Consumer Reports' 2009 Kitchen Special: Leaner, greener kitchen remodels are on tap

Gone are the days when cash-out refinancing fueled kitchen renovations with glitzy granite countertops and state-of-the-art appliances. (This also seems to be the era of "phasing" projects.) As covered in our brand-new "Top Kitchen and Bath Values" report, part of the August 2009 issue of Consumer Reports, two-thirds of homeowners surveyed said they'll be spending less, doing more of the work themselves, and buying more-efficient appliances.

Below you'll find a listing of the product reports and other stories in this special section. And don't forget to use our revamped Kitchen-Planning Guide, which can help you save thousands of dollars on your kitchen remodel.

Buying appliances: Learn about money-saving tactics and find the best retailers.

Refrigerators: Lower-cost top-freezer models are making a comeback. Our ratings (available to subscribers) also include top performers in other styles. As with all our appliance coverage, we show the most reliable brands and ways to decide whether your existing refrigerator can be saved.

Cooking appliances: Find the best-performing ranges, wall ovens, cooktops and microwaves. We'll also help you decide between a range and a cooktop/wall-oven combo or between an over-the range microwave and a range hood.

Dishwashers: A $400 recommended model and $550 Best Buy lead the latest ratings. The story also includes advice on the pros, cons, and costs of turbo sprayers, stainless-steel interiors, half-load options, and filters.

Countertops: We rated quartz, granite, tile, laminate, steel, concrete, butcher block and more materials for strength and cost.

Flooring: Bamboo and plastic laminates have improved, but some brands resist wear better than others. We also found difference in performance within the same brands.

Garbage disposers: After pushing hundreds of pounds of beef bones and vegetables through 15 continuous-feed and s batch-mode models, we found a pair of sub-$165 top performers. Watch the video above to see how we test garbage disposers.

Appliances forums: We've revamped our always-busy forums with a new format that will let you quickly find info on particular types and models of large and small kitchen appliances.

Stay tuned to this blog and the Kitchen-Planning Guide over the coming weeks for a additional articles and videos with additional information from our reports and tests on all of the above products.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Esential information: Find 15 top-rated products for summer projects that will save you time and money.