I'm a FAN of our first purchase

So we are walking through Menards just before closing looking at lights and fans.  We found this badboy on clearance for $99.  They didn't have anymore so we got the floor model for $85!
I'm pretty pumped, this "propeller" style fan is too cool.  The plan right now is to install in Family Room.

The size of your DECK does matter!

So we sprung for the 12x10 deck because I had no idea when I would be able to get back there and knock it out.  I think my wife's words when doing selections was "honey, I know you can do it....but I don't want to wait that long".  haha.  The issue now was WHERE to put the steps going down?  The deck would stop AT the back edge of the Morning Room (10').  Due to elevation, straight out wouldn't work.  Not enough room down the back of the house, we would end up with the last three steps sticking out the side. 
So what does my PM suggest?  Well he is bumping the 10' side OUT 4' (past the Morning Room) and running the stairs down the back of the Morning Room and it doesn't cost me a dime!  So I will be getting a 14x12 deck (instead of 12x10).  Did I say I like my PM?
Driveway.  I was hoping for a side "hook up" deal with the concrete guy to widen my driveway for a three car wide driveway.  But again, due to elevation it would not be feasible and would look like shit.  BUT, I can get the drive way widened to 20' (versus the 16' that's standard).  For a VERY REASONABLE price (side job here!), they will bump the drive way out approx. 2ft on both sides giving me the 20' wide driveway.  It's not the three car wide I wanted, but it will give me more room for multiple cars when parked, and room for the Harley, and more room for the boy to play.  So it's a no brainer.
If the weather holds out they will pour it today!  My PM is putting down a PVC pipe under the driveway so I can run a "invisible" dog fence after move in.
That's all I got for now,
carry on

Let there be LIGHT!

So Shell and I made an unplanned stop at the house last night.  First thing I saw was a light ON inside the house!  This was the first time we could walk through without a flashlight in hand! 

Shot of the front door with living room on left.

We don't remember seeing the top of stairs split before.  This is a picture I plan to send to PM this morning.

With nothing (but dirt) covering the floor, we can start seeing "the whole picture".  The garage, office, and half crapper is on the left (you can see half crapper sink).  Morning room on right.  Just out of view is stairs going up.  I'm a big fan of the centrally located stairs.

Shell's dining room with the upgraded Hardwood floor.  AND that ghastly, ugly chandelier.  That will be replaced.  Anyone that wants to go to Restoration Hardware and buy me the Machinist Pendant lights on sale for $140 is welcome too!

I'm like a needy girlfriend!

I am a worrier and when I see stuff, I need to be reassured that it's all good to go.
We have walked through the house a few times and had a number of questions we wanted our PM to acknowledge.  So we met with him this morning (at our request).  Paul's a great guy and had no problem meeting with us.  And really, with only like two weeks to go, this would be the last chance to meet during daylight hours to yap about the house and it's progress.
Our questions/issues today were:
1.  ummmm, you still hooking me up with that extra outlet in garage?  Answer-Yes
2.  There is a spot of drywall in the MB that seems "rough".  Answer-Will be taken care of "WBTCO"
3.  Recessed can light in Kitchen has a trim piece offset from ceiling that shows the cut out in drywall.  Answer-WBTCO
4.  Cabinet/drawer adjustments.  Answer - WBTCO
5.  Island trim missing.  Answer - ordered
6.  MB baseboard trim pulling away from wall, needs secured because gap is too large for caulk.  Answer - WBTCO
7.  There is a blue wire coming out of the front door jam.  One may think (and my PM did as well) that this would be for Home Security contacts.  Well we didn't get any package, so what is it?  Turns out it's the door bell wire that the door installer thought was for security.  So PM will pop trim, pull the wire out, patch the hole, and run to door bell button.  This is the perfect reason to bring anything up to your PM.  Ya never know, you just might save him a headache down the road.
8.  I have a spot on the railing that needs filling, sanding, and stained BEFORE they get poly'd.  Answer - WBTCO
9.  There is a low spot in the sub floor in the Family room.  This was from somebody getting too aggressive when sanding seams.  My question was, "will this be noticeable under the carpet?  Note: it's in a "high traffic" area.  Answer - I don't want to find out, so it will be filled with floor leveling filler before carpet.

