Some Promised Pictures

Lately the posts have been lacking the visual aspect of a good blog. Here are some of the latest pictures we have of the house.  We took a TON of pictures to document locations of wires and plumbing.  Maybe they will come in handy in the future.

On a side note, we've walked this house several times.  For about an hour I walked every room from every angle imaginable and there are absolutely no floor squeaks.  Ryan did the glue-nail-screw method and it seems to work well.

On to pictures.  Enjoy!

Entire front of house.  They installed the garage door and a temporary front door.  Also had drywall delivered yesterday.  

Front of house.  Ready for brick.

Front at the future porch.  I like the recessed lights.

Front of house at garage.  I think the electric box at the bottom is for the lamp post.

Garage with the electric panel.  Thanks Ryan for getting this situation fixed.

Kitchen wall against garage.

The rest of the wall that will have the built-in work desk.

Plumbing between great room and powder room.

From the office looking into the dining room and garage beyond.  Ryan does a great job in the dining room of putting the electric boxes horizontal and below the future mouldings.

From the front bedroom to the bonus room.  The bonus room is going to be yuge for us.  Note the blocking is way too low for our future TV.  Having the PM take care of that.

From the bonus room looking to the laundry.  Still waiting for the floor drain to be moved.

Lots of plumbing in the master bath.  The reason they run the water lines so close to the edge of the stud is to avoid bends in the pipe when they need to get around the drains.  Makes sense as you don't want those pipes rubbing on the wood.

Boy's bathroom.  My pet peeve is hard to see but it's about half-way up on the left.  They stubbed out 2x4s to give an outlet box a place to be nailed.  That stud turns so easily just plugging something into that outlet will push the entire box into the wall.  It's a crap job that has yet to be fixed.

Have we hit a stall?

It's been just over 50 days since breaking ground and a little over a week since our predrywall meeting and things have slowed considerably.  The neighborhood is busy with at least four other houses in the framing stage but it seems like ours has taken a back seat to some of the others.  One of them appears to be catching up with us even through they just broke ground a few weeks ago.  It's frustrating but we're trying to keep in good spirits as our closing date approaches in mid June.

Today I was at the house to take a look at what has been going on.  Honestly, not much progress but maybe something is happening behind the scenes.  Inspections?  In the past week Ryan has:

• Installed our sub-panel as requested (their mistake so no charge!)
• Moved the laundry room plumbing and electric to what was in the plans
• Moved a few of the recessed lights,
• Added the garage door and other exterior doors
• Insulated the entire house - except for the attic
• Moved more crappy clay soil onto our site

Our PM provided a date for drywall to begin next week but there are still a number of issues that need to be dealt with:

• The laundry room drip pan drain is still in the wrong spot
• The foyer is still missing framing for a small wall
• There is a rafter blocking one of our attic accesses
• Another portion of the attic has no attic access
• Several studs are very loose and need to be braced or replaced
• Several windows don't lock as if their misaligned

I also found out today that Guardian did not run two of my paid-for wires to the back of the wall mounted TV.  We're completely missing a coax cable and the data cable runs to the wrong spot.  Not terrible issues but they're going to have trouble running the new cables through a wall that has already been insulated, foamed and boarded with plywood.  I would have assumed that the PM would have been looking at this but that's not the case.  If I wouldn't have pulled back some insulation then this error would have been covered in drywall and unnoticed until after we closed.

This may be a piece of advice that is given in all these blogs but it bears repeating:  Keep an eye on everything that goes on in your house.  If you don't know much about construction ask a friend who does or bug the crap out of your PM to show you everything.  Verify everything.  Ask questions about everything.  If something doesn't look right note it to your PM.  Visit your house as much as you can so you can observe what is happening.  We're lucky in that I have a background in construction and know my way around electric and mechanicals.

We're keeping a running list of questions and replies during this process.  So far we're at 100 and I expect we'll be at over 200 by the time we close.  I figured that at some point the PM would figure out that I know what I'm talking about and address the issues before I noticed them but instead I think he's using me as an extra set of eyes to watch over his subs.  In any case I think he's going to be sick of me by the time this is over.  No worries though as we'll have a great house at the end - and I'll invite him over for barbeque when we're settled in.

