Pre-drywall Meeting

This went relatively well.  Paul walked me through the house and made sure all the outlets, switches, speaker controls, etc. are all located properly.  I noticed a few small fixes that he is going to take care of related to the sealing of small gaps in the framing.  Otherwise, all the insulation was in, the garage is fully insulated, and the only insulation left is the basement.  He said this would happen after they finish all the duct work down there.

Schedule

According to Paul, this is the current plan:

Today - 3rd Party and Town inspections before drywall.  This includes an inspection for the energy star rating.

Tomorrow - Drywall starts going up.  He said this is normally 10 days but the team is going to work to take time off this.

Before the week of October 6th - He is targeting the week of October 6th to have the lawn seeded, which means he needs to get the driveway, sidewalk and siding done before then.

Tentative Closing Date - October 28th

More progress

So, they have been working hard on the house this week.  We have the pre-drywall meeting scheduled for Monday 9/22.  So below is the progress.

Tuesday 9/16 Progress

I met with Paul at the house at lunch time and we went through my list of items to be fixed.  He agreed to pretty much everything and already had most of them on his list.  We also discussed schedule a little.  Things are coming together.  One interesting tidbit.  I asked about the 2nd floor laundry and why they didn't put in a drain pan and floor drain.  Paul said that they used to do that but had 2 problems:

1. Finding a drain pan that would fit and not get in the way of the dryer was a problem.
2. If people had a problem (i.e. leak) and the drain pan was ineffective, they would blame Ryan Homes.

Paul said that Ryan determined most washer problems actually stemmed from poor hoses and the best solution is not replace hoses regularly.  If the hose springs a leak, it is doubtful that it will all land in a drain tub.  So, Ryan no longer installs them in NY (not required by code either).

Paul also told me that even though we won't be closing til the end of October, they intend to grade and seed in the first week of October so it can establish itself before Winter.  Therefore, I need to give him some info on Monday, like where is the front flowerbed and landscaping going and where in the backyard to I want him to leave unseeded for us to install a pool.

Wednesday 9/17 Progress

The framers returned to fix everything before insulation goes in.  The last window was installed, all of the problem studs were replaced, etc.  they also lowered the breakfast bar as low as it could go while still allowing room for an outlet between the backsplash and the trim below the breakfast bar counter.

I also went by tonight and took pictures of every room of the house.  I have pictures showing where all plumbing, wiring and duct runs in the whole house.  These include ceiling pictures, etc.  Just in case I ever need them.   Took me about 2 hours to take all of the photos and another hour to label them all.

Thursday 9/18 Progress

The garage doors were installed today.  Looks a little more like a house.  One step closer to being completely locked out of the house.  Also, the tin work was dropped off for installing the furnace and ducts in the basement.

Friday 9/19 Progress

The insulation is going in today.  This morning one person came through and sealed every crack in the house with either caulk or spray foam.  This afternoon, all of the insulation should be going in (except for the 2nd floor ceiling which will be blown in the attic after sheetrock.

Here are a few pics:

Garage Floor

Front of the house with garage doors installed

Also, I believe our neighbors to the right, in the gray house, should have closed yesterday 9/18.  So I bet they start moving in this weekend.

A few days of work...

Thursday 9/11 Progress

The electricians returned and pulled all the wires for the first floor and the lead wires from the basement for all of the second floor circuits.  Also, the vent for the 2nd fan in the master bath was installed.  And last but not least, the concrete guys came and poured the front porch.

Friday 9/12 Progress

The electricians returned again and finished the 2nd floor 110 V wiring.  They also got the 1st floor low voltage wiring done.  The concrete guys were there again to prep the basement and garage floors for pouring, i.e. vapor barrier and rebar.

Monday 9/15 Progress

The electricians finished the low voltage wiring upstairs.  The concrete was poured for the basement and garage floors.  I appreciate the slope in the garage, 4" drop from back to front.  I also saw the project manager and scheduled a meeting with him for tomorrow to address some problems I have seen.  Most of them are due to sloppy work, i.e. cutting cross-members in walls to run duct work, but not adding strapping to add integrity back to the wall.   Also, my tankless hot water heater was delivered over the weekend.  My wife is looking forward to neverending hot showers (I am not looking forward to the bills).

