30+ Days

We had our 30 day walk-through the day after Thanksgiving, and the major repairs were done this week.  Luckily, we've only had issues with nail pops and settling, which will be repaired at the 10 month- so that the home can go through all the seasons. We had to get the tile guy to come fix the master bath shower and the upstairs guest bath shower. In the master bath, there was a raised tile and in the guest bath there were some spots not grouted. The drywall guy also came to fix the baseboards on the stairs where it had begun to separate from the wall. All in all, we are very happy. Yes, the nail pops are annoying, but I really think we're the only people who notice them.  Since Thanksgiving, we've really been lazy about getting things done.  We were focused on getting our Christmas stuff up and hosted a few get-togethers. I don't have a good picture of our tree...we put it in the morning room. I couldn't find a good spot in the family room! But it looks great in the morning room windows/sliding glass door.

Our main complaint has got to be the construction workers. We knew what we were getting into...but did not think it would be like this. Last week, a house broke ground across the street from us...and then the delivery for their foundation began at 10:30 at night...and lasted until 5:30 in the morning! On a Monday night/Tuesday morning! Mind you, I get up at 4:30 am for work so I did not have a good night of sleep. The other complaint is that we've seen huge truck tire tracks in our driveway, pretty close to our grass, so we wouldn't be surprised if they are driving in our grass too. They are extending our street to begin phase 2, so these are contractors who build the road.  I assume they are city contractors and are not hired by Ryan. Either way, it's annoying. Right now at 7AM there are 7 personal vehicles parked in front of our house- and their cars are where they take their smoke and lunch breaks, so it's pretty awkward to be in the front yard while they are sitting in their cars. And if we ever wanted to entertain during their work day, our guests would have to park in our driveway.

Okay, no more complaining. Here are a couple of pictures!

Dining room view from kitchen

View from front door

Entertainment center that my dad built from some sketches I did for him. It's a little cluttered due to some Christmas things being on here. In this picture, it kind of looks like I need something tall in between the TV and windows, but in person it looks fine. Hmmm...

Porch during the day, I have added wreaths to the railing and a bow to the lamppost since this picture.

Porch at night!

Morning Room

I think the Morning Room is done...for now. I am looking for 2 really cool chairs for the head of the table, and some really cool curtain tie backs, but other than that it's done.

Update

Well we have even living in our new home for 3 weeks! Nothing is "done" yet so I have only taken a few pictures. I think I have everything in their respective rooms, just not placed yet. Someday when I have more time I will do a full post with good pictures, and things that we should have done differently during the move. Here are a few pictures, but remember, nothing is 100% yet! 

Family room, awaiting a new entertainment center to take up that whole wall. 

This is what moving does to an anxious dog. 

Enjoying the deck on one of our first nights. We were blessed with 70+ degree temps

The kitchen after the first load of boxes were unpacked. 

First floor guest bedroom. 

Simon loves to lay in the sun in the bonus room. 

Foyer

Foyer- mixture of pieces from Tiffany&co. to TJ Maxx!

Need some candles for this shelf!

My "wall of fame." Frames have been straightened. 

Morning room table my dad built!

Closed!!!!

We closed! All went smoothly! Quick and easy. Will post more later!!!

Certificate of Occupancy

Our PM called me at 5 Friday evening to let me know that the city inspector who was scheduled to come out for the final inspection never showed. If he does not come on Monday, we will not be closing at 3:30!

This was not a Ryan Homes issue, and the PM sounded genuinely upset during the phone call. So this weekend will be filled with packing, hoping and praying that the city gets their act together. Monday at work is going to be tough waiting on that phone call!!

Final Walkthrough...Done!

We had our final pre-settlement walkthrough on Wednesday! It lasted about 2 hours. 

Most of the "blue tape" areas were normal new construction issues.  A lot of nail pops and settling cracks.  No biggie.

There were areas of very, very, poor paint jobs. Particularly around the tile in the showers, it looks horrible. Also, the first floor bedroom looked like it had 2 different paint colors.  It looks like they fixed some drywall/nail pops and didn't use the beige that's throughout the house to repaint where they fixed- they used white. 

We also had a huge hole above the mirror in the first floor full bath- I mean...why?

I also pointed out all the crooked light switch plates and how our kitchen cabinets were hung crookedly.

We received our estimated settlement fee last week, but it was not correct.  It was just over $1000 too high. I've yet to receive the new estimate, so today I will work on getting that and then going to the bank to get the cashier's check for closing!

