Showing posts with label Dreams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreams. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Pre-Drywall Meeting

Today was our Pre-Drywall meeting!  It took approximately 1 hour and boy was it hot and stuff in there!  Equally - this will be a long post, sorry! LOL.

First stop - The Garage.  Due to the lot grading our garage had to be dropped below the house, which makes the inside bigger than it looks on the outside and adds additional steps.  I'm positive that this is going to mean an extra cost on my garage door installation but gives slightly more storage area up high for those pesky once a year holiday decorations.  All the switches and outlets seemed to be in their rightful places.  This is a good start.
We have all our drywall supplies ready to go!
Here's a good angle to show the extra space
Next stop - Mud Room.  Nothing too extensive here.  We have one set of our two washer and dryer hookups.  Everything seems on the up and up here.
Washer on the left?  Mine has always been on the right, hrm
Next stop - The Kitchen.  I was unhappy with the recessed lighting settings (set as per plan) but PM agreed to move a set slightly to make it flow a little better.  We're missing a Guardian cable jack in here.  I'll have to reach out to them for them to remedy.
The recessed is too crammed to the left I think

The missing jack should be to the left corner.  The shiny thing is the vent
This pantry is exciting and it has its own light
Next stop - Morning Room.  It's so windowy!  I love it!  Oops, we forgot the light. My PM is very helpful though!
No privacy here! LOL.
Next stop - Family Room.  We opted not to get a fireplace, although gorgeous, we really didn't need it and couldn't justify the price. :(  Everything looked to be in place, however Guardian sucks at picking locations for jacks.
I don't like any of the places that Guardian decided to put the jacks
Next stop - Hall Closet & Powder Room.  Not much to discuss here really.  All the power seems to be in order and the extra pieces are marked to be removed.
Black wire in the middle is the temperature control location

Next stop - Formal Living Room.  Again, I just hate the Guardian jack locations.  Everything seems to be in order in here.  The outlets are good and we have switches for just about everything.
Notice there's no insulation between rooms
Next stop - The basement.  I'm unhappy about a few things here.
  1. First, the electrical panel is in the finished part of the basement in a space I indicated that I wanted to add a kitchenette in the near future.  I very clearly stated I wanted to do this during pre-construction and asked that we try to put it somewhere else, but apparently there were NO alternatives.  What an eyesore and a disappointment.  
  2. Guardian, again puts the jacks in some stupid places. 
  3. The closet will be adjusted a bit for more use of the unused space under the stairs.
  4. The second washer and dryer hookup is in the space that I noted during the pre-construction meeting that I would be finishing.  I was hoping they could have put it closer to the sump pump like I asked, but apparently not.  Again, another disappointment.  It's now in the location I planned on putting a closet.  I feel like no one listened or cared enough to accommodate my requests.
Fans to blow the basement dry.
I wish I could use ALL that space under the stairs
Love the egress - HATE the well - and HATE the trash the contractors have thrown in it
We have my friend Brittany's (lot 56) water heater!  Oops.

I found out that the black trash bag is holding insulation around the venting system - neat
Next stop - The loft.  Nothing special here.  Everything seems to be in there as it should be.  Guardian can't hit center if it had a bullseye on it though :)
I just liked this view :)  Look at all the sheetrock!
Next stop - The bedrooms.  Everything seemed to be in place at first in these rooms.  No insulation between the rooms.  My kids loved walking "through walls" LOL!  I found a problem in the owners closet.  I asked during the pre-construction meeting that the attic access either be moved or moved over to allow for a closet in the future if the loft was converted to a bedroom.  That didn't happen.  PM has agreed to move it to another location.  We will have NO useable space up there - it's just for spray insulation.
I would have liked to keep it in a closet but apparently it can't be
The house seems so much smaller than the model
Next stop - Owner's bathroom.  Nothing special here.  My window failed since it's not tempered but I'm told it's going to be replaced to pass inspection.
It was an itsy bitty teeny weeney square window *humming pokadot bikini*
And finally - The Outside.  Oh the punches keep coming.  I asked that the hose bibs be on the right side of the house near the front and on the left side of near the back.  I got neither.  Apparently there is a design issue that prevents the hose from being on the right side of the house?  Uh.  Eyes rolling.  Another thing I can do nothing about.  Yet again, we must change the plans for our home.  Sigh.  I'm disgusted.
This hose height is ridiculous.  I chuckled when I walked over to "test" it.  Seriously?  Careful, don't bump your head.
This one isn't as bad and liveable I guess.
Here's a close up of the brick.  I can't wait to see it on the house.  I think it's growing on me, very slowly.  It looks different in different lights and it seems that the frosty stuff has come off. :(
None of the house I've seen with the sugar creek look the same from one to the next, so it's hard to judge what it will look like
On a positive note - they fixed the water rushing back into the house - yay!  Now if they could just fix the waterproofing.  It's torn all around the back of the house too!
No more huge puddle sitting on the torn waterproofing

