"Redi" or not

It's a strange feeling not being at work because of the move and settling in and I find that I need to take more time off more often.  This is nice!  Next week I head back to the office and then it's likely late evening posts for me again.  However, since I'm home this week and my art/craft area is 50% complete and begging me to use it, I thought I'd give toss in a simple crafty idea but first, some background:

Privacy won out over waiting until we get the nice blinds for the 72-inch windows so at roughly $8 a piece, we purchased the white 36x72 light-filtering, temporary Redi Shades and cut them down to the correct width (I opted for 34.25 inches).  Before you go running off to buy these, please note that the tape WILL pull off bits of your drywall when you are ready to take them down.  If you don't want to spackle and repaint later, this is not recommended.  I'm pretty familiar with the putty knife and paint brush so I don't mind.  If you decide to go forth and spend the big $8, make sure you have a brand new blade in your utility knife so as to get the smoothest cuts.  Also ensure you keep the pleat facing you so the shade hides the taped piece and gives a nicer appearance.  (I put one in backwards and this is where I learned it will damage your drywall.)

furnishing in progress

The best part about moving into a new house is filling it with goodies.  Sometimes there are just too many lovelies out there to make a decision (although sometimes the corresponding price tag helps you with that).  Stores are evil.  Everywhere I turn, I see something that catches my eye and if I purchased all that I liked, I'd have one gigantic eclectic mix.  Each room could be its own genre with a distinct color palette and if you had to ask me to choose one coordinating color for the house, I'd be up at all hours of the night agonizing over the decision.  My problem (well, one of them at least), is that I love, love color and cannot make up my blasted mind.

The recent shopping spree has me all giddy and makes my heart go pitter-patter.  OR perhaps that's the sticker shock!  I'm excited to fill the house with grown-up stuff (albeit slowly) and donate the old teenage/college/starter furniture to others.

Demonstration and Inspection

Tuesday has proven to be a very busy day for us.  We knocked out the final walkthrough (aka demonstration) and home inspection, received a preview of our Settlement Statement (HUD-1), and even did some window shopping at Ethan Allen for a nice desk.  

I am soooooooo excited to finally get a P.O.R. shot without the blasted dumpster.  In our excitement, we forgot to get a new rear picture to add to the progressive GIF but it looks like the appraisal picture with painted foundation that matches the siding. (edit:  A new rear photo was taken on 28 September and added below) The progressive GIF for the front has GIFs for both the front and back have most definitely been updated (see Timeline post).

Appraised (Twice)

Getting an appraisal can be exciting for a new house build but do not forget to read it over in detail.  Last week the first appraisal came in barely over the sales price which we thought to be very convenient.  It turns out that the initial review was done in early July prior to any framing and with the wrong floor plan and options.  In the span of one week (time to perform and process a new appraisal), our gross living area increased by 734 sf (still missing 206 sf) and the appraisal increased by $12K.  Our attic is marked as "scuttle" versus "stairs" which may be in reference to the unfinished attic space and not the finished space (this is maybe a "bonus room" rather than an attic?).  We also did not get credit for our partial porch but are opting not to reject the second appraisal and ask for yet another revision for fear that it will push back our closing (28 September!).  We did document the discrepancies and sent them to NVR so it's on record.  This will also be a topic at closing.

Blue skies

Here's a special treat--an early post during the week!  The last time the boss-man came out to visit (Long Lunch ...with the Boss) was back in July so he's been long overdue!  Thanks, B, for coming out today!

Scaffolding?  What scaffolding?  The exterior stonework is complete and it looks awesome!  I can see my porch!!  I am still annoyed that I cannot physically move the dumpster that is obstructing my POR shot (me = massive weakling).  I need a new image to add to the progressive gif!  #pout   The last two shutters still need to go up but the carriage lights by the garage have been installed ... and holy cow, I just noticed from the picture that the garage has been cleaned too! 

one hour

What a difference an hour makes!  When we arrived at the house this morning, the bright blue skies and warm summer sun gave promises of a beautiful day.  We, however, knew a major storm front would be rolling through later that afternoon and after one hour exploring the house, the clouds started rolling in.  This was a fantastic opportunity to see the siding and stone in different light.  I happened to get pictures upon arrival and departure, not because I was consciously thinking about the light but because I am a shutterbug and couldn't help myself.  For those of you contemplating Silver Mist siding, Almond trim, Black shutters, and/or Aspen field stone, enjoy the happy accident!

