Set that blower on Auto, & use 20" floor fans to circulate air as you can set the Room TH a couple degrees higher & still be comfortable. I like the WIND MACHINE 3300 the best; it adjusts vertically & really moves air. I wouldn't have anything else. - udarrell

posters are giving you good info for the most part. (hey Ryann..how ya doing?) the less stops and starts your unit makes..benefits you in more dehumidification, lower operating costs and longer life of unit. one way you can help your system out since it is not running long enough to dehumidify, is to add a stand alone dehumidifier. place it as centerally as possible in your home and be prepared to empty out the water it removes as the RH in your home is lowered. btw if hvac companies did load calcs most homes would have correctly sized units instead of oversized units. sizing for the 10 hottest or coldest days of the year assures that the ho will not be calling hvac company on those few days when outdoor temps exceed the 20 degree difference that ac is desigend to achieve from indoor to outdoor. this is a shoddy way to do business, but happens daily. hvac company can charge more for larger unit and ho pays the cost monthly in utility costs plus upcharge for larger unit. also they get to replace sooner. doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out does it? pay now for load calc..save on cost of size of unit and monthly utility cost or pay now for larger unit and every month for excessive operating costs..and do it all over again in 10 to 12 years. best of luck.

One shouldn't compare durability of old brick buildings to current residential practices. Old brick is usually structural, three bricks thick or more. The weakness of brick is in the mortar and old professional work usually featured better sands with sharper, more varied particle sizes. Masons these days usually just stick with cheap, readily available masonry sand. Unfortunately, masonry is a dying trade. The biggest problem is that most residential brick work is a masonry veneer, covering wood-based construction. Along with stone and stucco, most brick veneer projects use inadequate vapor barriers and flashing. The masonry may look great from the outside, but the finishes are hiding mold, mildew and deterioration of the wood structure. Sometimes, this happens surprisingly fast. Masonry is considered a moisture reservoir cladding. It will soak up moisture from rain or sprinklers and send it towards the inside as the sun comes out. This makes it a more risky cladding than wood, metal, composite or vinyl. Masonry is one of my favorite exterior finishes but it takes extra effort than what is common in current construction practices. If you go with masonry, ensure your construction team understands the details like minding the gap and weatherproof window installations. When I was in Germany, there was a lot of troublesome renovation happening to the very old timberframe structures that had been stuccoed during times when stucco was considered more fashionable. The lime stuccos inhibited the drainage and drying of the wood, speeding up the timbers deterioration.

Not sure how you can't have a gutter on any side of a roof where it's needed. It's probably not bad luck, just misunderstanding. If you like Colonial and Cape Cod styles, then a hip roof is probably not going to lend to those styles. But, whether it's hip or a simple gable is a minor difference of cost, if any, in relation to the entire project. There are many other things which will take a bigger bite out of the construction cost, like not using an 8:12 pitch. And regarding your porch-under-the-gable question, do the math. For a 50'-8" width at 8:12, the height of the ridge (peak of roof) will be around a 16' tall space in the attic, so you'll have enough room for a 2nd story and depending it may seem out of proportion compared to the 1st story.