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Visit Your County's Building & Zoning Website

I've had quite a few e-mails and comments asking where I got the nifty information on my home build inspections like below.


I found this on my county's building and zoning website.  Each county likely has one, but may contain differing amount of information.  Building, property, and zoning info are matters of public record.  You can see not only permit information but also other property information (like costs of the neighbors house ssshhh).

If you can't find your county's records, let me know!  I'm like super detective with Google! LOL.  Seriously though, I don't mind helping you find your information.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Day 19 - Slabs Poured

Today consisted of the slabs for the basement and garage being poured.  It was still very muddy.  Today, I got to bring a little bit of my new home, home to my old home in the form of mud all over my shoes!  LOL.
Does it mean that the garage failed?
A slab of concrete is poured, in forms, on top of a prepared bed of compacted sand and gravel. It is usually reinforced with re-bar and heavy wire mesh for strength and stability... which I showed you yesterday. :)
I can't wait to walk on it!
It already has a dent on the edge, am I odd that I want it fixed?
I can see the slight slope on the garage in this picture

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Day 12 - Underground Plumbing & Backfill

Today we got underground plumbing.  I can't show you a picture of that, obviously! LOL.  I can show you the backfill/initial grading of the lot.  It's not as bad as it could be but it still doesn't satisfy me.  It's still pretty far from the expectation set when we moved forward with the Homesite Reservation and Purchase Agreement.  Lots of pictures to follow!








Sunday, June 2, 2013

Days 9 & 10

No progress to report for days 9 & 10.  It was the weekend, everyone deserves some time off! :)  Here are some dryer (but not by much) pictures of our foundation forms filled with concrete.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

NVR Mortgage Update #5 Guess what...

Chicken Butt...............


Just kidding!  After a bit of prompting through an e-mail on our part to NVRM, a small freak out about some inaccurate numbering and change order information, and reassurance from the LO that we are in fact fine, we've been approved!


I am so freaking relieved!  This calls for a celebration!

There will be a full detailed blog entry/page about our NVRM experience and review after the process is complete and we've closed....

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

And it begins...

I drove by our rectangular shaped emptiness of dirt on Monday to find some exciting stuff!
Are those big Popsicle sticks growing out of the ground?
There is activity on our lot - FINALLY!!!
It's hard to picture a house here after looking at dirt for months

We've been staked!  Through the heart baby!  With Giant Popsicle sticks!
It looks like the house will hog the whole lot, now I'm even more worried about our lot selection than I was before
Then on Tuesday I swung by to pick up some paper work and holy cow - we have more than sticks even!
An egress window and well - SWEET!
I am so pleased we've already started our deliveries and we haven't even broken ground!  Maybe this is a sign of good and speedy things to come.

I'm growing so very excited.  I can hardly sleep.  But this may also be because of concerns about our choices.  I wonder - does everyone go through this concern? :-S

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

I've got nothin...

Nothin... I've got nothin... Sigh.  Depressing.  No stakes, no hole.  Not even a scheduled per-construction meeting.  :(  I don't like this part... it was all hurry up and now it's nothin but waitin.  Everyone else is moving forward.  Ug.


Thursday, April 18, 2013

Telling Friends & Family

This is an odd post.  But I'm wondering when should we tell friends and family that we're building a home?  I don't want to seem like we're bragging, because we're not.  We're just so very excited for our family!  This will be our first home we own.  This will be the first home we're building.  This will be our long dreamt and talked about home.

I would hate to seem unappreciative or inconsiderate.  I know that we are very thankful and this entire process we've had our fingers crossed and have only told those who very obviously would figure it out given overheard conversations with SR or LO or Guardian or RR.  We had decided for sure that we would not tell anyone else until we got a final loan approval but it appears that nothing is really final until you close or maybe I am misunderstanding.  Also, our LO doesn't seem to think there's anything to worry about.  I'm kind of torn.