Getting Settled

We're still here and catching up on everyone's progress! Can't believe how fast time has gone and we've been in for almost 3 weeks. We're getting furniture ordered to fill this empty house, but it won't be here until after the New Year.   Our 30 days walk through is next Friday, so we are getting our list of things together.  Nothing major, so we're thankful for that.  Below are some pics of our place now that we're settled.  We're ordering binds and installing curtains this weekend so it will look more complete.  Can't wait to get it all decorated for Christmas!

Her backside and a good idea of how big our yard is.

Morning Room

Formal living room.  Our Christmas tree is going here this year, so all the decorations are in those boxes.

Foyer... LOVE the hardwood!

View from the sitting area at the top of the foyer

2nd Bath

Sitting area in master

Master Bedroom

Master Bath,  love the granite and cabinets together!

Jacuzzi tub, shower to the right, toilet to the left and 2nd walk in closet straight ahead

As I'm uploading these, I realized how hard it is to get an accurate picture of the size of the rooms, but you can get an idea.  Also, didn't upload any pictures of the other rooms, because there isn't anything in them and they all look the same!

Quick update- We're done!

So this is going to be a quick update.  Tuesday we had our final walk through with our PM and it went well.  He already got some of the items from the independent inspection report completed by the time we go there on Tuesday.  There were some things we wanted to show him in person so he could get a better idea what we were talking about.  Most disappointing were the finishing touches on the house that were skipped.  Fast forward to today when we finally closed!  Process lasted about 45 minutes and we didn't have any problems.  After we got the keys we of course went to the house, only to find some of the major things we had stated on Tuesday were not fixed.  Don't know if they will be fixed now or if we will have to wait until our 30 day, but its highly disappointing since we were under the impression everything on Tuesday would be fixed by today.  We're moving this weekend with the help of our families and have about two more boxes to be packed.  Tomorrow hubby will be working on installing fans and sealing the tile in our bathroom, kitchen and morning room.  I'll update with pictures once we get settled sometime next week!

Final Independent Inspection

Our final walkthrough with Ryan Homes was to be Friday, but on Monday it was delayed by our PM due to the tile issues still not being resolved.  He wants to present a complete house to us, which I understand, but we brought this issue up over two weeks ago.  Final walkthrough has been moved to Tuesday and we will be closing Wednesday or Thursday.  Not sure which date we're closing because PM says he needs until Thursday, but NVR is saying it is still Wednesday as originally scheduled.  We were given the green light to continue with our independent inspection on Saturday which lasted about 4 hours.  We went over every inch of the house and should receive the report to pass on to our PM today.  Nothing major came up, which was a relief.  Mostly cosmetic changes need to be made which include the tile issues in the bathroom needing fixed, some scratches on the hardwood, the refrigerator makes some weird noise when you open it, sump pump has a lot of dirt in it, emergency float switch on first level HVAC unit doesn't work at all, a couple windows don't open, tile in the morning room wasn't laid exactly flat so there are gaps, and one place in the bedroom has a squeaky floor.  We're hoping all these issues, big or small, are fixed before we move in. Sod was installed on Thursday, driveway was paved and mailbox is up.  So exciting to see the address on the mailbox :)  Anyone with sod know if they "roll" over it with a steamroller type thing to smooth it out?  Its very wavy in the backyard and I'm concerned with this when it comes time to mow the lawn it will be choppy.  Other than what we've found I'm very happy with the house, hoping things will move smoothly this week.

Our current living room with some boxes ready to move!

Hardwood in foyer

Carpet in family room and formal living room.  The 2nd floor, dining room, & stairs are a bit lighter.

Outside view...looks so different with the sod and driveway paved!

My kitchen! Not crazy about the side by side, but we'll see if I get used to it.

Almost Our's!

My husband stopped by the house on Wednesday and found hardwood and carpet installed on the inside along with appliances.  Outside our trees and landscaping, minus the sod, were in.  Also, the driveway was paved, our garage door opener was installed and we have a mailbox with our house number on it!  I wasn't able to get to the house in time to see it from someone with a key, so I have yet to see the carpet & hardwood, but hubby says it looks good so I'll have to take his word.   Everything seems to be moving along good with our final walk through on Friday.  We have yet to hear anything about a resolution to our tile concerns and hope it gets fixed before we close.  Can't believe its coming up so quick and it won't be just a place we visit, but will actually LIVE there!  Packing at the apartment is moving along good.  I'm such a "planner" and need to have it done before our families arrive moving weekend.