We also discussed where the deck stairs will go.  I may get a "bonus" here.  Looks like the best way is to bump out a "landing" and run the stairs down next to the front or side of deck.  That's our preference and will be happy if it works out this way.
I also have a call into the concrete guy.  I may be able to work a side deal for a wider driveway.  Fingers crossed.
Which brings up the driveway.  We have conditioned ourselves to believe it will be spring before we get one.  But with the warmer weather so far and forecasted, it seems we will be getting a drive way poured this week!
According to PM Paul, we are getting appliances and carpet this week as well!

Our brick was finished yesterday.  We are very happy with our choice, even if we couldn't remember what it was until it was on the house! haha.

This was taken Friday.  There is a team of brick layers under that tarp.

Went back Monday and we got the whole front bricked

Another angle

A closer look.  

I am so Stoned....hahahahaha

My pretty half stopped by today and got some shots of my kick ass fireplace.

yup, it rocks!  or maybe, just maybe...it stones.

another Rock'n shot

Pretty sure somebody, some time, in some state of inebriation will bust their face on this.  But what a story it will be!  hahaha

Getting Stoned on hump day

Looks like my fireplace is getting it's stone work tomorrow.  Sooooo looking forward to that.

Cabinets, Counters, and Crappers

So we swung by the house today.  The plumbers were busy installing the fixtures in all the crappers.  The kitchen cabinets are in, hardwood and vinyl floors are down, trims installed, interior doors are up, and the walls painted "Whole Wheat".  We are officially locked out, buy my PM is pretty cool and has worked a way out for me to get in when I come by.

Cabinets with counters!  

my attempt to show a good shot of the cabinets with the counters.

and another shot of the cabinets with the wood floor.

My boy wanted to be in the shot, so I told him to stand in the corner.  This is what I got.  Silly kid.  Anyway, this was a good shot of the walls with the "Whole Wheat" color. 

Update and thoughts

What a crazy time to be building!
So we sold our house.  Closed about 2 weeks ago and have been "squatting" in a friend's basement.  I am very happy to say it's going as well as could be expected.  But it's still .... living in a basement.  My daughter came home for college and will be home until about a week before we move in.  Very happy she can enjoy part of this process with us.
It's almost Christmas and we haven't even started.  Between a lack of time, paying more at closing of the old house then expected, did I mention time?, blah blah blah.  you know how it goes. 

On to the new house.  So our current digs are 20 minutes North of our new house and not along the path from work to home.  With two nights of my son's wrestling practice, one night teaching a college class, that leaves two nights that I COULD swing by....if I wanted to drive 45 miles home.  My wife was able to swing by yesterday and sent me a small picture of the flooring.  Soooo jealous she got to see it.....before me!
So what I know is done is the Hardwood and the walls are painted.  My wife said the vinyl guy showed as she was leaving.  So I assume we have vinyl flooring as well.  Not sure what's planned next or when. 

Thoughts I have pondered.
I have tried to consider various things I will want to do later, or things I may want but won't realize until I'm in.  Here is an incomplete list of some things I have considered that I SHOULD have done but either didn't realize it or didn't have to time to complete.
-Basement windows.  I'm not talking about big egress windows.  Just the little rectangular ones that allow light in.  My Ravenna has ONE.  The walkout and ONE little window give some light, but there are dark parts of the basement that I wished we had some more little windows.  I may never finish the basement, but it would be nice to have more natural light down there.  I wished I had considered that and added a few more.
-Nail Plates (not sure what you call them).  Chances are if you saw the kitchen BEFORE drywall, you may have noticed they put up chunks of 2x8(or 10 or 12) between the studs for the cabinet installers to put screws to without having to worry about finding a stud.  Great idea.  Why didn't I do that in the family room, or bedrooms?  I don't have a solid plan on how I will hang all my TV's.  If I decide to hang on the wall, I will wish I put up some wood between the studs for installation ease.

There are some others that I can easily do later.  I planned to run plumbing off the half bath into the garage for a deep sink.  Didn't happen, ran out of time.  BUT, I will be able to do it after move in because I will have full access to the pipes in the basement. 

That will be call, carry on.

Drywall week

So we were thinking more would have happened last week, instead we got a week of drywall.  I'm not complaining, but anxious to see some flooring, painting, cabinetrying, etc...
We got to go through yesterday and today...in the daylight.  It's nice to peruse the house without a flashlight.

