Week 13: Making it Pretty

Week 13 - August 8 - 14, 2016



Days 85 - 91

 

8/8 - text PM to ask for pics of newly installed appliances (crickets - turns out he was on vacay)
8/13 - Door unlocked = surprise visit!

 

 So, we were sad that we wouldn't get to see any progress this week. But an invite to a friend's pool in the area meant a drive by/ door try. We were met with unexpected success!

 

We ran through the house really fast, but managed to notice the following changes (stay tuned for pics):

• Floors uncovered - looks amazing, but now nervous about them getting damaged!
• Appliances installed - need to check these for accuracy. I thought we were getting "gas on glass", and we saw gas on stainless.
• Cabinets swapped out for correct finish
• Laundry-room door swing changed (YAY!)
• Banister stained
• 1 coat of paint on front door
• Interior & exterior door handles installed
• Yard grading
• Toilets installed
• Corrected cabinet and side panels around fridge opening

 

 

Still to be done

• Missing handles on garage door
• Replace/repair dented garage door (a new find)
• More coats of paint on the front door
• Door swing on master bath
• Drywall repairs noted previously (didn't check on these)
• Landscaping & hydro seed (sigh)
• Cleaning (obviously)
• Final painting
• SO.MUCH.TOUCHUP.

 

What else....

• We finally locked in the interest rate on our 80% mortgage (doing an 80/15/5), but are still waiting for the paperwork on the 15% one...
• We ordered our new king bed and bedroom set (moving up from a queen!)
• Submitted my company's internet service request form (they pay for our access!)
• Still need to order a fridge, coffee/side tables for the family room, our daughter's "big girl bed", etc. etc. 
• Need to call the utilities about switching over
• Need to call Guardian about final stuff. Not sure what this is for, but we were told to do this at our pre-drywall meeting, and I'm already a week late....oops.
• Shop for rugs, blinds, curtains, garage door opener, dehumidifier, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. (basically, hemorrhage money).

Our pre-settlement walk-through is scheduled for Monday (8/22) at 2pm.
People. This is really happening!

Pre-Drywall Meeting

Wednesday, June 22, 2016
3:00 p.m. EDT

Our pre-drywall meeting happened! Can't believe we're already at this step.
I apologize for this post having no house pics. I'm still waiting for Hubs to send them over from his phone, and will add them as soon as possible!

Hubs and I met our PM and his trainee at the house at 3 p.m. sharp. We also met Hubs' friend, T, who is a PM for several other big local builders, and would be acting as our unofficial (free!) home inspector.
We started in the garage, and PM explained everything we were seeing. Because we had snuck into the house over the past couple of weeks, we were pre-loaded with questions. First was the strange lack of plywood in certain spots. PM explained that what we were seeing in those spots was actually dry-lock(?) board, which is apparently standard.  T gave us the DL nod of approval, so  we're okeydokey.

We moved to the basement next, where PM explained the framing, showed us our crappy HVAC unit, and answered our questions about the sump-pump, and the logistics of adding a water jet system after we move in, which after researching, is definitely preferable to a battery backup for the sump. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, this random article from NJ.com explains it pretty well.  We mentioned to T that we had hoped for a tankless water heater, but that Ryan did not offer that option in our hood. He gave us the idea of quickly taking the crappy 60-gallon one Ryan is installing, and selling it to a plumber friend of Hub's, taking the proceeds, and buying our tankless system, or even a bigger/better regular storage unit. Brilliant. Also had some discussions about layout of the future wet bar and powder room we plan to install with our rough-ins.

Moved back up to the main floor and selected locations for the ceiling fan/chandelier in the morning room (a little complicated by the door swing), ceiling fan rough-in , and 4 recessed lights in the family room. My heart sank when I realized (and T agreed) that we probably should have added additional recessed lights in the family room. 4 just aren't going to cut it. 8 would probably have been the best choice.  He also thought that due to the way the ceiling joists run overhead, that they won't be easy to add later (well, CRAP!)  I'm thinking we'll end up with a ceiling fan with lights in there (plus lamps) to help.