Between our many moves and our kid's sporting events my wife and I finally had time to go shopping for a few of the necessary items we'll need when we do close.  We're keeping a list of needs that adds up to a staggering amount of money.  Our purchase last night was at Home Depot - a new refrigerator and a dryer.  The refrigerator is an GE Adora model with french doors in the slate color to match our other appliances.  We found a dryer that matched our current Maytag Bravos XL washer - highly recommend those models if you're in the market.  Delivery is for the day after our scheduled closing so we're holding Ryan to their estimate for that date.

Other items on our list and their budget include:

• Closet organizers for the bedrooms  - $1300
• Ceiling fans - $750
• Sofa(s) - $4000
• Dressers - $1500
• Concrete patio - $2500
• Fence - $8000
• Paint - $1500
• Window Treatments - $2000
• Kitchen Table - $1500
• And a whole bunch of little stuff that won't fit in a single post

One of my major gripes about the plumbing was that the pipes are all very loose.  Well, per the PM and several internet posts the CPVC pipe that is used needs to be loose to allow for expansion and contraction of the pipe.  Makes sense.

Much Happier after Pre-Drywall Meeting

Well, what a difference a few days makes.  In our previous post we discussed a number of issues we had with the interior of the house.  We were quite upset that some of these items had either escaped the attention of our PM or he had just written them off as standard construction methods.  Well, yesterday all those issues were discussed and we're back to loving our house.

Two days ago I walked the house with the PM and pointed out a number of issues that were obvious to my eye.  Later that day our private inspector went through the house and while he agreed with a number of our concerns he did let us know that some of it is fairly common and doesn't result in future problems.  He did take issue with the plumbing and cuts into studs - especially in load bearing walls.  But he said overall the house is being built correctly - especially on the exterior.

Yesterday we had our predrywall meeting and met with our PM and a surprise guest.  One of the managers had heard from a friend-of-a-friend that we were unhappy with the construction.  This guy was there to make sure we left the meeting happy.  Mission accomplished.

Here is a quick summary of the issues we had and Ryan's response:

• Plumbing holes in load bearing walls - where necessary they will fix the holes or sister additional studs to help carry the weight.  The County inspectors might still have an issue but a few extra studs will help the situation.
• Framing walls with narrow side of studs - These are in a few locations (closets) and aren't too terribly bad.  Drywall will likely help but we'll see after drywall is up.
• Electric panel in garage - we needed this in the basement so we could easily add circuits when we finish the basement.  Ryan is going to install a sub-panel in the basement.  We did a little haggling to make sure we get enough amperage and open slots.  Initially Ryan was going to charge us for the work but eventually relented and will pay for it themselves.  This concern was brought up long before we signed papers and we were always assured the panel would be in the basement.
• Laundry room - Ryan is going to completely redo the room to match what was in the plans.
• Unsupported plumbing - This one worried us as we've lived in houses where water hammer makes pipes rattle.  The plumbing is better supported but there are areas that still need additional.  We've let Ryan know our concerns and the PM seems like he's going to make sure it's taken care of.
• Plumbing resting against electric boxes - This has been rectified by adding bends around the boxes.  Hoping the change doesn't affect water pressure!
• Recessed lights in wrong location - Ryan is going to move the eyeball lights to the correct location on the plans.  They already moved the lights in the bonus room and I like their layout more than my original plan.  Great job!
• Rear hose bib - Ryan is going to look into moving it around the corner.  It's in an unfinished portion of the basement so it can always be moved later in the process.
• Attic accesses - Ryan is going to reframe the attic access that is obstructed by a rafter.  They are also going to add an access to the area above the bonus room.  Very satisfied with our discussion here.
• Loose framing - This is still an issue in the house but Ryan is going to ask the framers to add nails and additional blocking to rectify the problem.  We'll need to keep our eye on this.

We didn't take any pictures yesterday but will follow up this weekend with a whole bunch.  We want to document what is behind the walls just in case we need them in the future.