Our "Red Montana" laminate counters showed up in the garage.

The ceiling was finished Saturday and Sunday;  Sunday's stop had one guy finish sanding.  Thinking this coming week will show some solid progress.

Previous post showed a nasty drywall snafu, well they cut it out and replaced it.

Just add carpet, stone, paint, and a tv.

Our brick.  Don't remember what it's called, but I like it.

Paint Color, Closing Date, and Drywall issue

So I swung by the house last night.  Found a couple guys finishing up with adding the corners to the drywall.  My garage looks like a cabinet and door factory vomited in there.  Exciting to be at that stage where stuff starts going in.
Looks like we have a projected closing date of January 9th.  33 days and counting.   

For those that pay attention to my blog, this is the color my wife picked out for Ryan to paint (instead of "Asylum White")  It's in the "yellow" family, but I don't see it.  Then again, I am "color ignant".

This is a pic I took in the Master Bedroom.  It appears a sheet of drywall with a rather large chunk missing went up and the solution is to tape it and then fill it with mud.  Ummmmm, NO.  Already sent to PM a "if that's the plan, change the plan" email. 

This is a pic my wife took of the recently opened model with our cabinets (in our floor plan, Ravenna).  The pic doesn't show off the butterscotch glaze.  These cabinets are a tad outside our "comfort" zone, but wanted something different then the Cherry cabinets we have had for years now.  With our flooring and counter choice, I think it will all come together nicely. 

Drywall is up!

So at 0830 this morning, nothing.  By 1830 or so, they were finishing up the garage.  The rest of the house was done.  I believe they will be mudding on Monday.
I stopped by at 1500 to check progress and get a few pics of my handy work.  I finished up in the dusk yesterday and didn't have enough light for pics.  I didn't stay to long as the crew was busy.  It looks chaotic, but I'm sure they had it under control.  I didn't get the pipes run for a deep sink in garage, but I will run those after we move in.
So although I like my PM a lot, I think he let me down on a couple extra garage outlets.  Unless the electrician will run one AFTER the drywall installation, it's not happening.  Lesson here, if you really want it, pay for it and get it on the plans.  Not a big deal though, I will run a plug from the basement after we move in.  
And for those that know of my paint color change request, the update is it was approved and my wife picked the color today at a model with the sale rep.  Again, very happy that I won't have to worry about painting for a long while.

That there is some high quality Pink Panther insulation.  It took 8 rolls of insulation, but I got every nook and cranny.  Down the road, I will blow some in the ceiling for the ultimate protection.

Looking at the blue pipe, this is 3/4" (ID) Flexible pipe I bought from Lowes.  It comes in 10' lengths and has really easy to use fittings!  It took me about 23' to run from attic to basement.  I plan to put in an attic antenna and run the cable through this and down to basement.  I even sealed all holes I made with Great Stuff foam sealant.

Using the same flexible pipe and a low voltage box, I put in this and another on the opposite wall.  My Bose speaker wire will run through this and back up the other side.  Again, sealed the hole.  

So who's ready for a new house?  

Just a quick pic from my "spot"

Pre-Drywall and general update

So no pictures today.  The only difference then what I have posted already is electric and plumbing has been done.
Pre-Drywall meeting was this morning.  It took us about 1:45 hrs and that included walking around the brand new Ravenna (closing tomorrow) across the street.  It was nice to get a feel of what we will be getting.  For example, they have the same hardwood floor and stone fireplace that we have optioned.  They also got the paint color updated to a "beige/brown" color.  What a huge difference!  So I have made my first request for a change order.  My sales rep is calling management and seeing about getting our paint choice updated from plain white.  For the record, I was aware you could update to a color at the option stage of this, but I was to the understanding it was a slight off white color.  The color options now are very nice.  Fingers crossed.
So Drywall starts going up Saturday.  Insulators are at the house now insulating walls.  If all works out, they will (on the side) insulate my garage cold walls.  If not, I will be doing it tomorrow.
I also have to put some low voltage boxes in the family room to run speaker wire later.  And the pvc pipe from attic to basement.  Lots to do before Saturday!  no time no time no time.  ugh!

If time wasn't crunched already, I have promised my oldest boy I would deliver a pull out couch to him (in Michigan) this Friday night/Saturday morning.
AND
We have to be out of our current house by end of day Sunday for our Monday closing.

whew....I'm already tired