Like everyone here, I enjoy fine homes. I am a Mechanical Engineer who has switched over to the hands on trades full time for the last year and pursuing my GC license. I am ready to build my own home after becoming discouraged with the high cost and often worn out condition of many existing homes in central VA. To further narrow my criteria, I am sensitive to some chemicals and toxins; particularly, mold, solvents, and perfumes but suspect it’s part of a larger problem of the toxic world we live in today. It’s not crippling, but I just feel worse overall when I spend too much time around those toxins (happy to talk about this at length if anyone is interested). Water damage is my main concern if I had to pick.

I’ve read many of the books from Fine Homebuilding & Green Building Advisor and took away some good ideas, but haven’t quite found the balance of a simple well built home I’m looking for. I’ve explored CMU, AAC, advanced framing, all the building science and pros and cons of different wall construction, but when I talk about these things to people in my area, most people aren’t interested in what’s behind the sheetrock.

My question is: has anyone settled on house plan they could point me to that’s a goldilocks of quality and cost?

I’m looking for something around 1200-1600 sqft that would be easy to build and appeal to a large market when ready to sell. I get caught up in the trade offs of 1 or 2 story, foundation type, wall design, roof details, interior finishes that don’t make it feel like a production apartment. I run and rerun the excel cost comparisons but would greatly appreciate some real world input. 

Not as concise of a question as I wanted.. but hopefully I was able to communicate what I’m looking for. Thanks so much!

Mike