I used to grow First Prize. I would like to again if I can find room. First Prize got its name for a reason. It can be downright gorgeous. It was AARS 1970 and was the top show rose in the American Rose Society point tallies for 17 years. It was edged out be another nice, but disease-prone rose called Touch of Class and several others along the way. First Prize had generally good blooming, reblooming, and growing characteristics across the country. It did have two major downfalls. It didn't like winter, and its form was not consistently dependable. That is, the spiral centers with high points that exhibitors swoon over wasn't always there. Depending on climate, season, and cultural practices, the blended color was anywhere from shaded pinks to a gradation of ivory through pink to almost red. I believe that if you add Messenger to your spray program you will not have much of a disease problem with this rose. I have not grown this rose with the Messenger and fungicidal spray treatment yet, but the majority of roses I have used this combination on are clean or nearly so. Even my worst offenders, Osiria and Sundowner, do better with the Messenger supplement than without. I myself would give the First Prize a try just to see how well it actually does because in its day it had quite a following as the fad show rose. Just keep it sprayed and well-fed during the growing season.

We are currently GCing our first home. It should be done in a couple of months. Someone else posted that it was WAY more work then they had expected and I would like to second that. It is like a second FT job for my husband. A guy we met who is a GC said it like this: General contracting is mainly babysitting and cleaning up after your contractors. The might what to think about what your knowledge base is on home building. You are the only person who will REALLY inspect the quality of the work your contractors do so it's a lot of pressure. The city will inspect it to insure it meets code, but that is all. It's also hard to figure out every tiny thing its worth spending the extra money on. We have spent countless hours researching the "best" way to have things done and what is "typical" for things you don't even notice in most homes. After not seeing my husband for 6 weeks straight I just wished the thing would burn down (ha!ha!) If you can afford it and you aren't just looking for the experience I would hire someone. It's not worth the time you'll miss with your family. Not sure if you were really wanting an opinion on the GC, but thought I'd share my experience. As far as the house plan goes: We hired a draftsman. It was cheap and worked great. It only cost us $1200 (in IA). You can usually find one at a local lumberyard. They will have all kinds of ideas on how to work the plan. Here are some recommendations: Walk-In pantry in the kitchen. Since you don't have that much area on the upper level it might not be worth the cost to add a second story vs. sticking with a ranch. The stairs cost quite a bit and the hallway will be unusable space you're paying for. We started out with a 1 1/2 story and ended up with a ranch. If you have a walkout basement (not sure if basements are common where you are) you can add another level without much cost. Walkouts with open staircases are popular out here right now. It might also be nice to have 1 huge room instead of the separate living room & den. It would also be nice for large family gatherings to have a place where everyone can be together. Lastly; our draftsmen convinced us to separate our laundry and mudrooms. He said many women complain about doing laundry where everybody's shoes have been. Let us know what you come up with when it's all decided. I love to see peoples floor plans even though mine's already done!

Even though the original post is 5y old, I still found it very useful for our project. We are using Maibec modern profile in Thunder Sky (intense blue) with white trim so it is very similar to your project. I was wondering how the trim pieces on the window should go and I think it's mostly answered here. We are fortunate that my sister-in-law used the same siding and trim a few years ago (green and cream instead of our blue and white) and we have the same contractor. But her cottage is more 1920s style and using the Maibec Cove profile. We're trying to decide if we want the sill to project 1" outside of the side trim and if we do that, should the top and bottom trim match the sill? We're going to mock up some trim in scrap lumber to see how it will look. We have the Maibec trim now...nominal 4" (3-5/16") for side and bottom trim, nominal 5" (4.5") for top. Sill is 5/4" so under the window will be 1/4" wider than above the window. Today is Friday, Oct 1, 2021 and the trim starts going up on Monday. The cottage is called Cliffside, for reasons that are more apparent from the back. edit: I tried to include photos but they don't show up with the post.

I sometimes wonder why anyone posts his plans on this site. We come from SO many perspectives! Most people posting are building a house in a subdivision, not people buying property and then designing a house for their needs that suits the property. If someone is even considering a subdivision-type house, or is looking to adapt "stock" plans, then that is exactly how that person wants his house to look and be arranged. That's the kind of house they like and most likely the kind their friends have, too. Then there is an outlier such as me. My "subdivision house" was built in 1948, and in fact, all the houses were custom built in this subdivision. Some of the ones built just before WWII were two story colonials that were identical inside, but slightly different on the outside. Over the years, various owners have added on and done so in different ways, so unless one knows the history of the neighborhood, it is not apparent. If one is determined to have an "open concept" floor plan, and a first floor master suite, the floor plan is pretty much predetermined. I have LOTS of problems with such plans as I think that ultimately, they don't work very well. The space always appears quite large on the floor plan, but when furniture is floated and not mostly against walls, one loses a LOT of space. Add lots of large family entertaining, and even at 3500 sq feet, it will feel cramped/crowded. "Open concept" works best in tiny houses where separate rooms would feel like a rabbit warren, or in very large ones, with tons of room to float furniture (think McMansion). People today want lots of garages as many families have lots of cars. For decades, a ONE car garage was standard, and then a 2 car became the standard about 70 years ago. Now, it is not unusual to see 4-5 car garages. The problem, of course, is how to site them - they are an imposing presence! And then there is the cost. Even though it is never included in the square footage of a house for sale, it does factor in the square footage cost of building and it can be a LOT! A friend of my daughter lives on a horse farm and built a house on the family farm. She wanted a beautiful, gracious home with lots of millwork details. It was custom designed and the bids to construct it came in a 4 times their budget. So, they did without the first floor MBR suite for 5-7 years and then added it, living in a 2nd flr smaller bedroom in the meantime. It was tight up there with three girls and their stuff! Ten years later, they finally added the garages. I think they have 4 at least. Sometimes a longterm plan is the best. One figures out how to get what one wants in the public rooms in a house, especially if one has large groups often. Then one saves to add onto the house and the design is already done and ready to go when the money is there. Believe me, I LOVE my garage - I'm far too old to be scrapping windshields! But perhaps you need to chose between that and the sport's court and make sure you have made your public rooms big enough for a crowd...or just your own very large family! Do speak to a roofer about your roof design. A roofer friend said that most houses today, with their multiple gables etc, cost a fortune when a new roof is needed ($30,000 to 40,000)!. They are very labor intensive, whereas a traditional single peaked roof (front and back both the same with no gables), is far less expensive. You don't mention if you have trees nearby; if you do, the leaves will gather in the valleys and are a huge nuisance. Good luck!