Getting down to the end but so much more to do. No pictures this post but some excellent info for anyone wanting to build with Ryan and still in the planning stages.
1. Dark engineered hardwood stinks. The wood underneath is light colored so any flaw stands out yugely. I think we had more tape on our floors than on the walls.
2. Non-sliding patio doors apparently don't come with sliding screens - at least according to our SR and PM. They're not expensive or difficult to add but would have been nice to have them included.
3. If you get the planning desk in the kitchen and upgrade your cabinets to get the soft close drawers, the planning desk drawers are not soft close. This REALLY pisses me off as they are the exact same cabinets and we paid for the upgrade. Still trying to fight for this.
4, If you use a buying agent (and I highly suggest you do) have them come out at all the inspection phases. Ours was quite direct about the house not being ready and needing a lot of work to complete. Wish we had brought her for predrywall.
Today we had our pre-settlement walkthrough with the PM. Again, the house was nice but not move-in ready or move-in cleaned. We came in with a list of about 90 items that needed to be addressed. We left with a list of about 80 but nothing structurally wrong. This doesn't include all the blue tape added around the house. Our agent suggested delaying closing a few days but we have already lined up movers, utilities and furniture deliveries and didn't think we needed to delay all of that.
So what's on our list? If you're interested I've included a PDF of our list below:
We made the list and our Inspection Report part of the presettlement document. Ryan is now legally obligated to fix what is on the list or at least provide a disposition as to why it cannot be fixed.
We're going to take a few days off the house thing. Neither my wife or I have been able to sleep much lately worrying about construction. At this point there is nothing more we can do but attend another walkthrough on Monday before closing. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well then.
On a positive note, NVR has been great to work with. They gave us some good incentives to use them for financing. The process has been entirely smooth and everyone involved personable and professional.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
5 Days to go...
Stopped by the house this morning to check on the work that was done yesterday and everything is looking better. Not perfect, but better.
All the blue tape is gone. Cleaners came in and did a somewhat adequate job. Third party inspectors expected later today. Seems like we're all set for final walkthrough tomorrow.
In just a quick visit I noticed a lot of things that still need to be touched-up:
- Laminate floors are iffy. Several are chipped. Lots of paint and drywall dust in the cracks and crevices. One spot where filler was used to cover where they had driven a screw through a board. Not happy.
- Trim is still a mess in several places. If you're not going to use a full length of trim along a wall then at least TRY to smooth out the joint. Several joints have wood filler gobbed on and not sanded.
- Drywall patches around some outlet boxes that were adjusted is terrible.
- Drywall patch on the master bath is hideous.
None of this will stop closing but it's highly likely they will be working after we close.
Anyway, pictures!
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
6 Days to go...
Missed day 7 but that's OK. So much going on right now that this process is a blur.
As a surprise - WE HAVE FREAKIN SOD!!!! Our neighbors who just moved in a week ago don't even have sod yet. Looking like a house...
Advice to those in this process - hire a home inspector. We're glad we did. My wife was feeling very overwhelmed at the amount of work that still needed to be done. The inspector reassured her that this is normal and that overall the house is in great shape. The minor stuff can easily be finished.
Even though our house is still a few days away from being ready we had our home inspector come in today to give it a once-over for major mechanical and semi-structural fixes. The idea was to avoid the cosmetic items that are still being addressed and instead focus on fixes that can't be covered with spackle and paint. There were still a lot of tradesmen around the house doing minor (and some not-so-minor) touchups but here is what he found:
- Refrigerator on the same GFCI protected circuit as the kitchen outlets. If the GFCI trips then the contents of the refrigerator can thaw before we have a chance to reset the breaker.
- Front porch needs a railing. Code says anything with a fall greater than 30" needs a railing. We're at 40" on the side of our porch. Highly likely that Ryan won't do it.
- A bad GFCI outlet on the deck.
- Brick weep holes missing netting material.
- Several doors and latches need adjusting.
- Missing deck flashing and lateral support.
- Rusting (already?) flashing material
- A bunch of minor stuff too numerous to list.
My wife had a list of her own - 5 pages that doesn't include all the blue-tape stuff that we considered cosmetic. Add that to our previous punch list and we're up to over 60 items. Ryan's third party inspector comes tomorrow and will have his list of fixes. In two days we go back for our final walkthrough before closing. That's where we'll break out the blue tape!
