And the roof has hair

Drove by the house again today-and they shingled the roof!  They also had some interesting items in the garage.  I knew it couldn't be my appliances but as fate would have it- my PM texted to me to tell me what was going on.  I think he was driving behind me this morning when I stopped by.

Isn't my foyer window pretty> 

Another look at those darn broken windows and my handsome study window

The final word from the PM is that framing has been completed, HVAC started today and we can expect the plumbers on Monday.  He also wanted to schedule our pre- dry wall for next Thursday.  So yes we are moving right along.
As a matter of fact- I noticed my Savoy neighbor got her lumber today.  My little community is filling up fast!

They move fast!

A couple of posts ago, I predicted that RH would have a lot more framing done.  Well in less than a week they have ALL the framing done- or at least it appears so.  I was quite surprised when we drove up and saw this

I was expecting some of the second floor to be completed but wow!  So get ready, it's framework pics time

Morning Room 

Family Room with Fireplace

Living Room with Bay window

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 3

Master Bath

Soaking Tub- can't wait for to "test" this!

Walk in closet

Bedroom 4

Master Bedroom

Rec Room (Finished Basement)

Foyer

View from Study- my husband loves his window

Now for the slightly troublesome spots.  Some of these things I am not too worry about as I was told beforehand that these things may happen, I still feel like its such a waste!  Others I will let my inspector tell me if  I should be ticked off or not:

Maybe it won't matter but you would think they would be a little more careful 

Broken windows- I wonder how much I would save on the house if they were just a little more careful 

Did Superman hammer these nails in? Geez!

After sneaking in to view our home (our PM said we needed him to view the house- pluuuh eeeezzz!) we stopped by the model home to ask a few questions.  Are we still scheduled to close in March?  Yep! (we still need this time to collect all the closing costs).   My husband thinks our kitchen is small compared to the model.  Is it?  Nope!  Optical illusion. Our home will be about 500 sq ft larger than the Ravenna and that includes a longer kitchen and a deeper morning room.  Check again when the drywall is up and again once the cabinets are in place.  

They are moving so fast on our house, we must be the only thing going in town (neighborhood).  Wrong again.  The foundation is up for a Savoy (drove past her checking out her foundation today) and the forms are in place for another home (I think its a Ravenna).  Plus the stakes have been placed for yet another lot.  And we still don't know when the other Courtland Gate will break ground.  

I did forget to ask one question- what is the current popular model in the community?  Or the percentages of each?  I would like live in a neighborhood that has lots of variety.

All in all, I am quite pleased with the progress.  We should be getting a call for our pre drywall walk thru pretty soon. 

As a side note, I took my mom on a tour of the Courtland Gate model in Williamsburg.  This model is built pretty much like our home minus the second bath in bedroom #2.  She loved it but did point out a few things- why is there carpet in the exercise room/ crafting room? Answer- I honestly did not think about getting the vinyl in this room.  That's okay- we can change it later and maybe I can find some of that nice vinyl that looks like hardwood.  

Be wary of the laundry room upstairs.  There is a greater potential for leakage and damage to the floor and thus the ceiling of the first floor.  

Lastly, though she liked the foyer, she would like to see the stairs set off to the side so that when you open the front door that's not the first thing you see.  Duly noted but it's too late now.

While there the sales rep tried to entice my mother into buying a home.  So we toured a couple of quick sales and a model that was breathtaking.  Ryan Homes has changed the definition of a rancher home for me.  If you ever get a chance, check out the Sumner.  Beautiful open layout, gorgeous kitchen and master bath and wonderfully expansive basement make this a viable option for any family.  If you are into opulence then the Ellington is a must see.  The online pics do not do this home justice.  I did take a video of the Ellington but with my kids in tow you mostly see my oldest jumping into the frame and me yelling at my youngest to quite touching stuff, its not a vid I will post here, or anywhere, lol. 

Happy Holidays 2014

Just wanted to take a moment to wish Happy Holidays to one and all.  The last few months have been busy for us and it's guaranteed to be more exciting in the new year.  I am so thankful to have this opportunity to be at this point in my life.  I have a wonderful husband and gorgeous boys.  That's all I really need but low and behold I am on the cusp of building a wonderful new home for my family.  I can't help but feel blessed.
Here's to you and your family and may this time of year find you surrounded with love.

First Floor Framework

As promised, I drove out to the home site get more pics and even more frame work was completed.  In fact, there were workers there on a Sunday completing my bay window.  I still didn't get in their way but I definitely got out the car, and walk around the house.  I even smiled and waved to give them the idea "Hey, she sure is nice!".   I suspect that the second floor will be complete by the time we get back from our Christmas voyage to VA.
But on to the more important stuff:  FRAMEWORK PICS!

