u/Commercial_Topic437

We are building a house, small/modest sized L-shaped kitchen with small island. I HATE granite and stone countertops. I know I'm in the minority here but I just really dislike the look.

I want Richlite, which I've worked with pretty extensively making guitars, and using in the kitchen as cutting boards. I know how it wears, how it cuts and machines: I like the look and the feel. I know it requires maintenance. But we got an estimate of over $14, 000 for a Richlite countertop, which is too much. If we can't find it cheaper, I want an alternative.

I'd like to try some solid material like Corian, which I know is way out of fashion, or maybe a stainless or zinc countertop, but I have no idea how much that would cost and I'm thinking it would be a lot. Wife won't go for butcher block.

I'd welcome any alternatives to stone. We have formica in our Kitchen now, and we actually really like it, except that the edges chip and the engineered wood underlayment tends to swell and deteriorate around water.

Any suggestions welcome, and thank you.

We just signed a contract to put 40 solar panels on our 1800 sq ft. house, which is still under construction in mid-coast Maine. 17.h KWh system. Substantial battery backup. Paying cash. Hoping like hell it's worth it! We are;t imagine living off the grid, but we wanta buffer against constantly rising energy costs.

We started out with a solar company that really gave us the heebie jeebies. Our interface was a sales guy who didn't know what he was doing, it felt wrong in multiple ways--I'll spare you the details.

We went with another company where we deal directly with the owner, and he gave us a detailed estimate based on visiting the house, talking to the builder, and talking to us about usage. I'm assuming his estimate is overly optimistic: it suggests the system will generate slightly more power more than we use, and will pay for itself in about ten years. It might be right, but so many variables especially in a state like Maine with less than optimum weather.

I'd just like to hear from people who think getting solar was a good idea. There are so many horror stories.

Back in the day you used to be able to find service manuals for cars, with lists of parts. I keep being frustrated with the mediocre sound in the EqEv, and I'm thinking it's not the speakers that are the problem (though better speakers would be good) it's the underpowered audio unit itself. I think it's doing low resolution AD/DA conversion in addition to be being underpowered. Why can't I get HD radio?

it ought to be possible to replace the whole unit with something better, keeping the existing wired harnesses. It would (maybe) be easier than busting out the door speakers and kludging 12 volt power to a subwoofer. It would have to be able to "talk" to the infotainment display, which I assume is the tough part.

Chevy here's a chance for you to take more of my money

Thank you in advance for any suggestions you might have. How much power can we expect to use in a year?

We are building a house in Maine, to live in full time. Most of the time just my wife and I. 1800 sq ft, two stories, double 2x4 walls with thermal break, dense pack insulation, triple glazed windows. Heat pump, continuous air exchange, all electric appliances.

The solar contractor--who seems great, not throwing any shade here--thinks we will use 17, 400 kWh per year. Friends who live in a similar house in the same town use around 12,300 for the year, sometimes less.

How accurate does that 17,400 figure seem? My obvious question is if we could save some up front money by installing fewer panels.

Thank you for reading.