We love the house. There is a lot of work to be done but we love it and look forward to being able to call it ours.
As a surprise - WE HAVE FREAKIN SOD!!!! Our neighbors who just moved in a week ago don't even have sod yet. Looking like a house...
Advice to those in this process - hire a home inspector. We're glad we did. My wife was feeling very overwhelmed at the amount of work that still needed to be done. The inspector reassured her that this is normal and that overall the house is in great shape. The minor stuff can easily be finished.
Even though our house is still a few days away from being ready we had our home inspector come in today to give it a once-over for major mechanical and semi-structural fixes. The idea was to avoid the cosmetic items that are still being addressed and instead focus on fixes that can't be covered with spackle and paint. There were still a lot of tradesmen around the house doing minor (and some not-so-minor) touchups but here is what he found:
- Refrigerator on the same GFCI protected circuit as the kitchen outlets. If the GFCI trips then the contents of the refrigerator can thaw before we have a chance to reset the breaker.
- Front porch needs a railing. Code says anything with a fall greater than 30" needs a railing. We're at 40" on the side of our porch. Highly likely that Ryan won't do it.
- A bad GFCI outlet on the deck.
- Brick weep holes missing netting material.
- Several doors and latches need adjusting.
- Missing deck flashing and lateral support.
- Rusting (already?) flashing material
- A bunch of minor stuff too numerous to list.
My wife had a list of her own - 5 pages that doesn't include all the blue-tape stuff that we considered cosmetic. Add that to our previous punch list and we're up to over 60 items. Ryan's third party inspector comes tomorrow and will have his list of fixes. In two days we go back for our final walkthrough before closing. That's where we'll break out the blue tape!
We love the house. There is a lot of work to be done but we love it and look forward to being able to call it ours.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
8 Days to go....
Ryan's punch-out guy is rockin' it. He was at the house all day yesterday (Saturday) and is there again today (Sunday) doing the little touch-ups and fixes to make the house right. Unfortunately for him there is A LOT to do.
Yesterday one of the guys installed all the locksets and door knobs. We were considering an upgrade to all oil rubbed bronze but in the end went with brushed nickel. I'm glad we did as the the ORB would have stuck out like a sore thumb. One thing that looked odd to me is that the exterior door hardware is ORB but the interior is brushed nickel. Probably goes with the style of the house but looks weird.
The front columns were finally installed but there is still work to be done - and it looks like at least one of the columns isn't plumb. Trimmers also finished the dining room and installed the missing door in our bathroom. Still some drywall work to be done but it's getting there.
Front door is now on so we're getting closer to the day when we're entirely locked out. Probably as soon as someone installs the garage door opener.
Also found out today that the garage door is insulated. Very nice touch. Now if they would insulate (or let you insulate) the exterior garage walls the garage could nearly be climate controlled!
Yesterday one of the guys installed all the locksets and door knobs. We were considering an upgrade to all oil rubbed bronze but in the end went with brushed nickel. I'm glad we did as the the ORB would have stuck out like a sore thumb. One thing that looked odd to me is that the exterior door hardware is ORB but the interior is brushed nickel. Probably goes with the style of the house but looks weird.
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| Looking good for closing! |
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| Still working on columns but installed front door |
The front columns were finally installed but there is still work to be done - and it looks like at least one of the columns isn't plumb. Trimmers also finished the dining room and installed the missing door in our bathroom. Still some drywall work to be done but it's getting there.
Front door is now on so we're getting closer to the day when we're entirely locked out. Probably as soon as someone installs the garage door opener.
Also found out today that the garage door is insulated. Very nice touch. Now if they would insulate (or let you insulate) the exterior garage walls the garage could nearly be climate controlled!
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| Dishwasher is in - sort of. |
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| Great Room panoramic |
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| Upstairs hallway |
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| Master Bedroom panoramic |
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| Master Bath Roman Shower |
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| Trim before drywall? |
Saturday, June 3, 2017
9 Days to go...
It's Saturday! And the house was abuzz today with workers from all different trades:
Framers - needed to reframe a bathroom door opening that was too small.
Drywall finishers - finishing the bonus room (about time) and doing some minor wall fixes.
