Like...I LOVE our house. I'm really, really happy that we built with Ryan. And I'm so happy that it worked out for us to move into the neighborhood that we did. It is so beautiful and full of some really wonderful families!
So far the house has been chilly...but that's because my crazy husband keeps the heat at 63 freaking degrees in the dead of winter. No lie. We fight daily about it. A constant war of him turning it to 63 and me turning it to 68. Either way, heat bills have been good. So have the electric bills. And water.
I love my master bathroom with the closet in it. LOVE. Some people think its weird...I don't. I enjoy not leaving my bathroom until I am fully dressed and ready for the day!
I love my big a$$ kitchen. Is it the biggest kitchen in the world? Probably not? But its one of the biggest and most spacious kitchens I've ever known! I only wish I'd though to have gotten double ovens or something. I didn't realize I'd have the space for something that cool. But let's be honest. I'll probably never cook THAT much where it would be handy to have double ovens.
We are still waiting on our tub to be fixed. The person from the tub manufacturer is working on this in 2 steps. She's fairly certain that she'll be able to fix it completely. We'll see once step 2 in complete!
Our baby in the body cast is doing pretty well considering she's 16 months old and in a body cast. Her leg is healing very well and we're anxious to get that darn thing off! 15 more days. Not that I have a countdown or anything like that. If you'd like to follow her story and recovery (and just our family craziness in general!) click here.
There are only 2 lots left in the first phase of our street and WOW did Ryan slash the prices!! Holy cow. I'll be honest that for about 3 minutes I seriously considered putting my house up for sale (you know...the one we just built and moved into in October???) and building 4 lots down and upgrading the crap out of the new house. We'd end up paying the same amount! But that's just me being nutty. Don't worry Project Manager Mike and Sales Agent Mike!!! I won't do that to you guys :) Remember...I love my house!
In case anyone is curious...a few projects we have on our To-Do list for the house...some we'll get to this year. Some next year. Some a long time from now :) Some are things I wish we had done when we were building!!
- PAINT! I wish this had been an option when we were building. I hate painting! And I stink at picking out paint colors. I am so hiring someone.
- landscaping - this will be challenging. My hubby thinks we can do it ourselves. I'm a perfectionist and want it done right so I say no. I'll let you know who wins (and when!)
- deck or patio in the back - as much as I'd like one this summer, I think it might be next summer.
- fence (we're waiting to see what our new neighbors do first! they have a dog! maybe they'll put a fence up first!)
- finish the basement
- put some sort of stone or brick on the front of the house - I really wish we had done this during the building process just to jazz it up a little.
-distressed hardwood floors in the entryway
-tile floors in the upstairs bathrooms
- put in a storm door
- add AC (we are in the process of this right now. KILLER deal! $2000!!!)
- close off our formal living room and put in french doors (hoping to get this done soon within the year - this is something I really wish I had remembered to do when we were building!)
-change out the basic light fixtures that came with the house
-add ceiling fans in the bedrooms
- pool - eventually I'd like our backyard to look like some sort of oasis :)
We have a lot on our plates, huh? It never ends I guess - even when it is a brand new house! I'm willing to bet we'll have our hands full this summer getting our lawn in good shape as well!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tub Update
Tub Update: Our PM has a person who works for the tub manufacturer to come take a look at our tub and fix it. We'll see how that works and go from there.
This blog might be a quieter than usual for the next few weeks. Our 16 month old baby fell and broke her femur and is in a body cast for 4-5 weeks. You can read the story HERE
This blog might be a quieter than usual for the next few weeks. Our 16 month old baby fell and broke her femur and is in a body cast for 4-5 weeks. You can read the story HERE
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Family picture taken with Santa at a neighborhood party last night! Merry Christmas everyone!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tub Update
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the actual cracks (why on earth I didn't take any with my regular camera is beyond me! I took a few with my camera phone). But here are pictures of our garden tub and the fixes. I need to talk to my PM because I'm just not feeling comfortable with the way it turned out. You can see where the cracks were. When it was fixed, the person who fixed it wasn't able to use the power buffer for some reason and it just doesn't look right. I'm bummed because this tub was one of our upgrades.
They think what happened was that the tub was a tight fit in the spot it was put in and with the house settling, it caused the cracks. IF the tub is replaced, I have no idea how they'll do it. There is no way to get the same tub we have now. With the house finished, it is way to big to get upstairs in the bathroom. It would have to be a 2-piece tub.
You can see the spots, right at the top of the picture in the middle and then in the lower left corner.
This one is at the back of the tub.
There were 2 more cracks, but you can't really see those spots. One was benind the shampoo and the other was right on the corner of the shelf.
