Okay, I'll follow that lead. How much are you willing to pay for my expertise??

Pay? No. Barter? Maybe. I’m the one who usually collects Consulting fees.

I thought these discussions were for home owners seeking advice for themselves, not for those seeking financial profit. Seeking financial gain from the charity of others makes a statement. Not sharing in the bounty of unrewarded giving has a tendency to bite one in one's butt.

That‘s my understanding too. But I can’t blame the guy for trying.

to Melissa.... I’m with you 100% on room sizes, and that has been my advice to the architect I am collaborating with. The nice thing is that the lot is 2 acres so the house can ramble a bit. The first floor master suite will be a wing by itself as will the garage. I will put my office over the garage. The peaked ceiling will be good for my music...i play the violin. The hard part is going to be keeping the costs down. While i had an umnlimited budget for the big colonial, j am retired now and the budget is no longer unlimited. The builder understands and will be helpful.

Really why are you asking us this is your area of “expertise” is it not.

Those are the questions that someone with no practical experience would ask.

Why would you be repairing fiber cement siding? I repaired damaged Hardie [wood pecker 5 holes and the mower], took a full 10 minutes and that included the painting.

> What other DOs and DON'T can you suggest? We are in the early design stage.

"Modern farmhouse" style. :) Good for overall discussions

It is. But I can always learn something. I do not do home consulting for a fee. I am strictly amateur.

re:BT... good question about ghe Hardie repair. The inspector‘s observation, relayed to me by the buyer, was that several sections of siding needed repair or replacement. When i inspected it myself this week, the board needing repair was a trim piece, not a hardie board. the hardie boards did lose quite a bit of paint from the relentless flow of water hitting them coming off a roof peak, but they can be scrape and repainted. The repair is scheduled for monday and i may add to this comment at that time if necessary.

been a while since i updated my Houzz buddies on this effort. To recall, we sold th custom colonial and are building a smaller, easier to maintain hime. after a long incubation period with the builder/architect, construction started two weeks before christmas. The shell is up and will soon be weather tight. The design morphed from ranch, to cape, to saltbox colonial. Two of the three bedrooms will be on the second floor. Total sq footage is about 2,700, versus 4,000 in the former colonial. What did we do this time that we learned from? Propane for heat, hot water, and cooking. No finished rooms in the basement. Master suite is in the left wing. Bathroom is smaller, but includes a soaking tub as well as shower. vanity will have one sink versus two. Ditto the guest bathroom. Kitchen downsized. Fewer upgrada. Screened porch is larger, not smaller. no more anderson windows for me. Outside is vinyl siding. Even with these changes and few upgrades, the house will come in at nearly 800k. That wouldn’t even buy the land the house was in california. But it is quite high for the small town location. The location is superb.