Now the GREAT news.  We have been given a walkthrough date of June 9th and a settlement date of June 13.  That's about two weeks earlier than we had expected.

Our PM did give us some advice for after we settle:

• Get a dehumidifier and put it in the basement.  Building materials have a lot of moisture and we want to get rid of that as best as possible.  Get the kind that drains directly to the floor drain via a hose.
• If you can wait, don't paint until the one year mark.  Ryan will be coming and doing drywall repairs and we would likely need to repaint at the one year mark in any case.

One piece of advice that I want to relay to anyone in the process of building - hire your own inspector(s.)  We hired one overall inspector to look at everything and were satisfied with the results.  Had I known about all these issues a few weeks ago I would have hired individual experts to inspect within the expertise.  It probably would have been just a plumber and HVAC guys at this point but we could have also added a roofer and an electrician.  For $500 you could likely get them all to give you their opinion.

That's all for now.  Will be back later with pictures!

Starting the MEP

It's been about a week from our last post and WOW has it been busy.  We closed on our old house and have been loading PODS and a storage locker and have even started moving into our new apartment.  We're moving as little as possible to the apartment so as to avoid having to move a lot of furniture multiple times.

Work has steadily progressed on our house although from the exterior it doesn't look like much is happening.  The framers finished their initial round of work and the roofers completed their job in one day!  Those guys were like machines up there.

Here are a few pictures of the house during the end of the framing stage and into the roofing.

Front View

Front Porch

Garage Side View

Front View (at night)

Roofing - done in one day!

On Easter we went back to the house to check on progress.  Our PM has constantly said not to go inside without him but we're finding we see a lot more if we go by ourselves.  He also said hard hats are a must as this is a construction site.  We wore ours but honestly have not seen one worker on site that was wearing one.  Overall we came away pretty disappointed.  There are several areas of concern that are fixable but show an absolute lack of any sense in the workers.

THE GOOD:
- We have more outlets in the garage than we had thought.  Fantastic!

- The rooms are all pretty good size with very little difference in the paper plans.

- We will have a great view out our back windows.

- The HVAC guys did a great job sealing ducts and they're located pretty well within the house.

- There were a few walls where electric outlets weren't shown on the plans but the electrician installed them anyway.  I think it was needed for code but I'll take it as a win.

- The Guardian box in the basement was located on the wrong wall but adjacent to the stairs.  Perfectly fine as all I need to do is flip it around and it will be under the steps where we can have our servers and switches.


THE UNKNOWN:
- The water heater is a Bradford White 50 gallon natural gas unit.  Of the reviews we've seen most are negative toward this brand.  Have to ask what the warranty is like and maybe plan for a replacement sooner rather than later.

- The gas furnace is a Goodman.  Not the top brands like a Trane or Carrier but willing to give it a shot.  We're going to ask our regular heating and air guys (Gruter Heating and Air is the best!) about this and have them inspect the system before we settle.

- Framing.  Interior non-load bearing walls are framed with studs at 24" O.C.  Would have liked to see 16" O.C. as a minimum.

- Framing.  At least on interior wall is composed of 2x4's run sideways to create a 1.5" wall thickness.  It's flimsy - especially with 9' ceilings - but our PM assured us it will be fine.


THE BAD:
- The electric panel that we had mentioned several times we wanted located in the basement was located in the garage.  We want to finish our basement in the future and now there is no way to run electric without tearing out garage drywall.  (UPDATE:  Our PM said that they will install a subpanel in the basement to accommodate future expansion.)

- This is the biggie.  The layout of our laundry room is entirely backwards from what is on the plans - and my wife is beyond pissed.  Maybe rabid better describes it.  Remember this when Ryan tells you they are a production builder and that everything they do is according to the plans.  First problem, everything is backward from what we thought and now wont look the way we want.  Second problem is that the washer is pushed up tight against where the laundry tub is and will leave huge gaps between the washer and dryer.  Third problem, we didn't even ask for a laundry tub here and now we'll have to work around the rough-in.  This is entirely unacceptable and we're going to have a talk with our PM about this.  We can work around the laundry tub rough in but we want to have everything spaced so we can get our 30" cabinet as we originally planned.


