Closing Week

So here we are...CLOSING WEEK! Closing is set for Friday morning and I cannot be any more excited to move in however there are still a few concerns that I need to have addressed - nothing major, all details, but important to me. First off, the drawer fronts in the kitchen are not all installed correct -- or the same. Some of them have a little gap. It's not a deal breaker but I paid for it to be done right. Final walk through is Wednesday so I will be sure to make it clear that if it is not addressed then I will address it on the final survey - from what I can tell they take these seriously so they try to do everything in their power to fix what they can beforehand. I don't find this to be an unreasonable request at all. Also there are still some major paint touch-ups that need to be addressed. It's not one big thing, just a bunch of small things that overall make it a big deal. I have quite the task list to be completed before or right after moving in (sometime this weekend for sure) to make sure the house is livable. There are plenty more things to add but these are priority.


Task List:

1. Re-key locks! - Fortunately they used Kwikset Smart Key locks on all the doors which will make my life sooo much easier. I changed my locks out at my old house to these simply because of how easily you can re-key a lock. I would recommend them to anyone. There are only two exterior doors to rekey but I still expect to have this done it less than two minutes. 
2. Bomb house for bugs - I'm using this. I've read nothing but great reviews. I made the mistake of not doing this prior to moving in at our current apartment and that was a huge mistake. I would recommend always doing it even if you don't see anything. In our case, I know there are bugs around because I've seen them before, during, and after construction. Also, the house was frequently left wide open, sometimes for days at a time. 
3. Garage door openers - I was going to tackle this myself but we've decided to hire a pro as it would probably get done faster and without issue. Ryan Homes charges $450 to include these and there is no telling what quality they use but my guess is that it's not the top of the line.
4. Blinds - I've decided to do these myself - starting on the bottom floor and working my way up. Priorities are the bedrooms. Bought a new electric screwdriver to help with the process. There are 14 windows in total so that should be plenty of fun. Will probably go with white 2" faux wood blinds. I think these have a cleaner look and you don't have to open them all the way up to look out or let light in as you do with shades.
5. Ceiling fans - so there are currently no lights in the bedrooms so this will become a priority very quickly.
6. Bathroom hardware - we opted out of choosing from either bone or white bathroom hardware (TP holder, soap dish, towel bar) and will install our own. We are probably going with a chrome to match the faucets. 
7. Exterior bug spray - taking care of the inside is only a band-aid if you don't do the outside. I've read up on some stuff that's said to kill everything in sight except for the grass. Hopefully it will help with the mosquitoes too. If not, I think I may have something that will help that as well.

Final Countdown

So not much has really changed since the last post. The stone was installed outside and they finished it all. This is quite an accomplishment since it took them a few days to finish the other houses and it looked like they did not do a great job and ended up having to come back to finish those. The electrician was in the house today to (hopefully) finalize everything. There were a few switch covers, outlets, and a set of pendant lights remaining. All the wires running to the electrical box need to be connected as well. Carpet was installed yesterday and fully completed in one day! We chose to go with the basic carpet that Ryan Homes/Rite Rug provides and install our own immediately after closing and prior to moving in. We did this because after looking at the prices offered by Rite Rug for the upgraded carpet we wanted, we felt like we could get a better deal elsewhere. The funny thing was when our own carpet vendor came to measure the rooms for carpet it was when the Rite Rug vendor was also there installing and talking about how hard he was working to make sure it was as seamless as possible (AWKWARD!). Anywho, we went back to visit toward the end of the day when they were wrapping up and had a chat with him. Cool guy, very hard worker but by that time I'm sure he knew what was up however he was paid to do a job and he did it. I must say that the house looked quite different once the carpet was installed but I'm glad that we are planning to rip it out. Closing is still on for the 8th of January with the pre-settlement demonstration two days prior. Some concerns we have at this point should be addressed soon and include touch-up details such as the drywallers re-plastering some of the wall edges and touch-up paint inside and out. There is also a cabinet front that needs to be fixed. Our PM knows us very well at this point because we always make it a point to meet with him anytime we have concerns that we feel need to be addressed right away. We don't want anything to cause additional delays that could have been avoided.

