Locked Out

For the first time we went down to the house and found we were locked out and we just missed the sales rep at the office who was covering for our sales rep. 

This is going to be a VERY BUSY week.

Closet shelving installed
Scribing done for Granite Counters
Asphalt driveway installed
Screens installed
House number installed
Final Electrical work started
To be completed this week:
Basement toilet drain moved(off by about 4")
Hole in basement floor from having to move basement sewage pump filled in
Final Plumbing work
Hardwood flooring
Carpeting
Appliances installed - we were looking at the cabinet opening where the wall oven, trivection oven, and warmer are supposed to go...no way is it big enough - PM says it will be a custom install.
Interior Trim Painting
Final Interior wall painting
Guardian coming back to finish speaker installs, move one motion detector higher on wall, and move a speaker volume control unit to a different spot on the wall
We ordered and received our Pot Filler
First cleaning - all windows will be done first - it will definitely be a full day job for multiple people

I know I am forgetting stuff...but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

Meetings this week:

• Finalize our Landscape design with nursery
• Meet with Fence Company to discuss and get quote for backyard fencing - have to send plans to Architectural Review Board for the community to get approval.

Things with problems:
Custom cabinet change for island came in wrong...ordered right, but delivered wrong
One wall cabinet has a solid door, where we would like glass doors like Chelly :)
One wall cabinet has a cracked door
One base cabinet in wet bar is missing a door.
Stairs have significant squeaks
Granite backsplash on one vanity was broken...waiting for replacement - Mirror for that vanity not installed yet
15-Lite door for Study did not come in yet

Above I mentioned the Trivection Oven(Thermal, Convection, and Microwave) which is what we were supposed to get...what came in was the Advantium model (Speedcook, European Convection, Microwave, Warming Oven)...still have no clue what to do with it...hopefully we can at least figure out the microwave :)

WOW

I had trouble deciding what the post title should be...WOW about sums it up.

Irene - WOW - we are getting blasted by rain...it's been raining nonstop since about 1pm today and the wind and intensity of the rain is steadily increasing...praying that both houses survive this onslaught!!!

PM - WOW - went out yesterday and got extension cords to be able to run power to the sump pump to prepare for the hurricane...everything possible to protect house was done...cross fingers and say a prayer!!!

Sales Rep - WOW - we knew our sales rep was supposed to be on vacation this week...actually he was given a sales award which was a trip to Atlantis - yes Noey - your Atlantis...they got there on Monday, Tuesday they were at a congratulations/welcome meeting when they proceeded to tell them that they had to pack up and leave because of Irene - WOW!!!

PM - WOW Again - He was on vacation thru last weekend...away for 6 days and "lost 5 days on the house"...He has been cracking the whip since getting back...

drywall, interior painting, exterior trim and painting - COMPLETE
all tile work - COMPLETE
cabinets(kitchen & wet bar), vanities, doors, vent covers, bathroom mirrors(except 1) - COMPLETE
guardian speakers, motion sensors, control panels - Almost COMPLETE
family room fireplace - granite hearth and surround, mantel and trim work, gas logs - COMPLETE
railing and banisters installed on all three stairs - COMPLETE
basement walkout - railing installed - COMPLETE
interior trim - Almost COMPLETE
shutters painted black - COMPLETE
front door painted white - COMPLETE
sitting room/master bedroom columns - COMPLETE
master bath columns - COMPLETE

We walked in last night and must have said WOW no less the 100 times...we were amazed at how much got done just since Wednesday.  The garage went from being filled with stuff to totally empty.

As I was typing this up I didn't think I had that many pictures to post...WRONG....

Kitchen cabinets

 Stair Banister

 Basement Stairs Banister and Railing

 Foyer - can you tell I love this view!!!

 Secondary Vanities with UbaTuba Granite - crappy picture

 Entry to master bedroom sitting room

 view from sitting room into master bedroom

 Master Bath tile installed on diagonal...worker bee holding back protective cover to proudly show off his work

 Master Shower

 Master Bath

 Master Bath Vanity with Absolute Black Granite top - 2nd vanity can be seen in the mirror

 Mini Access Panel to storage from Master Closets

 Tile and Vanity Bathroom#2

 Walkout Railings

 Wetbar upper cabinets

 Laundry Room sink cabinet and tile

 Laundry Room Cabinets

 Black Shutters and White Front Door

 Black Shutters

 Basement Fireplace Stone

We're Back

Hi All...sorry for disappearing on you.  We all took a vacation before the final push to the finish line.    We have been on vacation in Chicago since last Thursday.  Our PM was on vacation all last week and our Sales Rep is on vacation this week...building our house has worn us all out...just kidding.

When we got home from vacation we had a letter from both the lawyer who handles the closing and Ryan Homes regarding our final walk-thru and settlement date.  Our final walk-thru is September 21st and our Settlement date is September 22nd.  I have updated the countdown timer to reflect the new dates.
So as you know we were a little disappointed with the progress on the drywall last week and from the tone of the email we received from our PM this week we think he was too..."I am back and getting these guys back into shape".

