmore brand). Pretty much any top-freezer you buy without an ice-maker or water dispenser is going to have about the same reasonably good reliability. (Consumer Reports most recent membership survey of 82,000 members who bought a top-freezer fridge since 2006 show all brands having a 7%-8% defect rate. With ice & water, Whirlpool top-freezers are about as reliable but it starts climbing with other brands and GE has defect rate of 13% for top freezers with ice and water). You might want to look at the 18 cu. ft M1TXEGMY or one of the 17 cu. ft. Frigidaires which will run $700 to $800. I have no recent experience with wall ovens, so I'll have to defer to others on that. The dishwasher choice is another one where you might be able to get something better. Maytags are a Whirlpool product. Some Whirlpool made DWs have reportedly shorted out and burned out the circuit boards and several have started fires. Do a search here and you will find people with some pretty strong opinions and links to the sites discussing the controversy. Consumer Reports generally favors Bosch, Miele, and Kitchenaids DWs in more or less that order. They like the Bosch Ascenta line best, some of which can be had from AJ Madison at the same prices as the Maytag "77" model you selected. IIRC correctly, the Ascenta's are supposed to cycle a load in 95 minutes while the Maytags run between 115 and 125 minutes, and the Bosch DWs are generally regarded as noticeably quieter that the Maytags and Whirlpools. The microwave is a commodity product as you've doubtless already discovered. This post was edited by JWVideo on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 23:37

Well, we made it through an extreme winter week in Texas with the new system. We were snowed in for four days and quite happy with the system. My husband is so happy with it he wants to send a letter to the installers. We'd never had the house warm when we were in the 20s and last week we hit the teens for long periods of time. We'd bought the thermostat that can be controlled from our iPhones, and love that we can tweak it from the couch or office. The first day was a bit stressful with power outages, breakers tripping and the heater fighting to warm the house back up between power issues. The second day we only had one outage early on and then the thing just worked. I am a little upset about some power issues we need to deal with. Someone else had posted that they would need another 60 amp breaker if they replaced their A/C unit, and I'd asked the electrician (my father) and the A/C guys if we needed to worry about more power being needed for the new system. Everyone said it would use the same power lines, no problem. The day they came to hook up, it was discovered that only one 60 amp line was going to the inside unit and the heat strip power was piggy backed off of that (or the reverse). Of course the new unit would need two 60 amp lines going to it. We happened to have an extra 60 amp breaker not being used, and we ran an extra wire to that for the air handler, so everything would have power. That 60 amp was for an extra hot water heater that I guess wasn't used much. Because, during the cold snap, I turned on the dryer while the heat was on and blew the whole house breaker. After discussing things, we got the breaker off and on again, and things going again. As a test I ran the dryer again and the breaker again blew after 10 minutes. So, now I need to get an electrician out (not my father), to see if that breaker box can hold a higher amperage main breaker. Right now it's at 100. I'm not sure the house brings in enough off the transformer. I thought it was an issue when I considered an on-demand water heater and we didn't have the power to do it. During the cold snap, I'd turn off the breakers to the Heater any time I wanted to dry clothes. It wasn't a long term solution, and it's probably something we need to solve before we're running the A/C this summer. Oh, and the heat strip we have now is 15kw, the one it replaced was 10kw. I'm not sure if that's what put us over the edge, or if it's the condenser or a combination of things. Hopefully an electrician will be able to get us set up and working right.

The new salesman (my 4th bid) says my heat strips are 5 kw, and his equipment will match that. Below is his bid. Quite a bit less expensive. This is without the federal tax credit subtracted, as far as I know, but am checking on that to be sure. The condenser, I believe, is 1-stage, the handler, variable. Any opinions welcome. Carrier 1 - " 3.0 ton 15.0 SEER Puron Heat Pump System FV4BNF005 - " Variable speed air handler with 5kw heater 25HCB536 - " 15 SEER Heat Pump $ 5,300.00 Carrier Instant Rebate -150.00 Total $ 5,150.00 *This system qualifies for the Federal Tax Credit. Includes: Wood platform top, concrete condenser pad, enlarging return grill and a digital thermostat. Warranty: Ten years on compressor, coils and limited parts, one year all parts and labor. . Will connect to existing copper, electric and ductwork.

I have had gas and electric ranges over the years, but for the last 30+ I have cooked on electric until I moved and our new condo had a gas range. Everyone was all agog over it and told me I would LOVE the gas range that it was so much better than electric. For the last 20 years before our move, I cooked on smooth top electric ranges and loved them! But everyone kept telling me gas was better. Turns out, I DO NOT love the gas range. It doesn't boil water as fast as my electric one did and seems to take forever to preheat the oven. And I've had a hard time adjusting to the fact that if I don't use hot pads to remove my pans off the stove top, I'll burn my hands. And don't leave your stirring spoon in the pot for more than a second if you don't want to burn off a finger or two. My cookies don't rise -and they're either not done enough or too done, can't get it just right like before. AND the worst part is cleaning it! That's the main reason I switched to a smooth top all those years ago - they take a little getting used to the different cleaning method, but when you learn the tricks, they're a breeze compared to the old coil or this gas behemoth! It takes me a good hour to clean around all the burners and try to be careful not to get cleaner or food down those little slots around the sides. And even using a degreaser detergent, it still looks greasy after going over it several times. Give me my smooth top back! . . . where I can just scrap off the burnt on food with a razor blade - or if there isn't anything burnt on, I can just wipe on a little cleaner and polish it off with a paper towel. When wiping down the countertops with a little dish soap, I can include the stovetop and keep it sparkling clean on a daily basis. I have severe arthritis in my hands and moving those heavy grates off the top and then the cleaning around all the little places is just a little too much for me (not to mention getting gunk off the grates). That is why, after 2 1/2 years of trying to get used to it, I have decided to replace my gas range with a brand new smooth top electric range. People tell me I must be CRAZY because I'm the only person they know who prefers electric over gas. The only thing I will miss is turning off the heat immediately when something boils over. So I will have to get used to moving the pan off again. But it's worth it to me to clean up a boil over on the smooth top vs. the gas burner-cover-slots thing. AND I'll have my wonderful convection oven back and maybe my cookies too!