Some Final Details

So as usual, we reached out to our PM to get a status on what's planned for this week. I must note that originally we were told that we would receive weekly updates with what was accomplished that week and what was planned for the week ahead however I think we may have gotten only one or two updates that we did not initiate. Nevertheless, our PM has been pretty good. He is very good about making sure the details are handled and also addressing any concerns we have and making any reasonable modifications/adjustments that are within his scope of power. We saw some issues that we thought needed to be addressed however when we went back to the house last night it looks like some of them already were. They finally painted the garage and the electrician has begun their work. There is still a bit left for the electrician - a few outlets and pendant lights over the bar. They have also begun (or perhaps completed?) installing shelves in all of the closets. To my surprise the closet in bedroom #4 is a little larger than the one downstairs. They both have bi fold doors but one is noticeably larger than the other...nice! They also installed about 90% of the sod. So Ryan Homes gives you the most basic landscape package that they can to pass inspection and make your house have curb appeal (so they can keep selling, of course). The front is St. Augustine, which is great. I forget the name of the back but I think it is Bahia - whatever it is, it's cheap and thin. They also do not install any irrigation in the back of the house which is not a big deal since we plan on getting a pool at some point. We asked if they could just not install sod in the back but were told that we would not be able to pass final inspection without it. We also asked about the placement of the trees as there is one directly in front of our beautiful house and who knows how large it will grow to be. We were told that the City requires a tree to be placed every 60' which doesn't make sense because the lot is only about 85' wide in the front and should only require up to 2 trees. We will research this ourselves and probably move the tree to the backyard after we close. I must say it looks better now that the sod has been installed but I still wish it wasn't there. We were told that this week's agenda included all of the trades coming back to finish off their work, cleaners doing their first run, drywallers installing closets, and start of carpet. This means we are close to the end, right? We also received our dates this week for our pre-settlement demonstration and for closing - three weeks from today. I wish it were sooner but this should give them PLENTY of time for EVERYTHING to be perfect. As I look over the house and there are not many more details to take care of, I cannot see how this should take three weeks unless they are factoring extra time for the trades that may be unavailable during the holidays. But everything happens for a reason I suppose...

 Garage door is finally painted, still waiting on stone to be installed. Sod is also in!

 View of the obnoxious tree directly in the middle of the front of the house.

View of backyard - very cheap grass but still plenty of room in the middle for that tree in the front to be relocated. 

Tree to the right is almost to the edge of the property line. Adjacent tree is on the property of our neighbor. 

Cabinets, Counters, and Sinks OH MY!

So immediately after the tile was laid, the remaining trim/baseboards was installed in those areas (it was already installed in the carpeted areas). Shortly after that the cabinets were installed and the next day the cabinets and sinks. We are very pleased with the selections for the cabinet and counters. We were very nervous because we know that sometimes what you see in the sample is not always reproducible in a larger slab with it being a natural stone. Oh and RH is sure to have you sign a document stating that they are not responsible if there is a variance is color from the stone you saw in the model and the one that is now yours to keep in your new home, luckily it shows just as we expected. The next day the A/C company came back and finished off their part. The units were installed and the vents were finished off. The plumber also came back in the days following the counters to install fixtures (faucets, handles, toilets, shower heads, etc.). By the way the shower heads were pretty nice and I don't feel the need to change them out immediately although they are not the handheld type that we've grown to love. The electricians have been backed up which is concerning because we do not want to run into any more delays than we already have (drywall company was already backed up by about 10 days). There are also a few things we noticed need to be fixed - one of the cabinet fronts was not installed flush so it looks like it doesn't close all the way and the exterior paint needs a lot of major touch ups - like a LOT! I assume they will be doing this when they come back to paint the front door and garage doors but we will definitely point this out so they can take care of it while they are there. As usual, I've included some pictures of the progress.

Interior Start

So the drywall has all been hung, taped, mudded, sanded and painted however it looks like they just did a rough paint because there are a lot of spots they need to go back and finish up. Giving them the benefit of the doubt that this is the way they do things and it will all come together without having to make a big fuss. They have also installed the garage doors and painted the outside. There is stone going on the front but from looking at the other houses that won't happen until toward the very end. The exterior paint also looks like they have a lot of touch ups to go back and fix...just looks very sloppy right now. Lastly they have started the tile and I am so happy with the selections we made and also with the choice to install on a diagonal. I peeked in some of the other homes that had it installed on a vertical and the diagonal looks way better. One concern I have, however, is that in the downstairs shower, the tile border looks different than the rest of the wall tile that is used. At first I was just thinking it may have been the lighting but after both of us going back and looking at it several times I know that it is wrong. We have sent the PM an email letting him know that we think they used some of the tile that was selected for the master bath for the downstairs border. He told us that he will be meeting with the tile supervisor and if anything is wrong it will be corrected - I sure hope this doesn't further delay their timeline but I do want it done right. I tried taking pictures but because the two tiles are so similar it is very hard to see in the pics. I am excited to see the cabinets and counters go in. We were told that once that happens the other vendors start coming back to finish off their work (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.).

Drywall

Once the insulation goes up on the exterior walls you can begin to see the rooms take shape however you can still see between the interior walls so its still sort of hard to determine what each room actually looks and feels like. Once the drywall goes up the house seems to take a turn from a construction site to a home. You start to get a pretty good idea of exactly how big (or small) each room is and you begin to envision where the furniture is going to go and how functional each area would be. Some rooms start to look larger than you imagined, partly because of the white walls, while others look smaller now that they are closed in. Either way, the house is really starting to take shape and we are getting very excited to see real progress. This week we expect exterior stucco, drywall completion, and possibly garage and interior doors. Interior and exterior paint, and driveway and sidewalk should follow shortly thereafter. Our project manager told us way back during our pre-construction meeting that he plans to give us a weekly update to let us know what has been completed in the past week as well as what he expects to have completed in the week ahead however that has yet to happen. Not a big deal since I am able to make it out there at least 4-5 times a week, if not more. Also because our house is the last in a group of 5 I can usually tell what to expect based on what is going on with the others.

