Been there, done that...lint is such a HUGE annoyance to my life. We're in a 2nd floor condo where the dryer vent ducting goes to the roof through the attic over 20 feet and several elbows. My husband bought the condo years before we met, and the ducting was clogged after several years. At the time, he decided to disconnect the vent from the duct. The resulting moisture did some damage to the cabinetry (swelling of the particle board, even under layers of oil-based paint). Soon after we married, he decided we needed to fix the problem correctly. He went up into the attic and disassembled the ducting, brought it outside, and blew it out with his air compressor. I pushed some cleaning tool through it as well. We can't be doing this regularly! I mean preferably, never again! So, I had him put a filter -- a gallon paint strainer -- over the dryer vent where it connects to the machine. This clogs every month or so, we pull the machine out, disconnect the vent, clean the strainer, and put it back. This is still an annoying chore, but not the nightmare of dealing with the whole duct run. My husband had a cool idea, that what we need to do is sew a new, longer strainer that tapers to a skinny point, so that even when it clogs at the point, there can still be air flowing past the clogged strainer, and we should be able to go longer between cleanings. We got a new dryer last summer, and pulled the ducting out of the attic to clean it -- but it was already clean as a whistle. So, our secondary filter system has kept the duct run clean for 9 years. I found you can buy secondary lint traps with a door that opens to clean them out, but we don't have room to install the box in our laundry room, and I don't think it would work any better or be easier to clean than our homemade filter. When I redo the floor, I plan to put magic slider thingies under the dryer feet to make it easier to move in and out, plus I won't want to gouge my new floor. I have researched other solutions. People claim that solid metal vent will maintain better airflow than pleated, but I think it will still clog because we need 2 90-degree elbows to get it connected to the duct in the wall. And if it clogs, how do we pull out the machine with a non-stretching vent? If we could move the duct in the wall to match the dryer vent outlet, that would eliminate 2 elbows and would probably help... I also found you can install a secondary fan in the ducting near the exit, increasing the airspeed in long ducts so the lint won't clog. They cost $150-200, but if I never had to clean out the duct run or pull out the dryer to clean my makeshift secondary lint trap ever again, it would be well worth it. I also think that our ducting is leaky somewhere, because rooms on the other side of the wall (our master bath) get crusted with lint all the time. Finding and sealing those leaks would probably improve airspeed some, plus save me tons of work cleaning the lint all the time. I think the additional fan is the way to go. In 2 other areas where we replaced an ineffective low-cfm cheap fan with a high-cfm good one, like the hood over our cooktop, it made an amazing difference, night and day. Here is a link that might be useful: example of dryer duct fan

Oh, I have no problem NOT cooking! I don't like to cook. I would be happy with salad, Pb and J sandwich, tuna sand. cereal! fruit! raw veggies. But for some reason, DH thinks we actually NEED a new oven. We did purchase one that is smooth top, and a convection oven, a slide in. The installer is supposed to call me back today to arrange the day. I decided to keep my dollars with a local business owner. I did check out sears, but went with a GE product from this appliance store and he gave me about 18% off the listed price. I'm no chef, so I'm sure I'll be happy. Plus, peeps have been happy with the service and attention from this company. Sears AND this store convinced us to have a slide in or stand alone stove. SEars didn't sell many drop ins, and the other store sells NONE! lol I went with slide in. The installer will change the hardwiring to a plug in, trim the cabinet and countertop a bit and we are good to go. I didn't want the knobs on the back, and I don't like that high back. We don't have a huge kitchen and I think the stand alones fill too much visual space making the kitchen look smaller. plus, I'm a slob and I think the back splash would be easier to wipe down! LOL AND, my car got fixed yesterday afternoon! woohoo! And I didn't have to pay! LOL Called AAA for a tow, and it was at the repair shop within 30 minutes. Turns out the starter that we had to replace less than a month ago, was bad. Even though they were swamp, Q got it done before they closed at 5. Very nice. oh, I did end up with stainless. Black wasn't available.. I will be replacing the dishwasher soon. It is also 19 years old. I think I might actually replace it before it dies. LOL gee, I type as much as I tal khahahahahaha

Seems high at first glance but there's a lot we don't know. How many pumps and what type? I think I remember a post or two discussing the kind of pump set-up needed to keep your negative edge free and clear of debris. Any automation for controls? What about a saltwater chlorinator? Lights...how many and what kind? Any deck jets? What about special tile? Anything beyond a standard one row of 6" tile? Will the excavation be especially difficult where you live? Are fencing, electrical, and/or other services included? And I could go on with even more questions! I'm sure some PBs on this forum can give you an idea of how much prices have gone up in 8 years on various parts of pool construction to help you with that part of the evaluation. In my own case, our real estate agent gave us some ballpark figures for various types of pools when we were househunting. Turns out her estimates were based on info from several years past and were way, way, WAY off from then-current pricing. Perhaps many answers to my questions, and others, are listed on the PB's "pool as drawn" or on a sample contract, but we can't see that so it limits any advice you might receive. The more info you can list, the better able people will be to help you evaluate. Good luck.

Get this magazine. It is such a great magazine to have on hand for any painting project. It's House Beautiful's 500 paint colors. I have Bianco Antico granite,which is close to yours, and I really love a taupe paint with it. I found that the Revere Pewter in our house was very cold and institutional. But that was my lighting. Get this magazine, there are soooo many great ideas and colors in it. Here is a link that might be useful: House Beautiful's 500 favorite paint colors