It was so much fun to read about everyone's paths to a "new old house." We are finishing our build in the next month, and I was very inspired by the concept of the new old house. For me, it was about capturing the classic proportions of old houses, rather than attempting to replicate them. For us, budget was a major concern, so I could not afford all of the materials that a true Versace-approved new old house would require. Instead, we focused on not making the mistakes that poorly done "new old houses" seem to really suffer from, like wrong roofing, wrong windows, etc. In some ways, it is just as important to focus on what NOT to do as it is to think about what TO do. I used two books, in addition to Versace's and lots of books of historic homes from our area, that gave detailed information about construction patterns. One is "Traditional Construction Patterns" but I can't recall the other right now. They are both on Amazon. (And I probably reviewed them there.) What they did was teach me what the obvious markers are of a poorly-done traditional construction...they are the things that - once you can recognize them - make the house obviously "wrong." By adhering to traditional construction practices and using new materials, we were able to avoid some of the mistakes that we would have inevitably made attempting to build a "new old house" on a budget. The homes in Versace's book and portfolio are gorgeous, but totally out of our reach. And, as other have suggested, really studying the home in the area helped me immensely. I paid attention to the size and placement of windows and doors, shape of window lights and number, trim details, porch raining profiles, etc. I was really obsessed! Good luck on your design and build. This is such an exciting process.

Yes sue36, we'd absolutely have them bid on the total project at a fixed price, ie a contract...but my point is that if they say it'll take them 3 weeks, then they'll want to be paid for 3 weeks of work, whereas in reality, they could have completed work in 1 week. These are obviously slow times in the building industry and as such, some tradesman might be inclined to "stretch" the length of time that they need to complete the job and therefore the price, and I'm trying to understand the time that'll be needed to complete the work in a timely manner. But yes, you bring up a good point about the standard in Mass. and the post plumber/hvac "surgery" that is bound to take place to fix their joist cuts.

We started getting bids from PBs, but have since decided on the OB route. This is due to crazy money we expect to save (and most likely transfer to upgrades and more features as Joe said). We OB our house several years ago and saved a good deal of money there - this should be a baby project in comparison. Just to be clear - we didn't actually do any of the work ourselves - subcontracted it. We will do the same for the pool. There are a few things to consider when doing OB. One, you need to be organized and detail oriented and make sure you are very clear about what you want. The fastest path to disappointment is unspoken expectations. Also, it helps to research a little and come into the bid process informed. The more informed you are, the more negotiating you can do. Kind of like buying a car and knowing the dealer invoice price. Another thing - expect that there will be bumps in the process. Not everything turns out exactly how you would like. For little problems you need to be able to process it, adjust expectations, and move on. Also, if you are considering the OB process it helps to hook up with a consultant. I think that Houseful and Swimming07?? are in Arizona and used a consultant. This is kind of like an insurance policy to have someone knowlegable in the industry on your side. If all this talk scares you - you may want to consider using a pool builder. $40k sounds pretty reasonable. I am assuming no spa? BTW - here is a picture of our finished house. Our lowest bid was $95 a sq ft - we built it for $68 per sq ft. This is with wood floors/granite/etc. Good luck.

The best view of the pond will be out of the kitchen window, the library window, and the upstairs window. Indirectly, you will be able to see water from the living room, through the archways that frame the 3 French doors (which will be mostly glass). We intend to use the front porch in the early evenings, the sun will be behind the house by then. There will be no wood ducks. The dogs that I mentioned earlier in this thread are actually highly trained hunting dogs and they wouldn't allow it. We have seen a bald eagle a couple times, if that counts... EDIT: I forgot to address the pond. There is an artesian well that runs 24/7 that keeps the pond full. It was drilled 400 ft deep nearly 20 years ago (not by me of course) and has run non-stop since then.