I should have some more pictures tomorrow, as well as a better understanding of the upcoming schedule.

Update

I met with the electrician today and confirmed everything that I wanted installed.  This was a chance meeting as I was just dropping by.   I also ran into the Project Manager.  So here are some things I found out today:

1. The air ducts in the garage walls will see an additional bump out of studs around them to add insulation.  This is by design.
2. The drain pipe in the garage wall is supposed to be the vent pipe.  this will be fixed.
3. The soffit is going to be removed in the living room.
4. The HVAC guys forgot to put the 2nd vent in the master bathroom.
5. The electricians will be there today and then they may get interrupted by the concrete pour in the garage and basement.  This is up in the air.
6. I asked about a closing date and was told late October.  He said if he can, he will make up a few days.  Additionally, if we can do a walk through and close on the same day, he said we might be able to get it as early as October 24th.  I think if I keep on them with problems as I have been, a walk through and close in the same day may be possible.

Busy day

Well, after being told the roof would be done Friday and the basement and garage concrete would be done on Monday, I was not shocked to find that by the end of Monday, neither were done.  But today was a busy day at the house.  They had three sets of contractors there today.

Roof

The roof finally went on today which made me very happy because I was a little tired of the wood getting rained on since it has been sitting around for over a month.

 Roofers are finishing up

Rear roof is complete with the exception of cleaning off scrap.

Plumbing

The plumber ran most of the plumbing today with the exception of the water lines in the basement.  The drains were done, water was plumbed throughout the first and second floor.  The passive radon vent went in.  I only had one issue with the plumbing that I need to raise to the project manager.  I will point it out in the pictures below.  I was also happy because the main drain runs across the house right next to the I-beam, so if I ever want to finish down there, I can enclose both of them.

 Laundry Room

Shared wall between Master and 2nd bath

The passive radon duct run through the auir return chas 

2nd Bath tub

Master Bath Shower Pan

 Master Bath Tub

 Master Bath Throne Room

This picture shows one of the drains being run in the wall between the house and garage.  This is technically an outside wall since the garage isn't insulated.  I plan to discuss moving this pipe with the project manager

This is the main drain pipe run right along the I-beam

HVAC

The HVAC ducts were run to the 2nd floor and the holes were cut in the first floor, but no ducts were run in the basement yet.  I have a similar problem with the HVAC ducts in the garage wall as I had with the one drain pipe.  I will be speaking with the project manager to understand how he intends to fully insulate those ducts and wall cavities.

 

These are the jump ducts used to equalize the air between the bedrooms and the hallway.  I had them use jump ducts so you can't see through the walls where they would put the direct vent above the doors.  

 Stove and microwave vent

 Same picture as before but this time I am pointing out the ducts that are run in an external wall.  These need insulation which will not fit with the ducts in the wall.  They need to add framing and insulation on the outside of these ducts.  Another item to discuss with the project manager.

Funny thing is they new to insulate them when they are in the garage ceiling.

Same situation, different wall.  This is between the hallway and the garage.  Same discussion to be had with the project manager.

Same duct insulated in the garage ceiling. 

Cold air return in the kitchen.

This was unfortunate.  This was an empty cavity next to the pantry.  I was hoping it would stay empty and I could build in a decorative shelf.  Instead they ran a single HVAC duct through it.  Scrap that idea.

The empty soffit

As many people have stated in previous Milan blogs, the floors can be noisy.  I brought this up to the project manager at the pre-construction meeting and he had me speak with a service guy who happened to be there at the time.  The service manager informed me that some of the noise can come from soffits and that they had made design modifications to reduce the soffits, especially the one in the living room below the master bedroom.  Well, now that the plumbing and HVAC is in, I can see the soffit has no purpose.  It has nothing run in it.  So I will speak with the project manager to have it removed. See the empty soffit pics below.