Trimmers - working on the moldings
Finishers - working on door knobs and stops and adjusting kitchen cabinets.
There is a TON of blue tape of the wall from the PM but he didn't catch but about half of what we saw. We started adding our own blue tape until we noticed that the drywall finishing guys already went through that room. Oops! Well, we have a one-room head start for Tuesday.
Today we went on a little bit of a shopping for the new house. Home Depot had a sale on a dryer that we purchased so we ended up getting $160 refunded to our credit card. Macy's furniture had a sale on our coach that saved us another $350. Ashley Furniture is likely to have a sale next week on our mattress that will save us another $150 or so.
All the savings are going to be put toward hiring movers to unload our PODS. With all the things that need to be done around the new house this will help immensely.
Weekend is here and my wife feels homesick from being in an apartment and now staying at her mother's. It's not ideal living out of boxes but we have just about 9 days remaining and then we'll be in our new home.
Framers - needed to reframe a bathroom door opening that was too small.
Drywall finishers - finishing the bonus room (about time) and doing some minor wall fixes.
Trimmers - working on the moldings
Finishers - working on door knobs and stops and adjusting kitchen cabinets.
There is a TON of blue tape of the wall from the PM but he didn't catch but about half of what we saw. We started adding our own blue tape until we noticed that the drywall finishing guys already went through that room. Oops! Well, we have a one-room head start for Tuesday.
Today we went on a little bit of a shopping for the new house. Home Depot had a sale on a dryer that we purchased so we ended up getting $160 refunded to our credit card. Macy's furniture had a sale on our coach that saved us another $350. Ashley Furniture is likely to have a sale next week on our mattress that will save us another $150 or so.
All the savings are going to be put toward hiring movers to unload our PODS. With all the things that need to be done around the new house this will help immensely.
Weekend is here and my wife feels homesick from being in an apartment and now staying at her mother's. It's not ideal living out of boxes but we have just about 9 days remaining and then we'll be in our new home.
Friday, June 2, 2017
10 Days to Settlement!?!
The countdown is certainly on and the work in the house continues. With all the different trades that need to go in the PM seems to have scheduled people so that they don't interfere with each other which makes progress appear slow.
Today the deck builders finished their work:
Looks great and built solid. We didn't see it originally but the back windows can pretty easily be accessed from the deck stairs. May need to rethink our security system. When the post holes were dug for the deck they damaged our footing drain and just covered the mistake. It's on our punch list.
We plan on having a concrete patio installed under the deck and will add an under-deck drainage system so that water wont leak down onto our heads. My wife wants a pool in the future (way in the future) and this would be a nice area for shade.
Carpet is being installed today and our fireplace was finished last night:
The picture makes the carpet appear darker. The sun is on the opposite side of the house at this time and the entire back is in a shadow.
The fireplace is perfect. The two 2x4s in the midde were put in by the PM as a mount for our HEAVY television. We would have rather not have the two eyeball lights in the ceiling but would not have had a credit for not installing - and they wouldn't let us move them to another part of the house.
What's next, you ask? Well, I don't have the insight into the PM's plan but there is a ton of work to complete and a very short time to complete it:
- Bonus Room - still some drywall to hang and mud and also need to install attic accesses.
- Master Bath - install a closet and the shower doors, finish trim work
- Dining Room - some more drywall finishing and trim work
- Kitchen - fix the island, remove the backsplash we didn't want, and adjust all the cabinets.
- All Over - Paint walls and trim.
- All Over - fit and finish doors, windows, etc.
- All Over - clean up
- Exterior - just a few minor things.
We have a very daunting list of minor touchups to add to a punch list but we're giving our PM the benefit of us not nit-picking everything at this point. The PM has already added blue tape to a number of areas but he's not picking up what we're seeing. We'll start our taping next week.
In four days our home inspector will go through the house. He is going to earn his money as the house will not be anywhere near complete by the time.
In six days we have our presettlement meeting with the PM.
In the next week Ryan will have their "third-party" inspector look over the house. I'm happy they do it but under no illusions that in the end they still get paid by Ryan so they will have a bias.
In less than ten days we settle. Again, the house will not be perfect but we'll put up with it if they get the work done in a timely manner.
In eleven days we have deliveries and install for our refrigerator, dryer, internet, and couches.