This weekend will be packing, packing, and more packing.  The rest of the schedule is:

Sunday

• Pack up my car with loose items/small boxes

Monday

• Go to work until 3
• Aaron packs up his car with more small boxes
• We meet at the NVR office at 3:30 for closing!
• After we're done, pick up some take-out and drive to our house!!
• Eat then unpack our cars
• Go back to our old house for the last night

Tuesday

• Pick up U-Haul at 7AM and load all morning
• Movers meet us at new house at 1PM
• Refrigerator delivery
• Once the movers are gone, go pick up Simon (our dog) from our old house. I hope he's not freaking out too much!
• Sleep in our house for the first time!

Wednesday

• Verizon Fios, security system, and outdoor speaker installation
• Focus on installing ceiling fans/light fixtures
• Start assembling furniture

We hope to have everything in the new house by Wednesday. The new family is moving in Thursday evening! I'm trying to remain totally chill about everything, we will see how long my OCD tendencies allow that. I'm going to yoga class at least 5 times this week to help me de-stress. I hope it works!!


               

Top 20 Things I Love About our New Home...#'s 5, 4 and 3!

#5...The dining room!

I have a lot of different tastes when it comes to decorating, so I like that the dining room is separated from the kitchen/family room so I can have a totally different color and design palette! Our home right now is like that. Our family room and kitchen are black/gray/purple/green and is inspired by black and white photos we've taken on trips to Europe (mainly Paris).  My dining room is brown/blue/earthy colors and is very woodsy and is inspired by antique furniture pieces- but still with some glam here and there. I just love that our new home will continue to allow us to show everything that makes us....us!

#4...Granite!

I LOVE my granite.  When we purchased, Ryan Homes was having their 65th Birthday, so each community was running a birthday special.  Ours was $65 for granite throughout the home.  So, we have granite in the kitchen and all 3 full bathrooms! We went with the Santa Cecilia throughout the home and we're very happy with it.  It looks great with the Espresso kitchen cabinets and the Cherry cabinets in the bathrooms. The different cabinet colors accentuate colors in the granite differently, so it doesn't even look the same!

#3...The Garage!

At our current home, we have a garage but it had been converted into a 4th Bedroom/Bonus Room.  I love having the extra space, but I can not wait to park in the garage.  I'm so tired of my nosy neighbors watching me get in and out of my car. It's really creepy (and one of the reasons I'm so ready to move!).

Top 20 Things I Love About Our New Home...Catch-up!

Sorry, it's been busy around here...it's not like we're moving in 6 days or anything.

#9...Landscaping!

Is it beautiful? No. But I'm just glad I don't have to do it. I can't wait to get some color in there!

There are 2 trees that didn't fit in this picture.

#8...Side door in the garage!

This will make is so easy to take out the trash, store lawn equipment, etc. I had to be talked into this, but we'll have a security system set up, so no biggie.

#7...Our Stone!

This was a pricy upgrade, but I just love it. I've always wanted stone.

#6...the commute!

Well, I think I'm going to like the commute.  The house is literally 10 minutes from where we live now, but it's a totally different way to get to work.  It's also much closer to other places we frequent.  I have to change grocery stores- no more Harris Teeter (too far) :( and the downside is that the closest grocery store is over a drawbridge that goes up frequently. BUT, I love that grocery store, so I just have to plan my trips around the bridge schedule.

The Homestretch

10 More Days!!!

I stopped by this morning to meet the landscapers and tell them where I wanted the trees to be planted. I did walk through the house, but I was on FaceTime and didn't take any pictures.  The only changes are that the floors are uncovered, as the cleaning crew is coming through this weekend. Our mailbox was installed!!

Yay!

Note the porch railings. I did not want those. They were an upgrade, and I really wanted white. Apparently, HOA decided everyone will have these railings, so I'm getting them for free. I can live with free- but I'm going to paint them.

I talked with the PM for a minute and found out that our appliances were being put in today! I will have to go look at those this weekend!

Our pre-settlement walk-through is Wednesday morning! The moving stress has begun, but I'm as ready as possible, I guess.

Top 20 Things I Love About Our New Home..#'s 11 and 10!

#11 on the list...our backyard!

Landscaping has begun today, and I can't wait. As I've mentioned, we have a mini-schnauzer, named Simon, and he just loves to be outside. I am so thankful that Ryan Homes sods the front/back/side yards, because Simon loves grass!! We found out we are getting 5 red oak trees, a crepe myrtle and and a whole lot of lilies, which of course won't bloom until spring. There's some other plants but I can't remember the names. While I recently posted I'm thankful for no trees, I can live with the 5 oak trees..they're small, for now.

#10 on the list...laundry upstairs!

Yes, there are cons to this. But I'm so lazy when it comes to laundry, that I'm beyond excited that it's on the same floor as the master bedroom.  We live in a 1-story now, so I'm used to just walking down the hall to do laundry, but it's so close to our TV room that you have to turn up the TV and can't have conversations while the laundry is going. In the new home, not only is the laundry upstairs, but it's also on the opposite side of the house from our TV room!

