Exterior

I'm not totally sure about all of this yet. I just ordered the roof which will be light gray and have standing seams that run vertically. The same roof will be on the small bay window and garage. The company is called Fabral, and basically we gave them the exact measurements and they will make the metal roof for us. 

I also decided I want the corrugated metal in the dark gray to run as a panel top to bottom by the loft windows on both sides. The cedar shingles will sit above the frieze board and be the material on the bay window. 

As for the material for the majority of the house, I am not positive what I'll do yet. I like the board and batten look but I'm not sure whether a stained wood or solid color will look best. Whatever I decide, I will also cover the garage in.

Once cut to fit, each board is hand-stained with the final of three coats to create the desired look. As advised by the pros, we made sure to stain, therefore, seal the back and edges to ensure as much protection against the elements as possible. Staining the back of the boards gave us a place to use the "wrong, bad tint" can of stain.  

At both the top and bottom of all sections, there is a trim piece to protect the shakes and plywood (board and batten).  Each drip edge is secured and siliconed into place to help any water sheet down and away from any horizontal edges.

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The cedar shakes are coming along, looking great over the blue gray stained board and batten siding on the lower half of the house.  The darker gray metal sections will be added soon under the loft windows on both sides.

Dad pulled a string to help him line up the rows of shakes from bottom to top.  The lower drip edge is set up to direct any water that might get behind them to the front of the trim boards instead of letting it get behind and cause possible problems.  He painstakingly figured out the best way to pre-drill then gently screw the individually selected shakes to create the staggered and stepped pattern of the triangular shake section on each side.  He found that it was easier to install the rows of shakes on the ends of the house where there the roof was straight across instead of pitched.

Although this picture is from the interior, it shows that the 1-inch rigid insulation that we adhered to the inside of the Zipboard and then spray foamed the edges was just about right for the thickness of the board and batten material so as not to reach the interior.  However, as you can see, the heat of the nails driven with the nail gun melted the insulation around each nail.  Yowza!