As far as I know, brick does not come in standard colors. You most likely will have to go to the supplier and find and price one you like.

You do realize, don't you, that that roof with all the dormers etc is going to be a significant part of the building cost and when the time comes to replace the roof, it will cost you a fortune.

Thanks Anglophilia, very good point on the brick; we are going to the masonry showroom to look at options later this week. As for the roof, they have already started building the house and framing the roof, etc. so I don't think there's much I can do about it now. That's awful that it is going to cost us a fortune in the future to have to roof replaced, you're the first person to mention that to me. Is that something that is inevitable due a structural flaw in the design or what? I'm confused a little. Also, when you refer to replacing the roof someday, do you mean the shingles or the actual roof structure itself? We were in our previous house 20 years and never had to have the roof replaced. Is there something about this design that makes you think we might have to? I appreciate your thoughts and expertise, I don't know a whole lot about building but I'm enjoying the process.

The over-done roof was the first thing I saw too. Yeah, if you've already started building, you're stuck with it.

I note that one (or more) of the examples shows a bit of metal roofing ... I'd investigate the cost of metal roofing vs. typical shingles. Metal roofing will cost more, but it will last considerably longer; if you intend to stay in this house, a metal roof may cost less in the long run. Note that metal roofs don't always have a farmhouse look -- they can look like shingles.

As for brick, the website shows the house in numerous exteriors; I like it best in the lighter brick tones. I don't like the darker bricks because I don't like the way the bay windows kind of "jump off of" the darker colors. I prefer the lighter brick tones so the pieces all integrate together better. This, however, is opinion.

Thanks mrspete, I really appreciate it. On the brick, do you mean you would prefer lighter brick tones as in something non-red? Or as in red but not a dark-red? Thanks :-)

As a sort of spin on zorroslw1's idea: You can even do a Google image search for houses ("red brick two-story house," "red brick neoclassical house," "red brick gray shingles," whatever) and then basically scroooooooollll and note the examples you like best.

Thanks mrspete, I really appreciate it. On the brick, do you mean you
would prefer lighter brick tones as in something non-red? Or as in red
but not a dark-red? Thanks :-)

I mean, I don't care for red brick on this house. I think it makes the bay windows stick out in an odd way.

When the color is light, the walls blend together and appear to be one cohesive unit:

But when you have red brick the bay windows stand out, making an already "busy" plan just too much:

totally agree mrspete, we actually are not doing the bay window for that same reason. The entire front will be bricked, no bay window.

Ah, I see. I think that's a good choice. While I like a bay window, this is already a very "busy" look.

Anytime there are gables/gutters/dormers on a roof, they are far more labor-intensive to replace The cheapest roof to replace is a plain old single-peak roof such as one finds on traditional colonial houses. I'm astounded that you never had to replace the roof on your old house - I"m betting the new owners will be doing so soon! A "20-yr" roof rarely lasts 20 years; even the roofs with architectural shingles (a 30-yr roof), won't last that long. And of course, there is always the risk of wind/hail damage. In many parts of the country, ones home owner's insurance no longer just has a standard deductible for wind/hail - instead it's a percentage (1-3% of the replacement value of the house) deductible. This all started after lots of hurricane damage - insurance companies got by with this in those areas and then expanded to the south and midwest where wind damage and hail damage are regular occurrences.

I had just replaced my 20 yr roof - it was about 18 yrs old and might have had a year or more in it, but I didn't want to wait until I had ceiling damage inside to replace it. I replaced it with a 30 yr architectural shingle roof. I have a full dormer on the back of my house which means I have narrow "cat walks" on both sides and between the bottom of the dormer and the gutter. Eleven months later, we had a 10 minute hail storm - hail the size of nickels. It damaged my brand new roof. Warranty would have been voided if I had not replaced the roof; insurance company would not have covered it either. My deductible was 1% so I had to shell out, out of pocket, $6400 to replace my $8000 new roof. I subsequently discovered that I could have had my standard $500 deductible - USAA was once again offering it due to "customer demand" (ya think?), but neglected to inform me of this - I know once again have it.

But at that time, the owner of the roofing company and I talked about roofs and he was the one who informed me of how expensive new subdivision roofs were to replace - all those gables/gutters/cat walks. He said it was not at all unusual for a new roof to be $20,000-30,000 and that always came as a huge surprise to the owners who had paid less than $500,000 for their house - usually half that amount.

Most people simply don't budget for things like this. They hope there will be wind/hail damage and they'll get a new roof "on the insurance company". Not anymore - they now pro-rate coverage based on the age of the roof, and may not even offer standard deductibles.

I personally think it is highly irresponsible for builders to build a house that will be financially difficult for an owner to properly maintain. That's how neighborhoods deteriorate quickly.

I'd be worried about water damage too with that roof.

Agreed- with all the valleys and directing of water - concerns about leaf management and leaks... I see a few problem areas - esp that left gable / roof / porch roof wedgie area.

Thanks guys. I spoke with a family who had the same house plan built 2 years ago (same contractor), and 2 other families who've had the same house plan built in the last 4-6 years. Neither family said they had had any water problems. So that's good news. We love the house plan. It is already almost framed. I'll be posting a couple of brick options if I can figure out how to post photos. :-)

Which do you like better--brown or red?

I would not put brick of any color on this house. Stone would work much better. At any rate, the wood frame house trim should be redesigned to be more appropriate for a masonry house. If the plan supplier or builder doesn't know what I'm referring to, an architect should. This house is a bit of a heavy-handed mess; it needs to be simplified and lightened up.

The roofing underlayment should be full coverage Grace Ice & Water Shield.

Picking brick from a sample board at the brick supplier is a bit like picking wallpaper from a small sample swatch. The best scenario is to see the particular brick on an existing home to give you a better feel for how it would look on your own home.

Keep in mind that the mortar color can change the look and feel of any brick so evaluate a couple of different mortars if you can.

Best wishes for a successful project.

Thank you Mr. Ross, have been unable to find any homes with the "brandywine" brick from General Shale, although the masonry company said it is locally one of the top sellers.

If it's a popular brick, the supplier should be able to sort through their invoices and identify one or two addresses for you. They can also check with General Shale to see if they have some photos of houses with brandywine brick.

And don't forget mortar will change look of the house with same brick, so think of brick and mortar in a pair not in isolation.

Probably too late but you can spend a little more now with a metal roof(lifetime)(get a number of quotes) and not spend a fortune of replacing in the future.