That is a very nice plan and it certainly is not overly large given the size of your family! I really don't think that redesigning the house to make it $100K cheaper to build will help you. If you cut significant amounts of square footage, that too will give the appraiser reason to come back with an even lower appraisal next time. So, lets say you figure out a way to build a smaller house but something you can live with for $100K less than this house, the appraisal on the new plan could very well come back $80K less then the cost to build that plan! What you need to do, if at all possible, is get the appraisal UP on this plan. It may be that the bank is using a low-ball appraiser so that it won't have to make the mortgage loan at all. Apparently this is a new tactic banks are using. See the link below. They also suggest ways you can at least try to fight a low-ball appraisal. But, you need to see the actual appraisal done on your home before you will have the info to move forward. However, one thing that strikes me is that, because you have chosen to build one huge bedroom and big bath over the garage for your girls instead of several smaller individual bedrooms, the appraiser is probably describing your home as a four-bedroom, four-bath home and then comparing it to other 4-bedroom, 4-bath homes. I think the number of bedrooms and baths does count in determining the value so that may be driving the appraisal down...and that would not even be a case of low-ball appraising. So, for the sake of getting a higher appraisal, you might consider redesigning the girl's area into say three separate bedrooms bedrooms and two small bathrooms (without changing the foundation plan or overall size). You could also redesign the front bathroom into two separate baths. I just think maybe if you design were being compared to six-bedroom, six bath homes, you might get a higher appraisal. Please understand that I'm not saying you have to scrap your plan for one big bedroom for the girls. Once you have the money in hand and are actually building, my experience is that banks don't look all that closely at whether the original plans are followed exactly. After all, change orders happen all the time in construction. Other then that tho, it seems to me like your options are: 1) Go back to your banker with plenty of data to prove that the appraisal is a low-ball. Obviously you need to see the basis of the appriasal before you can argue against it. Did they use prices of comparable NEW homes with similar square footage, the same numbers of bedrooms? And if he won't have a new appraisal done by a different appraiser, file a complaint with the regulatory agency in your state that governs banks. 2) Try again with a different banker and hopefully get a higher appraisal. 3) Find another source of funds to make up the majority of the difference (signature line of credit? private loan from a family member or friend) and scale back in minor ways that won't require a new appraisal. 4) Figure out exactly what has to be finished to get your CO and have the builder do exactly that much. Then finish the rest as you can afford it. How frustrating this must be for you! And how maddening that banks who couldn't give money away fast enough a few years ago (and therefore are largely to blame for our current economic woes) are now stifling the country's economic recovery by seinging the pendulum too far in the oposite direction and refusing to make perfectly good loans to perfectly good credit risks. Here is a link that might be useful: Banks ar low-balling appraisals

I made the decision after advice on this forum to install a Red chambers I had found. I had initially considered a Bluestar which has above average reliability and performance reports. I also looked at Wolf and Lacanche. I would have considered a traditional Aga, but don't live in the type of climate most suitable for that type of range. Rococogurl on the forum here used to teach cooking on Chambers cooktops and liked them, the folks I bought it from had never had a problem and my appliance repairman friend was adamant that old stoves cook better and are more reliable. Right now I am cooking on a temporary 1960 Kenmore. It's not gas but it has electric coils that are much more responsive than a fairly new Kitchenaid smoothtop in another house. I had the same experience when cooking on an elderly relative's 1940s electric range - just surprisingly responsive for electric and a beautiful oven. The oven on the Kenmore preheats quickly and perfectly browns baked goods. I baked last night and the range's exterior was not hot. Nearly burned myself on the Kitchenaid when baking and the results were uneven, even with convection. While it will likely make way for the Chambers (after a gas installation), I have found that I really do like the chocolate brown Kenmore range too. Kind of humorous after spending months seeking out two new ranges with the performance and reliability I wanted. Just going to have to go retro mod in one house to accommodate the brown Kenmore. The downside is that I want to get my Chambers range top rechromed for aesthetic reasons and will have to pull the range apart to send the top away. The Kenmore needs nothing. It looks new and I was told that it has never needed a service call. Your Magic Chef is a great range and very attractive. Probably doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the 50s ranges, but whether you need them is a personal decision. You'll get the reliability that vintage stoves offer and likely get your money back on upgrades. The only downside I can see is if you don't like traditional kitchen design, but that range really is a centerpiece.