- In several locations plumbing was resting against electric boxes or entirely unsupported.  We're not going to let that stand as it could lead to banging pipes and future leaks due to the rubbing.

- Recessed lights in the Great Room - my God who would do this.  The two middle recessed cans in the picture are supposed to be eye-ball lights pointing down to the fireplace to the right.  The electrician decided - against the plans - to install them WAY off the fireplace and in line with recessed lights we added to the plans.  The result is horrendous.  Since we're going to mount a TV above the fireplace we'll ask that the eye-ball lights be removed entirely.  If not they're going to be moved to another stud bay closer to the fireplace.

- In the basement the rough-in for our laundry tub was not in the correct spot.  We hoped to have it located so that we could just switch it to a wet-bar sink when we finish the basement.  It will still work but it will take some effort from us when we finish the basement.

- The rear hose bib is located at the back of the morning room where the steps from the deck will come down.  It wont interfere with the steps but will cause a tripping hazard if we have a hose connected.  We're going to ask that it be relocated.

- There is no attic access to the area above the Bonus Room.  We have asked about this a few times with no answer.  There is a portion of the attic that is entirely inaccessible.  We're not letting this one go as it's an obvious flaw in the design plans.

- A joist above the den interferes with the attic access from the bonus room.  This is just lazy framing but it makes it difficult to use the access.

- The upstairs return air is in the hallway meaning that bedroom doors will need to stay open to get proper air circulation.  Nothing to be done here but keep the bedroom doors open.

- There is an electric outlet in the second bathroom that was framed out on 2x4's.  The entire 2x4 stud rotates easily so pushing on the outlet (like plugging in a hair dryer) causes the outlet box to flex into the stud bay.  Again, lazy framing caused by studs at 24" O.C.

-  Bonus room recessed lights in wrong location.  This one is in the sloped portion of the ceiling which would shine the light directly in your eyes.  Seriously, who in their right mind approved this?  We wanted it placed on the flat ceiling adjacent to the slope.  This can be fixed but again shows a poor thought process.

We've asked a lot of questions to our PM about extras we could do during construction that were not part of our original contract - adding 2' width to the driveway, adding insulation to the garage, paying out of pocket for a concrete patio prior to closing.  In each case we were told "no."  We're through asking for help like that and are instead going to focus on getting the house built correctly so we don't have maintenance issues down the road.  We're not going to accept sub-standard building practices and will instead fight to make sure things are done right.  No sign-offs until things are done correctly.

We've also hired a highly recommended inspector to look over the house prior to our pre-drywall meeting in a few days.  Our PM thought it was overkill as he and the County do their own inspections but I'm having none of that.  We are paying a ton of money for this house and want to be happy when we take ownership.

Framing!

With a little bit of help from some workers and a crane our little piles of lumber have been transformed into what looks a lot like a house.  The following pictures show what is about a weeks worth of work.

While not technically allowed to enter the house I did some snooping around just to look at how the framing was being done.  One thing I noticed is that the second floor joists were toe-nailed into beams instead of resting on the top or being supported by joist hangars.  This is something we're going to have to check pretty soon.

First floor looking at garage

First floor looking at the front

Basement and first floor from the back

We moved our basement walkout door to a location under the morning room.  It worked out better for us as we designed our future finished basement.

Just started the second floor

Second floor from the back

A few days later we have a roof!

We've been doing our best to get our move to the new apartment going and we close on our current house tonight.  The new owners have given us a few weeks to finish our move.  Maybe the next post will be an update of our move using PODS!

Moving and House Sale

As we fight through the busiest time of our lives everything is moving in our favor.  Our house sold extremely quick and we close the first week of April.  The inspection went well and the owners requested only a few minor fixes which are nearly complete.  Many thanks to our buyers who are giving us most of the month of April to move out of our house.  

We've found an apartment in the area where we will live for the end of April and the month of May.  This will let us stay in the area while the kids are in school and avoid a 1 hour (each way) commute every day.  Afterward we will be moving in with Shawna's parents for the month of June.  While we're not looking forward to moving into an apartment we're going the minimalist route and only taking our beds, a couch, and our clothes.

