Selecting New Home Construction Upgrades PART 1 - EXTERIOR/MECHANICAL CHOICES

Ah yes, the exciting yet terrifying process of deciding which new home construction upgrades to select upfront.  My initial response is ALL OF THEM, but then that pesky budget thing creeps into the decision process.  While I am sure this post will miss some of the upgrades we considered, I hope it is a good start to listing out what we selected/omitted and why:

• Architect optional items - Designing the basement.  In a prior post, I discussed the typical payment structure for architects in the Kansas City area.  There was on item we could have paid for, which we didn't, which was to have our architect design our unfinished basement.  We would have jumped at this option if we had any clue on how we were going to use the basement.  This upgrade is a great option because if you can plan out the plumbing fixtures in advance, your basement contractor will not have to jack hammer concrete to reroute plumbing lines.  In later blog posts, I'll talk about Matt's workshop in the basement and how we have ZERO clue about the future design of the basement (media room?  workout room?  blogging room?  dance studio?  bowling ally-okay, not likely)
• Builder selection - The biggest decision we made on the upgrade selection was the choice of builders.  We received bids from many outstanding companies, but only a few seemed to have the base level that we were after.  It just seemed exhausting and frustrating to use a lower-base price builder and contemplate each and every upgrade we wanted or could imagine.  At the end of the day, I was convinced we would forget something.  We selected a builder where many of the items below were not upgrades but rather included in the builder's base home build.  
• Set-back from the road - In a prior post, we discussed how we decided the farmhouse setback distance.  Link to this discussion is here:  Setting Your Setback Post
• Sealing the driveway - As discussed above, we have a super long driveway.  Our builder suggested that we seal it, and we will.  We just decided this was a "Honey, please go out and seal the driveway" activity rather than one we wanted to pay for upfront.  
  
• Impax water coating foundation - You know how recent experiences may elevate the importance of items that before seemed of little consequence?  My cousin lives outside of Baton Rouge and found herself and family flooded.  She did not live in a FEMA flood zone but nevertheless, her neighborhood experienced a 1-in-1,000 year flood.  Her experience definitely impacted Matt and I's decision to pay the extra $$ for an extra layer of waterproofing.  As discussed in an earlier post, my cousin's flooding experience also changed where we placed our house on the property, given that cute little creek on the property.
• Type of basement (standard, daylight, walk-up, or walk-out) - As discussed in prior posts, this decision can impact your multi-generational design.  If your parents will be living in a finished basement, then a walk-out is almost essential to accommodate for potential wheelchairs.  In our situation, Matt needed a shop to keep all of his tools, half-finished projects, and other dirty things that I would rather not see on a daily basis :)  We decided to have his shop located in the basement with double doors to allow him to keep a mower, golf cart, and boat.  However, we also loved the convenience of a walk-out-on-grade option for the main level.  We therefore located the walkout on one side of the house.
• Windows - This selection will require its own blog post.  Needless to say, difficult choices!!!
• Siding - LP Smart Siding vs. Hardiboard - Discussion
• Roofing - Standing metal seam vs. 50-yr composite - The initial goal of the whole design was to get a standing steam metal roof.  Who knew they would be so darn expensive???  When we first learned that it was an outrageously expensive item, we cut back the metal roof locations to just the wrap around porch, stair tower, and clerestory...a mix of materials  like the following:  
  
   Haha, even with that significant reduction in locations, we were still looking at $15-22k ADDER.  Matt and I kicked around the idea for a while, but basically landed on the idea to upgrade this in the future. 
• Landscaping - Almost every builder suggested between $8-15k for landscaping.  The allowance for landscaping did not include sod, box prep, sprinklers, or grading...only plants/trees.  Matt initially suggested cutting this number to, well, zero.  Haha!  We settled on the idea of limiting but not eliminating this option.  As our architect said, there are a few types of houses that can look awesome with limited landscaping, and a farmhouse is one of them!