Moving Right Along: Tile & Stone Work

We're moving right along with our schedule with tile & granite installed inside and stone outside. We're officially locked out so we can only visit while someone is in the sales office. I was unsure of my granite choice for the kitchen but decided to keep it.  Boy, I'm glad I did because I absolutely love it! It goes so well with the cabinets and the floor.  I think it will be great with our stainless steel appliances as well.  Tile was also installed in the kitchen, morning room, and upstairs bathrooms.  We opted for to get it placed at a 45 degree angle in the morning room and kitchen and it makes all the difference.  Upstairs the accent tile in the master bedroom is wave-y for lack of a better word.  It looks like it was installed quickly and poorly.  Our PM is on this and hoping to be able to get the crew to fix it.  It is super disappointing since we paid for this upgrade and it looks very unprofessional. The light fixtures were installed and much to our surprise there was lights in the bedroom... anyone else have this?  I was under the impression it was only a light rough-in and not the actual fixture.  HVAC units were installed outside and the house was heated.  Outside the stone was installed and I'm still warming up to the siding color.  My hubby loves it and everyone we've showed thinks it looks very nice, so I'm not sure why I doubt it.  PM thinks they will start landscaping this week and finish up tile.  Not sure what else he expects to happen on the inside, but I hope to see some hardwood this week.

Cabinet/Granite/Tile Combo

Granite has a shimmer to it that I didn't notice with the sample

Spare Bathroom Tile & Tub

Tile Detail... nothing crazy, but I like it

Bathroom Light Fixture

Bedroom light fixture... not bad, we'll probably keep it for now

Master bathroom tub & shower

Detailed view of "wave-y" accent tile.  Its like this in many places.

Three Weeks Until Closing

I'm beyond ready and excited to be closing in three weeks.  NVR activity has really picked up in the last few days with what they want.  They want all of it 10 days prior to closing, so we're busy gathering all of the paper work they have requested.  PM reported that our tile was being installed today in the bathrooms, kitchen and morning room and stone was to be placed on the house pending rain.  Well, it rained today so I don't anticipate that being done until Friday when it clears up.  He said the kitchen cabinet and flooring looks sharp and hes excited to see it once the granite is installed... me too!  We were originally scheduled to have the final walk through at 10AM and close at 1PM on different days, but these times weren't exactly convenient for us and our work schedules since they are on two different days so we asked to have them rescheduled and Ryan/NVR has been amazing in accommodating us with our request.  We've changed the walk through to 1 pm, so we only have to take a half day and closing is at 4pm so we don't have to miss any work.  Definitely pays to ask!  Hoping to get some pictures later this week when we stop by!

Kitchen Cabinets, Crown Molding, & Railings

We're done with drywall and into the "fun stuff"  The cabinets were installed in the kitchen and bathrooms and I LOVEEEE them!  I'm so happy with my choices and can't wait to see the granite installed on them. I was most surprised at how big our kitchen island is really going to be.  I will love all the storage space and I'm sure it won't take long for me to fill it all. Chair rail, crown molding, and cased openings were in progress also.  It appears the walls were primer-ed, but I'm not sure of what the final color is going to be.  We elected not to paint now and do it after we get in and I can get an idea of what I want to do with each room.  Also, the railings were installed on the stairs and along the sitting area of the two story foyer.  They will be stained very dark to match our hardwoods going in the entryway.  Shutters were installed on the exterior, minus the parts where the stone will be.  Stoop has been poured and covered.  Hoping that stone work will begin this weekend with the beautiful weather we're forecast-ed to have.We got an "official" final walk through date of November 4th and closing November 9th, which is right around the corner.  I'm praying we don't have any more delays because that weekend works perfect for my family to help us move, and I'm hoping to be in before Thanksgiving.  

Please bear with the pictures... they are from my phone and all I had on me when we stopped at the house last night.

Still not sure about the exterior, hoping the stone pulls it all together

Kitchen Cabinets, few more behind the basement door that is opened

Railing in sitting area of foyer

Chair railing in dining room