Showing posts with label Gas Usage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gas Usage. Show all posts

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Kitchen Selections & A Disappointment

Well, we've made our final kitchen selections with the exception of the refrigerator that we'll purchase closer to closing.  I'm mostly happy.  There's one annoying piece of information that I've learned that I didn't expect would bother me as much as it really has.  I'm not sure how to get by it and I'm not sure there's anything that can be done about it.

Now, here's what has me very bothered.  Apparently there's been a change in the cabinet design.  The original design had the cabinets above the range and microwave as below:
The Model - These cabinets are all flush with each other
New Design - These cabinets are NOT flush with each other
I think it's very ugly.  Not only that, but they include the crown moulding on JUST that cabinet with the new design, while the all the others will be plain, unless of course, I select the addition of the moulding - which I don't really like anyways and isn't in my budget :(  It's going to be an eyesore.  It bothers me a great deal.  I tried to let it go, but the kitchen is the most important thing to me in this house.  My mother, my son, and I spend a lot of time in it either cooking or baking.  It's also the central location for us socially when we get together with friends and family.  Ug *holding back tears of frustration*

Update:  I believe we've reached a compromise with RH to add crown moulding to all the cabinets at a discount.  

And now... drum-roll please....

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Is RH ENERGY STAR® Certified? YUP!

Ryan Homes boosts it is 100 percent ENERGY STAR® Certified and third-party verified to deliver energy saving.
Honestly, I wasn't sure what that meant so I spent a little time finding out.  I get a monthly statement from my utility provider to tell me where a efficient home sits, where an average home sits, and where mine sits on electricity usage.  CRAZY - I am consistently WELL over any average home, let alone an efficient home.  This only shows my electric.  My gas usage and water usage is crazy as well. :(
I browsed my dependable fellow Ryan Homes builders bloggers and learned that those who mentioned their utility bills reported some sort (usually large) decreases in the amount due!

I visited the Ryan Homes website (yet again!) to read the energy promise and remembered as part of my purchase cost estimate being provided a little graphical representation of where the home I selected sat on the HERS index.
I also stumbled onto a bit of the information (listed below) they provide as to WHY Ryan Homes are energy savers.  Now, with all this information I just can't wait!  I hate my current utility bills, they're as much as my car payment!