They think what happened was that the tub was a tight fit in the spot it was put in and with the house settling, it caused the cracks. IF the tub is replaced, I have no idea how they'll do it. There is no way to get the same tub we have now. With the house finished, it is way to big to get upstairs in the bathroom. It would have to be a 2-piece tub.
You can see the spots, right at the top of the picture in the middle and then in the lower left corner.
This one is at the back of the tub.
There were 2 more cracks, but you can't really see those spots. One was benind the shampoo and the other was right on the corner of the shelf.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Cracked Tub
A bunch of stuff was fixed on Wednesday.
Imagine my surprise when on Thursday, my cleaning person came downstairs to ask me if I knew about the cracks in our shower/tub. WHAT?! No, I definitely didn't.
So, I went up there to check it out and sure enough, there were 5 cracks in our tub! And they were decent sized cracks. They had to have happened sometime between Wednesday and Thursday - I definitely would've notice them.
We called our project manager and he was really surprised - and was confused about how something like that could happen. He has never experienced that before! We're thinking that maybe the tub was a really tight fit and with the house settling, the pressure caused the cracks. Someone came out right away on Friday to fix it and luckily the cracks didn't go all the way through to the red fiberglass (or whatever it is). So I guess that is a good thing?
Our PM stopped by to check on how the fixes were going (sidenote: all the people who have come to fix our house so far have been SUPER nice!) and I did talk to him about my concerns. I am worried - what if our tub keeps cracking like this? That SUCKS!! And I don't want to have to replace our tub in a few years, you know? Our PM assured me that they will take care of things - IF we get anymore they will have the manufacturer come take a look at it and we'll go from there.
Oh and something interesting I was told - apparently our tub is so big, we couldn't get a new one! They can't get it in the house because it is so big! That worries me a little bit too...what do we do if we need to get a new one? I guess it comes in pieces or something. I'll keep you updated..
Imagine my surprise when on Thursday, my cleaning person came downstairs to ask me if I knew about the cracks in our shower/tub. WHAT?! No, I definitely didn't.
So, I went up there to check it out and sure enough, there were 5 cracks in our tub! And they were decent sized cracks. They had to have happened sometime between Wednesday and Thursday - I definitely would've notice them.
We called our project manager and he was really surprised - and was confused about how something like that could happen. He has never experienced that before! We're thinking that maybe the tub was a really tight fit and with the house settling, the pressure caused the cracks. Someone came out right away on Friday to fix it and luckily the cracks didn't go all the way through to the red fiberglass (or whatever it is). So I guess that is a good thing?
Our PM stopped by to check on how the fixes were going (sidenote: all the people who have come to fix our house so far have been SUPER nice!) and I did talk to him about my concerns. I am worried - what if our tub keeps cracking like this? That SUCKS!! And I don't want to have to replace our tub in a few years, you know? Our PM assured me that they will take care of things - IF we get anymore they will have the manufacturer come take a look at it and we'll go from there.
Oh and something interesting I was told - apparently our tub is so big, we couldn't get a new one! They can't get it in the house because it is so big! That worries me a little bit too...what do we do if we need to get a new one? I guess it comes in pieces or something. I'll keep you updated..
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Fixes and other ramblings...
I'm happy to report that we were able to schedule our fixes! In fact, our project manager and crew are at our house working as we speak. You know, I was worried that maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist and being overly picky about things, but my husband told me that our project manager even acknowledged that a few things, like the trim work, should have been cleaned up much better than it was.
We're very fortunate that there were no major issues with our house. And I feel confident that our home is structurally sound! Which, to me, is the most important thing. We recently had a get together with a bunch of our new neighbors. Our neighborhood is interesting because it was started by 1 builder and is now being finished by Ryan. The original builder is a well known local builder, but they are EXPENSIVE! For example, we ended up paying approximately $270,000 (we actually PAID less with the incentives, but on paper that is the estimate) for our approximately 2760 sq ft (I think? pretty close...), 4 bedroom home. A friend of ours built a 1800 sq ft home in a different neighborhood with this other builder and they paid $250,000 for their house! Can you believe it? And no, they did not get a lot of upgrades. They also had to arrange for their lawn to be hydroseeded (Ryan takes care of this) - and from what I've heard that is a major pain in the rear end! Our neighbors who have built with the other builder do like their homes, but have definitely had some issues with the builder. It sounds like no builder is perfect, but we definitely got the most bang for our buck!
