tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30752497276719832942024-03-13T11:14:07.152-07:00Building A Home From AfarSara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-11204732594111978132015-06-13T04:02:00.000-07:002015-06-13T04:02:34.477-07:00Locking with NVRIf you've read my first NVR post <a href="http://buildfromafar.blogspot.com/2015/04/adventures-with-nvr.html" target="_blank">Adventures with NVR</a>, you'll know that we struggled with the decision to use NVR vs NFCU (Navy Federal Credit Union) for our mortgage. To quickly recap, our main reasoning was that NVR will sell us off whereas NFCU will keep us for the duration of the loan, and the interest rate with NFCU is consistently lower. NVR however was offering $5000 toward closing were NFCU was offering $1500. While the $3500 difference in closing cost, it's peanuts over the life of the loan if we ended up with a higher interest rate. So the plan as we left it with NVR was that about 72 hours out of locking we would get a GFE from NFCU and NVR would match the interest rate.<br />
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When we received our closing date of 28 July we spoke with our LO from NVR and she told us it was a good time to obtain the GFE from NFCU so that she could take it to her superiors and get approval to match the interest rate. So that's exactly what we did and received a quote of a 3.625% interest rate which is pretty much exactly what's it's been since we started this process. NVR was quoting us at 3.875, so enough of a difference that we were willing to switch to NFCU if we couldn't get the rate match, and our LO was aware of this.<br />
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Our LO came back with an offer for us, they were willing to give us the 3.625% rate with a fee of 0.75% of the loan. This means we would have to come to closing with $3000 out of pocket, basically they were eating up some of our $5000 closing cost incentive. After running the numbers we saw that NVR would beat out NFCU by a few hundred dollars in this case but, to be honest, that wasn't enough to make us stick with NVR. A few hundred dollars over the life of the loan really is nothing and we had originally agreed to use NVR if the matched NFCU. Well charging a .75% fee wasn't matching NFCU in our opinions since their rate was the 0/0 rate.<br />
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We decided to play a little bit of hardball and told our LO that we would only stick with NVR if they matched NFCU's rate without charging a fee. She said she understood and took the info back to her superiors. When we didn't hear from her for 2 days we figured she couldn't get it approved, and were prepared to move forward with NFCU. After contacting her to see what the story was she told us that rates had actually increased a bit and she was waiting to see what they did that day so she cold continue the discussion with her superiors. When we heard that their rates went up we really figured it was the end of the line. We contacted NFCU to see what we had to do to start the process with them.<br />
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Surprise! The next day we got a call from our LO saying that NVR approved the rate without any fee!! So we would get our full $5000 incentive for closing as well as the matched rate to NFCU. We were pretty surprised and very excited. We locked right away and are now just awaiting our settlement day! Don't be afraid to negotiate a little, they really want your business and if what you are asking for is reasonable you may just come out on top.Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-41494337369758204652015-06-03T09:08:00.002-07:002015-06-03T09:08:48.460-07:00HVAC ConcernsThe MSS and Purchase Agreement list the HVAC System as "92% Efficiency Gas Furnace System Zone 2." We understood this to be a dual zone HVAC system, meaning thermostat upstairs and downstairs to control each independently. Makes sense given the square footage of the house and the fact that it's called "Zone 2". Well apparently that is not the case at all. We were speaking to the the PM last week while at the house and he told us that you get a dual zone HVAC system if you get the optional 3rd floor (attic bedroom or rec room around here, no basement options). Otherwise it is a one zone system with a manual damper in the attic. This means we could climb into the attic to manually close adjust the entire upstairs or downstairs and redirect the airflow. We were not thrilled with this and wish we had known up front. It's hard to imagine us wanting to climb up into the attic very frequently to adjust the airflow. I can't say it would have been a deal breaker but it's disappointing to find out after being under the wrong impression.<br />
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So where to go from here? My husband gave our inspector a call because he is also a Class A Contractor, and a no nonsense kind of guy, who we felt would give it to us straight. He said this is a common way of doing things now, but did have a recommendation for a way to improve the situation. Unfortunately we won't be able to have a true dual zone unless we have a new system installed, but he recommended asking the PM to wire the upstairs for a second thermostat. Once we take ownership of the house we can call in an HVAC company and have them install a second thermostat and an automatic baffler instead of a damper. Basically it will still work the same way, but we won't have to be climbing up into the attic, we can control it from the thermostat. He guessed this would run us around $800-$1000.<br />
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We spoke with the PM who seemed very willing to wire this for us, and we picked a spot for the thermostat on the 2nd floor (pretty much directly above the first floor thermostat). I have mentioned that a few times we've been given an enthusiastic 'yes' from our PM and then when it comes time to deliver we've been told it's not possible. Hopefully that will not be the case here and we are trying to stay in close contact with the PM to ensure this is done before the drywall goes up.Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-69672881488302016522015-06-01T10:35:00.001-07:002015-06-01T10:35:32.126-07:00Closing DateWe received official word from Ryan Homes that our closing will be July 28th. While we are glad to have a date, and feel as though we are moving forward, we were a bit disappointed to hear it will be end of July. All along we were told middle of July was a 'conservative' estimate of when we would close. We asked frequently if that was still a realistic target as a 'conservative' estimate and were told yes all along the way. The phrase our PM liked to use was, "I want to under promise and over deliver." Sounds great!! We'd like that too....and it turned out not to be the case. Really the only issue, besides the desire to get into our new home, is that we rented an apartment until the middle of July figuring we'd be covered. Thankfully our apartment had not been re-rented and we were able to extend for a few weeks to cover us until after closing.<br />
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Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't get pushed back any further than that. From reading blogs I've seen many accounts of dates being pushed back numerous times. Hopefully we can avoid all of that! At least we won't be homeless for those few extra weeks!Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-67183480719702775612015-05-31T09:55:00.004-07:002015-06-01T17:51:09.404-07:00Pre-drywall Inspection ReportThe report from our inspector was sent to us and our PM via email this morning. It's an itemized list of all the issues that were found along with pictures to accompany just about each item. I'm going to list them all out so you can see what kind of things are picked up during this type of inspection so I apologize that this post is going to be huge.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12.000000pt; font-weight: 700;">Interior</span><br />
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1. Fire seal all areas where penetrations are present through the floors and ceilings.<br />
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2. Install a proper size and fitted 2 x 4 blocking under the garage beam, right hand side.</div>
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3. Flush up the 2 x 6 stud left of the garage steps. Then secure all studs where they do not twist at the base plate.</div>
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4. Add shims and blocks at the exterior door frames where larger gap is present and especially at the hinges.</div>
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5. There are larger holes drilled into the floor joist than needed. Special braces are needed on several areas to give back the proper support.</div>
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6. The exterior wall studs at the kitchen hood vent area are bowed inward. Have replaced as needed to be flush.</div>
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7. The exterior stud on right side 1st floor is broken at the top plate from 10 nails popping it off. Brace as needed.</div>
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8. Clean the mud off the ceiling joist seen in the living room.</div>
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9. The subflooring is not secure properly in the front left bedroom seen beside the metal poll.</div>
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10. The metal poll upstairs is improperly installed at the floor and base plate. The fabricated and design if for a different layout. Have corrected.</div>
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11. The wall is separated at the top for the metal pole to pass and the wall needs better support to each half.</div>
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12. The drywall nailer plates seen above the upper wall plate is not secured flush. This will cause the drywall to not be level. Secure all plates to be solidly flush.</div>
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13. Remove the wood block from the wall of the master closet.</div>