'shrooms and truffles

The vanity faucets finally arrived so another trip was made this weekend -- not that we really needed an excuse to see the house again.  Not much has changed to exterior except the addition of a driveway, doorbell, and some exterior lights.  The interior, however, is another story.  We have electricity, which means the lights and the AC are on!  The attic is still rather toasty but that might be because the access doors were open and one of the vents was covered (hoping that's the case!).  

As for the tiling, most of it is complete but still left to do are the powder room floor and the kitchen backsplash.  This means the plumber can start putting in the faucets and shower trims soon.  Our awesome PM also surprised us with ordering bronze accessories (versus the brushed nickel); the toilet paper holders were installed last week along with all of the closet/pantry shelving.  

Along with the exterior lights (flood lights, door lights), the electrician(s) hung our separately purchased fans and lights as well as the RH-supplied dining room chandelier and some of the bathroom lights.  The vanity lights are slightly different from some of the ones I've seen posted so that was a (nice) surprise as well.  (edit:  lights are "Renovations" by Progress Lighting)  We were told one of the fan globes was broken so we replaced it with the new one.  The store only had white versus amber but it's not that big of a deal.  I have no idea what the foyer light will look like and am excited to see it hopefully by next weekend.  We also tested out a bunch of the switches to see which controls what lights.

Rockin' It

Schedule Update:  Our house is apparently the slooooooooooooowest one to be built in the community so far so please don't use our timeline as a guide.  A little rain here and there and a permit delay really do impact the crew rotation and schedule.  It's amazing how fast these other two houses have popped up and caught up to us.  We're all going to have final walkthroughs in the same week!

We received our official notice that closing will be on 28 September! ... and we have a sidewalk and a walkway from the soon-to-be driveway to the porch.

Spending Money

We opted not to purchase the ceiling fans, fridge, and washer/dryer combo, and most of the lighting for distinct rooms directly through RH.  Now that we are in the clear to finally make some large purchases, we've been going on a controlled shopping spree.  Speaking of shopping sprees, Lowe's, Best Buy, and the Home Depot are offering $5K so don't forget to fill out those customer satisfaction surveys!

Tomorrow (Sunday), we head back out to the house to check out the progress since last week!  More pictures to come later!

Locked In and already Locked Out!

Wow.  Within one week, the house exploded ... with goodies!  

(disclaimer:  photo-heavy post with commentary in the captions)

This weekend, we interrupted the the trim crew, who did not happen to be Eastern European or driving Audis.  I was able to get some pictures but stepped out to let them cause a minor dust storm sweep.  Little did I know that they would LOCK the doors!  We stopped by the model for the key and I took way too many window measurements and of course, more pictures!  (If you haven't already started researching the cost of blinds, holy cow can one burn instantly through the budget!)

We weren't able to lock in the mortgage rate the week of the pre-drywall meeting last week and missed out on a killer combo (3.25% with 1% help -or- 3.5% with 2.5% help).  Considering when we first started, the rate was at 3.875% and so locking in at 3.5% with 1.5% help is still pretty awesome.  This means cash in hand to finally buy some appliances (more on a future post) and to do some minor work on the current house.  

Catching Up

Since I didn't post any house pictures from the Pre-Pre-Drywall Walkthrough, I'll mix them in with today's post, including some shots taken from the Pre-Drywall Walkthrough and this weekend's visit.  Everything passed inspection and drywall started this weekend; finishing and painting to occur this week; trim the following week; and final walkthrough is scheduled for 25 September!

Environmental Stoneworks delivery!  I can't wait to see the stone on the house and on the fireplace.  The PM has already marked the height of the stone in the front, including on the garage.  Seeing "Full Stone" spraypainted on the wrap cranked up my heart rate.  (I'm such a girl!)

Progressive GIF

just playing with software...

(Edit:  GIFs include new pictures from18 August 2012 -- with siding!)


Right now, the sizes are pretty large so it may take a while to load.  Clicking on the image or the link (front, rear) to open it in a separate window may kick-start the animation. Both images will now repeat.

220 Photos Later

Most, if not all, of RH's houses use pre-framed walls which are then assembled on site.  Granted, I would much rather have the walls framed on site for exact measurements but then, one can't have everything one wants.  While I completely understand the positives from utilizing this method, there are, as with any business decision, accompanying negatives.  Lumber will get damaged and is to some degree expected; however, it also depends on the crew and how they choose to repair or replace the defective areas and how keen of an eye your PM has.  My husband and I walked through the house, which despite my griping, looks amazing!  There is a TON of 2x4s in there and I don't expect every one to be perfectly placed and perfectly nailed ... BUT I do notice the ones that aren't.  I don't think our PM has gone through the entire house to inspect it yet (although one wall was marked via spray paint where the studs were completely missed).  We still have a little over a week until the pre-drywall walkthough so I'll give him time to inspect on his own.  That being said, with the trusty camera in hand, I documented our concerns.  Some were minor like poorly nailed areas, ripped barriers, studs with chunks missing, chipped door frame, etc.  Others were a little more serious such as approximately 4 inches of water in the hole for the basement support post, the ~ 1/4 inch of standing water that the stairs are sitting in and soaking up, broken walls, and gaps in the exterior walls and gaps around the windows. 

