Keepthefaith MIGirl When designing the home we trusted in the architect as well as the builder to come up with the design. I made a few tweaks of my own but we've change a few things since that drawing was made. We are no longer doing board and batten we have decided to do a shaker style instead.

Cutting down the brick to me looks like the home would be unfinished or that there wasn't enough funds to go higher. I think maybe I should be there when the brick is being installed and see what I think about it going high or staying low.

This is the shaker we are doing

https://www.gentekinc.com/default/Siding/ShakesScallops/FairhavenSoundSingleSelect.aspx in IRON ORE.

The siding will be Double 4" clap board siding in IRON ORE

https://www.gentekinc.com/default/Siding/VinylSiding/SequoiaSelect.aspx

Exterior colour and texture inspo

Our stone is very similar to this photo as well. We are also doing the dark roof with the white trim.

Front and garage door will be a 'faux' wood similar to this. We are also doing the white corners.

We plan on also trying to get some kind of small wood accent on some of the gable tips. Not as big as the photo above.

Lights will go above the garage doors like this. The garage style will be similar to the above photo as well. Style of siding and colour is very similar to what I've ordering as well.

When designing the home we trusted in the architect as well as the builder to come up with the design.

Don't you mean draftsman?

What is it with American builders and gables !

They give away gables at each year's annual builder's convention, and a lot of the builders take a bunch home with them...

cpartist If a draftsman is the person who draws up the designs for exterior and interior as well as making sure the house is built to code then yes a draftsman.

Snaggy Gables give a craftsman and/or farmhouse look. Thats why it's been so popular here.

Sorry...it takes a lot more than multiple gables to make a Craftsman style home. And as for farmhouses...

Virgil Carter Fine Art Inspiration from both doesn't make the choices wrong. You can grab inspiration from different places to create a design that fits a persons aesthetic.

Snaggy Gables give a craftsman and/or farmhouse look. Thats why it's been so popular here

There is absolutely NOTHING craftsman or farmhouse looking about your house.

cpartist If a draftsman is the person who draws up the designs for exterior and interior as well as making sure the house is built to code then yes a draftsman.

It helps to distinguish between a draftsman and an architect. The education and license requirements are much greater for architects than for draftsmen. Most architects earn a 5-year bachelor's degree. Course topics in an architecture program might include CAD, architectural history, construction methods, math, and technology. Architecture students are also expected to gain work experience via internships.

All architects in the U.S. must be licensed. Eligibility for license includes earning a professional degree in architecture, completing an internship, and passing the Architect Registration Examination. Licenses must also be periodically renewed by completing some form of continuing education, such as classes, conferences, or workshops.

A draftsman need only to know how to use a CAD program. Period. No design skills needed. Certificates, diplomas, or associate's degrees in drafting can be earned from technical institutes and community colleges. In general, topics of study may include design, sketching, and CAD. Training varies considerably among schools. It is important to note that draftsmen do not need to be licensed.

In other words, you had a draftsman draw up your plans, not an architect.

You can grab inspiration from different places to create a design that fits a persons aesthetic.

Yes you can grab inspiration from different sources but putting them together into a cohesive whole requires more than taking one from Column A ad two from Column B and getting something that works well and not like a small McMansion.

cpartist Im not entirely sure why you feel the need to conitinously attack every single comment and suggestion I have made with my exterior and the interior kitchen design. Please move onto someone else and project your nasty attitude somewhere else.

Thank you.

With respect to brick around the base, it might be helpful to view it as a foundation treatment not to be confused with wainscoting that we so often see inside homes. It was often applied so that the bottom siding boards didn't rot from rain and snow & to minimize the intrusion of mice and bugs.

Cutting the stone or brick off at the right height can be tricky. This works below because the house is two stories.

cpartist I can appreciate you educating me on the differences between the a draftsman and an architect but you can keep the rest to yourself.

I asked about the garage nothing else. I saw your kitchen in the other post. Did I make a comment about it not being my style or the 5 million other things I would change about it because it doesn't make sense to me? Nope! Be a better person and accept that not everyone has to agree with your logic in design.

We switched that weeks ago

I guess I wasn't paying attention back then.

As for the brick, the elevations show it flush with the siding above. Are the drawings wrong?

I asked about the garage nothing else. I saw your kitchen in the other post. Did I make a comment about it not being my style or the 5 million other things I would change about it because it doesn't make sense to me? Nope! Be a better person and accept that not everyone has to agree with your logic in design.

On a public forum if we see something related or not, we're also free to post our thoughts.

For the record good design and style are also two very different things. I can love realism in art and hate expressionism (I don't) but the rules of good design rule through both as just one example.

And if I can help someone lurking, I will continue to do so. Just like when I was designing my house and posted it on these forums, I was free to take the advice and agree or disagree, you of course are free to do the same exact thing.

For those who said to go ahead with the change here it is! We’ve decided now that we will not be doing the vent on the gable. My husband will be contacting the builder tonight.

looks good - are you in canada also?

Brandie Van Ee Yes we are in Northern Ontario! Just above Michigan.

RES 3d Sketches The brick at the bottom is flush with the clapboard siding yes.

BeverlyFLADeziner Based on the images you sent it seems like maybe I need to break up the brick work, not just lower it down.

