Exposed rafter tails is a complicated system, especially with a truss layout. Even if you add the tails to the trusses, you are going to be subject to the layout of the truss in whaich you sister onto. Were doing a project, with 3 inch cedar tails (24 inch overhang), and they are thru bolted eight times in 6 feet of length onto the truss. Truss layout had to be manipulated for the final exterior appearance to be balanced and spaced equally. Even if your trusses are layed out with equal spacing, it will be skewed when you factor in the thickness of the tail, depending on which side you sister to. Along with the added expense of the tails, you will be looking at additional thickness of the roof sheathing in the overhang area, and possibly even a decorative pattern in the bottom side. The additional thickness is so that the roofing nails wont protrude thru the sheathing, into your decorative overhang. I think you are only getting started with the expense of a exposed rafter tail with decorative sheathing. The overall layout and final appearance shouldve been thought about months ago, not after the trusses were set.

It's too bad this thread had to devolve into people getting angry and leaving rather than trying to learn something. I am a big fan of true Craftsman style, and it irks me when designers come up with 'Craftsman inspired' homes that in fact have nothing to do with the style, save a couple fat tapered columns stuck on an incongruously large house. Our very small bungalow is going to be an attempt at a Craftsman style, at least on the exterior. I drive around old neighborhoods in a nearby city and snap pictures of true Craftsman-era homes to get a sense of proportion and scale. Being the deep south, most homes are pretty modest, and I would like to somewhat match what was built in this region. That being said, we have to pay for the house, we have to live in it, and it has to meet modern standards for energy efficiency, etc., so I don't think we'll fool anyone. I just wish that people who claim to want a particular style would do enough research to at least get the overall shape of the house right for the style they are hoping to achieve, and would at least listen to a skilled professional offering advice- for free, no less! I guess this thread has proven to be educational, albeit in a negative way. Perhaps someday I will post my elevations for review, assuming I can get the courage up. Perhaps after a couple glasses of wine......

Town was most important for the schools and distance from Boston (close). I wanted a Victorian with natural woodwork in my town that was originally a single family but now a 2 family that could easily be converted back to a single. It would probably be an estate sale since I couldn't afford anything else. I started to look for "my" home a year before we were ready to buy so that when the "perfect" home came on the market I was ready to pounce. A week into the initial search and a year before we were ready to buy I pounced on a 1825 brick federal home. It was structuraly sound but cosmetically challenged. The price I couldn't pass - easily converted back into a single BUT no natural woodwork. Those homes with beautiful woodwork were $300K - $400K MORE - way out of my price range. This is our forever house. I still long for natural woodwork. We stripped the doors and they're either black walnut (probably) or mahagany which I will leave natural with tung oil. We stripped some woodwork - hodgepodge of many types of wood so we painted again. I still long for that painted lady Victorian with beautiful natural woodwork inside but settled for the Federal brick home. A wing was added in 1840-1860. It was really muddled in 1914 when the house was converted into a 2 family. We gutted the kitchen and that wing (didn't want to gut all of it but ice dams and collapsing ceilings changed our mind). I had a hard time deciding on trim, door types (5 piece vs. 6 piece raised panel, etc.) Decided to go with the last major muddle - 1914. I could find the trim work as stock in the local lumber yard vs. buying knives for my 6" trim in the main house. This also helped me pick door wood type and style, flooring, etc. I let the house try to guide me in the right direction. Yes, I would like that Victorian but I love where I am now.

I thank you all for the insights! Beverly and Patricia, your suggestions about steps are well taken. We just entered into our 60's and with a new grandbaby nearby we thought about renovating a smaller home to suit our needs. We currently live in a 3 story townhouse, lived in military base housing, wore uniforms all our lives and wanted a non cookie cutter home. We are finding that the price to renovate is astronomically high yet we still hope it will happen. Seabornman and Hallett & Co- our VA loan prohibits us to teardown the structure Jck910- We were thinking the basement bedrooms could be office space and craftroom space. If for some reason we move, the house could be listed as a 4 bedroom house. We really love the area but these ranches are being torn down and converted into mansions. Newer homes are huge for our needs 3onthetree- Thank you for pointing out the things that are amiss. I agree with all the comments. My architect made a first plan by adding an addition to the back of the house but the bids came back too high so we tried to cut the budget by deleting the back addition and work with what we have. Vinmark, the fireplace in that corner made me wonder about the whole design. I was planning to place piano by the bay window but that puts it too close to the kitchen. We have even talked about selling the piano. I requested a master suite over the garage as future rental opportunity As you can tell, this is our first rodeo and have learned the hard way that good design is a hit or miss $$$$! Mark, here are the existing floorplans