In twelve days our PODS are delivered to our house and we start unpacking.
In thirteen days movers (hopefully) will magically appear to unload the rest of our PODS and we can start the longer practice of finding a place for everything.
More pictures from today coming later...
QUICK UPDATE: Met the PMs at the house today and they assured me that they are on track to finish and that the house will look great. They blue-taped a whole bunch of other things that I didn't see. Thanks to both of them. If they have this house as good as they promise by closing then I'll have to eat a whole lot of crow - and feed them a whole bunch of steak! Fingers crossed.
Today the deck builders finished their work:
Looks great and built solid. We didn't see it originally but the back windows can pretty easily be accessed from the deck stairs. May need to rethink our security system. When the post holes were dug for the deck they damaged our footing drain and just covered the mistake. It's on our punch list.
We plan on having a concrete patio installed under the deck and will add an under-deck drainage system so that water wont leak down onto our heads. My wife wants a pool in the future (way in the future) and this would be a nice area for shade.
Carpet is being installed today and our fireplace was finished last night:
The picture makes the carpet appear darker. The sun is on the opposite side of the house at this time and the entire back is in a shadow.
The fireplace is perfect. The two 2x4s in the midde were put in by the PM as a mount for our HEAVY television. We would have rather not have the two eyeball lights in the ceiling but would not have had a credit for not installing - and they wouldn't let us move them to another part of the house.
What's next, you ask? Well, I don't have the insight into the PM's plan but there is a ton of work to complete and a very short time to complete it:
- Bonus Room - still some drywall to hang and mud and also need to install attic accesses.
- Master Bath - install a closet and the shower doors, finish trim work
- Dining Room - some more drywall finishing and trim work
- Kitchen - fix the island, remove the backsplash we didn't want, and adjust all the cabinets.
- All Over - Paint walls and trim.
- All Over - fit and finish doors, windows, etc.
- All Over - clean up
- Exterior - just a few minor things.
We have a very daunting list of minor touchups to add to a punch list but we're giving our PM the benefit of us not nit-picking everything at this point. The PM has already added blue tape to a number of areas but he's not picking up what we're seeing. We'll start our taping next week.
In four days our home inspector will go through the house. He is going to earn his money as the house will not be anywhere near complete by the time.
In six days we have our presettlement meeting with the PM.
In the next week Ryan will have their "third-party" inspector look over the house. I'm happy they do it but under no illusions that in the end they still get paid by Ryan so they will have a bias.
In less than ten days we settle. Again, the house will not be perfect but we'll put up with it if they get the work done in a timely manner.
In eleven days we have deliveries and install for our refrigerator, dryer, internet, and couches.
In twelve days our PODS are delivered to our house and we start unpacking.
In thirteen days movers (hopefully) will magically appear to unload the rest of our PODS and we can start the longer practice of finding a place for everything.
More pictures from today coming later...
QUICK UPDATE: Met the PMs at the house today and they assured me that they are on track to finish and that the house will look great. They blue-taped a whole bunch of other things that I didn't see. Thanks to both of them. If they have this house as good as they promise by closing then I'll have to eat a whole lot of crow - and feed them a whole bunch of steak! Fingers crossed.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
New Picture Update
Since the previous post was so lacking with pictures here are a few to satisfy the curious:
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| Front view - yard rough graded but still a ton of rocks |
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| South side view |
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| Rear view |
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| Rear view 2 |
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| North side view |
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| Front porch view |
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| Kitchen island - wavy board (not going over well with my wife) |
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| There is a bend in the side of the island |
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| Dining room boxes - had to move the electric outlets down |
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| Dining room |
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| Stair rails were stained |
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| Front door ready to go on |
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| Working on the stone fireplace |
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| Kitchen countertops installed |
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| Stove looks great |
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| Planning center - need to install soft-close slides |
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| Kitchen countertops - we specifically asked for no backsplash but there it is |
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| Bathroom - pretty plain but we'll paint and replace the ugly pedestal sink |
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| Stairway from upstairs |
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| Boys bathroom - looks really good |
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| Master bath cabinets - thinking of replacing the sinks with granite |
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| Tandem garage is huge - we can store everything in there |
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| Guardian panel - a lot more stuff than I had anticipated |
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