New Building ~ Moving Forward

I don't know if any of you have driven by the building lately but you may have noticed the exterior is coming together!  Due to unforeseen issues, we had to change our original design.  We are now only keeping the Fiberon siding on the front of the building and doing white stucco on the sides.  I felt hardi on the back and sides with composite on the front, unless run different directions would not work.  Running siding vertical with a seamless metal roof was just too many similar lines, ergo the stucco decision.

Now, because we are adding a water table (we didn't have a stone cap due to size of stone so we are adding this to protect against water damage, it's the white band under the windows) and the Fiberon guys recommended wrapping the stucco around the edges where it meets up and covers the cut ends of the siding, this is the new design for the front elevation.  It's been a challenging process and we've had a lot of back and forth but I think it will work.  This is definitely one of those times where you have to just trust God is leading you to a much better design, because I sure wouldn't have thought to do all this before, lol!

Make sure you have DETAILED plans before you begin construction. In the beginning, we had to submit plans to the bank before we could even get approved for the loan. The cost was kinda high considering the chance we might lose out on that investment if we didn't get approved, so we did the minimum. I seriously only met with our architect for about 30mins. I didn't realize that we should have gone back and visited with him again and had detailed plans drawn up. He chose basic items and I had very specific ideas I wanted but we never discussed any of those. I didn't know it would be such a struggle to change/choose these things as we moved along. It's critical to bounce off someone that can tell you if this or that can be done and someone who will guide you in the right direction if it can't be done. My suggestion... hire a professional designer or architect. They will know the in's and out's of what is do-able/less expensive/great looking things you can do. I've always loved design but haven't done anything with detailed design (building) for 30yrs. That's a long time. Lots of things have changed in construction in the last 30yrs. Hindsight sucks.

Someone told me that having the attitude "no one can do it better than me" is a good way to be with this process.  Meaning, don't anticipate getting help on these items (unless you have paid a designer or architect to do so).  Get your own samples, ASAP.  Don't even look to the contractor to do this, even if it's offered to you.  It doesn't matter who your contractor may or may not use as a sub or where he would prefer you purchase products, you need to make those decisions and tell him what you want.  Don't just tell him "white stucco" do your research and choose the EXACT color.  PAY to have detailed plans!  You may or may not have a contractor willing to hold your hand through the process.  I wouldn't bank on that happening.  Having a smoother method of operation will go a long way and detailed plans would be well worth the investment.  I would have gladly paid the extra couple grand to have avoided the conflicts and struggles we've had.  Doing it like we have has put a strain on the process, a strain with my relationship with my honey, a big strain on the relationship with our contractor and has caused hours of unnecessary emails and hours of unnecessary research.  This all could have been avoided by having those detailed plans before breaking ground.  Hindsight sucks.

Get a break down of the budget ASAP so you can make decisions early.  Be active in everything and move forward on things right away!  Sadly, the siding for the front of the building was not bid for the product I had asked for.  Because of this, the budget was set at $2,000 and the product I wanted was going to be $10,000+.  This situation didn't get discovered until we were supposed to move forward on the exterior finishes and I had to scramble to figure out how to incorporate the siding I wanted.  If I had moved forward earlier on finding the product I wanted we could have priced it earlier and known well in advance of the issue.  We ended up changing to stucco on the sides and back ($5,000 savings).  With changing to stucco, that opened up a whole lot more decisions we had to scramble to make.  Water table?  Pop ups/outs?  How to trim out siding wall where it meets up with stucco wall?  It's hard to make these decisions on the fly and when they have already moved forward in the stucco process 😔  Hindsight sucks.

Like planning a wedding and on the wedding day, there will always be something that happens.  Going with the flow can be very challenging.  Especially for someone like me that is very detail oriented and is very budget conscious.  I'm definitely a DIY kinda girl but sometimes, trying to do it all myself, can bite me in the butt.

Things I've learned:

• 1.   Hindsight sucks.
• 2.  If I ever do this again, I will HAVE detailed plans and make all decisions before breaking ground (to the best of my ability, lol).
• 3.  Your marriage is more important than a building or being right (bet you didn't expect to get marital advice!).  
• 4.  God may have a round about way of getting you to a better place.  You may need to just trust He isn't surprised and that He really does have your best interests at heart.  Even if you have to go the long way around 😉

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He is watching over me.   ♥   Matthew 10:29-31