Saturday, July 6, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Roof and Windows In!
We got another couple pictures of our house today. The roof is on and windows are in!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Walls Up!
Walls are up on the house! Here is the latest picture from our Sales Rep.
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| First Floor and most of the second floor complete. |
Aerial Photos
My friend who is building in the same neighborhood took some pictures when he flew over our houses. (He has a plane, he isn't a bird or Superman).
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| View from the North. Our house is in the lower right corner. |
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| View from the South. Our house is in the top middle of the picture. |
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Foundation Going In!
Our first picture of progress on our home! Here is a blurry photograph of our foundation being put in.
They must think we're good for the money...
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| Foundation Before Brick |
They must think we're good for the money...
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Pre-construction Meeting and Tentative Timeline
We had our pre-construction meeting on Thursday, June 13th. I was the only one that could attend, so I had a massive list of questions compiled from my wife, my dad, my brother-in-law, and my research.
The meeting went very well, going through all of our options, the house layout, flood levels, and more. Between all the briefed items I had the chance to ask all of my questions. I had many of my outstanding (and they were outstanding) questions answered, with the majority being "good answers".
Our Project Manager seems to be very competent and flexible. We're putting in a deck later, so he is putting in the foundation where the deck supports will eventually go. He was also amenable to insulation before drywall. Thanks to other blogs for the tip.
The most important information I got from the meeting was our (tentative) timeline!
Our house should start construction tomorrow, 17 June. We are supposed to have our final walkthrough on September 10th, and settle on September 12th!
The meeting went very well, going through all of our options, the house layout, flood levels, and more. Between all the briefed items I had the chance to ask all of my questions. I had many of my outstanding (and they were outstanding) questions answered, with the majority being "good answers".
Our Project Manager seems to be very competent and flexible. We're putting in a deck later, so he is putting in the foundation where the deck supports will eventually go. He was also amenable to insulation before drywall. Thanks to other blogs for the tip.
The most important information I got from the meeting was our (tentative) timeline!
Our house should start construction tomorrow, 17 June. We are supposed to have our final walkthrough on September 10th, and settle on September 12th!
Flooring and Bathroom Selections
On June 1st we had our Flooring and Bathroom appointment at Advanced Flooring & Design in Richmond. Going into the meeting, we knew most of the items we wanted. Based on the upgrades we wanted and our friends who just went through the process, we were also prepared to have to pay more than our Sales Rep allocated.
Even with telling our Sales Rep most of the details for our flooring, he was significantly low on his estimate (word of warning). He allocated $6280 for: Hardwood in Kitchen, Morning Room, Dining Room and Foyer, and Tile in bathrooms and laundry room. I planned for at least a $5,000 "buffer" due to any additions. With our modifications, our true total was $13,820!
Here were our selections. Note the cabinet in the pictures is Wyoming Cherry Bordeaux, not Cherry Java like we selected. The showroom did not yet have the Java cabinet display.
Monday, June 3, 2013
14 Day Appointment Selections
Our 14 day appointment was on May 25th. When we got there we learned with the post May 15th changes, there were more cabinet colors than we knew of previously. For the highest tier (Portfolio Select), there are now the following options:
- Wyoming Cherry Spice
- Wyoming Cherry Java (new. Replaced Bordeaux)
- Rushmore Painted Maple Linen (new)
- Rushmore Painted Maple Butterscotch Glaze
- Rushmore Painted Maple Hazelnut Glaze (new)
A combined image of the five different colors from the Timberlake site:
Appliance Details
I'll try to keep this short with as much value as possible.
When preparing for your 14 day, get a list of the appliances from your SR. It will show you color, level names, model number, and Ryan code. Don't wait till your 14 day to have to make a quick decision. You'll be cooking a lot so it is an important decision. If you don't cook, and just use the oven to store your shoes (like my wife when she was single), just get the cheapest option. Nothing to see here.
Appliance options change, but this was the current list when we went through it (Appliance Packages 2012). This is only the standalone ranges, since the separate option was quite a bit more expensive and we ruled it out.
When preparing for your 14 day, get a list of the appliances from your SR. It will show you color, level names, model number, and Ryan code. Don't wait till your 14 day to have to make a quick decision. You'll be cooking a lot so it is an important decision. If you don't cook, and just use the oven to store your shoes (like my wife when she was single), just get the cheapest option. Nothing to see here.
Appliance options change, but this was the current list when we went through it (Appliance Packages 2012). This is only the standalone ranges, since the separate option was quite a bit more expensive and we ruled it out.
Research Before the 14 Day Appointment
I'm still catching up on posts. I blame it on being busy with grad school and laziness. Probably more laziness.
We had our 14 Day appointment (on our 13th day) on May 25th. After our whirlwind build decision, we took the time to really research (read: overkill) into all the options, selections, colors, tips, tricks, and regrets of other people. If you can have other people make mistakes for you, why not? Or to be more politically correct, "personal choices that we would not choose, but you are a great person and we still like you".
Here's the bottom line. Before your 14 day (and flooring), you will spend much of your free time debating options. Without even considering structural changes, this includes: appliances, extra electrical outlets, water bibs, extra light fixtures, ceiling fan rough ins, kitchen islands, et cetera. My wife spent many a night after our children were asleep staring at a blog, Pinterest, websites, and more.
