Back onto the OP question, I don't believe moving from 2x4 to 2x6 should be as costly as your architect believes. MacV's breakdown is much more accurate from my experience. 2x6's were around $1 more per 10ft in my area, so the extra lumber bill was in the $3,000 range. If you order the windows and doors from the manufacturer with the jambs built for 2x6, the extra cost is minimal, something like $20 per window or door (maybe $50 for doors). Insulation, well you can spend as little or as much as you want, but striking the balance between air infiltration and price is the center of most debates. R value is great in a lab, but in the real world, you need your doors and windows to shut tight and keep the walls from allowing wind in. Worthy's mention of an exterior foam board (taped at the seams) coupled with a blown in cellulose or fiberglass is a great economical choice. He's also right about the interior walls, I should have done 2x6 there as well. You really can't insulate around the DWV pipes for sound in a 2x4 wall.

Actually thermal bridging over the wood studs is reponsible for a good bit of heat loss/intrusion. For example a 2X6 stud wall with "R19" insulation only has an R value of 13.5 when the thermal bridging of the wall structure is taken into account (see http://www.ornl.gov whole wall calculator). That's one reason foam sheathing over the exterior sheathing of the house is so effective. It cuts that bridge. Done properly it also adds to the structural strength of the building. We've gone the foam sheathing route (as a part of our ADA) and our house is draft free, quiet and needs far less conditioning than non-sheathed home. With energy prices going up and up, it's well worth the extra cost.

Oh, Spincrazy I am happy to hear Adex does have a 2x6. Do you know if they have it in non crackle? Is your crackle subtle? Any pictures? And where did you find it and how much? I read in Blakey's post that the Sonoma was around $25 sf, a little pricey for me. So the Adex would be a good solution. I assume that Ann Sachs is pricey too, but I'll look! Scoutcat- thanks for the info, I'll check them out. They also sell Sonoma tile so I can look at that. Keep those suggestions coming! Thanks again.

Hey, thanks for all of your fast feedback - it's fun to wake up and find postings waiting! Okay, "Honey, stop the car" is out. I have never seen a sign like that used before and thought it was amusing, but can see how it could get on someone's nerves. I hate cutesy realtor-speak as well. I specifically do NOT want to announce my bed/bath count right off the bat. We have a 3/1.5 which isn't unusual for our area. However, we had two couples that were very interested, yet ultimatley decided they wanted two full baths. No one is going to want this house because of it's bathroom count or three ordinary bedrooms. Why will they want it? Because of the wonderful floor plan and our family room addition (we added on a beautifully designed FR with loads of windows, skylights, FP, built-ins). Because of the 1st floor laundry or large eat-in kitchen (both are unusual around here). Because everything expensive has been replaced or updated recently - roof, windows, furnace, a/c, hwh, electrical, new paver patio, new landscaping, garage door & opener, fence. The baths are new. The kitchen cabinets are 15 years old and everything else was updated when we did the additon. I feel the kitchen is in a good place in that you could rip it out without feeling guilty, but it isn't so old and ugly that it would be painful to live with if you had to keep it. How do I say that on a sign - LOL! Back to wording... you all have convinced me to drop "maintenance free". I was trying to convey the idea that everything has been updated, and "Updated throughout" is probably better, non? I'll probably go with "open floor plan", simply because "great floor plan" sounds like there isn't anything else positive to say! BTW, this is a 50s ranch, so there were no wonderful architectural details to preserve and the renovation really does fit the flavor of the house. We were very conscious of that going into our project and hired an architect to make sure it was done right. Of course we will have an info box with the sign, as we have had the entire time. I played around with the sign and could put another line of info on there, so it would read... for sale 1900 square feet open floor plan updated throughout 555-5555 www.blahblah.com Any thoughts? Nicole