I can't wait until we can actually share real build photos with you all and hopefully that'll be soon because our building permit should be coming through this week!!
I can't believe it's already been over a year and a half since we purchased our floorplan. After looking at tons of plans it was love at first sight with the exterior of this house; the board & batten, the porch, the metal roof and the black framed windows. There is something about the white on black that's so clean and classic yet modern at the same time. I'm going to break down the main elements of the exterior and what we learned before making our decisions.
Metal Roof I was dead set on having a dark metal roof, Jake was so-so from the start about it, he had a hunch it wasn't the greatest fit for us. We talked to roofers, our GC and people who have metal roofs. The people who have the roofs seem to really like them. But what we found was that they are about three times the price and only last twice as long.
We are just a couple of kids trying to swing this house and really aren't in the position to make such a large upfront investment (even if it's shiny and perfect) so we had to opt out and go with black 30 year shingles. I knew it was the right choice from a financial perspective, but I really wanted my metal roof. Fortunately we found a great way to incorporate the metal roof in the overhangs that jet out above some of the windows and the porch so we still get the feeling of the metal roof without the full investment. I cannot wait to see them go up!
Board and Batten I've always loved the look but never knew what it was called, board and batten is the wide siding that runs vertically and really gives that country farmhouse look. We went in wanting the board and batten but were really curious to learn why it's not popular around here in New England. Like everything else we talked to our GC and others, board and batten works great with wood but vinyl board and batten doesn't perform well at all with our winters. There are a lot of issues with ice getting into the vertical seams and ruining it, multiple vinyl experts we spoke to thought we would be replacing it within a few years.
Ok, so wood board and batten or vinyl something else? More research. Wood comes with maintenance, aka Jake on a ladder every 5-10 years scraping and painting. All while vinyl is virtually maintenance free aside from power washing it clean every year or so. Vinyl also has some beautiful shake options I never considered before but now really love. In the end vinyl was the no-brainer choice for us.
Black Windows Black window frames are a solid yahaaasss!! I think they put the modern in the modern farmhouse. I do have mini moments of freak out from time to time thinking maybe I won't feel the same way in 10 years. At the end of the day, I seriously love them and what's the point of building if your not putting all of your favorites in. YOLO or maybe its YOBO (you only build once, lol).
Overall with the exterior I'm glad we did our research upfront and didn't just go with what we thought looked good. Our plan was designed for a southern climate and I know we would have had regrets if we moved forward as called for in the plan. We are also really lucky to have some great experts around us that have the knowledge and are honest enough to give us their feedback.
At some point I'll write about considerations when selecting a builder, but for now I'll just say there are some contractors out there who would build exactly what you ask them to - no questions asked, either to just get the job done or due to lack of experience. You might pay a little more for people with a great reputation but there is a reason they have earned it and paying a little more upfront for that expertise will save you loads in the long run.
Hopefully I'll be sharing some real life photos of this bad boy coming to life very soon!
