Some facts about siding: In our area of the country, the predominant siding is a lapboard type or rustic wood. There's not much in the way of brick, stone or stucco, except for some skirting or trim. Older rock homes can be found out on the prairie that used field or river stones for all four walls. In the lapboard category, we have vinyl, cement fiberboard, wood, and steel that I know about. There are advantages and disadvantages to all. Vinyl has a limited life and can be damaged by cold weather as it becomes brittle, and it's the least expensive. Cement fiberboard has to be prepped and then painted; it's less expensive than real wood, but somewhat expensive. It can sometimes be a problem where caulking is used, but you can paint it any color and it's pretty much fire and termite resistant. Galvanized steel is a newer product to our area for siding and comes prefinished and is seamless, and even looks like wooden lapboard siding ... but you have to stick with the color you choose and costs about the same as the cement. When you compound researching just one area, then multiply that by all the major elements of the home, you can see where the confusion comes in. Today, dh and I went driving around our new neighborhood and a few others and the only thing we noticed was everyone's siding. That one's vinyl, that is wood, oh, there's steel, etc. Everytime I drive anywhere now, I notice SIDING. Next it will be everyone's windows. At least I think we have finally made up our minds and will be going with the steel. Here are a few photos of homes around our property that have steel. You'd never know it except for the nice crisp lines and seamless application. It's a better choice for us and will mean less maintenance in the retirement years.

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Decisions, decisions! Now we need to do the number's crunch and try to keep to a budget for the "trimmings" ... I will really need help here to keep reigned in, especially once dh has gone back to work. Of course, he gave the builder his work cell number and threatened to cut up my credit card should I become uncooperative :). He really has nothing to be worried about. I just have expensive taste, but I like to shop at discount stores and put things together for a fraction of the cost. But other times, when I'm a bit stressed and short on time, I go a little hog wild :) If anybody posts a comment from now on out, please, PLEASE, PLEASE remind me to work within the budget, OK! So here's the thought on siding color. Plain old beige. Boring, boring, boring ... but beige can be decked out to make a statement too! My first choice in siding is Hardy-Plank cement fiberboard ... but it's too expensive ... and on top, you have to have it painted which cost another 5-6 thousand dollars. Wood is expensive too and is subject to termite. And then there's vinyl. Yuck, I said! until I started seeing it mixed with real wood cedar shingle accents and wooden eves. You never have to paint it, and they're estremely fade resistent now-a-days. So, I figured we'd go with one of the higher end vinyl's as this is what's on about 75% of the homes in my new neighborhood. And you know what? They look very woodsy and craftsman and beautiful all rolled into one. (The only exterior finish I've ever had is stucco.) Next comes the choice in color for the cedar shingles and their size and shape! This is not easy! Carpet and wood flooring were on the menu this morning, and I think the builder rolled his eyes when the store called to rat on me that I have expensive taste. So back to the drawing board for a few items at that store. We did great on the cabinet budget :) ... A little overboard with the lights ... but I can fix that with swapping out just one fixture. I'll get the hang of this thing sooner or later.

Update:

P.S. Now we're debating the cost of the Hardi plank cement fiberboard siding again. It just never ends. To be continued after I meet with the builder. Another last minute change is the addition of a gas hookup... and changing the waterheater and stove from electric to gas. This means another research "party" on cooking ranges. To be continued, again. BTW, we went to the floor store this morning and found some flooring within our price range (a good thing).
I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning!

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Productive Week! After sitting on our plans for months, the doors are finally opening to begin building our home. The property has a temporary address, not just a lot number, and the building permit just needed a few more signatures to complete the process. The excavators are anxious to start "grubbing" out the land and rearranging the building site with their backhoes and graders. We sent in our sewer and water hookup fees and applications too. Lots of paperwork and little incidental things a first time home builder couldn't even imagine was needed. The builder came over with a budget in hand and went over the numbers with us. He's been a wonderful blessing and we can see God's hand in the decision to get the right builder for the job. His heart is really into making our home nice, and since this will be a step up in building for him, he's giving us 110% of his effort and knowledge in the process. This will probably lead him to more custom home customers in the end, so it's a win-win situation for all of us. Today we meet with the banker to finalize our financing; we'll have just a small mortgage to carry so it shouldn't be too bad. Bids have been pouring in for the cabinets, plumbing, countertops and lighting. I'd like to go checkout flooring and make a few adjustments to the lighting order. This is a lot easier to do with dh home this week and will give me more peace of mind when he returns to work next week.

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Today dh and I met with the builder and an excavation crew at the lot this morning. They may start clearing the land in the next day or two to clean up some of the overgrowth and get a little access area ready for construction. We've decided to bring the house out an additional thirty feet towards the front of property to give us a bigger backyard. We'll still have about a 400 ft. setback from the street to the front porch. My parent's pushed their home so far back that they were front yard rich but back yard poor. The building permit was turned in to the county on Friday (last week) and should be done in about a week. There is so much paperwork involved. Now we have to fill out forms to connect to the water and sewer systems. Later in the morning we drove out to select granite for the counter tops. Here's a sample photo. It should go nice with the cabinets we've selected, the hickory floors and the oiled bronze accents. There's even a smidge of white in it that will complement the white appliances, and should be enough left over to do a few of the bathroom countertops. Apparantly when you buy granite, you buy the whole slab and might as well use the excess if there is any left. Below is the last of the square footage showing the 480 sq. ft. bonus room above the garage with a full bath. It should have a very nice view of the lake and the mountains. If you come for a visit, this is where we'll put you up :)

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The image of the basement was easy to copy since we're not building a full basement, and the remainder of the house footprint (except for garage) is to be crawlspace. This area of the house is 670 sq. feet and will be completed and used as a family room and place for our dog to sleep during the winter. I'm looking into polished concrete floors . They're easy to keep clean and can be mopped. Our dog is a golden retriever and sheds a pile of "cotton candy" hair that would plug up the best vacuum. I'm sure we'll put in some large area rugs too and wear our slippers. This floor treatment can be beautiful if done properly and will work well in the laundry room too. Now I have to sell the idea to dh :) ... easy, I'll just take him to the new animal hospital and show him how beautiful concrete can be. (click on image to enlarge)

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Eeeny, meeny, miny, moe ... which goes where .... some are for the inside, and some are for the out. If you thought I was eclectic, now you have no doubt.






We had to select all of the lights today in about 1-1/2 hours. This is about 2/3's of the the selection give or take a few. Good thing I scoped out the store yesterday ahead of time ... it's mind boggling but I was prepared with blue prints in hand and a list of what was needed. If not for that, I think it would have taken all day.

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After fiddling with our house plans, I finally was able to shrink and paste together this rendition showing the front elevation. The back of our lot has a gentle slope, so we're taking advantage of it to put in the walk out basement. We offset the entrance to the 24' x 8' front porch to the side by the garage so as to have less steps to climb. The little bay window is Ann's bedroom ... to the left ... Nathan's room ... and further left ... a window over my soaking tub (complete with a shade!) .. To the right of the bay, we have foyer windows ... the entrance door with sidelights and a transom window above. Below the front porch is the visible walk out basement. The garage is a side load with a bonus room above. This has been quite a process to design the entire home. We must have looked at 1500 floor plans before picking up enough ideas to try designing it ourselves.
Mrs. Mac's house sketch 7/06

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