Chris, Thank you for your continued comments. 1. Do you have a preference out of the two options of the top roofline as in the previous post? If I go with the architect's design, I would keep the same pitches for all top roof sections to get rid of the sharp angle. I also understand that I may need to align the walls or do some cantilever roof/2nd floor to allow for my simplification. 2. How about the two gables? Are they appropriate here or you like all hipped roofs better? These are the two main decisions that I need to make before we settle on a general form of design. There are many other issues to consider when we move on to the next stage. Re: SU drawings It is hard for me to articulate what I dislike about the current design or what a desired design would be. I was trying to use SU to communicate my ideas to the architect. If you see this as distraction other than help with the ideas, I guess I really shall refrain from doing more drawings. The architect must be frustrated with my attempt to revise the roofs / exteriors too. He really think there is not much to be revised architecturally. He did not recommend me talking to builders about construction cost as he said they would simply charge me more when they saw such a beautiful house designed by an architect :). Well, I have been worried if the house looks so bad that it would not be acceptable to our neighbors or an average buyer. Talking about perception difference. Re: Garage offset outside building line While the HOA CCR calls for 7ft side setbacks, the subdivision plat from the city requires 10ft. I already did a hearing with the city and obtained approval of the left neighbor side 7ft setback when I was doing the planning with the first designer. The architect said he needed the extra 3ft to open the view from the great room/breakfast area. He said he would submit the construction document to see permit and if not approved he can change it. I would rather do a second hearing before finalizing the plan.

A steep hip roof should be significantly more expensive to build than something like a 6/12 gabled roof. You won't save money going to a hip roof. A steeply pitched roof in country that doesn't require one is a design fad. A few months ago, someone posted something like, "What current fad will scream 2009 twenty years from now?" I think it will be the needlessly steeply pitched roof and the gables galore syndrome. Both drive up the price of the build, increase the cost of maintenance, and probably will hurt resale in years to come. This is just my opinion, so take it for whatever you will, but there is no way I would build a "buried" screened porch like the one in your plans. A screened porch needs to be in the open as much as possible in order to get that outdoors feeling and some breezes. There are other problems with yours as designed as well. As designed, you will have to build and insulate three exterior wall portions common to the porch, instead of just one or two. That is going to increase costs. You are also building an outdoor environment over your basement. That is an invitation to leaks and adds additional insulation costs. Your terrain shows a very steep slope due to grading in a manner that brings the land up to the screen porch level. That will require a retaining wall, another expense. If you don't grade that way, your screened porch will have to have a 36' railing, which will add to the closed in feeling of a three walled porch. If you really want a screened porch, redesign the house so that the porch is only dependent on one exterior wall and is not over the basement, but on decking, like our build (not yet screened). You don't have to extend the entire roof to covered the screened porch, which is essentially what we have done. You can always add a shed roof over the screened porch. That seems to be the most common way it's done. If the deck extends beyond the screened porch, the corresponding screened wall will not require a 36" railing. The deck railing will meet the code requirement instead. It's something to keep in mind. Lastly, orient the house and the screened porch so that it is shaded or sunny as you desire at the right time of day. The wrong orientation can ruin the functionality of the porch.

Even though she didn't actually sing the revised lyrics, it is GOOD FOR A LAUGH! --------------------------------------------------------- This parody of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" from the Broadway musical and screen adaptation of "The Sound of Music" was never sung by Julie Andrews — indeed, it is quite possible she is not even aware of its existence. The actress/singer did, indeed, turn 69 on Oct.1, 2004, but she did not perform at Radio City Music Hall that year, nor at any publicized benefit for AARP.

Why light windows? With the Georgian style of the home in a historic area of greater Philadelphia, sticking with a more traditional look feels right to me, plus I like traditional. Additionally, dark windows on a house like this feels trendy to me, and with all the other renovations we want to do, I don't want to redo the windows until we have to. Lastly, I think dark windows look best without shutters and for the proportions of the house (as well as the architecture) I think the house needs shutters. My husband and I agree dark windows would look killer in the back but not in the front. I really do like the idea of green accents or shutters. There's a house in the neighborhood that I always admire with sage trim and no shutters but their brick and window layout is different than ours. And like I said, I think we'd have to get the color just right for it not to be just a green version of what we have now.