30 Day Check-Up with PM

So, as everyone knows, there's a 30 day visit you have with your PM to look at and fix issues, if any.

Our list was super small. 

1. Above the door to the study, there was a gap in the drywall (you could stick your finger through).
• PM mudded it and will come back on Friday to paint it
2. Some of the waterproofing on the front of the house looked like it pulled away.  My brother got a picture before they put the sod in.
• PM is going to check this.  If it's a major issue now, they will pull up our flower bed and fix it now.  If it's not, he said we might wait until the 1 year fix and check it again.
3. Soaking tub creaks - sounds like there's space between it and the concrete bed.
• PM looked at it through the access panel and sees the issue.  He is working to get it fixed because it shouldn't creak.
4. Overhead lights in the Family Room and Study are white and should be brushed nickel.
• PM is putting in a service ticket to have them replaced.

We are still waiting for our final exterior paint, but they are waiting until our sod gets rooted and we put the sprinklers away.  So yay for quick landscaping, but now I understand why they wait.

The Loft is now a Playroom!

We spent some time at IKEA this weekend and I put everything together Saturday night.  It was fun to wake up on Father's Day with a surprise for my son an then to watch both him and my husband play!

Here's the Before

And the After (curtains are closed because it was almost midnight!)

I still need to do wall decor, but at least his toys are accessible and out of boxes!!

 

 

Two Weeks Post-Move

Well, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but I have been busy.

Let me start with the move from hell.  My only advice is that if you are doing a multi state move, do the following:

1. Hire people to do everything for you.  Even if you are getting rid of most of your furniture and think you can pack and move yourself, you are wrong.
2. Leave the toddler with your parents while you finish packing and moving.  Or at least take him on a plane with you so he doesn't have to endure the ride after watching everything he knows and loves get packed into a moving truck.  (It wasn't that terrible, but it certainly would have been easier on all of us.)

My siblings did leave us some nice welcome gifts as surprises!

A tower of household items and a Dahlia plant

The world's biggest teddy bear that my son loves!

The day we moved in....

• We had movers come and unload the truck.  Saved my sanity because we were all tired from packing the truck and driving across 4 states the day and night before.
• Our landscaping got put in (The exterior paint touch up and caulking have had to wait because of this - don't want the scaffolding to mess up the sod.  Expect to get an update from our PM on Monday.)
• I had Guardian come out and set up the system.  Would have been fine, but a couple of the fire alarms got wired incorrectly so after 6 hours and replacing them with battery powered alarms (rather than tearing down the drywall), we had our security system up and running.
• Cable guy came and set up cable, phone and internet.

The next day, I tried to get my kitchen as functional as possible:

Before

After

Command Center

Big giant clock

As of today, I also now have my roman shades up in the morning room and 95% of my curtains up throughout the house.

Baby's room is basically unpacked (still need wall decor)

I'll post more pictures of the house as we get settled, get furniture, and get things put away.

Side Note - Ryan Homes customer service has been awesome.  We have had one problem with our dishwasher where water dripped out while it was running.  It is an issue with how the door sits and that it can move from side to side.  Our PM made an adjustment and told us to continue watching it.  If it continues, he will replace it.

Guess what got delivered today??!

 Yep, refrigerator, washer and dryer!!! 

 

 

Closing Day Updates

Closing Day was awesome! 

First, I got a call about 90 minutes before closing from our project manager.  I got super anxious, but it wasn't a big deal - he said our garage door was possessed!  He said it had opened itself about 3 feet overnight.  He checked to make sure someone didn't try and break in and then the door, apparently, decided to close itself.  He had already called the garage door company and they were coming over to fix it tomorrow (Thursday).

The actual closing ...
SO EASY!!!  We were there maybe 40 minutes.  Went through and signed everything, got our keys, cried my little tears, and rolled out!

We invited my family over to see the house afterward and had subs in the kitchen while our son ran like a maniac all over the house.  I think he's going to like it.

Observations:
1.  My 19 month old can open all the doors because they aren't knobs.  This will make my life painful.
2.  The powder room is tiny and when people wash their hands, you will get water splashes on the wall.  Here's hoping they dry okay.
3.  If you are particular about window coverings, the windows measure 88 inches from the floor to 4 inches above the window (where you would normally hang a rod.  Curtains are made in an 84 or a 95 inch length, not 88.  I am opting to go with 84 length and will mount the rod closer to the window and the curtains will hang 1-2 inches above the floor.  If you like the puddle type curtains, 95 is an excellent length.
4.  If your exterior has not been painted yet, then your windows have not been caulked either.  They will be caulked - no need to call your PM....I did that for you!

Pre-Settlement Walkthrough Pictures

Pre-Settlement Walkthrough went really well today.  I had a hard time listening because I wanted to look in my cabinets. I'll post more details later, but for now, here are the pictures:

Kitchen (Stove and flooring!!)

Powder Room

Mud Room (and part of the powder room)

View from Front Door

View of Front Door from the stairs

Study

Dining Room

Family Room

Finished Basement

Inner Workings

Basement Bathroom Rough-In

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Bedroom #2

Loft 

Bedroom #3 (apparently I didn't get a picture!)

Upstairs Bathroom

View down the stairs

 

Week 14 - It is finished!!!

Well, our house is finished!  We got a mailbox and a driveway this week.  

On Monday, we are doing our pre-settlement walk through and this will be the first time I've seen the house since our pre drywall walk through.  Yes, there will be tears.

Closing is on Wednesday and then it's finally time for our long awaited cross-state move.

I'll be back with pictures from the walk through and will keep you updated on the move.

 

Week 13 - Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I'm so excited!!!!

We received our last update from our project manager on Saturday.  I say last because he likes to save all of his thunder for the pre-settlement walkthrough, which will be happening next Monday!!!!

So the work that was done last week and over the weekend was small, but significant.

• Trim carpenter came and did his punch outs and corrections
• Mechanical contractors installed all the finish items (toilets, lights, etc.)
• Drywall touch ups
• Carpet installation
• Stone work.... YESSSS!!!
• Siding completed over the weekend
• Shutters, trims and gutters

The Loft 

The Stone

And then this....

  

Next week, we go do our pre-settlement walkthrough on Monday and then we close on Wednesday.  We are "this" close!!!