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14. Secure the master bath shower plumbing pipes where seen coming through he wall.</div>
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15. The roof sheathing is missing many of the required sheathing clips between the roof trusses.</div>
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16. Sink many nails around the walls that are sticking out more than 1/8”</div>
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<b>Stairs</b></div>
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17. The middle landing is not level.</div>
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18. The middle level stair tread is damaged and dip in the middle.</div>
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19. The gaps in‐between the stringers and landing platforms need to be filled and secured better.</div>
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20. The middle landing tread is not level with the landing itself.<br />
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21. This is the time to add liquid nails and bracing to the stair system to assure minimal movement and squeaks.</div>
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22. Remove the excess nails and liquid nail seen at the stair landings.</div>
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<b>Plumbing</b></div>
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23. The water pipe was cut apart under the laundry room, for the drain pipe to pass by. It was never re‐worked and open pipes exist.</div>
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24. The plumbing pipes in the area has been taken loose from there clamps. Re‐work.</div>
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25. Re‐work the dryer vent pipe to be round instead of oval.</div>
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26. Secure the laundry box on the left side as it is on the right side.</div>
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27. Sink many of the nails that are sticking out of the braces.</div>
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28. Add blocking behind the soffit rake boards where butt joints are present.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yWBHByz2IrY/VWz7vr29E2I/AAAAAAAAAMY/HQvjLFm9MzM/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yWBHByz2IrY/VWz7vr29E2I/AAAAAAAAAMY/HQvjLFm9MzM/s1600/4.png" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMxewejscdk/VWz7vid0DAI/AAAAAAAAAMc/o7HefGU7JqM/s1600/11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMxewejscdk/VWz7vid0DAI/AAAAAAAAAMc/o7HefGU7JqM/s1600/11.png" /></a></div>
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29. Add blocking behind the fascia boards where they do not meet the roof joist. Having gaps creates movement and not keep it from staying straight.</div>
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30. Seal around all pipe penetrations where coming though the foundation.</div>
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31. The vent pipe on the right side is not a solid pipe as standard. Have solid pipe penetrating the exterior wall.</div>
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32. The window self‐flash edges are taped but the tap is not completely sealed properly. Seal tape down properly and add more between the windows that are close to one another.</div>
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33. Seal the horizontal cuts in the wrapping seen at the fireplace cap.</div>
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34. Seal the cuts in the wrapping around the house to not have openings where water can penetrate.</div>
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35. Install wrapping on all exposed wood sheathing around the bottom edges of the house where bare wood is seen.</div>
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So as you can see, he found a good deal of items he recommends be corrected, some more serious than others. In the end I'm not sure if these would have been picked up on by our PM or his inspector, but the piece of mind is well worth the few hundred dollars we spent on the inspection. If any of these things can save us time, money or heartache down the road it's definitely worth it. Our PM has a copy of this and I'll keep you posted as to when the changes are made and the outcome.</div>
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Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-7162600815211531352015-05-31T09:23:00.002-07:002015-05-31T09:23:47.190-07:00Pre Drywall Meeting and InspectionWe had our pre-drywall meeting with our PM on Friday May 29th. We had also decided to bring in an outside inspector to perform a pre-drywall inspection. This was initially recommended by our realtor, and after doing some research and speaking with an inspector we felt it was a good idea. Basically he was looking for issues with the framing, plumbing, exterior, and wiring. Things that will all be covered up as soon as the drywall is in place and we'd never know if a problem was lurking behind the walls just waiting to give us a headache.<br />
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We were all supposed to meet at 8am, but our inspector was caught in tunnel traffic (if you know Hampton Roads at all you're familiar with the phenomenon), and he ended up being about 35 mins late. That being said, we went through the house with our PM first. My husband had to be back out in CA to checkout with his unit but was able to FaceTime for the meeting, so he was able to see most of what was happening and ask questions. Basically our PM took us around the outside of the house, showed us where drainage piping was, talked about the wrapping on the house, window sealings, fireplace venting, access to the crawl etc. Many of these things will be discussed further in the future when he explains how to maintain the home. We then went into the home and he reviewed electrical outlets, wiring placements, lighting, the plumbing, kitchen layout etc.<br />
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There was one thing which we were disappointed in. We chose to have the attic storage option and our PM has been telling us all along that he would floorboard as much of the attic as possible and we'd have tons of storage space. He continually alluded to the fact that the whole attic would be floor boarded. This being said we asked if we could move the attic access out of the hallway and either into the laundry room or possibly the guest room (since it won't be used daily). We both just feel that the attic access right in the hallway is a bit of an eyesore. Over and over we were told this should be no problem and they'd take care of it. Well last week when I was at the house meeting with the wiring co we noticed the attic access is in the hallway. When I called the PM about this he said they framers put it there initially, but it can be moved and he just hasn't been out to the house yet to look at everything. Ok, sounded like we were still on track to have it moved from the hallway. I brought this up again during the pre-drywall meeting and we received a different answer. First off the amount of floorboard space is much much less than we had anticipated. It's basically a large strip down the center of the house. Our PM stated that they can't go out to the edges of the house because it isn't supportive enough. To give you a frame of reference, we had initially talked about possibly putting attic access in the guest room, well the entire square footage of the guest room doesn't have any floorboards over it for attic storage. So that is obviously a wash. It's also not possible to place in the laundry room due to HVAC components and plumbing. That was a little disappointing, though I understand if there is something they just cannot do for safety or code reasons, however, I don't like to feel as though I'm being yes'd to death if something can't happen. We have noted a few instances were we are being told 'oh yes we can work on that' when it seems as though what we asked for isn't even a possibility.<br />
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Anyway, off of my rant, we did a quick review of the paperwork to make sure nothing was missing and we were all on the same page moving forward. The only thing we caught was that they failed to rough in the two pendant lights we requested above the kitchen island. My husband caught this during the walk through (not bad via FaceTime!) and it was on our paperwork, just overlooked. The PM said this would be taken care of.<br />
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Just as we were finishing up our private inspector arrived. The PM couldn't stay because he had other meeting, but they were able to meet and exchange info. We decided to use <a href="http://www.qualityhomeinspections-va.com/" target="_blank">Quality Home Inspections</a> based out of Newport News VA for this and our subsequent inspections. Floyd, the owner of the company, performs the pre-drywall inspections himself and we were very satisfied with him. He is also a Class A contractor which I liked because I felt like he could really look at things from a builder's perspective as well as an inspectors. He went through the house with a fine tooth comb, snapping pics and putting blue tape in quite a few places. He explained some things to me (my phone died so my husband couldn't be present for this one) along the way, and I was able to see what he was talking about in most instances though sometimes the builders jargon got in my way. The plan is for him to email the report and pictures to me as well as the PM.<br />
