Is the siding going to be all vinyl? I assume by "shakers" you mean shakes? Do you have any elevations showing the home and the addition?

Yes vinyl board and batten, and yes shakes. Or I was going to go a different color of siding above the eaves in the opposite direction of the siding under the eaves. What do you mean by elevations? The addition isn’t built yet, which is why I’m finding it hard to visualize

Elevation drawings.

Oh no sorry, we did have a architect out to approve what we could do but bc we live out of the city limits we are not required to have a drawing plan and our contractor said he didn’t need one bc it’s a simple 12x 20 addition. So it matching the current roof line of the back of the house.

I have no idea what you should do for siding, but you shouldn't have grass and topsoil under the new concrete slab on the addition.

I don’t think there will be any grass or topsoil as they are digging first? Unless I’m not understanding what you are meaning.

Mark, this is exactly what I told my husband! We are already having issues and added cost. We just found out yesterday that bc of the year our house was built the sheathing is a black Velcro type material and we can’t do Board and batten siding with that sheathing. So no we have to re sheath the whole house.

Hire a local architect to protect you and to design the addition that meets your needs fits the site, and looks good. Most of the time having a builder design an addition is like wearing plaid pants with a plaid shirt.

"I don’t think there will be any grass or topsoil as they are digging first?"

Typically, all of the topsoil would be removed before any excavation for footings would be done. It appears they are cleaning up the footings in the last pic. It will be much more difficult to remove the topsoil now using equipment.

"it’s a simple 12x 20 addition"

When the word "simple" is used to describe a project, it always scares me.

I guess I should have explained better in my post that the 12x20 is being added to make what is the current master bed and bathroom bigger. So it’s essentially just knocking down the back wall and the 12 x 20 will attach to make it all one big room. No plumbing is being moved, So the bathroom becomes longer and the old part of the “room” we are making part of a walk in closet. The original “master” and I have “ “ bc it’s really not a master imo. It’s a 11x 14 room that’s including a very small bathroom with a small shower and toliet.
We hire an architect to give us the approval with the trust and roof line and how to do the header. My husband does have that paperwork. But as far as a drawing of how the room will be constructed we don’t currently have anything.

"I guess I should have explained better . . . "

That does not alleviate any of the scariness.

Thank you for your opinion. I have no control in that decision. That is 100% a decision my husband has made. I can’t change that, and they already started digging for the addition. My post is asking for advice on siding colors and directions of the board and batten but some how this whole thread has turned into the subject of us not having plans from an architect.
Which I understand since that seems to be what your career is. I appreciate your educated input. I’m simply looking for advice on siding options as I’m completely overwhelmed with everything that has been going on with this total house demo.

A better vetting of the design, and the contractor, is in order. None of this really works. Red glags abound. Especially the ”remodeling everything” bit. You could do a teardown cheaper than what you are planning.

I doubt it not it not in today’s market. The bones of this house are good. We were able to tear out everything ourselves with the help of my husband, and his friends who all have MOS of construction in the military. My husband is an engineer in the military so it’s not like he doesn’t know some things here. We also bought this house off family so we got in way under market value.
I thought this was a place for help and ideas, but seems to be just a place to tell me everything we are doing wrong according to an architects perspective or point of view. I do respect your opinions, and know you have the education to make your opinions. But it doesn’t mean my house is doomed or an addition is impossible. We was told to do the addition the way we are doing it by the architect, we hired to look at the trust and what walls we were allowed to tear down ect.

Most of my comments is based upon my wife building a garage with a builder before we were married. I gave her rough sketches to give the builder, and when she asked if he needed construction drawings, he said "No". It amazed me how the builder could not follow a sketch. The windows were the wrong size and type, the roof pitch was off, the footings were undersized, the wall studs were undersized, the attic floor joists were undersized, and the swing door was put in the wrong location.

(a minor detail, 'trusses' are the things the provide roof structure)

Amanda, yes, there is an architectural bias here, but really, if you want some input there needs to be some kind of drawing to show what you're talking about. I take it that addition is two story; or is it? Will it have windows and/or doors to the exterior. You're setting yourself up for a "man, that's ugly" moment by not having the simplest drawings you can share. If it's all in the head of the contractor, so be it, but it's hard to say what the siding should be when the general shape of the house is unknown.

It’s an addition with a garage under the addition. So there will be another garage door that will match the current 2 garage door you see in the picture I posted. The center block is being covered with the board and batten vinyl siding. There will be 4 windows that will be added to the top part of the addition and a garage door to the bottom side part (where the 2 existing garage doors are) and a exterior door will be added to the back side of the addition.
I under your point and I believe that’s also why I’m here seeking ADvice or other options bc I don’t have a drawing to see it and I’m very much a visual person. I’ve tried a few apps but mostly can only change colors or diff types of exterior materials used. I can’t figure out how to actually add on the addition on any of the apps I’ve tried including hover and consulting with a James Hardy customer service representative. Thank you for your help and time. I do appreciate your opinions. I was just hoping to get some feedback on ways to make this look the best possible for what we have budgeted for all of this. Thanks anyways.

Mark, I do appreciate your comments, and have shown all of these to my husband. Bc I have always said I thought we needed plans to go off of. Thank you for sharing that information with me.