Top 20 Things I Love About Our New Home...#12!

Number 12 on the list is...our deck!

We upgraded to the medium size option and we opted for the gray trex decking. It's so pretty! Hopefully it will be cooler soon, because I'm excited to be out in the backyard with the fire pit going. We also added speakers outside on the deck, which are connected to our great room tv, so we can have music or football games out on the deck!

So behind on my Top 20 List!

Okay I need to catch up on my Top 20 list!

#15...our neighborhood is all Ryan Homes.

We know what will be built, so we know the comps in our neighborhood, if we choose to resell.  We never have to worry about what other builders are doing!

#14...we will be one of the first families to close.

As of a few days ago, only one family had closed in our neighborhood.  We should be the 3rd or 4th family to close! Which, yes, that means we will be living through a lottttt of construction- but our price was the lowest! We also didn't have to compete with other homes for exterior color choices!

#13...the open floor plan!

I love to cook. But I also love to watch TV. Currently, our kitchen is set-up so that I can hear the TV, but I cannot see it. But in our new home, I can cook and clean the kitchen while watching TV. This is also really great for entertaining, I can have people on the sofa, at the island, in the morning room, etc. but still be able to cook!

So much to do...so little time.

About 15 more days until closing. Wow. I have so much to do. Our final walk through is a week from Wednesday!   Things we are still waiting on:

- Sod and landscape
- Shutters on the stone
- Mailbox
- Lamp post in front yard
- Natural gas is not on yet
- An actual working garage door (it's been installed, but not working)
- Paint the front door
- Flooring in dining room
- Complete hardwood in foyer
- Missing cabinet in kitchen
- Dishwaher, stove, microwave
- Interior door handles
- Stain the handrail on the stairs
- 2 windows with broken seals

There is probably more to this list, but I can't think right now.  I met my dad there on Friday, and he pointed out a lot of sketchy work that I may not have noticed.  A lot of it has to do with how humid it has been- but I was told that the A/C was being run....it did not feel like it.  The pantry/bedroom/closet door were recently painted and then were closed while wet.  So most of the paint is peeling and is sticky. We also noticed a lot of chunks of trim missing and none of the window sills are finished. Big scratches in the window sills. Things that kept bothering me were that a lot of the light switch covers were put on crookedly.  I thought this would be a problem during the drywall phase, as the holes for the light switches were not straight lines.  Also, the cabinets that are over the space for the refrigerator are not in line with each other.  The door on the left is a hung a good 2 inches higher than the right. I forgot to snap a picture.   I know these are easy fixes, but seriously, use some common sense. I am happy that now is the first time we've seen sloppy work, everything was done very well in regards to the framing and foundation of the home.

My sister managed to get a few pictures. I'm so bad at taking blog worthy pictures while I'm there!

Excuse our extra half bath in the front yard :)

Standing a the island, looking into the family room, with the nook to the guest bedroom on the right.

Repost from a previous blog entry to show the missing cabinet.

Not in focus, sorry.  Looking through the master bath into the closet. You can't see my closet here.

Morning room windows looking into our very bare backyard.

A big puddle of a deck.  When is this rain going to stop?!

A (dysfunctional) family photo. Clearly, I was the only one ready. And seriously with this humidity...it's October, it's supposed to be a good month for my hair.

 So yes, there is a lot to be done. I am truly hopeful that the home is done in time for our walkthrough on the 23rd!

Top 20 Things I Love About Our New Home...#16!

Number 16 is....our recessed lights!

So I mentioned earlier that one of the recessed lights were missing. It's there now!  I just love how they shine on my cabinets and granite!

Top 20 Things I Love About Our New Home...#17!

#17 on the list is.... our corner lot!

Yes, the corner lot has posed some issues with fencing and the city; however, I couldn't be happier with it. The road that runs on the side of our home is an actual street, but no one will ever live on it! Which gives us plenty of street parking for company. Eventually, we will have 4 neighbors that will share this street, but the lot behind us has not sold  and the 2 lots on the other side of this "street" are in Phase II, so there's no telling when that will begin.

Top 20 Things I Love About Our New Home...#18!

Number 18 on the list is..... the downstairs bedroom!

In the Palermo, as in many Ryan Homes, you have the option of changing (for a small fortune) the downstairs study into a bedroom.  This was a must on our list for when family visits.  We have many family members who don't do stairs well. The back half of our first floor looks like this:



 In the Palermo, adding the bedroom also gives you a full bathroom on the main level.  This bathroom has a full vanity (granite is normally an upgrade, but granite in all bathrooms and the kitchen was a $65 incentive in our community at the time). The shower is a stall-type shower, which is perfect for older family members.

We also will be using this room as our "sick room."  When one of us is sick, we quarantine ourselves in a guest room. Now we have our own bathroom and easy access to the kitchen!