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I spoke with the PM briefly following the inspection and he told us that the items in the inspection would be addressed and pictures sent of the changes. I'll post the report when we get it so you can see some of the things that they found and what they look for in a pre-drywall inspection.Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-58575574383660114682015-05-21T18:22:00.002-07:002015-05-21T18:22:58.310-07:00Doors and Windows and Wires Oh My!My husband has to be out of town for about a week and a half so we made sure to take one more drive by the build site right before he left. The house now has windows, doors, stairs and all the exterior wrapping. Here are some pics! They are from Tuesday, May 19th which was Day 21 of building.<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top window is a bedroom window, bottom window is to the dining room and back window is morning room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two bottom windows are living room, to top middle are loft and each side window is a bedroom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The doors all start off white then are painted the chosen color<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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Today, on Day 23 of building I met with a rep from Protection by Design to review all of our wiring choices. We met at the house, and did a walk through to make sure they knew exactly where we wanted our wiring placed. It was fun to walk through the inside of the house now that it's all framed. Today they were installing the HVAC system and it was a buzz of activity. Here is what we currently have as our wiring choices. It's changed very minimally from our initial diagram (http://buildfromafar.blogspot.com/2015/03/wiring.html), but we did move a few things around. Also we have a few days to mull it all over and make sure we are happy with it before they begin installation. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Floor Wiring</td></tr>
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The SR from Protection by Design told us that they also throw in a network cable as well as a video cable in the attic. This way if we were to decide we wanted something additional in the future we have those wires installed. He said it is also a good backup to have in case a wire gets cut somewhere along the way. That sounded good to us, we are all for adding things that will help out in the future. Ryan homes installs smoke detectors to code, and Protection by Design will install a smoke detector as well (usually right along side Ryan's) that will be connected to the monitoring system (if you sign up for monitoring), meaning it will contact the emergency services. So we will take the next day or two to make sure we are 100% confident in our placement choices and then contact the rep if we need to move a location of a wire. </div>
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We really tried to think about our future in the home, as well as potential future owners and what would be desirable. That's why we have a cable outlet in each bedroom. We thought about where we planned to put the beds and chose a spot on the opposite wall for the outlets. This is the same reason we wanted two cable outlets in the Master Bedroom. One where we feel it will be opposite the bed, and one in the sitting area where you can put some chairs or a love seat (we saw this in a few models). Same can be said for why we have two cable outlets in the family room, one on each opposite wall. We plan to put our television against the back wall (and the surround sound will be oriented that way) however we felt it smart to add a cable outlet to the opposite wall as well in the event we change our minds about the TV placement or if future owners choose a different wall. It's so easy to add at this stage of the game and much more difficult/expensive down the road, so why not make sure we have plenty of options.</div>
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Lastly, it's looking like we will be ready for the pre-drywall inspection next week. The PM will do his own inspection, however we have decided to bring in an outside inspector as well. This was recommended by our realtor and after looking into it we feel it's a smart decision. It's a very good way to catch things that won't be seen once the drywall is in place, but could cause problems in the house down the road. We have decided to use Quality Home Inspections (http://www.qualityhomeinspections-va.com), and have the inspection scheduled for next Friday, May 29th which will be Day 31 of building. </div>
Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-87775248020135718232015-05-16T18:11:00.001-07:002015-05-16T18:11:29.718-07:00What a Difference a Day MakesWe can't seem to stay away from the build site, especially now that each can show dramatic progress. It's so exciting!! We were there Thursday and the first floor was framed and had floor boards on it for the second floor, but the second floor wasn't framed at all. We stopped by again today and...<br />
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There's a house on our lot!!!!! I was was totally surprised by how much they got done in the past two days, and they were hard at work today as well! Can't wait to see what the next few days will bring.</div>
Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-62657018918072393912015-05-15T10:37:00.001-07:002015-05-15T10:37:09.678-07:00Breaking Ground and More!!I'm a little behind with my updates as we broke ground on our home on April 29th!!! At the same time our house in CA was being packed, cleaned and loaded up on the truck. We have also driven cross country, and are now officially in VA!! So needless to say it's been an absolutely insane few weeks. I'll try to catch you up with all the home building details.<br />
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As I said, we broke ground on April 29th. Things have been moving along nicely since then, there were a few days of bad weather but it doesn't seem to have held anything up. Here are a few pics from Day 1 of building! They are pics of the home's footing, reinforced with steel before the concrete was poured which also happened on Day 1.<br />
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Our realtor headed to the build site on May 5th, which was Day 7 of building and took some pictures of the start of the foundation. </div>
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We arrived in town on May 10th!! After checking into our hotel we went straight to the build site since the model home also happened to be having it's grand opening that weekend. We were so excited to walk through the model because it's a Rome and we hadn't actually walked through our floor plan yet. When we were originally looking we saw a Milan model but there wasn't a Rome nearby to view. I'll cover that in more details in my next post. This next group of pics is from May 12th which is Day 14 of building. </div>
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The next day, May 13th we scheduled time to meet with our PM in person at the build site so he could answer some questions, actually meet us, and show us the progress thus far. We were so surprised to see the difference in work that one day could make. Take a look at the pics!</div>
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Framing has begun!! It's really starting to look like a house now and we are getting very excited! I'll go over a few things the PM explained to us. First off Ryan Homes does 'stick framing' as opposed to using prefabricated, engineered wall panels. I wasn't really sure if this made a difference as far as build quality so I did a little research. It looks like prefabricated wall panels can be cheaper, faster and require less man power at the work site. Stick framing allows for flexibility on the site if there are any issues, but does seem to be the more expensive route, as well as requiring more manpower. I didn't really read anything about a difference in quality which made me feel good. </div>
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The dirt pile you an see in the pic behind the kiddo and in the second pic will be flattened out to become the floor of the garage. Our PM told us they are expecting to have the roof up by May 19th which is the end of the third week of building. It's amazing how fast the house is going up! Another thing our PM explained to us is that for a 2 story house the AC and heat is single zoned, it becomes dual zoned if you opt for a 3rd floor. We were are bit surprised by this because we were under the impression that the house was dual zoned. We are looking into this. </div>
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The whole neighborhood is a bustle of activity. We were blown away by the amount of work that has been completed in the two months since we were there picking out our lot. We are planning to bring in an inspector to conduct a pre drywall inspection and our PM told that should happen in around 3 more weeks.</div>
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3075249727671983294%23editor%2Fsrc%3Dsidebar&media=https%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-9MiQzf-taYY%2FVVYg4R_nzXI%2FAAAAAAAAAHI%2FIzaWIBjkXnY%2Fs320%2FIMG_3938.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 233px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 3332px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3075249727671983294%23editor%2Fsrc%3Dsidebar&media=https%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-9MiQzf-taYY%2FVVYg4R_nzXI%2FAAAAAAAAAHI%2FIzaWIBjkXnY%2Fs320%2FIMG_3938.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 233px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 3332px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-26453377978716576792015-04-19T20:00:00.003-07:002015-05-15T10:53:58.981-07:00Pre-construction Meeting!!We had our pre-construction meeting with our PM and SR on Friday April 17th. Since we are many miles away they were able to accommodate us with a FaceTime meeting and it worked out really well. I'll go into all the details of the meeting including all the questions we asked but first wanted to say we were very pleased with our project manager. Beyond being friendly and willing to answer all of our questions he seemed to really be on top of what is going on in the development as well as being open to considering some requests we had for the house (i.e. changing the location of the attic access). We concluded the meeting feeling very satisfied and excited about the build. He gave us all of his contact info and said that he likes to send out a weekly update on the progress of the house, which we will really appreciate.<br />
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We are scheduled to break ground on the house on April 29th and framing should begin around May 9th, which works nicely because we will be driving out to VA right around that time and will be able to see some action! He anticipates completion by mid July at the latest, mostly depending on weather conditions.<br />