Then the epic battle ensued. I was torn, but had decided that I wanted to install the TV on the outside wall between the windows, leaving the fireplace on the long end alone so that I can decorate the mantel, etc. See this Rome model pic as my inspiration:

My Ideal Family Room Setup

Hubs insists the TV should be installed over the fireplace so it can be watched from the kitchen easily. I see his point, but only really agree to this plan if he is willing to install built-in cabinetry along the entire wall, which helps ease my decorating concerns (but not my sore neck concerns).
We debate this extensively with PM, trainee, and T all chiming in. Note, I am the only source of estrogen in this TV debate; and I ultimately lose the battle. Gah. Hopefully in the end, it will look something like this:

Hopefully what the TV over fireplace wall will look like

The kitchen was fun. PM confirmed which side I would like the wall ovens on our custom change moved double oven/cabinet wall (I chose to the right - closer to the kitchen, vs. to the left, closer to the family room). I explained the plan to run 3 pendant lights down the long island after closing, and asked that all recessed lights in the kitchen (standard) be placed logically around the island, while not encroaching to throw off the spacing with the other lights. He agreed, and spray painted the floor for the electrician to call him to plot the placement when he comes through.


Moved upstairs to confirm placement of the thermostat in our master bedroom, and changed door swings (Master bath changed to swing into bedroom, and laundry room changed to swing into hall). Confirmed placement of attic access in laundry room.
Sadly confirmed that due to the itty bitty sized wood/framing Ryan uses for the attic floor/ second floor ceiling, that nothing weighing anything can be stored up there. It's so weak-looking that I'm honestly nervous about sending my slender electrician nephew up there to install lights and ceiling fans without falling through! PM also confirmed that laying plywood down to store anything will "smoosh" the insulation and cause us to lose energy efficiency. Wuh. Wuh. I guess some portion of the basement will always need to remain unfinished for storage!


PM explained the upcoming county and energy efficiency inspections, and next steps with the house - HVAC and plumbing to be finished, electric to begin, the spray-foam party to fill the million open cracks and holes, and framing to come back for tweaks after his personal framing inspection. I don't think there's another official meeting before our pre-settlement walkthrough, but PM indicated that he would get us back out after drywall is roughed in. Yay! Also confirmed we are still looking like August 22 for the walk-through and closing 2-10 days after that.


We also figured out the timing of when we can sneak in to install insulation in the exterior garage walls/ceiling, etc. I'm still trying to sell Hubs on putting in sound-proofing insulation around the laundry rooms and bathrooms too. But of course, none of this is Ryan sanctioned, so shhhh!  :)
T confirmed my strategy, and thanks to other Ryan bloggers for recommending it!


My follow-up email to our PM after the meeting included these items, some of which we had talked about, and some T had pointed out to us after the meeting:

Interior

• Can we add a stud at the back corner of bedroom #2 (see cable marking), where the wall backs up to bedroom 3’s closet without support? Nothing there to support future hanging TV.
• Add bracing for wall-mounted TV’s – master bedroom (see cable marking) + family room fireplace + family room wall between windows
• Basement divide wall by return vent not secured to floor.
• Framing/toe nailing between loft and bedrooms #3 & 4 very loose
• Laundry room drain pipe visible in garage – not connected anywhere?
• At least one hanger not nailed in – can’t recall location, maybe stairwell?
• Last extra outlet needs to go high up in the mudroom closet - to power the TV components Guardian is wiring for in there. 

Exterior

• Front of house - roof soffits on both sides are unattached and short.
• Hose bibs are on both sides of house, rather than opposite front and back corners as explained at pre-construction meeting. Can we have one installed on the front near the garage?
• House wrap at back left corner (near morning room) worn through.

After our PM and the trainee left, our Guardian rep. took over (he had been lurking). We didn't get much with them, so it went fairly smoothly. We walked through and picked locations for cable outlets in the basement, family room, study, the bedrooms, and the loft. Placed 2 data outlets, some other crap (something about routers), and confirmed that we wanted the wireless connections for the TV components installed in the mudroom closet.  He was helpful in making recommendations and having us think long-term about which way beds would likely face, where a desk would be, etc. etc. He explained that Guardian would be back out 2-3 weeks before pre-settlement walkthrough to make sure their wiring was in and correct, and gave us some paperwork to that effect. Seemed straight-forward, but I was pretty fried at that point, and probably wasn't listening very well.

This weekend, the nitty-gritty packing gets underway. We're taking small trips over to our storage unit to clear out the house as much as possible now, and hopefully save ourselves a little money on move #1, coming up on July 13!

This is all feeling a little surreal.