Joanna, these are all your decisions. I'm just presenting images for you to consider as you make these decisions.

Here is your elevation with the lowered brick band

I'm not a designer at all. But, I prefer the look of the lowered band of brick compared to the original. :)

I'm just one average opinion LOL

BeverlyFLADeziner Im going to ask if we can be there to see the brick go up I just wonder where I would put the rest of the brick material that was ordered? :/

where I would put the rest of the brick material that was ordered? :/

Around the other three sides of the house so it looks like it's part of the foundation.

If the cladding materials were real instead of imitative, the siding would overlap the brick; that's how materials exposed to the wether have always been installed.

Cpartist is right. Use it around the rest of the home.

Real brick needs a brick ledge, seen here at the right corner of the garage.

But not down the side of the garage.

Here are cross sections showing what RES said above about how the siding would overlap the brick -- shown on the left, and how brick and stone are often installed with the masonry proud of the wall and a cap applied at the top.

PPF. There is a ledge on the left side of the garage front but not the sides. Stone was only planned for the front of the home.

PPF. We also are not doing a traditional brick we are doing stone as seen on the elevation. I'll attach a photo of the stone.

The siding will be a that grey clapboard (not the style shown in the photo) style vinyl. The wood swatch is our front door and garage door.

I think at this point in the construction there are only 2 options for this.

1. Leave it as is you seem to like it.

2. Continue the stone up along the first story and then let the siding take over for the gables and sides. Yes more expensive as you'd need more stone.

I'm personally not a fan of the "wader"s, but I think with the brick ledges there it is going to be hard to do just along the bottom and it not look funny too just being along the front. No matter what do you'll be able to see part of the sides and see that there is a siding difference along the front vs. sides, so pick what you like it is your house after all and a little late to change things without extra costs at this point to improve the look around the sides as well.

I guess I'm confused.

Above you said:

Joanna

RES 3d Sketches The brick at the bottom is flush with the clapboard siding yes.

Like Save 9 hours ago

Joanna

BeverlyFLADeziner Based on the images you sent it seems like maybe I need to break up the brick work, not just lower it down.

What RES and PPF said. To make the brick believable it must be used in a way that appears logically structural. That means a brick foundation on top of which the wall studs are installed. All around the entire house. Approximately one foot above grade, give or take...

lyfia Im confused about your statement about the siding being different in the front and back. There will be clapboard on the left, right and back of the home. The gables in the front and back will have shaker. Our budget is pretty tight considering the extra 15,000 we had to spend unexpectedly on the footing of the home as per the engineer of the town.

The front has the stone and as you see your house from the side you'll see differences in the siding as in the side doesn't have the stone and the front side does. On really narrow lots with neighbors very close the sides are rarely seen, but on other houses this is visible as it is very rare that you only ever see the house from the front only as you walk/drive etc. past the house or come up to it.

Below are some examples to illustrate. I used the "wader" style for all to help visualize. Personally not a fan of that style as it doesn't make sense in my brain for it to go to that level based on old construction techniques so the engineering brain has issues with it.

The first is an example of what I mean where you see the side as well as the front and they don't match up around the corner on the right. There is no continuity between the front and the other sides.

Whereas the below wrap around the whole house and is continuous.

No expert on style, but having a vent above the garage to vent out hot air, with a auto fan really helps our home.

The gables in the front and back will have shaker.

Not trying to give you a hard time, but ...

The gables in the front and back will have SHAKES (shake siding).

I thought each gable was going to have a member of an American religious sect.

PPF. Learning something new everyday here! Thanks! I knew it sounded funny saying shaker :D

lyfia Gotcha! If your budget permitted it I would definitely wrap the stone around the home. Have you ever seen any home that partially wrap the sides? Maybe just go in 1-2 feet?

canamrider07 . We live in a pretty cool climate here in Canada so I don't think that's necessary.... My parents live in NJ however and they definitely have a fan in their attic and above the garage space!

In light wood framing exterior walls resist lateral wind and earthquake forces by spanning from one floor to another thereby transferring the lateral forces to the floors which transfer the forces to the walls that are perpendicular to the lateral forces and those walls transfer the forces to the foundations.

If an exterior wall were not structurally continuous, the house frame would be at risk of failing therefore there are no old light wood framed house where the lower half of the wall is double wythe masonry and the upper half is wood framed.

Modern framing techniques allow light wood framing to be continuous from floor to floor with modern simulated claddings (like adhered thin brick and horizontal lap siding) added that change part way up the wall.

This approach might look right for a modern design but for a traditional house it looks forced and out of place. If you want to maintain the appearance of a traditional house, change the cladding materials at the floor lines.

I like CP's simplified version. Your version looks so busy. My eyes can't focus on anything. Maybe if you lowered the brick to the appropriate height you could continue it around the entire house.

joanna we went with estate stone from shouldice also. I find alot of similarities with yours... to ours haha.
we ended up going with brockton colour what colour is this one.

We went with the brockton colour as well! lol!

that's awesome... haha
we have the estate stone and we used the seratoga brick in brockton as well.
the brick has darker colours - and I find the stone has more browns in it (in full sun)
if this helps any...

Brandie Van Ee This totally helps! That looks soooo good! You're house looks awesome!