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We began the meeting by going over the Lot Plan which was created by the surveyors. It shows the specs of the lot, trees required, easements etc.<br />
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So what you're looking at is a top down view of the lot. To help you orient yourself, driveway is outlined in pink at the top of the picture (all models on our street will be reverse floorpans). The entire lot is outlined in orange and the buildable area is outlined in blue. There will be about 19' on each side from the property line to the house (shown as a red line) when added to the space between our neighbors property line and house will give us a good 40ft between houses which we like a lot! There is a 15' easement for VA Power and a 20' easement for Columbia Gas (shown as a dark and light purple line respectively). We were told this means that the power or gas Co is allowed to come onto the property within that easement line and dig to complete their work. They do however need to leave it as the found it including re-sodding etc. </div>
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There is also a 15' private drainage easement easement at the back of the yard (green line). This was explained to us as a ditch across the back of the yard for drainage purposes. We are allowed to sod and fence around it put aren't allowed to put a shed or any permanent structures within this 15' easement. At first we were concerned, imagining a huge ditch taking up 15ft of our yard. Our PM sent us a few pics after and we felt much better. Here's what it looks like:</div>
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So really not a big deal, just a very small dip in the yard which we can still use as we please just can't put any permanent structures. This easement runs across all of the houses on our street. </div>
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The entire lot is about 10,531 sqft or .242 acres, and a landscaper is required to plant 5 trees on the property (in addition to our upgraded landscaping package). The PM told us we can pick where we'd like the trees and they will try to accommodate as best they can but ultimately the final decision is up to the landscaper. For example if we want to plant a tree over a gas line the landscaper may tell us we are out of luck. Makes sense. The PM said we could mark on the lot plan where we'd like the trees and get it back to him. We asked what others did and he said often people will plant trees along the sides of their house with the intention of growing them to hide bedroom windows. We have to think about it a bit because we aren't completely sure where we'd like to put them. We definitely don't want too many in the back taking up yard space. The PM then told us that while the landscaper is required to plant 5 trees, we are not required to keep or maintain 5 trees. We can dig them up the day we move in if we so desire. Interesting, and we'll have to give it some thought. </div>
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Next we reviewed the exterior of the house including the elevation, brick to grade choice, stone veneer choice and siding/door/shutter colors. We have chosen Elevation E with a partial stone veneer. After reviewing the exterior we reviewed all of our interior choices and upgrades. We were told that the plan was to put the tankless water heater in the garage. At first we were a big concerned with this. We saw multiple homes when we were on our home search that had their water heaters in the garage and the copper pipes become corrodid and green from being in the garage. Our PM said that they insulate the pipes and also insulate the crawl space so it is double insulated and should prevent problems. He also reminded us that since it is tankless it's just a small box, not a big tank full of water. He sent a pic of this as well and we felt satisfied with the outcome.</div>
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After reviewing our options the PM answered all of our questions. Here is a list of what we asked and the answers we received. </div>
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1. Will the community have sidewalks?</div>
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Yes this community will have sidewalks in front of the houses, additionally there will be a concrete walking trail through the community in some of the more wooded areas behind some houses.</div>
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2. Will the windows have screens? </div>
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Yes, all windows have screens including the morning room doors which will have a sliding screen.</div>
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3. We want to verify that the morning room will have a french door setup instead of sliding doors, is this correct?</div>
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That is correct, the morning room will have a french door look, though only one of the doors will open. The screen however will be sliding.</div>
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4. Will the bathrooms have exhaust fans?</div>
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Yes all of the bathrooms will have exhaust fans including the powder room.</div>
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5. Where will the attic access be, and can it be in the laundry room so it is hidden away from view?</div>
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They will try to accommodate us and put the attic access in the laundry room, if unable then it will be in one of the bedrooms (not Master).</div>
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6. How much of the attic will have flooring for storage?</div>
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They are going to floor as much of the attic as possible, should be able to do the majority of the sq footage. </div>
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7. Is there shelving in the laundry room?</div>
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Wire shelving across the top of the washer/dryer area</div>
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8. What is the shelving like in closets?</div>
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Wire shelving in all closets and pantry.</div>
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9. Will we have an individual mailbox or a community mail area?</div>
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Individual mailbox with house number on it.</div>
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10. What size refrigerator should we buy?</div>
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At this time the PM asked us to wait on this until he is able to verify space under cabinets etc. He said he'd let us know as soon as he could.</div>
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11. What are the measurements of the windows?</div>
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He asked us to hold off on this one a little as well, until he is certain of trim size etc then he will give us measurements of each window.</div>
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12. Will any light switches have dimmers?</div>
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They will not</div>
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13. What outside lights are standard?</div>
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One on each side of garage, front porch light, back door (morning room) light and one outside the garage service door.</div>
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14. Are we able to move the garage service door from the front of the garage to the back so it can be behind the fence line?</div>
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Yes, they are moving the door to the back</div>
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15. We want to verify that the walls and ceiling will be smooth, is that correct?</div>
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Yes, no textured walls or celings</div>
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16. Are the granite countertops sealed?</div>
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The granite for counter tops is sealed, the granite around the fireplace is not. The PM recommended sealing the granite and tile grout when you change your clocks (so twice a year). He stated he will go over care and maintenance of everything with us as we draw closer to closing. </div>
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17. We told him this question was a little awkward but wanted to ask anyway. We've heard that when building a new house there can be a real difference in quality when building 2-3 houses vs say 15 houses at once (as is being done in Fishers Cove). Our PM said that one reason he has enjoyed working for Ryan homes is that they seem to have figured this out. They have enough crews for the houses so they aren't stretch too thin or aren't having one house sit for a while not being worked on while others are. </div>
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We are planning to bring in an inspector in to do a formal pre-drywall inspection. The PM said he'd let us know when he is planning to do his inspection and we can try to schedule them on the same day. </div>
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Overall we were very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and are very excited to break ground and begin building! </div>
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Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-84145646425846180382015-04-01T13:35:00.000-07:002015-04-01T13:35:58.552-07:00Adventures with NVRI mentioned in an earlier post that we never really had any intention of building when we set out to find a home. Truthfully we were hoping to have something to move into by the middle of May and we will now be in limbo for a few months while building completes. We'd been comparing VA Loan rates and closing costs with Navy Federal Credit Union and USAA and planned to use one of those for our mortgage. After speaking with the Ryan Homes SR we learned that they will offer $5000 toward closing costs if you use their lender, NVR Mortgage. NVR is the parent company of Ryan Homes, NV Homes, Fox Ridge Homes. They then own NRV Mortgage and NVR Settlement Services which will provide settlement and title services. They keep it all very nicely in house.<br />