Living Room Side with Bay Window

Dining Room 

Study

Living Room and Foyer

Garage 

Garage

starting to see how some windows get broken so easily

Family Room 

The big square in the middle- Fireplace 

Tunnel shot

After taking the pics, I stopped by the model home to talk to my SR.  The Courtland Gate across from us is still in the mortgage phase- and I thought my people were slow.  The SR confirmed they just dropped off  their down payment yesterday.  She also informed me that she just finished writing a contract for another Courtland Gate- this one  is only 1 door down from the CG across from me.   The home sites are filling in quite nicely and I suspect by spring the community will be 75% sold.  

If this is the case- I hope that they actually pave the trail by then- the muddy boys story my neighbor to the left told me, is just making me cringe! 

The Wish List Grows

I really need to stop reading other blogs- I get way too many ideas!  At  this rate I will need to hit Powerball or Mega Millions really soon.

One of the DIY projects that I really want (and that I felt Ryan overpriced) is under cabinet lighting.  I briefly looked a puck lighting but decided to hold off exploring any more products until we officially moved into the home.  That was until I read another blog where they switched out their heat registers (totally copying this) and installed decorative switch plates.  Being the nosy curious person that I am I decided to take a look at the link that they provided.  What they did NOT say is that this company provides a modular under cabinet lighting system that can expand your outlets, add usb ports and even digital music connect.  What I like best is all the DIY videos for their products and the total walk thru of how to plan and install the product.  They even let you use a program to figure out the best configuration for your space.  My hypothetical configuration costs about $229 vs the $995 RH would have charged JUST for lights

Another blogger got quite a shock when speaking to their former PM about 30 day repair work.  In their discussion about scheduling time frames to repair squeaks or some other such thing, the PM casually told them not worry about being at the house- he STILL HAD THE KEY!  So we are going to do as they suggested and re key our locks.  That was until I came across this fancy contraption 

Yep- you too can have a key less entry to your home with Kwik Set Smart Key.  I am normally not a fan of punching in numbers to unlock stuff- but this somehow got my attention.  I guess I just imagine a way for my kids to get in if they lose their key at school or on the playground or some other such place.  And the fact that it's not too pricey (okay this one is pricey but matches all my hardware) and another easy DIY makes it even better.

Back to the blogger who switched out their heat registers- yeah I researched that too and again  I can have it match my hardware- but this I will definitely hold off until we do some brainstorming with an interior designer.

 I hope my husband plans on bringing in more cash in 2015, this stuff is adding up.  

Frame Me

Yes! Yes!  Yes!  The framing of the Courtland Gate at lot 14 has begun.  As per usual, I took these pics on zoom to stay out of the way of the workers.  Sometime this weekend I will take some true close ups

In other news- I was taking a look at my exterior color choices again (this obsession is unreal) and I JUST realized they actually give you color choices if you want your shutters and your door to match.  Long story short- I could have had my red door!  If kicking myself would help- I would do  that, smh.  The one thing I am not thrilled with during this whole process is the hurry up and make decisions and then we will make you wait a bit.  There are a couple of  things that I would have chosen differently if given the time: 

1.  I might have asked for special permission to build a Jefferson Square.  I love the CG but the Jefferson would have allowed us to add a 5th bedroom and incorporated  a Jack and Jill (or in my case a Jack and Jack) bathroom like my boys wanted.  In addition, I could have had a walk in pantry and an extended mudroom. 

2.  If they had said no to the Jefferson, I would have added the second bath to bedroom #2 at first build.

3.  I would have definitely gotten my red door!

Am I regretting purchasing the Courtland Gate? NO!  I am sure I will love my new home- but its the what ifs that always nag a person.  Who knows- maybe the universe knew that the Jack and Jill bathroom would be a horrible idea in 2 years, and food would have gone to waste if I had gotten that walk in pantry.  As for my red door- who knows what the universe was thinking on that one.  

Am the only one with the "What ifs'"?  Would you have chosen a different model?  Added something?  Put in a special request?  Chosen a different builder all together?   I can't be the only one whose thought these things. 

Morning Wood

Okay, I couldn't resist the 12 yo boy humor.

I am happy to announce that the lumber for my CG has arrived!

If you noticed- there are cement trucks out and about again at my lot.  My PM told me Friday that the foundation was complete,  I assumed that also included the basement slab.  So is this a repour?

And is this the guy in charge of my slab?  Dunno- but I doubt the framing will start today as predicted- can't frame on wet cement.