We had our 14 Day appointment (on our 13th day) on May 25th. After our whirlwind build decision, we took the time to really research (read: overkill) into all the options, selections, colors, tips, tricks, and regrets of other people. If you can have other people make mistakes for you, why not? Or to be more politically correct, "personal choices that we would not choose, but you are a great person and we still like you".
Here's the bottom line. Before your 14 day (and flooring), you will spend much of your free time debating options. Without even considering structural changes, this includes: appliances, extra electrical outlets, water bibs, extra light fixtures, ceiling fan rough ins, kitchen islands, et cetera. My wife spent many a night after our children were asleep staring at a blog, Pinterest, websites, and more.
Monday, May 27, 2013
The Latest on Ryan and Timberlake Cabinets
Before I purchase anything, I research. A lot. That trend continued for this house, options, and cabinets. For the cabinets, I checked into model homes, what Ryan offered, and details from the manufacturer, Timberlake Cabinets.
The first and most essential step in starting the research process is to get any and all information from your Sales Representative. They will often have a "Out of Town" packet of information. Get everything emailed or shared on Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar services. You can save them a lot of emailing trouble with the Dropbox method.
Returning to cabinets, the first document I looked at was the Kitchen and Bath selling sheets for the cabinets. The first tier was eliminated immediately due to color. I'm sure they do this to up-sell you to the higher tiers. That left the second and third rows seen below.
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The first and most essential step in starting the research process is to get any and all information from your Sales Representative. They will often have a "Out of Town" packet of information. Get everything emailed or shared on Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar services. You can save them a lot of emailing trouble with the Dropbox method.
Returning to cabinets, the first document I looked at was the Kitchen and Bath selling sheets for the cabinets. The first tier was eliminated immediately due to color. I'm sure they do this to up-sell you to the higher tiers. That left the second and third rows seen below.
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Sunday, May 26, 2013
Lot Selection
Continuing to catch up on posts.
Lot selection was tough, mainly because there were so few lots left in our community. There were three main locations still available that we looked at. The first was right across from an entrance road (headlights), so we eliminated that one. The next was oriented with evening sun in the kitchen. My wife didn't like that, so that was ruled out. That left a plot on a cul-de-sac and another lot with the same orientation on a different street.
Lot selection was tough, mainly because there were so few lots left in our community. There were three main locations still available that we looked at. The first was right across from an entrance road (headlights), so we eliminated that one. The next was oriented with evening sun in the kitchen. My wife didn't like that, so that was ruled out. That left a plot on a cul-de-sac and another lot with the same orientation on a different street.
Model Selection and the Permit Special
In our community, the model home is a 'Verona', which is nice, but much more expansive than we really need. It also doesn't add any more rooms or features for all the extra space. The other models were much pricier, and we didn't like them anyway. Enter the 'Ravenna'.
With our timeline, we weren't sure if we would have a place to move directly to when we moved in September. Trying to get a house built in that short a time seemed impossible, so we were expecting to have to buy a house that didn't have what we wanted or have to build and have it take months longer than we desired. With that problem: Enter the 'Permit Special'.
With our timeline, we weren't sure if we would have a place to move directly to when we moved in September. Trying to get a house built in that short a time seemed impossible, so we were expecting to have to buy a house that didn't have what we wanted or have to build and have it take months longer than we desired. With that problem: Enter the 'Permit Special'.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Deciding to Build
We didn't plan to buy a house, or even build for that matter.
I'm in the Army, and coming up on orders, I didn't know where I was going next. This compacted our timeline considerably. When I finally found out, we didn't hesitate to find a place to live; going to scope out Richmond and the areas north of Fort Lee the next day.
Things changed after we saw what our rental dollars would get us. We looked at rentals in South Richmond, Chester, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell. We weren't too impressed with the houses. We could buy for the same price as renting.
I'm in the Army, and coming up on orders, I didn't know where I was going next. This compacted our timeline considerably. When I finally found out, we didn't hesitate to find a place to live; going to scope out Richmond and the areas north of Fort Lee the next day.
Things changed after we saw what our rental dollars would get us. We looked at rentals in South Richmond, Chester, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell. We weren't too impressed with the houses. We could buy for the same price as renting.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Starting a Blog and the Story so Far
I've never done a blog, but I've read plenty of them.
After reading many home building blogs, I decided to start one as well. My wife thought it would be a good idea to document our progress (or issues), be nice to look back upon, and let our friends and family see progress as it occurs.
Other blogs have also been a great resource, so in an attempt to help the next family, I'll try to post some of the tips and tricks I've learned and the latest information from Ryan and their related companies.
To catch everyone up, we've completed the following items:
I'll do separate blog posts to explain each of these so it's more logically organized.
After reading many home building blogs, I decided to start one as well. My wife thought it would be a good idea to document our progress (or issues), be nice to look back upon, and let our friends and family see progress as it occurs.
Other blogs have also been a great resource, so in an attempt to help the next family, I'll try to post some of the tips and tricks I've learned and the latest information from Ryan and their related companies.
To catch everyone up, we've completed the following items:
- Selected a community: Mount Blanco near Richmond, VA
- Selected a Model: Ravenna
- Selected Structural items
- Signed Contract
- Complete Mortgage application
I'll do separate blog posts to explain each of these so it's more logically organized.
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