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We were immediately wary of using a mortgage company that was owned by the builder, our main concern being they would be looking out for Ryan Homes and not for us. You are perfectly welcome to use any lender you desire however you lose the closing cost incentive (but do not lose any of the home incentives). Additionally if you look up NRV Mortgage you don't see the most positive feedback, although it really seems as though the only people who post feedback are the angry ones. Anyway, we spoke to our assigned loan officer at NVR and were told their rate was currently 3.875% where as NFCU was currently 3.625%. We told her that, and she alluded to being able to match their rates when it came time to lock. That peaked our interest because $5000 toward closing is very nice, but they will make that back very fast by having a higher interest rate. Plus NFCU was offering $1500 toward closing so the difference in closing incentive was only $3500. Compare that to a 30yr loan with a higher interest rate and it's peanuts. </div>
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After hanging up with her we just didn't feel overly confident about using NVR Mortgage. The phone call wasn't a bad experience, we just felt confident in the rate we could get with NFCU whereas we weren't confident in NVR's ability to actually match what NFCU was offering. It really came down to being a bit distrustful of mortgage company and builder being owned by the same corporation. We received good faith estimates (GFE) from both NFCU and NVR and the prices were similar with NFCU having some higher costs and NVR having some higher ones, however we did notice that many of NVR's costs were listed in ranges. Some of the price ranges were quite extensive and we were concerned what would happen if each item was at the highest end of the range.</div>
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We decided at this point to just use NFCU because we felt much more confident in the interest rate and closing costs. We emailed our LO and thanked her for her assistance while informing her we were going to use NFCU. I will say it bothered me a bit that we never received a reply, it felt a little petty.</div>
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Anyway we began the application process with NFCU who asked us to submit a ratified contract and at the time we were still waiting on signatures from Ryan Homes. After speaking to our SR we were told that we needed to apply for the loan in order to get the contract signed by Ryan. It seemed as though they nicely boxed us into a corner of at least having to apply for the loan through NVR. We spoke candidly with our SR about our concerns and he contacted the LO for us. She then called us and was more firm in her communication that they could match NFCU's rate. When it is time to lock in our interest rate we have to get a GFE from navy federal showing their current interest rate and if it is lower than NVR they state they will match it. Additionally we can still use NFCU if we want but they recommended applying through NVR so we could speed the process along, get the contact ratified and continue with the build process. The SR informed us that they won't begin purchasing materials for your home until you are approved for the loan because they want to make sure you are fully qualified to purchase the home. It costs $500 to apply through NVR and we were told that if we ended up going with NFCU we'd receive $450 of that back (the other $50 is for the credit check and is non refundable).</div>
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After speaking with the LO the second time we felt more confident in her promise to match NFCU's rate. She apologized for not communicating properly but informed us that she definitely could match NFCU's rate. Another thing to mention is that Ryan Homes added $7000 to the price of the loan for closing costs. With a VA loan you are unable to roll your closing costs into the loan, but the way around that seems to be to make the house price higher to cover closing costs. So according to NVR's GFE the $7000 in the loan plus the $5000 they will pay should leave us paying $0.80 out of pocket on closing day. That $7000 is in the loan regardless of which mortgage lender we choose.</div>
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So bottom line is we ended up applying through NVR and were approved for our loan. It just came out of underwriting yesterday in fact!! So now were are officially on our way!</div>
Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-11241708036924657732015-03-19T13:56:00.004-07:002015-03-26T08:03:43.752-07:00WiringLast but not least...time to choose the wiring and security options. After this we don't have any more options and it is all out of our hands. Time to sit back and watch the house be built!! Oh yeah, I suppose we need a fridge, furniture, ceiling fans, a fence, paint....<br />
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Anyway wiring consists of deciding the number and placement of cable outlets, phone outlets, network outlets, surround sound, and security options. As part of our incentive package we get one room wired for surround sound (speakers not included) and prewiring for security. Security is monitored by alarm.com and you can go hog wild with options there. You can sync it to your iPhone so you can turn on lights, lock and unlock doors, open the garage, give people entry codes to your house and the list goes on. They also provide monitoring for fire, CO and police security. We decided to keep it pretty simple here. We are having the house prewired since it is part of the incentive package and that includes 3 door sensors and a motion detector. The keypad is extra, and signing up for monitoring and the additional perks is also extra, with monitoring being a monthly fee. We chose to get the door sensors and motion detector installed along with a second motion detector and the key pad. We are not signing up for monitoring or any of the electronic entry perks at this time. Since it will be prewired and we'll have the key pad we can pretty much activate with alarm.com at any time. We just didn't feel it was necessary at this point, but who knows, maybe we'll change our minds in the future.<br />
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As far as the outlet wiring goes, 4 lines come with the base cost of the house and you can mix it up as you like and choose where to put them. Additional lines cost extra, $120 per line, but it is MUCH easier and cheaper to add these things as you build the house rather than after the drywall is up. We tried to be smart about this and add plenty of outlets for cable, beyond what we really want or need so that when we sell in the future we have an appealing set up. Currently we don't have a phone landline but were advised it was smart to at least put a phone outlet in the house, particularly in the study, so that if future owners/renters want to use that as an office and have a fax, it's all set up. I'm including a floor plan with the locations of the outlets and monitors we chose to place. We ended up with 8 cable outlets, two phone outlet and three network outlets. We added an extra motion detector and put door sensors on the three doors to the outside. They keypad will be in the mudroom as we plan to use this entrance most frequently. We aren't planning to hang a TV above the fire place, mostly because we just don't like to look up at it while we're watching TV. Instead we put a cable outlet on each wall to give us the option of placing the TV on either side without having to run wires all around the family room. The surround sound wiring will also be added to the family room. We considered the loft but as it butts up against the kids bedrooms we didn't feel we'd want to be blasting the sound up there.<br />
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Here's the key for our abbreviations:<br />
C - Cable outlet<br />
P - Phone outlet<br />
N - Network Outlet<br />
DS - Door sensor<br />
MD - Motion detector<br />
KP - Keypad<br />
SS - Surround sound<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Lh1ewh4WOc/VRQfTHI5zVI/AAAAAAAAAEc/_9oASZTuekg/s1600/Wiring%2BFloor%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Lh1ewh4WOc/VRQfTHI5zVI/AAAAAAAAAEc/_9oASZTuekg/s1600/Wiring%2BFloor%2B1.png" height="640" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Floor Wiring</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd Floor Wiring</td></tr>
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Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-77557564132063571912015-03-19T13:20:00.001-07:002015-03-19T13:20:35.753-07:00Flooring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And now we come to flooring.... This has definitely been the most difficult part for us thus far. Just being in California and trying to pick flooring options in Virginia is hard enough, add to the fact that we weren't overly thrilled with the choices, and flooring was a bit frustrating. I'd read many blogs were people were shocked about the prices of the floors and disappointed by the lack of choices and I have to say I fell in that category as well. I'll start off by saying our rep at Rite Rug has been great, very responsive to our many email questions, very willing to accommodate us with a FaceTime meeting and very willing to assist us with design choices.<br />
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We were initially sent a powerpoint form Rite Rug with a basic explanation of the types and levels of flooring along with some pics of samples. We were also sent a spreadsheet listing the websites and options for tile, carpet, wood and vinyl floors. It was honestly very overwhelming to look at the many choices online and actually try to pick and coordinate colors. But before I get to that I'll give you a run down of how the process works. </div>
