Interesting post. I had no idea textured drywall was the norm down south. Why is that? Is there a functional/practical reason or just local customs? I had asked my contractor that exact question when I remodeled my current condo in FL five years ago. I'm a New York girl and in NY our walls are smooth as a baby's butt. His comment was the same as what shicksal was told. the drywallers just don't know how to do a good job in FL so they cover everything. I dislike the heavy textured walls and "settled" on orange peel. the problem with even the orange peel is if you decide to wallpaper later on, you need to redo your walls just so you can wallpaper.

I did addtional online research today and confirmed that any damaged insulation needs to be removed even if it is "dry" now. The outside water introduces different mold spores into the insulation that can be resistant to the borax that is in there. This means that it very likely can grow mold and once it gets started the mold will thrive in the old newspaper material that makes up blown in cellulose. I also learned that you shouldn't hang dry wall until the insulation has dried out to below 25% moisture content and that the final moisture level should be below 15% once it is all said and done. I just went by the house at lunch and thankfully the insulation was all marked for removal by the project manager and the roof was almost finished. Now I just have to make sure that the insulation isn't "recycled" by the contractor and put right back up again. My faith in the builder is totally shot. Right now I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. He's lied, manipulated, and delayed the project in more ways than I can count. The next question is do we fire his @** or hang in there and watch him like a hawk, sweating everything until it is finished? The region we are in does not have many contractors to choose from and at this stage of the project my involvement level would likely be the same if we switched to a different contractor or if we stayed. Either way it's going to be more work, more money, and more stress. Sigh, why do people build houses anyways! =)

Wood doors, well constructed with solid mortise and tenon joinery and stable stock, well maintained should be a fine choice. Notice there's alot of caveats there. You failed to mention WHERE in the country you are. In most climates a storm door will greatly improve the longevity of your solid front door. After refinishing literally hundreds of doors, I have found that 3 coats Pratt and Lampbert vitralite uva spar varnish offer the best long term performance and not need yearly recoats. ( P/l vitralite has a garish gloss so I generally advise final buffing, after 1 week drying, with 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits, orange oil or paste wax to cut the gloss to a more palatable satin) Minwax spar may be easier to find, but it pretty much sucks and you will definitely need to keep re-doing it. It is important that all SIX sides (top, bottom, hinge side, lockset side, front and backside.) of the door be finished especially the bottom edge to help limit warpage and swelling in big moisture swings. Nothing beats the beauty of a well made well finished front door. fiberglass?? eww good luck and enjoy! Reid

If you object to the orange tones, you may not be happy with blues and greens. These colors are opposite orange on a color wheel, and make the orange more so, by contrast. It's a complementary color scheme to use a color opposite on the color wheel. A very common choice in decorating, but it does make the colors stand out more. I like the warm tones of your brick and so I would probably like the grayish greens and blues with your brick. If you search Houzz for blonde brick or buff brick you'll get some other threads like this one where er612 did some color options that look really good [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1980s-buff-yellow-brick-and-baby-poo-gold-paint-please-help-us-dsvw-vd~3885126?n=39[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1980s-buff-yellow-brick-and-baby-poo-gold-paint-please-help-us-dsvw-vd~3885126?n=39)