Sarah...maybe this applies somewhat to you, but I found this on John Leeke's website, which I am studying to memory in gearing up to do my window restoration. It's about vinyl. John Leeke's Historic HomeWorks(tm) Vinyl Siding Q: "I purchased an 1840's house in northwestern N.J. in 1991 which has been a great deal of fun to restore. However, I have been ignoring its largest problem: the house is covered in a disgusting, light-green vinyl siding. There was evidence of termites in the basement when I bought the house. I exterminated the termites and have seen no evidence of them since '91. Should I consider painting the vinyl siding? What is the advisability of ripping vinyl siding off, considering I don't know what's underneath. Is there any way to tell whether or not the clapboard underneath is damaged, or is continuing to be damaged." A: You face the two common problems with vinyl siding: it is not "maintenance free" and it hides conditions beneath. I am now seeing many vinyl siding projects that have 12 to 18 year's age on them being painted due to poor appearance. To improve deteriorating appearance vinyl siding is sometimes washed with high pressure water. This must be done carefully with a downward blast to prevent loading the wall with moisture through the ventilation slots. When cleaning does not help the vinyl siding contractors' response to deteriorating appearance is to replace the siding. So the time proven actual maintenance method for vinyl is little or no maintenance until it fails and then the very high maintenance treatment of replacement. If you have a term of interest in the building that is less than the life of the vinyl product, this approach may make economic sense to you. Even if you plan to sell before the vinyl needs to be replaced vinyl's short-term economic advantage may be limited. Vinyl siding is now becoming recognized as a liability by some astute real estate buyers, because its long-term life is not as cost effective some other siding materials and because it can hide serious problems. Vinyl siding hides changing conditions of the wood and paint underneath. You need to investigate conditions underneath the vinyl siding. Begin by looking at the exterior surfaces of the siding for visible signs of buckling, trails of light tan insect wood dust sifting out of the vent slots of the siding, etc.. Suspect underlying damage in the walls at inside corners where two roofs drain into one location, and north and east walls in particular which are susceptible to moisture decay problems. Look for major cracks in the foundation which might have telegraphed up the walls underneath the siding. As an historic building investigator, I use moisture meters to sense high moisture content in the wood underneath the vinyl. This is quickly done and does not damage the vinyl. You can also spot moisture problems by looking for black streaks of dirt left by water from cornice leaks at the top of the wall. Locations of high moisture usually indicate trouble spots. Selectively remove sections of siding where you find these signs of trouble and where you saw the termites. There are special tools for removing vinyl siding so you might want to hire a vinyl siding contractor. It can usually be done carefully enough to put the vinyl siding back up without damage. Look for dampness, peeling paint and decayed wood. Paint peeling to bare wood indicates there has been high moisture, which could also have lead to decay. Look for dampness that indicates the moisture problem is current and not historic. You might need to remove the old siding in areas of concern. This should be done by a finish carpenter or cabinetmaker. Again, it can sometimes be done carefully enough to reapply it without much damage. Look for deep decay in sheathing boards and the structural members beneath such as sills, studs and plates. Here is a link that might be useful: Historic Homeworks

I bought a couple 5 gallon buckets of the bonds one time, here are my experiences with it: In 2006 I applied Bonds One Time to my treated 8 foot long 4x4's (treated pine i think its called from lowes) and they have shown no signs of weather wear or loss of the stuff they were treated with. To apply i simply let the wood dry for a few weeks in the sun and applied the one time liberally with a paintbrush. I went over each one twice to make sure it was coated thoroughly. I allowed the One time to dry for several days, turning the wood daily to make the sun hit the different sides. I then coated the bottom 3 1/2 feet of each 4x4 with fiberglass resin that takes a full day to cure. After the resin was cured i used my tractor to dig the 3' deep fencepost holes and filled the hole with 100 lbs concrete along with the 4x4. More recently, in 2009 i built a freestanding roof over my mobile home, used 4x4x18' treated pine for the 'legs' of the roof, buried those 3' deep with cement. They were treated in the same manner as the fenceposts, Bonds One Time on the whole thing, then when that dried fiberglass resin on the bottom 3 1/2 feet. One of those 4x4s ended up warping (it bent several feet over) and had to be replaced, i did not have time to treat that 4x4 the same way as the others, since the contractors couldn't stop working for 2 days while i prepared the new 4x4. That 4x4 is looking weathered, whereas the ones treated with the Bonds One Time look like new wood. Boarded up some windows on an old RV I use for storage with some kind of particle board stuff, treated it with Bonds, let it dry, installed them. Years later the particle board stuff i cut the pieces from that was just sitting out in the weather is turned to dust, whereas the boards i treated with the Bonds look the same as the day i installed them. I treated a set of steps with the bonds and they look great. I highly recommend Bonds One Time for any outdoor wood. I would like to say, make sure your wood is dry, not treated with any other product (exception is the treated wood you get from lowes, just let it dry in the sun for a few weeks before applying the Bonds for best results). For best results, apply in the hottest dryest weather you can do it in, since the hotter it is the better it absorbs into the wood. i find that it takes at least couple or more days to properly cure this stuff, but once it is cured you are good to go. Final note: I have seen many "professionals" dogging this product on the internet, and my theory on this is that it is their job to build stuff and apply sealant/paint/etc to their finished product, then to come back in a couple years and charge you to strip and reapply it, thus, a product that works as well as Bonds One Time and lasts as long as it does, cuts into their pocketbook big time by not allowing them to charge you every 2 years to strip and reapply sealant/paint/whatever. My personal experience has shown that this stuff works, and how!

In the end, there are largely two types of people who comment on these threads. Those who are building houses and those who have built houses. While I admit certain people who have built houses in the past are a bit jaded, I think you need to realize that experience does count for something. I advise those who are starting the process to not so quickly discount the advice of those who have been through the process. I have built two houses in the past and was solidly into building the third when I decided not to do it. I had firm pricing to get it done and was pretty confident that I had an initial cost laid out, and my house came back more significantly higher than the OP's. Construction labor in my area is only 8% higher than Texas, but my house came back at almost 30% higher, and this price didn't include flooring, bathroom fixtures or cabinets. I do realize that it is possible for this to happen but become concerned that the OP is focusing on the wrong items. I feel my concern was validated when he posted the specs of his custom build. A 14 SEER AC in Texas is a bit silly. In fact, it doesn't even meet the currently enacted future minimums. The marginal cost of 16 or 17 SEER is reasonable in North Texas, which has something like 3,000 cooling degree days. My experience tells me that this isn't the only questionable thing going on here. Someone who is willing to cut that corner is probably going to cut others. The question isn't whether or not you can build a house in North Texas for $120 per square - the question is should you build a house in North Texas for $120 per square. In the end, labor and overhead are only so much of the build. Please don't feel the need to answer that question for me. I don't need, or even care, to know. However, you might consider listening to some of the people who have completed their build, because it is tends to be a bit of a humbling experience.

The house is sold! i hope new owners will enjoy it as much as we did. thank you everyone for valuable advices, it definitely helped. love houzz.com