We went down to the house tonight:
Drywall is complete
Inside painting is complete, but definitely needs a lot of work
Linoleum in Jack & Jill and Bathroom #2 is installed
Tile installed in Wet Bar area
Tile installed in First Floor Bathroom
Tile installed in Sunroom
Tile for Master Bathroom is well on it's way
Tile for Laundry room is in process
Framing for stone fireplace in basement is complete
Gas line is completely run and connected to the house
Outside trim painting was being done while we were there
Rough grading has been completed
Crushed stone for driveway is in place

The garage is completely filled with Cabinets, vanities, trim and doors.  The vent covers are sitting in boxes ready to be installed.  Our dishwasher, wall oven, trivection oven, and warming tray are sitting in the kitchen area.  No sign of the Stove or Hood.  The Refrigerator is backordered.

After the above is installed the Electricians and Plumbers will be back in to do all the connection work.

We also have what appears to be damage from the Earthquake...numerous small cracks in the basement floor...none of which were there last week.  Will post more on this after discussion with PM.

MasterBath post drywall

 MasterBath with tile work started

 Access panel to Spa Shower Valve

 MasterBath Shower during tiling

 Master Bedroom

 1st Floor Bathroom post drywall

 After tile

 Secondary Bath flooring

 Garage post drywall

 Foyer post drywall and painting

 Solarium post painting

 Sunroom post painting and tiling

 Wet Bar tiling

 Outside Front

Wet Bar Photos for Enna

These are photos of the Wet Bar and Beverage Center in the new Bainbridge Hall model home in our development.  They are similar to the ones I posted earlier from a nearby Ravenna model but this one seems a little bigger and the Ravenna model had a wine cooler instead of the Beverage Center.  Included with our quote were the cabinets for the front and back bar, sink & faucet, Granite, Beverage Center, Tile for flooring, and Pendant lights as well as electrical outlets on the front and back bar.  We added under cabinet lighting and upgraded the Beverage Center...hope this helps...

Drywall taking almost as long as Framing

Our PM is on vacation this week and things are again plodding along.  The following miscellaneous items have been completed: 
White roof on bay window was removed and the black roof is in place
Outside trim work is complete
Electric has been run to the house and hooked up to the circuit breaker boxes
Verizon wiring tube was installed in the trench with the electric and the trench is now backfilled
Gas line was trenched under the street and is ready to be run from there to the house
Sidewalk was poured
Front porch, steps and walk have been poured
Shutters have been installed and will be painted black later
Rough grading has started
Inside trim, doors, and cabinets have arrived
Refrigerator is back ordered - RH will provide loaner if it doesn't arrive in time
We decided to change our door color from Red to White

We had a ton of rain over the weekend and after seeing the post from NestNewbies about the water in the basement I was very worried.  Left work early and headed over expecting to find water in the basement, but much to our surprise the basement was bone dry.  The only water we had was two wet spots where the wallboard crew had left windows open and the rain came in...fortunately that was just Monday and not all weekend so it wasn't that bad.  We had a ton of erosion on the lot from the massive amount of water pouring off the house.  The newly poured sidewalk looks like a California mudslide.

Drywall installation is taking forever.  On Thursday all drywall was installed except for the Master Bath(failed inspection had to get re-inspected) and the Garage...these are both now done.  They were supposed to start taping and mudding on Friday and we know they were there on Saturday, but when we stopped by Monday afternoon they had not even finished the taping and first coat of mud....so much for being totally finished with all three coats early this week.  Our PM was expecting to have the painting done this week and the cabinets installed....NOT...hopefully they at least get the 3 coats completed this week.  I know...I know...I know....it is a big house and the taping and first coat always take longer, but 3 whole days...not to mention they were across the street wall boarding our neighbor's house too.  I think our settlement date will slip another week.

We meet with an irrigation installer and have a very rough idea on what to budget.  Once we firm up landscape design we can get a firm quote.  We also discussed landscape lighting...will keep the details for later.  On Saturday, we met with a local nursery, and discussed ideas for shrub beds, types of shrubs and trees to install.  It has definitely been a while since we have been to a nursery...there were plants and trees there that I had never seen before nor even heard of.  We have to get some detailed measurements of the house perimeter and then can take that back with pictures and the nursery will do a detailed landscape layout...no charge...awesome service.  RH does provide a basic landscape package and we contacted our sales rep about eliminating it and getting a credit so we can do our own...this way we can get the shrubs we really like, the layout of the shrub beds the way we want them and a couple of trees as well(RH doesn't include any), plus some hardscape additions, landscape lighting, and irrigation system...all of which need the installation coordinated together.  Our sales rep talked with his production manager and they said it would be fine as long as we signed a document stating that we would be doing this soon after settlement. RH will go to the Community Management company to get approval.

Here are just a couple of pictures:

Starting to look like picture at top of blog

 Foyer with Drywall

 Master Bedroom with Tray ceiling

 Solarium

 Morning Room looking over Breakfast Bar

 WetBar - PM did a great job customizing the design to incorporate the column.

Once we get thru the drywall installation and our PM returns from vacation we will get a firm date for settlement and I will update our countdown timer.