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Carpet and vinyl flooring is included in the base price of the house, A level carpet and A level vinyl that is. This means a 6lb carpet pad, bottom of the barrel carpet without any stain treatment, and with the shortest warranty and limited choices. Same with the A level vinyl, basically the lowest quality they offer with very limited choices is included in the base price. You can go up from there to level B, C, etc. As you increase your level you increase your choices and obviously your pricing as well. But...the choices are still surprisingly limited. </div>
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We were pretty sure we didn't want to do hardwood. While we love the look, we have a dog, are considering a second dog and have little kiddos so it just doesn't seem practical. We didn't want to spent a ton of money on wood floors just to feel like we had to cover every inch of them with rugs or watch them get scratched and ruined. So that leaves vinyl or tile in the areas we weren't going to carpet. Here's where it gets a bit weird...Ryan Homes has some pretty strict rules about what types of flooring you can put where. For example in the dining room it's hardwood or carpet...that's it. No tile or vinyl is even considered. Our rep from Rite Rug said we can do a Non Standard Request but they gouge you on price. So the plan for the living and dining room looks like it's going to be carpet. The family room will also be carpet as well as the whole upstairs (excluding the laundry room). That was the easy part, we chose a level B carpet with an 8lb carpet pad. The carpet is from the Graystone collection and the color is Seattle Mist.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X5ey3qGe8zM/VQdGF8yzlDI/AAAAAAAAADA/hE3l_f5JmBM/s1600/Seattle%2BMist%2B-%2BGraystone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X5ey3qGe8zM/VQdGF8yzlDI/AAAAAAAAADA/hE3l_f5JmBM/s1600/Seattle%2BMist%2B-%2BGraystone.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graystone - Seattle Mist</td></tr>
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And then we got stuck...tile vs vinyl in the foyer, hallway, kitchen, powder room, mud room and morning room. One of our incentives was a hardwood foyer but we decided that since we weren't doing hardwood anywhere else we'd do away with that and make the foyer and the front hall the same. Bottom line is we aren't crazy about the vinyl. In the house we are currently in the foyer has tile as does the kitchen and we really like it. We've become very interested in the wood looking ties. There are some gorgeous options out there and that seemed to be what we liked best. Guess what?! Ryan doesn't offer any of those options. Soooo what to do now? For a while we considered just laying the A carpet and A vinyl in those areas then ripping it up as soon as we move in and having the tiling done independent of Ryan. We could do this but it's not ideal as we will be moving in with a 2yo and a brand new baby, and having the house torn up as soon as we move in would be a hassle. So after a lot of up, down, back and forth we came to a decision we are comfortable with. We decided to tile the foyer, front hall, mudroom and powder room with a porcelain tile. It's from the Fidenza family and the color is Bianco. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sGQOAuFmiHE/VQdFsnw3JrI/AAAAAAAAAC4/aRi3jZa6YQk/s1600/Fidenza-Bianco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sGQOAuFmiHE/VQdFsnw3JrI/AAAAAAAAAC4/aRi3jZa6YQk/s1600/Fidenza-Bianco.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fidenza Bianco</td></tr>
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We ended up going with an upgraded vinyl in the kitchen and morning room. Our thinking is this...it's not a love match but it's great with kids and pets. Easy to clean, can take a beating, softer to cushion those inevitable falls and affordable. Our plan will be to change it eventually, but for now we are pretty satisfied with it. We ended up choosing a wood looking vinyl which we think gives the room some nice warmth and complements our countertops and cabinets very nicely. It's called Windsor Walnut Fireside by Armstrong.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I50bS6ywMco/VQdHValjn2I/AAAAAAAAADM/nEadVy0ZkXE/s1600/Windsor%2BWalnut%2BFireside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I50bS6ywMco/VQdHValjn2I/AAAAAAAAADM/nEadVy0ZkXE/s1600/Windsor%2BWalnut%2BFireside.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windsor Walnut Fireside</td></tr>
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We went with an upgraded vinyl in the laundry room. That one is Station Square Pinnacle Peak Crystal, also by Armstrong.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8kBdzPJJv7g/VQdIOKYQUMI/AAAAAAAAADY/GQHJnUXftGw/s1600/Pinnacle%2BPeak%2BCrystal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8kBdzPJJv7g/VQdIOKYQUMI/AAAAAAAAADY/GQHJnUXftGw/s1600/Pinnacle%2BPeak%2BCrystal.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Station Square Pinnacle Peak Crystal</td></tr>
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Last but not least are the second floor bathrooms. We decided to do the same thing in both bathrooms for sake of consistency, especially considering we have the same cabinets and granite in each one. So the floor and wall tiles will be from the Brixton family in the color Bone with an accent piece, or listello, from the Marvel Collection - Wonder MV28.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8CDPWl-nzA/VQdJY7s62DI/AAAAAAAAADk/Q0fYmrqEhdk/s1600/Bone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8CDPWl-nzA/VQdJY7s62DI/AAAAAAAAADk/Q0fYmrqEhdk/s1600/Bone.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brixton - Bone</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wqFad08l4k0/VQr_TPdb8zI/AAAAAAAAAD0/JGcz5T7gUL4/s1600/DT_MV28_625x625_Wonder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wqFad08l4k0/VQr_TPdb8zI/AAAAAAAAAD0/JGcz5T7gUL4/s1600/DT_MV28_625x625_Wonder.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marvel - Wonder MV28 (the symbols are not as predominant in person)</td></tr>
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Everything was all fine and dandy until the sales rep brought up the closet under the stairs... You may not think a small storage closet would cause and issue, but for some reason Ryan Homes is really weird about that closet. The ONLY thing you are allowed to do is vinyl in the closet! Huh?? The closet is off the front hallway so the logical thing by our thinking was to tile it so it flows with the rest of the places off the hallway (mudroom, powder room). We were told this would be a NSR which we just don't get. RR recommended using the same vinyl that we will be choosing in the kitchen but we just didn't feel it would work since the storage closet is not directly attached to the kitchen. So we decided to use the same vinyl that we planned to use in the laundry room thinking that it was at least a tile look. Then we went home and our OCD kicked in and it started to drive us nuts! Why couldn't we just tile it so it flowed well off the hallway? We felt that it would look weird to have one random section of this vinyl on the first floor that wasn't found anywhere else. So we contacted our flooring rep and said we'd like to have an estimate for the tile in the closet. It's $300 for the NSR to tile that closet. It's a tiny space that will probably cost them $20 and 15mins to tile, but since it's an NSR they get you. So you may think we are crazy for going through with it however we're paying a lot of money to build a house and choose specific things we want, we feel it would be crazy to have this tiny section bother us so we are going with the NSR. </div>
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3075249727671983294%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpage&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-I50bS6ywMco%252FVQdHValjn2I%252FAAAAAAAAADM%252FnEadVy0ZkXE%252Fs1600%252FWindsor%25252BWalnut%25252BFireside.jpg%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 253px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1456px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3075249727671983294%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpage&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-I50bS6ywMco%252FVQdHValjn2I%252FAAAAAAAAADM%252FnEadVy0ZkXE%252Fs1600%252FWindsor%25252BWalnut%25252BFireside.jpg%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 253px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1456px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-13553386477910095672015-03-16T13:36:00.002-07:002015-03-16T13:36:37.462-07:00A Lot to ChooseI'm going to backup a little bit because I skipped over the process of choosing a lot. Our development is going to have 34 lots, and there were about 14 left when we first spoke with the sales rep. Initially the lots were included in sales price of the house, but as they draw closer to building Ryan is now charging site premiums for the lots. So we were given a site plan of the development with the available lots and a corresponding page with the homesite premiums. Premiums began at $4000 and ranged to over $11,000, however two remaining lots were free!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8xdNyQ_3qpQ/VQc6_Vv8f1I/AAAAAAAAACM/UA9sQX-uG1o/s1600/Site%2BPlan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8xdNyQ_3qpQ/VQc6_Vv8f1I/AAAAAAAAACM/UA9sQX-uG1o/s1600/Site%2BPlan.png" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Site Plan with Available Lots (M is model)<div style="text-align: left;">
