I would like comments for changes before I proceed to builder. The house will be in a northern climate so snow and ice are considerations. Also plan to retire there. Image link:

Landrey-great job on the plan! I think that's why you didnt get alot of responses initially. There are only a few things I see that I would do differently other than those mentioned above. -I would move the powder room into the mudroom area. Reduce the size of that giant walk-in closet in the guest room to about 4.5'-5' wide by sliding the mudroom wall to the left and move the closet entry over toward the side wall of the bedroom as far as you can. You should have enough space to do a 1/2 bath there. My reasoning for this is that right now if someone is outside playing/working and needs to use the bathroom, they will often come through the garage and now have to traipse all the way through your house to get to the powder room potentially leaving a trail of dirt/mud/debris behind them. Or they can come in the front door and trail dirt/dust/debris through the foyer (granted a shorter trail.) Just my $0.02. Laundry room upstairs--I'm guessing that's a counter next to the W/D? How big is the sink you're planning to use? I would shift the W/D down to where the sink is and run a counter from the end of the W/D to the corner and then down across under the window. I'd put the sink next to the W/D with a sink base cabinet and hanging space above then I'd put pullout hampers along the short wall like these: Reasoning--that's a small space and as the kids get older, the laundry only gets worse. Having an efficient space that easily allows for sorting and storing the dirties, as well as allowing for plenty of folding and hanging space will help keep the laundry (and potentially the rest of your house when it comes to laundry) neater & more organized. I think you posted the kitchen in the kitchen forum and asked about building in a regular sized fridge or making the counters deeper. Personally, I wouldn't make the counters deeper--that will significantly increase your cabinet & countertop costs. Since you have the fridge placed on an exterior wall, recessing it back likely won't work as you need space for insulation in that wall. I'd suggest either going with a counter depth fridge (we love ours & I was really worried about going from full depth to counter depth--link to ours below) or moving the fridge to the opposite wall where the bar sink is and you could either leave the bar sink there or move it to the island. Hope this helps! Here is a link that might be useful: mydreamhome's CD Fridge

I didn't understand a single thing about "right,left horizonal,vertical"and on and on but here's some answeres in general. - What is the best way to fix it? How much will it cost?( You will need somone on site to tell you) - would this crack affect the house foundation in any way in the future?(Not likly,especially if the patio cracked away from house foundation) When and if you demo and repour patio,put an expansion joint between house and patio slabs. - can this crack be fixed by filling and sealing? (Not perminatly) - can this crack be stopped from further movement?(Not likly unless you install piers and/or footings beneath it. Another option is demo slab and repour a new one with proper footings and steel. - is it safe to convert the sunroom to office or it will cause more cracking?(I don't think normal weight of addition will cause any more movment than will ocur anyhow. I wouldn't reccomend adding improvements on the slab. I would leave it as is and put the addition elaewhere or replace the slab before building on it. Bottom line,you will need a pro with eyes on to get best reccomendations. Good luck with it.

scone911--it will go to a structural engineer, but as you know there are numerous ways to meet code. There are always other considerations including cost, issues down the road with one choice vs another that may not be immediately apparent. I posted this to solicit the sort of helpful insights from well informed homeowners and professionals that would assist in deciding between options when either might be recommended by a professional, for example, rigid foam vs closed cell insulation, or gypsum vs concrete board. Both are acceptable and both meet code and any given architect or engineer may specify one or the other but that does not imply that they are interchangeable. In general, as I think this and other boards demonstrate, the polite exchange of thoughtful and informed opinions can be very helpful in coming to a good decision and asking the right questions of the professionals one hires.