Day 61 - Porch Poured

Today our front porch was poured.  I'm very concerned at the amount of steps to get into our home.  I feel we were mislead about our lot.  I've been trying to come to terms with it but it makes me so unhappy to think about the additional steps and lot grading.

I hope the next few weeks go buy quickly and we see more progress.

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

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.

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

Day 14, 15, 16, 17

Like day 13, there has been NO action on our lot for days 14, 15, 16, and 17.  5 days without a single movement forward.

Lot & Grading Review Part 2

Today we went over to the lot and met again with the Project Manager, General Manager, and Sales Manager.  Plan - discussing the lot and grading once again.  Although we've seen an improvement of the lot it's still not anywhere near what we were initially led to believe.  It still does not currently meet with what I see as a functioning yard for our family.  Not only is it about the yard but the additional stairs that will be necessary for entry and exit.  This is not what we expected when we signed on all those lines agreeing to sign away the next 30 years of our life.

back right corner of our lot - severe slop ahead!

not much flat space to speak of!

I've accepted the fact that we've been dealt this card and now we have to live with it, however I firmly believe that Ryan Homes should be partially responsible to help us make the space work for us.  I'm not sure they share that opinion with me but I'm determined to stop dwelling on the crappy hand we've been dealt and making this our dream home again.

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!

Day 11 - Forms Removed, Egress Window Well, Water Proofing, & Sewer and Water Rough-Ins

Today's activity consisted of the foundation forms coming off, the installation of the egress window well, and the walls being water proofed with some nifty mar-flex geo-mat.  They also did the sewer and water rough-ins.  Lots of photos to follow!

The waterproofing used in our development

I'm concerned about the slope of the driveway :-S

Yes, I got in the hole!

Side shot of the egress well

Looking into the well for the depth of the window

I HATE the well but they wouldn't let me buy a different one

Backside - livingroom and morning room

Livingroom and morning room

You can see some of the piping

View from the side street

Garage