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Initially we were going to choose lot 32 because it appeared to be quite wooded behind the house. It had a fairly high premium but we liked the privacy it afforded. After viewing the lot it was apparent that the wooded area wasn't that thick and you could see the other houses through the trees. We then looked at 14 and 18 which were definitely wooded in the back and private, however both had high site premiums. At the time lots 4 and 28 were up for grabs without a lot premium. Lots 1-11 have another development behind them and lot 28 seems to be a bit squished in there. After looking at lot four we decided it just may be perfect. Though it has a neighborhood behind it, it's quite a distance behind and would still afford us plenty of privacy, especially once we put up a privacy fence. Additionally the neighborhood behind has gorgeous and vey well maintained houses. The lot is .25 acres which is one of the larger of the lots (largest available was Lot 2 at .30 acres for $11k!) whereas lots 14 and 18 were a bit smaller (.23 acres) and both had about $10,000 lot premiums. Another thing we liked about lot four is that it's pretty straight across all borders. The lots in the cul-de-sac all had a bit of an odd shape which would affect how far they would build from the street. In lot four you could build 20ft back (as per code) in a pretty straight line and not loose any backyard due to an odd shape of the lot. In the end we decided four afforded plenty of privacy, was in a good location on the block and best of all didn't have any site premium. So lot 4 is now the site of our future home!!!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rqBR7RrHQp4/VQc9X-QtncI/AAAAAAAAACY/xP2zBB6E9FI/s1600/Home%2BSite%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rqBR7RrHQp4/VQc9X-QtncI/AAAAAAAAACY/xP2zBB6E9FI/s1600/Home%2BSite%2B2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Site!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2V-bdLIm-7w/VQc9vmlW6CI/AAAAAAAAACo/jFCrsKRsciU/s1600/house%2Bpic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2V-bdLIm-7w/VQc9vmlW6CI/AAAAAAAAACo/jFCrsKRsciU/s1600/house%2Bpic.png" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pic my husband drew to show our family where our house will be :)</td></tr>
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Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-80592970323951562392015-03-12T14:53:00.000-07:002015-03-19T09:33:29.321-07:00Decisions Decisions!!We are not the type of people to enter into anything lightly We'll research the smack out of things before we join, buy or invest, so it was a bit out of character for us to decide to build with Ryan Homes without first doing many hours of research. True to form however, we did all of that afterward. There are quite a few blogs about building with Ryan which have helpful hints, and then there are the reviews... Many of the reviews we stumbled across are negative and we began to get a little nervous about our decision. It seems though that many problems that reviewers had with Ryan could be avoided by being diligent throughout the build process. Staying in contact with your project manager, having a pre drywall inspection and being proactive. So at the end of the day we are still excited about our decision and reading the blogs has been helpful in coming to that conclusion.<br />
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Now begins the decision making process and there are a TON of house features to decide on. We created charts, spreadsheets, pictures and diagrams to help us determine the house model we wanted as well as the features and upgrades to the home. It was days of back and forth and agonizing over all of the details and we are now locked into our choices and are happy with them. Colors were probably the most difficult to pick since we are doing it via pictures and FaceTime. We won't be making another trip to VA until we move out there so everything is being done from across the country. Everything we chose is listed under the 'Selections' tab but here I'll go into more detail on why we picked what we picked.<br />
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We chose the Rome model.<br />
<a href="http://buildfromafar.blogspot.com/p/floorplan.html" target="_blank">Rome Floorplan</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b><u>Exterior</u></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Rome model - Elevation E with partial stone veneer</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kf8kYYwYYc8/VQH_VZdl7HI/AAAAAAAAAA8/Lf3ROfH6_pY/s1600/Elevation%2BE%2BPartial%2BStone.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kf8kYYwYYc8/VQH_VZdl7HI/AAAAAAAAAA8/Lf3ROfH6_pY/s1600/Elevation%2BE%2BPartial%2BStone.png" height="221" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schematic of Elevation E with partial stone veneer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZTwiZBTKB4/VQIALVdlw3I/AAAAAAAAABE/GRm5Fa0ZODM/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-03-12%2Bat%2B2.05.58%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZTwiZBTKB4/VQIALVdlw3I/AAAAAAAAABE/GRm5Fa0ZODM/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-03-12%2Bat%2B2.05.58%2BPM.png" height="211" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This won't be our color scheme but it's the same model (and seeing as it is a model there isn't a driveway)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GK_hHwF07Kk/VQIG5XSe-wI/AAAAAAAAABk/boAJOYgsecA/s1600/Our%2BShutter%2BChoice.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GK_hHwF07Kk/VQIG5XSe-wI/AAAAAAAAABk/boAJOYgsecA/s1600/Our%2BShutter%2BChoice.png" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Shutter Options</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Colors we chose for the exterior:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> This was the hard part since we couldn't see it in person. Looking at many many pictures online helped us decide on color combos.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> -Siding Veneer Front - Island Pearl</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> -Shake-Sandy Tan</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> -Shutters- Red</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> -Door - French Roast</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> -Stone - Fieldstone Autumn Buckeye</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> -White Trim</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-csjlReXDnj8/VQIG8dUK10I/AAAAAAAAABs/isjfsoq7yi8/s1600/Our%2BVinyl%2BPics.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-csjlReXDnj8/VQIG8dUK10I/AAAAAAAAABs/isjfsoq7yi8/s1600/Our%2BVinyl%2BPics.png" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vinyl Options</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePLKIceJiNI/VQIIMTprdgI/AAAAAAAAAB4/cSmmoiII0v4/s1600/Our%2BBrick%2BChoice.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePLKIceJiNI/VQIIMTprdgI/AAAAAAAAAB4/cSmmoiII0v4/s1600/Our%2BBrick%2BChoice.png" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our color selections with brick selection (brick will be in back and sides from siding to ground) The front door is dark brown </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qFjISi-d58w/VQIILwtAv4I/AAAAAAAAAB0/G7jgbZOKokY/s1600/Our%2BStone%2BChoice.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qFjISi-d58w/VQIILwtAv4I/AAAAAAAAAB0/G7jgbZOKokY/s1600/Our%2BStone%2BChoice.png" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our color choices with stone veneer choice. The front door is the darker brown not red brown.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Upgraded landscaping package</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">This is included in our incentives package. Ryan Homes will sod frond and back, our sales rep </span><span style="background-color: white;">said they are the only builder to do so. The upgraded package consists of bushes, trees and </span><span style="background-color: white;">flowers.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Garage Door Upgrade 1</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Also included, I believe it's just a nicer door</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Garage Service Door</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Door from the garage to outside. Now on the floorpan this door is at the rear of the garage on the </span><span style="background-color: white;">side, exactly what we wanted. However, our sales rep told us this is no longer how it is done and </span><span style="background-color: white;">the door is toward the front of the garage on the side. Basically this means you'd exit in the front </span><span style="background-color: white;">yard where as we wanted it to be behind the fence. There really isn't a point in having the exit in </span><span style="background-color: white;">the front yard because you could just open the garage and exit that way. Our sales checked with </span><span style="background-color: white;">the project manager and they can do this as a non standard request. So hopefully that will work </span><span style="background-color: white;">out. We told them that if it could't be moved to the rear of the garage to just scrap it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b><u>Interior</u></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Morning Room</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">This is included in our incentives package</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Morning Room Side Windows</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The morning room is all windows on the back and french doors on one side. You have the option </span><span style="background-color: white;">of adding windows to the remaining side. We opted to go for this so it will be an entire room of </span><span style="background-color: white;">windows.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Kitchen Faucet Upgrade 2 (Bronze)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Kitchen Cabinet Upgrade 1- Tahoe Square Cherry Bordeaux</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">This is more that just looks. The included cabinets are thinner, have more shallow drawers and a </span><span style="background-color: white;">finish that isn't as appealing. We went with Upgrade 1 which allows us to choose from the second </span><span style="background-color: white;">row (except for the white one, that's Upgrade 2). We're both a fan of dark cabinets so we went </span><span style="background-color: white;">with the Cherry.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DqfNXQw_QPg/VQIEekz2rUI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Upekp712YDY/s1600/Cabinets.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DqfNXQw_QPg/VQIEekz2rUI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Upekp712YDY/s1600/Cabinets.png" height="400" width="393" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Gourmet Island</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Included as an incentive - a larger curved island. I LOVE it!!