What makes me think they'll last 10 years? I have no idea, to be honest. I've got no idea what the life expectancy of the windows is, for any of the ones I've seen. I've seen plenty of 'limited lifetime guarantees' and 'for as long as you own your home' type literature, but I've read stories where people have had trouble getting certain things covered (or cases where people have been told that the window is covered, but they'd have to pay for shipping and installation to the point where the warranty is almost meaningless). Is there an average lifespan of a vinyl window? Maybe it's me, but I thought that aluminum would be more durable than vinyl. My windows are aluminum though, and they've warped to the point where they're impossible to open and they leak large amounts of air. Probably a number of factors, but the window salesman who came out said that that's typical of aluminum windows, even though they're likely only 20 years old. And of course that salesman was selling vinyl windows, so it's hard to tell whether or not that's a fair statement or biased. For reference, the Alside Sheffield windows that I was quoted ran about $420 a piece installed. They don't sound very expensive, and the references on the company indicate that they're reliable and do good work. It sounds like each window probably costs in the neighborhood of $200. Having read a few reviews of the windows that were less than favorable, and seen reviews of Alside on this forum that aren't flattering, I'm wondering whether I should be looking at more expensive vinyl, or if vinyl is just too flawed and I should be considering something else.

I find it despicable that some employees have no rights concerning sick days It's not that employees don't have rights concerning sick days. It's that there are not separate and additional days given for sick time. No one says you can't get sick or that you can't have time off if you are. They are saying that if you ARE sick, you can easily prove it with a doctor's note. If you need time off you can use vacation time or take the time without pay. If you knew your employer was OK with 5 days a year as sick time, for example, you would use them. Maybe a few of those days you would call in sick because you really were, but some of them were used for sick children, "Mental Health" fun days, a last shopping day before the Holidays, whatever. With Paid Time Off (PTO) you get x number of days throughout the year to use as you see fit. Vacation, sick, anything. If that's all you get then you need to budget those days and keep a few for illness. I agree that 2 weeks is pretty low, but it's not unusual. Have you watched the news lately? Companies are struggling to stay open; paying employees when they aren't at work is an expensive item. In some companies close to failure, employees have chosen to give up all vacation time in order to keep their health insurance. It was one or the other. Just for the record, your decision not to sign the warning has no effect one way or the other. All they'll do is put a post-it note on the paper in your file that says "Employee refused to sign". You were out. They told you not to do it again. They don't need your signature. Your refusal just makes them think you plan to do it again and then say "But I didn't know!". I stand on my prior advice. Don't fight them, just talk to them. What are you gaining by this? If your relationship with them was good, then you are destroying it. If it was shaky, then you've confirmed for them that you are a problem. If it was bad, then you've taken them one step closer to termination. Is there part of this story you haven't shared yet? You don't have to tell us any of this but you should consider that it may have had an impact on how this was handled. Did you not call in the first day within 30 min of your start time? Did you call in every day that you were out? (Usually it's a requirement). Were you written up the prior week for something unrelated to attendance? Did you come back in on Thursday in almost perfect health so they questioned whether you really were sick those days? Are you habitually behind in your work? Do you treat your boss with disrespect or anger? Do you often talk about how great it was at the place you worked last? You said you've been there 2 years so by now you know the people and personalities you work with. I bet you can figure out exactly why this happened. I'm not saying this was your fault - your boss may be a total jerk - but in a confrontation with a supervisor, the employee almost always comes out the loser. Time spent 'managing' your manager is time well spent. Don't fight; talk.