An interesting thing I found out this past weekend...did you know that when you go to a Ryan development to select a home to build, you aren't limited to the homes listed for that neighborhood?? I did not know that! Apparently, they come up with a list of homes that fit the lots the best, but if they can fit it and you can pay for it, they'll build it. I found this out because a house was started a couple of months ago and it's a ranch - we were so confused beacuse there were no ranches as options for the neighborhood! One of the neighbors went and asked the sales rep at the model about it and that's what he found out. Now, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have still gone with the Ravenna - we got a great deal on our house! But definitely interesting that you actually do have more options!
Oh and I WISH my husband had taken a picture of the blue tape markings I put up. We were supposed to mark any fixes needed with blue tape and let's just say, I got a little blue tape happy. I was in a crabby mood last night and taking it out on the tape - LOL. Jeff busted out laughing when he saw my handy work!
We're very fortunate that there were no major issues with our house. And I feel confident that our home is structurally sound! Which, to me, is the most important thing. We recently had a get together with a bunch of our new neighbors. Our neighborhood is interesting because it was started by 1 builder and is now being finished by Ryan. The original builder is a well known local builder, but they are EXPENSIVE! For example, we ended up paying approximately $270,000 (we actually PAID less with the incentives, but on paper that is the estimate) for our approximately 2760 sq ft (I think? pretty close...), 4 bedroom home. A friend of ours built a 1800 sq ft home in a different neighborhood with this other builder and they paid $250,000 for their house! Can you believe it? And no, they did not get a lot of upgrades. They also had to arrange for their lawn to be hydroseeded (Ryan takes care of this) - and from what I've heard that is a major pain in the rear end! Our neighbors who have built with the other builder do like their homes, but have definitely had some issues with the builder. It sounds like no builder is perfect, but we definitely got the most bang for our buck!
An interesting thing I found out this past weekend...did you know that when you go to a Ryan development to select a home to build, you aren't limited to the homes listed for that neighborhood?? I did not know that! Apparently, they come up with a list of homes that fit the lots the best, but if they can fit it and you can pay for it, they'll build it. I found this out because a house was started a couple of months ago and it's a ranch - we were so confused beacuse there were no ranches as options for the neighborhood! One of the neighbors went and asked the sales rep at the model about it and that's what he found out. Now, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have still gone with the Ravenna - we got a great deal on our house! But definitely interesting that you actually do have more options!
Oh and I WISH my husband had taken a picture of the blue tape markings I put up. We were supposed to mark any fixes needed with blue tape and let's just say, I got a little blue tape happy. I was in a crabby mood last night and taking it out on the tape - LOL. Jeff busted out laughing when he saw my handy work!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
30 day meeting???
Things are going well so far. No major issues to report! I do have some concerns though - namely the 30 day follow up...or lack thereof. It isn't a huge deal, but I am a little disappointed. My husband ended up having to contact our project manager to set it up - and our PM just ended up stopping by on a whim and going through the house with my husband when I wasn't home. Not exactly what I had in mind. And nothing that was pointed out has been fixed.
A few things:
- we have some concerns about the water pressure in the upstairs bathroom. It is very low. Fine everywhere else.
- front door, pillars, garage door all need a 2nd coat of paint and touch ups.
- there is a spot on our stairs where the stain got messed up - that needs fixing.
- there are a few areas where the trim/drywall looks ridiculous. I'll have to take a picture of the one spot in particular. It has been driving me crazy.
- there is a piece of floor molding that wasn't nailed down where the sliding glass door is
it is all stuff that isn't a HUGE deal, but 1) I would've liked some notice on when our meeting was going to be so I could make sure I had a detailed list (especially if I wasn't going to be there). 2) I wish we were getting better information about what will be fixed and when.
Other than that, we've gotten our first heating bill - very pleased! It was pretty much the same as at our old house! The snow and wind have been crazy the last week or so and I haven't felt a single draft and barely heard the wind!
A few things:
- we have some concerns about the water pressure in the upstairs bathroom. It is very low. Fine everywhere else.
- front door, pillars, garage door all need a 2nd coat of paint and touch ups.
- there is a spot on our stairs where the stain got messed up - that needs fixing.
- there are a few areas where the trim/drywall looks ridiculous. I'll have to take a picture of the one spot in particular. It has been driving me crazy.
- there is a piece of floor molding that wasn't nailed down where the sliding glass door is
it is all stuff that isn't a HUGE deal, but 1) I would've liked some notice on when our meeting was going to be so I could make sure I had a detailed list (especially if I wasn't going to be there). 2) I wish we were getting better information about what will be fixed and when.
Other than that, we've gotten our first heating bill - very pleased! It was pretty much the same as at our old house! The snow and wind have been crazy the last week or so and I haven't felt a single draft and barely heard the wind!
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