Insulation

Went by the house today and all of the insulation has been installed. They started over the weekend and I snapped a pic before they were done. I don't know much about insulation but I see they used R-13 for all the bag insulation which according to Home Depot is about as low as you would want to go for a wall framed in 2x4. I'm willing to bet that they will also blow in the minimum for this zone as well (R-30). I sort of forgot that they have to insulate over the garage since there is going to be a bedroom above there. I hope this means the garage won't get as hot (or cold LOL) as weather changes. Also with the hybrid water heater it should help with it not being so hot all the time. I only snapped one pic of their progress about halfway through.

Pre-Drywall Meeting

Well it's been a while since I've posted an update but a lot has happened since the last post. Framing has been completed and several vendors have been in doing their respective work. The framers have put up all of the walls, plumbers ran the rough-ins and put in the actual bath tubs and filled them with water (to test for leaks), HVAC duct work was run, electrical outlets and fixtures were pre-wired, and low-voltage cabling was installed. They even delivered the drywall before all of that was done. Oh and by the way, the drywall folks broke a window. I told the PM about it but he told me they won't replace it until the very end for two reasons: 1) it is only a crack in the window and does not allow any water to penetrate and 2) replacing it now could end up being costly if it gets broken again. After all of the above vendors were doing we were scheduled for our pre-drywall meeting with the project manager. Based on our own research we had decided to hire out own outside inspector as this is the only opportunity we would have to get the "bones" of the house inspected to make sure everything was built correctly. This inspection was one day before our pre-drywall meeting and he reviewed the blueprints to ensure that everything that was called for by the blueprints was in place and also that the house was structurally sound. Once it was all said and done, we realized that this inspection was a bit of a waste. We've read a lot of blogs where people explained how the project manager works for the builder, and not for you which is true however, our inspector did not find anything that the project manager and/or the city inspector would not have found. He mainly was looking to see if the house was built according the the blueprints (right size bolts, screws vs nails, etc.). Although it is important to make sure the actual work that is done is of quality, something that I learned is that it is more important to make sure the plans have been reviewed by a building engineer.

But back to the lessons learned....I realized as I was walking around the house one day that I wanted to get an exterior flood light installed on one of the back corners of the house. It made sense to just have the electrician do it while he was there. I asked him if he would do it even if I paid him directly and he refused without a thought. I know some people on other blogs have said how they were able to get the guys to do add-ons by paying them under the table. Well I tried this but he wouldn't bite at all. It makes no sense why something as small as this cannot be accommodated but again I hope someone else can take this as a lesson learned and decide everything they want beforehand. I also tried the same thing with the rep from Guardian (low-voltage). I wanted him to install a cable outlet in two additional bedrooms. I left it off originally because it is the kid's bedrooms and I never plan to put TVs in there but then later on I thought about resale and how it would make sense to at least have the connections there even if they go unused for years to come. Nevertheless this is something else I would have to add later on...not a big deal, just an inconvenience.

Okay now THIS I forgot to mention and I honestly didn't even think about it until I was looking back through the pictures. So one of the master closets was supposed to be a little larger than the other due to the option of the double doors that we selected. Well I was quite surprised to see that the HVAC guys ended up running the air return duct for the downstairs AC through that closet. I didn't know where this was supposed to go, but I know it wasn't here. We were expecting a nice size closet but instead there is this big ass air duct running in the corner of the closet. I ran it by the home inspector we had to come out and he said it wasn't on the blueprints.Come to find out, this is one of the only floor plans in the community that has two AC units and because of this, they don't come across the issue of where to run the return vent for downstairs. We asked the PM to look into what can be done to have it moved although we had a feeling that this was the only option based on the way the house is laid out. As an alternative, we asked if they could frame out an additional closet somewhere else  since we are losing some closet space here. As it turns out, about a day and a few phone calls later we were told that his management approved to build an additional closet in the downstairs study, making it into a bedroom. While this isn't always an option, they understood that we were very upset to find out that the closet we had been shown on both the floor plan and in the model (Cypress Garden, similar layout) was not what we were getting. All in all it worked out well and in terms of resale purposes, we got an extra bedroom but we are still stuck with a smaller closet than we had  hoped for.

Framing

It is amazing what people can do when they work together. I went over to the site at lunch time last Thursday and in a matter of a few minutes I saw so much of the framing go up. It was all hands on deck but it was still business as usual. There were two or three people on the ground passing up the supplies and many more on the roof and ladders doing the nailing. I came back later that evening and they were completely finished with the second floor exterior wall and roof sheathing. Fast forward to Saturday evening, we went back and the entire first and second floor interior walls had been framed. There were a few pieces of wood that were used for the studs that we didn't like so we talked to the project manager and he did not have a problem with getting those replaced. They weren't load-bearing walls or anything but that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Some progress pics are below.