I have bought and installed $3000.00 worth of smartcore pro 1 year ago in my unheated cabin since it said good for extreme temperatures down to 25 degrees below zero and Lowes said it was the best and only flooring that will work for me. The floor started to seperate in December 2020 at 19 degrees. Lowes said they can not help me and to file a claim with Shaw. Shaw sent an independent inspector to see flooring in March 2021. The so called independant inspector came and pretty much told me that his job is to find things to void the warranty so no claims get paid. He crawled on my floor throughout all rooms with a 6 foot level and found one high spot on my l floor that tilted his level uneven. I told him every house built has a joyce that is a little high or a little low. He agreed and said that he goes through million dollar brand new homes and always finds the same. He measured the space at edges an said some spots were too close to wall. I told him nothing expanded or contracted and its the locking that has failed. He also said the floor molding was touching the floor and that will also void a warranty. I told him there are no houses where the wall molding is not touching the floor and that no one keeps a gap below the molding. He agreed but said even if my floor did have more spacing and wall molding had a gap under it that Shaw would still void my claim since he found a joyce high spot. He left and I never had a returned call since March. I even offered to lift my floor and pay the $1.49 per square foot and to have it reinstalled by anyone of thier choice to prove it was not an installation problem and it is a locking failure problem with the flooring. I am a tipical hard working person that saved for two years to buy the best flooring made for my conditions. Shaw or Lowes have not even called me to offer me a solution or any compensation towards my $3000.00 invested. I do not know if my floor will continue to worsen but I do know it will not get better. I told the inspector that if Shaw really wanted to improve thier product that this was the perfect chance. An unheated cabin that temperatures go down to a couple of degrees below zero in the coldest part of the year. I have 8 rental proerties, a house and 2-cabins that I wanted to do all over with this flooring and now I can not trust Shaw flooring or Shaw customer service to correct the failure. My cousin is a contrator that build homes and works with hundreds of other contracors and said that he will no longer use Shaw flooring after he sees what happened to me. SHAME ON YOU SHAW FOR NOT FIXING YOUR FAILED FLOOR LOCKING PROBLEM. I or my cousin will never buy another Shaw product unless this is fixed by compensation or what I prefer which is to lift and reinstall new flooring by anyone of Shaws choice. The cabin next to me installed a cheap laminate flooring from Pergo at 1/2 the price and it has not failed under the same temperatures. I am out $3000 but you are out hundreds of thousands of dollars when contractors will not trust your products since you chose not to do the right thing.***SHAME ON YOU SHAW FOR NOT FIXING YOUR FAILED FLOOR LOCKING PROBLEM. Tim Sommers Mongomery, Pa. 17752 (570-220-8070)

If you like flooring with a lot of ”character” and movement, take a look at SUPERCore flooring at WeShipFloors.com. It is an SPC product with a limestone polymer rigid core. There is a huge thread here on Houzz that has a lot of info, reviews and photos of SUPERCore—-Adura Max vs CoreTec. The WeShipFloors website has a lot of info on the flooring, and if you find a color you like, you might save a bit of money, too. We have ordered and received the Krypton color, but haven’t installed it yet. If you google SPC VERSUS WPC, you can read some good info on the differences in the flooring. I had several samples of CORETec last year, but could not find a lighter color that I liked. I think the SUPERCore compares well to CoreTec except in cost. If you want samples, look on the page for each color, and use the green free sample button. I ordered samples of several colors and once we narrowed it down to Krypton, I ordered a full box just to be sure. SUPERCore flooring is Floor Score Certified. Good luck in your flooring search.