The Guardian Meeting

Whoops. Just realized I never finished and posted this entry. Better late than never! What's frustrating is going back now and realizing that there is pretty much no pricing listed in their materials, just price ranges such as $95.00 - $3,995.00 for an"ON-Q Structured Wiring Center". How that's helpful to anyone, I have no idea. I realize after re-visiting this post, that a call/email to Guardian to get an itemized list of our purchases with pricing is in order.


Oh Howard. He tried to be a good salesman, I give him credit for that. He was definitely less slimy than I expected. As a former policeman/ pastor, I would hope that would be the case. The meeting took much longer than expected, mostly because he was "required" to walk us through the packet, focusing on the security offerings in detail, even when I said upfront that we weren't interested in a security system. I can see why many would be swayed to choose them.

Based on the horrifying online reviews of the shady sales tactics of Guardian, I decided no-go on the security system. I want one, and we'll get one, just not with them.

For your reference - pricing from the Guardian meeting packet: Base security package - "free" with $250 installation fee. Then there about 10 other add-on options including:

• Upgraded keypad
• Keyfob remote
• Wireless panic pendant for medical emergencies
• Local sensor contacts (door/window, etc.)
• Window contact switch
• Overhead garage door switch
• Glass breakage detector
• Smoke communicator
• Heat communicator
• Additional motion detectors
• Cell phone system access, etc. etc. etc.

These extra add-ons were offered free or at a decent price in various combos/packages; but we were't going to bite.

I'm unclear on the detail and pricing for other technical offerings including "ON-Q Structured Wiring Center", Home networking packages, intercom and camera systems, LyriQ whole house music from OnQ Legrand, surround sound pre-wiring, speakers, home theater packages, etc. etc.  While a built-in vacuum system sounds lovely, I can purchase a new Dyson for each floor and still have money left over for a cleaning lady for the $3-$6k quoted for that system.

We decided against mounting the TV over the fireplace, as I want a place to decorate, and didn't want to be limited by height/ TV interference. So, we had them add an internet jack and outlet on the inside wall where our TV will be placed. Then hubs decided he didn't want to have a big console full of components under the TV, so he elected to pay the $X charge to have the wiring for the components moved to the mud-room closet. I'm not 100% sold on the idea, but there you have it. You can't interfere with a man and his football-obsession.

2 phone jacks and 2 cable jacks come "free" from Guardian. Howard did offer to mix and match those up with packages to find us the best price to get all the wiring we wanted. I give him credit for that flexibility.

Ended up with (this is from fuzzy memory - none of this is documented in our paperwork):

1. A combo package of 4(?) 6(?) extra cable jacks - for each bedroom + loft + family room + basement + study. We were required to keep 1 phone jack from the free set, but the other was converted to a cable jack.
Price = $500-ish?

2. Behind-wall wiring for our family room TV components to the mudroom closet.
Price = $1,500-ish???

3. 2 extra outlets. I'm guessing one of these is designated for the mudroom closet components. The other one goes on the wall for the TV in the family room.
Price = $300-ish?

Total Guardian bill - $2,210

Tips: Review the packet in advance to save time in the meeting. Document your questions (likely many - the packet is VERY vague). If you aren't "techie", ask advice from a friend/family member/ co-worker that is. Hubs is pretty good at the techie stuff, consulted with a couple of really techie friends after the appointment and still was unclear on choices. I understand the benefits of wiring everything behind the walls now, truly. However, it's really hard to distinguish necessary versus silly fluff you can do yourself better/cheaper without Guardian.

Edits added 4/26 after SR pulled Guardian records from our file for us. Really doesn't help clarify much, huh? No locations for any of this are noted. Not sure what some of this is....remote, for instance? Grrr.

1 Basic Home Wiring Package - Standard Features (Telephone, Cable, Data) ($0)
4 Single Wall Plate Outlet - white ($0)
4 Cable ($95)
1 Basic Enclosure 20 ($0)

1 Smart Connections PREMIUM Package with router/switch ($1,140)
3 Included cable outlet
2 Included data outlet
1 - 4 Port Multi-Media outlet (1 cable, 2 data, 1 phone)

1 Single wall plate outlet - cable - white ($95)

1 High Speed Digital Flat Panel Prewire ($0)
1 Remote (High speed HDMI) ($665)
1 IR Repeater ($310)

110V outlet (x2) - ($250)