We ordered a POD to be delivered this weekend and will try and pack it as full as humanly possible. We also are renting a storage unit near our new house where we will keep things we may need immediately in our new house or while we're between moves.  We considered hiring movers but the storage costs outweighed the advantages of having someone else do the back-breaking work.

Everything with NVR is still on track and we're still looking for a late June/early July move in date!

Basement Floor and Beams

The building process is going quickly.  Since we live and work near our new home site we drive by every day - every other day at the longest.  There is constant activity at the site and we're amazed at how fast the build process is going.

Since the last post Ryan's has added all the waterproofing to the walls, installed the basement plumbing, backfilled the foundation, delivered the framing package, and placed the concrete slabs in the garage and basement.

Ryan had backfill material trucked in from another site; it was the worst fill material I've seen.  Gray clay with large limestone floaters.  With the wet weather that clay is nearly impossible to compact correctly and the floaters will likely result in some voids in the fill.  Not a deal-breaker for a home because the drainage board should keep water away.  The PM promised me that Ryan will take care of any settling soil in the final grading process.  We're going to keep an eye on this as we don't want the same crap soil used as fill material just under our sod.

A few days later Ryan had the basement and garage floors ready for concrete.  The basement has a plastic vapor barrier and the garage is reinforced with rebar.  I'm impressed with the garage work as contractors typically use a wire mesh.  With Ryan the rebar is great but even better is the cavities in the foundation and in the backfill that will create beams under the slab for even greater structural support.

Basement - beams and vapor barrier

Garage floor - note the excavation for concrete beams

Our framing package was also delivered that day.  Ryan keeps telling us that they are a production builder and that is now evident.  The framing package has all the walls prebuilt in a factory and delivered to the site.  The quality control for this process is amazing but the framers need to be very good to account for errors in the foundation.  It looks like the Tyvek wrap is also preinstalled so we'll have to keep an eye out for how they seal any seams.

Wood Package Delivered - All prebuilt walls?

Second part of wood package.  There was one more delivery the next day and yet another the day after with windows and doors.

Lastly, Ryan has finished placing the concrete in the basement and garage.  It's been raining around here lately and the puddles on the basement floor show the low spots.  It's not critical to have an absolutely flat floor unless you're going to use tile.  In the future bathroom area there is a significant puddle - about a half inch deep.  We will likely tile the bathroom floor so we'll likely need to have a fairly thick layer of floor leveler in there.

Concrete slab in garage

Basement holding puddles

Puddle in the morning room

The last thing worth mentioning here is to note that the experience in your PM is critical.  While I don't think this is our PM's first job he is VERY unwilling to move on any items that we want in our final product.  I talked to our PM during one of my drive-bys and asked him about a few items that we wanted to do with the house that weren't included in the original plans.  These are things we can do after we close but the finish would be better if we can do it during construction.  Just a couple of things and his answers:

1.  Can we pay the concrete subs to make our driveway 4' wider (2' each side) so that we're not exiting our cars onto grass?  No, that might cause a problem with the inspectors and cause a problem at closing.  Well, I tried.  It looks like we'll have to do this after closing although it would look and perform much better if we did it now.  And I'm not willing to pay a HUGE increase for Ryan to do the work.  Next!

2.  Can we pay the concrete sub to place a large concrete patio under the deck instead of the 3' square pad you normally install?  Let me check with my boss about that but leaning toward, no, for the reason that the inspector may not approve.  Again, we can do this ourselves but it would save Ryan money not having to grade the area and install a much smaller pad.  If we can't do this we'll need to pay someone to remove the pad, cut-out the fill material, place a new slab and then rework the grading.

Since we keep getting "no's" from our PM I didn't even bother to ask about paying the landscaping company to install sod in the backyard instead of the seed and straw.  We'll do this later in the process when hopefully he's in a more giving mood.

By the way, I'm still ticked off about Ryan not letting me put insulation in the exterior garage walls!