Well, I live in Toronto so I may not have all the same choices as you . But I just bought a Thermador 30" dual fuel range- do not have it yet. Have to get a new hood too, Getting the Zepher Typhoon as it is the only product that ftis my needs and budget. So, anyways, let me give you an outline of my thinking and how I got here (and the 'facts on the ground'): Helpful hint - google search the products and download the owners manual Facts: restricted by cabinets which are not being played with, must have under cabinet installation of range hood Wolf was, more or less the archetype that I used to measure all other ranges by. 1, Looked at Fisher Paykel- was moments away from buying- they are throwing in a wall chimney vent hood or a real-deal over the range microwave for the 30" dual fuel stove- s comes with 2 double stacked burners, at 17K btu each. Brilliant design in many ways. But, the add on ventilation until would have had to be a forced fit, due to my cabinets. Microwave would have been in ingenious , but does not fit at all.In any event, at or about $4,500 all in, or so, very attractive price. Has stainless steel, and not porcelain enamel top - but it also has warming drawer that looks 'real deal ' and not flimsy. But instructions were not clear or obvious- seemed translated into English etc. 2, Looked at an Electrolux Icon- super value at under $3,000.. looks like a Wolf, has porcelain enamel top, 2 double burners at 18K btu, but, sadly, the grates were not even, and the product has already been discontinued. (Have an Electrolux central vac, and my estimation of Electrolux has gone up since that purchase 3, Looked at Jenn Air, top end Kitchen Aid, before I looked at Thermador; but the Thermador was surprisingly competitively priced And 2 power burners are a must for me. 4, I have a very nice and new Kitchen Aid countertop oven- amazing, and my estimation of Kitchen Aid has gone up (I have very good KA food processor, blender, and dishwasher too - all fine) So I looked at the brand new entry level dual fuel Kitchen Aid- outrageously low price of $2,250 had me thinking about it- but it has electronic controls/ touch pad thingy, and a flimsy looking warming drawer, and gimmicky steam bake. 5, looked at Wolf, salesmen were horrible and snotty (part of the problem) 6, Then I looked at Thermador. At or about the same price as Jenn Air and Kitchen Aid, but has much fewer electronics (I understand they fake not having electronics and they still have a panel, but they do have dials instead of push buttons, which is important to me for various reasons) Thermador also has all 4 burners at 18K BTU. The business end for me is the stovetop more than the oven, and the star shaped thing that thermador has on offer , all burners at 18K btu, along with the 'easy clean' top pushed me over to Thermador, along with a price I was comfortable with ). I want to shop like a millionaire: fist and foremost, get good value for money. The Thermador was cost competitive with Jenn Air, Kitchen Aid (high end) and Fisher Paykel. I needed to get a new hood too- Zepher Typhoon is the only product that fit my needs. All in, all taxes, all delivery etc. with the Thermador and the range hood is still less than the equivalent Wolf. Further, Thermador has a promotion on now (bit of an odd one for good reasons however - buy a range get deal on dishwasher, not ven hood etc) ) that enables you to save money the more you buy. (Are you saving money if you are spending it??) So the purchase of the stove enables me to get an entry level dishwasher for $500 . (Thermador's are rebranded Bosch) I might still go for it, but the $500 one is basic and has less features than the one I have now (which I may take to the office as the one there is done for) Still thinking about it, but will cost me $1,000. Still, I could get the dual fuel range, the range hood, and the dishwasher, all in, for the less than the price of the Wolf. So Wolf is out.. Anyways, I am not as excited about having everything match as having everything good quality and a good value for money. Buy a good design so you are not sick of it later. Watch out for buyer's remorse and think about it in advance. ( I think buyers remorse is the cause of 1/2 of the complaints on line.) Sorry about the essay.

@Blue Choosing a washer can feel like a graduate level research project. Such a relief to finally get a choice made, eh? Now, it is going to be your turn to help others. Please let us know what you chose (the one that nobody mentioned here) and please report back how it works out for you. Don't worry that somebody might hate or mock your choice. Every appliance choice will be a mix of engineering tradeoffs and design compromises, both limited by budget. On the internet, there always will be somebody who will hate your choice regardless of your budget, space, etc., let alone whether the choice works well enough for you. Your report will help others in your position with their process of working through their own choices. LOL on the YouTube channel. I only work behind cameras. I'm mostly retired, and most of what I'm doing these days is for musicians, choirs and dancers. No video help there for choosing appliances.