Tomorrow

I honestly have no idea what the plan is for tomorrow.  But I will be contacting Paul (the project manager) about the items I saw today as well as about getting a final closing date.  I need to let my apartment complex know by the end of the week if I need to add November. 

Floorplan

I just wanted to post a few images of the floor plan for our model, including some of the options.

Basement

First Floor

Second Floor

Final Framing

So, the framers finished all the framing yesterday.  They finished the roof framing and sheathing, put the windows and doors in, and finished framing soffits, half walls, etc.  The only thing missing was  the window for the middle of the rear wall in the family room.  They roughed the window opening, but the window wasn't delivered so they have yet to put it in.  This is most likely because it was a non-standard option.  The next steps are to put the roof on which I was told would happen today or Monday.  Also, on Monday, the basement and garage floors are supposed to be poured.

Here are a few pictures after the framing was completed.

Above is the missing window in the middle of the back wall.

Two other small battles

I forgot to mention two other small battles that I had earlier in the build process (i.e. prior to the cracked foundation).  The first involved gutters and storm drains and the second involved trees.

Gutters and Storm Drains
When I was purchasing the home, I specifically asked Craig (salesperson) about whether the gutters were connected directly to the storm drains.  I had reason after having had water issues in multiple previous dwellings.  I was assured that yes they were.  Good.  However, once I arrived at the pre-construction meeting, I was informed that only the fronts were connected to the storm system and the rears were going to the yard.  Craig did inform the Paul (project manager) that he told me they would be connected.  Paul explained that the town wouldn't let them connect the rears to storm in the new phase.  A few days later, I decided to check with the town engineer.  I was informed that in fact they could be connected.  The confusion probably came from the fact that they were starting a new phase.  However the storm water management plan for that phase had been submitted with the previous phase and therefore was allowed to connect gutters to the storm system.  The next phase after ours, which is still being put together by the developer will need a new storm water management plan which will not allow connection of the gutters.  So, I called Paul and informed him of what the town engineer informed me.  He later met with the town engineer.  In the long run, my gutters are connected to the storm system.

Trees
Also during the sales process, I was given a sheet that stated the standard features of the new phase.  This included things like a standard landscape package, a mailbox, a light post, and two street trees.  When I drove through the neighborhood, I noticed that all the houses only had a single tree.  So I brought this up in pre-construction and was told I would get 1 tree.  I asked them to take out their standard features sheet and noted that it said 2 trees.  Well, I was informed that I would be getting two trees.  However, they did change the standard options sheet the next day.  what I find funny about it is that the town engineering department actually has a drawing showing the typical placement of two trees in the front yards of houses.  The drawing is located here: http://www.henrietta.org/index.php/engineering-documnets/details-details/miscellaneous-details-miscellaneous-details/83-m-5treelocation

Fast Framers

So, I was told that the framers would have the house up in 3 to 4 days max.  This is in spite of the fact that every house I had seen go up since I bought had taken at least 5 days, if not longer.  See for yourself.

August 29 - Framers start and have completed the first floor deck before quitting at lunch time to take an extended Labor day weekend.

September 2 - Framers have all the first floor walls in place and the 2nd floor joists in place.  Half of the d floor decking is also in place.

September 3 - Framers have the 2nd floor in place, all roof trusses placed, and the rear roof sheathing in place.

My best guess for the next two days this week:
Tomorrow 9/4  - Window sheathing complete, windows and doors installed.
Friday 9/5 - Roofing completed and possibly the basement and garage floors are poured.

I think they are pushing to get the floors poured so they can sit over a weekend.  As for floors and roofing on the same day, that was one of the ways they were hoping to gain back some time after the mistakes.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

As I said before, we are actually a ways into the build process, so I need to recap where we were....

July 14 - The whole was dug for the foundation

July 15 - The footer is poured

July 16 - The forms are up

July 17 - Foundation was poured

July 18 - Foundation is wrapped, water and sewer are plumbed in.