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Granite Countertops Upgrade 1 - Santa Cecelia Light</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Included in the kitchen incentive. It's gonna look great with the cabinets!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9uXUD08IEv8/VQIFe3vptSI/AAAAAAAAABY/5BVb_VukCxI/s1600/Granite.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9uXUD08IEv8/VQIFe3vptSI/AAAAAAAAABY/5BVb_VukCxI/s1600/Granite.png" height="293" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Cabinet Crown Molding Kitchen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Range Gas Hook-up</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I love to cook and prefer cooking with gas so we are changing form the included electric hook up </span><span style="background-color: white;">to gas.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Exhaust Vent Kitchen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Appliance Pkg Freestanding Stainless Steel 4GH</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I just love stainless appliances and we decided to go for the midlevel package</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-2 Light Rough-ins over Kitchen Island</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">So we can install hanging lights over the island</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Gas Dryer Hook-up</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">We have a gas dryer that is only a year old so we figured we might as well use it</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Gas Fireplace </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Family Room Side</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">We chose side instead of rear of house because we plan to build a deck in the future and don't want </span><span style="background-color: white;">to have to build around the fireplace which will jut into the yard.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Fireplace Surround Family Room Granite -Ubatuba</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">It's the last one on the first row of the granite pic</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Recessed Lighting over fireplace (2)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Owners Bathroom Shower Upgrade with Seat</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">A tub/shower combo is what's included with the base price of the house. There are a few options </span><span style="background-color: white;">for upgrades including a shower stall and soaking tub and a shower with a seat. Neither of us are </span><span style="background-color: white;">bath takers so we decided to opt for a larger shower with a seat and no tub in the bathroom. We did </span><span style="background-color: white;">toss and turn over this a little because we were concerned about resale value in the future without </span><span style="background-color: white;">a large tub. Our realtor advised that often people say they aren't bath takers but everyone loves a </span><span style="background-color: white;">good shower and she didn't feel it would hurt us in the future so we decided to just go with what </span><span style="background-color: white;">we wanted.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Owners Bath Cabinet Upgrade 1 - Tahoe Square Cherry Bordeaux</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Same as kitchen- wanted consistency</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Owners Bath Vanity Granite Upgrade 1 - Santa Cecelia Light</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Same as kitchen - wanted consistency</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Ceramic Surround Secondary Bath</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">This is for the shower, standard is fiberglass insert</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Cabinet Upgrade 1 Secondary Bath - Tahoe Square Cherry Bordeaux</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">S</span><span style="background-color: white;">ame as kitchen- wanted consistency</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Vanity Granite Upgrade 1 Secondary Bath - Santa Cecelia Light</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">S</span><span style="background-color: white;">ame as kitchen- wanted consistency</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-House Bronze Finish</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Fixtures in bathroom</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Attic Storage</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Access is included, this add finish floors in the attic to allow for storage as well as widen </span><span style="background-color: white;">and add a ladder to the access.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Carpeted Stair with Metal Balusters</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Celing Fan Roughins x 8 (3 included in price) - 4 Bedrooms, Family Room, Loft, Study, Morning Room</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Non Standards</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Gas line rough-in to backyard for grill</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Our sales rep informed us of this option and we love it! No more propane tanks for the grill. This </span><span style="background-color: white;">is a non standard but he said it's such a common request that it is called a 'standard non standard'</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">-Rear placement for garage service door</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">See garage service door explanation above</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">We still have to pick our wiring and flooring options but that is required to be done within 30 days whereas the rest is required within 14 days of signing the contract.</span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3075249727671983294%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpage&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F3.bp.blogspot.com%252F-Kf8kYYwYYc8%252FVQH_VZdl7HI%252FAAAAAAAAAA8%252FLf3ROfH6_pY%252Fs1600%252FElevation%25252BE%25252BPartial%25252BStone.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 193px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 460px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D3075249727671983294%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpage&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F3.bp.blogspot.com%252F-Kf8kYYwYYc8%252FVQH_VZdl7HI%252FAAAAAAAAAA8%252FLf3ROfH6_pY%252Fs1600%252FElevation%25252BE%25252BPartial%25252BStone.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 193px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 460px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3075249727671983294.post-6328227206184608162015-03-10T12:50:00.001-07:002015-03-10T12:50:18.440-07:00And So It Begins...Hi everyone!! My husband and I are just beginning the journey to building our first home with Ryan Homes and wanted to document the trip along the way in hopes of helping others with the process. We are a military family living in Twentynine Palms CA (best place on earth...) and will be moving to VA where my husband will be completing his residency at the naval hospital in Portsmouth VA. We have one kiddo and one on the way as well as one fur kiddo. About 2 weeks ago we headed to VA for a house hunting trip, and really didn't have the intention of building, in fact we didn't really even plan to look at any undeveloped homesites at all. After looking at many houses that were either what we want in the wrong location, or the right location that didn't have what we want we stumbled upon Fisher's Cover in Chesapeake, VA. The location was perfect! The school system we wanted, easy commute for my husband to work, very nice neighborhoods surrounding etc. We decided we might as well meet with the sales rep for Ryan Homes and learn a little about the building process. Six hours later we walked away with a signed contract and 14 days to make all the decisions and choices about our new home!!<br />
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Here's a little info about the development. At this time they have only broken ground on a few homes and the model isn't even complete so it will be a totally new development.<br />
<a href="http://www.ryanhomes.com/find-your-home/our-communities/virginia/chesapeake/fishers-cove?utm_source=google&utm_medium=maps&utm_content=valocal&utm_campaign=googleplaces" target="_blank">Fishers Cove</a><br />
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In Fishers Cove there are 5 home models to choose from, all with different floor plans, prices, sizes etc. Here are your choices;<br />
Springhaven<br />
Ranch<br />
3 bed<br />
2 bath<br />
2058 sq ft starting<br />
options to add additional bedrooms<br />
<br />
Milan<br />
2 Story<br />
3 Bedroom<br />
2.5<br />
Loft (option to close off loft for 4th bedroom)<br />
2699 sq ft starting<br />
<br />
Ravenna<br />
2 Story<br />
4 Bedroom (option for first floor bedroom)<br />
2.5 Bath (option for first floor full bath)<br />
Option for 2nd floor bonus room (FROG)<br />
2720 sq ft starting<br />
<br />
Rome<br />
2 Story<br />
4 Bed<br />
2.5 Bath<br />
Study 1st floor<br />
Loft<br />
3286 sq ft starting<br />
<br />
Torino<br />
2 Story<br />
4 Bed<br />
2.5 Bath<br />
Loft 3646 sq ft starting<br />
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I'll share all about our decision process in the next post, but here is how the process starts.<br />
<br />
We spent most of the day with the sales rep, looking at floor plans, pics, a model of the Milan and running numbers to compare prices. By the end of the day we knew we wanted to build but still couldn't settle on a home type. No worries though because you have a 14 day window to make all your choices. So we set up a meeting toward the end of that time with our sales rep and that's when we will lock in our final choices for the home! We're on our way now!!!Sara Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05745342698514882246noreply@blogger.com0