My belief is that rubble-stone foundations are best left undisturbed, especially below grade. You have your wish list. My recommendation is that you have a certified civil and structural engineer examine both the soil and structural integrity of your home in consideration of your intentions. Much of what you wish to do, if it can be done, will likely need to be accomplished within a very short timeframe - you have to keep the existing foundation stabilized! Qualified contractor, not a DIY project. All I can encourage is get LOCAL EXPERT advise before you begin. I live in N. IL. Our son owns a home the approximate age of yours. Basements then were cellars and weeped in wet season. The advise I share is based on guideance from an architect who evaluated their home for an addition. Hope this rather negative reply is taken as a recommendation to be cautious, not a put down on your desired result. Good luck.

Not too late at all-- we have not even broken ground yet, I am just trying to get all the decisions made, or at least narrowed down, as soon as I can. I'm glad to hear you like the Andrea, and that you found the 60 x 32 to be comfortable. That is the one I have tentatively decided on, even though I haven't found one to sit in. I looked really carefully at the specs and it seems the closest in back slope and arm rests to the tub I have now, even though this one is much longer. I do like the modern lines as well. Are you doing the drop-in or undermount? I guess if i do a tile deck, I'll have to do the drop-in, but it should look fine. (You are so right, a lot of the modern sleek-looking tubs have way to straight of a back for me.)

Thanks, everyone, for your replies! I apologize- I've been super busy lately and haven't had the time to reply until now. I agree that changing the look from my original, utmost, desire- the farmhouse look- is a decision that needs to be weighed carefully. I definitely don't want to become unhappy with our exterior down the road. However, I have always liked the look of the Cedar Ridge by Don Gardner, and I think I could make that exterior look right with my first floor and still be happy. Do you think it would look ok as a farmhouse? A preliminary rendering of our design, for a comparison: Originally we wanted approx 2500sq ft house. Because of my requirements for the 1st floor, the house ballooned to 3600 sq ft, split nearly evenly. Now I'm worried, because of the increased sq footage, that we won't be able to afford the upgrades- nice kitchen, central vac, nice deck, etc. I also would like to make sure I can still take my kids on vacations and live a decent life. I don't want to invest all my money in a structure just because I'm drawn to certain look. I'm trying to find that balance between what I WANT and what I NEED. I definitely need to reserve room in the basement for all my equipment. We'll have a Waterfurnace and all the pipes for radiant heat, water softener, water heater, etc, etc. Can't forget to include that in my planning! Thanks for the reminder, @kymike1! I need to call my mortgage guy and just talk this over with him. @stillwaters- we want to do ICF from the basement, up to the roof. We'll spray foam the roof. We also want our first floor to be handicap friendly. We haven't received any actual quotes back yet, but with everything else that we've had quoted so far, we've been UNpleasantly suprised....so that's what we're expecting for the house quote! :) I know it will all be worth it some day- just can't wait for that day to get here!!!! I've started blogging about it, if you're interested in reading some of my thoughts. It's fairly new, and I don't post very often yet, but plan to do better as we get going on the build. Here is a link that might be useful: Kelly's ICF blog (just getting started on it!)

Hmm wouldn't it be better to take PVC to the edge of the property for water discharge?