Day 60 - Cabinets & Doors

Well, I believe our cabinets and doors went in today.  They're no longer in the garage so that's my guess.   I haven't been inside in a while due to the horrible state of mud and sitting deep ponds of water on our lot.  OH, and the fact that I need a freaking elevator to get in the doors that are 3 foot above ground level.  Every time I see the house the ugliness of the exposed foundation makes me cringe.

They have also cleared the rocks for the driveway to be poured.  We're still missing a part to the right that will also be a driveway


I love the front door.  I can't wait until it's painted! 

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

Flooring - Example Photos

I'm obsessed!! Just dreaming about our flooring :)

Samples - Wow, I'm spending how much and you wont give me a simple sample?

I'm slightly agitated.  The amount of money I'm spending on flooring upgrades you think it would be easy to get a tiny sample for furniture shopping?  EEEE - Negative!

$15 dollars to get a sample of my laminate.  What?  Seriously?  Ok - wait $15 for a sample of my vinyl?  Ok, that's a little ridiculous!

I also reached out to our siding supplier for a teeny tiny sample of our two colors to assist with deck color selection - EEEEEE - No response - At All!

I'm not asking for full pieces of my selections, just tiny little swatches to help me furnish a home I'm spending the rest of my life paying for.  I'm not shopping for floors here folks, I've made my selections.  It's not like I'm asking for 5 of each type of everything you have!  Maybe I am asking for too much?  Maybe I'm expecting too much?  Even a color print out that is accurate would do!  EEEEE - Negative!

Maybe I'm just in a "Monday" foul mood.  Tomorrow this probably wont be a big deal, but it is a little sad, not even a paper print out.  :(

~Update 13-APR-13~
I'm still having problems getting samples and it disappoints me.  I can't seem to find any in-stores and reaching out to the suppliers have referred me to my SR for RH and RR who in turn referred me to the suppliers.  It is a small thing in the scheme of things but then on the other hand it's not.  This is my home, the most expensive thing I will purchase in my life, and I don't want to wait until the finished product to begin budgeting and planning to furnish it.

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....