Truss Redux

The crane truck made it's appearance late in the day on Monday, many hours after we had departed.  However, our awesome SR, with camera in hand, headed up the street to catch the action for us.  (Many thanks, B!)  He was able to get some great shots -- I really do like the lines on these.  The post-processing junkie that I am was unable to upload them as-is and so after increasing the exposure and correcting for lens distortion, I give you B's photos:

Today's post brought to you by the letter T

T is for trusses and great big triangles.

We decided to take another long lunch and headed to the house today, which by the way is now semi-wrapped.  At least the second floor, that is.  Check out what we found propped up against the dumpster!  Do you notice anything missing?  That great big hole will be for extra living space.  I can't wait to check out the attic!  Hurry, guys!  (note to self:  get case of Red Bull for crew) 

Rain, rain, go away!

Between the extreme heat and the downpours, the framing crew has had a fun time this week.  Despite the weather, though, they were mostly done with the exterior walls of the second floor and maybe only a day or so behind.  Needless to say, Mother Nature did not want the trusses up on Friday.  Nor did she want me to have a dry visit on Saturday.  While J and the little one waited in the car, I donned the rain gear and headed into the sopping wet house.  Even with the second floor down, it felt like a steady rain on the interior (just not as bad as outside).

Garble, translated

Apparently scuba diving while leaving a message is not recommended...

The only word I really needed in Friday's update was indeed permit.  The county took a little longer to approve the plumbing permit so that put things a little behind schedule.  Framing did begin yesterday (WOOT!) but because of the heat, they left a little early.  The temperature reached the triple digits this afternoon so I suspect they didn't stay too long today.  Our PM is hoping to have the trusses up on Friday and the house wrapped by Monday.  Given the heat, we may slide a few days.  I'll have to drop off a cooler of ice and bottled water the next time we make a lunchtime drive-by.  Despite the potential slip, the house may be completed earlier than anticipated (prior to mid-September).  Once the framing is complete, we'll have a better idea of where we are on the schedule. 

Garble, garble, garble?

I am soooo making a print and hanging this in the house!

Two posts in one day!

Based on last week's PM update, framing would have started on Wednesday or Thursday.  Because we couldn't get out to site during the week, we were looking forward to this Friday's weekly update and this was waiting for us on the machine:

Garble, garble, garble, garble, permits, garble, garble, garble...

One week later...

One week later and my photos from another Courtland Gate model home have finally entered the blogosphere.  I didn't take quite as many pictures of this one since the majority of the house is very similar.  All of these (minus the one of the duct) are now available on the Model page with the other model photos.

Geez, I'm picky...

Q&A with the PM

1. Waterproofing:  We get the tar waterproofing but no rubber membrane wrap.  To my State:  pooey for lower building code standards.  The slope of the tar will be the grade as well.  Perhaps it was the angle that was throwing me off sine I didn't venture too close.  I guess we'll just have to wait until the next visit once everything is backfilled.
2. Sink traps:  No  cleanouts on the sink traps.  Here's hoping I don't drop anything of importance down the drain!
3. Framing Schedule:  The lumber is scheduled for delivery tomorrow (Tuesday) and they hope to start framing on Wednesday or Thursday.  SQUEE!
4. Porch Downspout:  According to the elevation pictures, the downspout on the porch will empty into the landscaping area between the porch and the garage.  I've asked to see if can be moved to the other side.  The PM will need to review the gutter system layout but if it comes out near the porch, he'll have it buried and resurface it further out in the front yard.  (Can you tell that I am paranoid about water damage??)
5. Attic Access Doors:  There will not be any attic access doors in the ceiling of the second-floor bedrooms.  (Yes!)
6. Shower rod:  The secondary bathroom comes with a shower rod.  It'll likely be a standard, straight rod so some time in the future, I'll be swapping it out with a curved rod.
7. Family Room Windows:  The "last Courtland" has transoms above the family room windows.  We are told that those windows are smaller (3052) which presumably is why the transoms were added and that the Courtland Gate will have taller windows (3062).  Works for me.

~*~

Road Trip to the Other CG Model

 
First of all, here's a big shout out to *colette* for offering to take pictures for me on her next road trip.  (none needed now, thank you!)