July 21 - Foundation is backfilled

July 22 - Electrical is run to the foundation and the meter box and panel are put in place.

Everything is put on hold until the lumber arrives.  I was given an expected delivery date of August 6th.  I proceed to go on vacation from July 25th to August 5th.

August 6 - I notice some serious foundation cracks and measure that the side and rear walls are bowed in by at least an inch.

August 13 - After working my way through multiple managers, I finally get the builder to agree to remove the two walls  and the far corners of each of those walls, and have new footers and foundation walls poured.

August 18 - The foundation has been excavated for removal.

August 20 - The foundation and footer have been removed for those two walls.

August 21 - The new footer is poured.

August 22 - Drive by at lunch to find the new footer being ripped out.  They measured the footer wrong and it needs to be poured again.  New footer is once again poured by the end of the day.

August 25 - The new foundation walls are poured.

August 26 - The foundation is wrapped.

August 28 - The foundation is braced and backfilled again.

Note: You can see the joint between new and old concrete in the lower left corner

So, after 38 days, we are back to the ready to frame state...

Although this was a pain and does delay the build, I am happy that it was properly addressed, even if I had to push for the proper solution.

Options

So, we are moving along in the build process and I have been slow to get this blog moving. But let's forget about that and go through our choices of options.

Structural Options:
The house will be a standard Elevation A.

First Floor

1. Added the study so my wife can work from home
2. Added the 2' extension to the garage
3. Added the 3 car garage
4. Added a non-standard optional window centered between the 2 windows on the rear wall of the family room

Second Floor

1. Kept the loft instead of a 4th bedroom
2. Kept the half wall for the stairs
3. Added the alternate upgraded master bath, which includes the separate tub and shower w/ bench seat.
4. Added the double bowl vanity in the 2nd bath (this room looked a little too big without it)
5. Added Werner Fire Escape Ladders  to all three bedrooms (http://us.wernerco.com/fire-escape-ladder/products.php).  Pretty nifty built in ladders for a very reasonable price.

Colors/Flooring/Counters/Cabinets/Etc.

Outside Colors

Siding will be Spanish Olive (http://variform.plygem.com/wps/portal/variform/variformroot/products/siding/traditionallapsiding?family_name=Contractor%27s%20Choice&product_name=Contractor%27s%20Choice%20Double%204%22  Hover over the colors, the 2nd to last should be Spanish Olive)

Shutters will be Grizzle Gray (http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7068-grizzle-gray/)

The front door will be Rookwood Shutter Green (http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW2809-rookwood-shutter-green/)

Inside Colors

Linoleum in the kitchen and front hall up to the closet will be Ancient Slate - Autumn (http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/vinyl-sheet/ancient-slate-autumn-resilient-vinyl-sheet-66204/floor-92220.asp)

2nd floor bath vinyl will be Carrizo - Vanilla (http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/vinyl-sheet/carrizo-vanilla-resilient-vinyl-sheet-94610/floor-76612.asp)

The Master bath floor, tub surround, and shower will be daltile's Parkway ceramic floor tile in BK96 Beige (http://products.daltile.com/series.cfm?series=419)

The master bath shower has a row of accent tile that will be daltaile's Marble Collection Warm Waterfall Blend DA92 (http://products.daltile.com/seriesdetailStone.cfm?item=5894&series=105&item=5894&)

The remainder of the house will be done in carpet which will be Shaw Intuitive (HGL57) in White Wash color (00100)  (http://s7.shawimg.com/is/image/ShawIndustries/HGL57_00100_MAIN?$SWS_ProductDetailMain_w950h590_crop$)

The kitchen cabinets and 2nd bath cabinets are the standard natural oak color.

The kitchen countertops are Carrara Envision formica alminate (http://www.cabinetparts.com/p/formica-laminate-sheets-for-countertops-FORM7494104X8)

The Master bath cabinets were upgraded to the Scottsdale Square Maple Espresso color (http://www.timberlake.com/wp-content/themes/tbl-three-oh/images/doors/scottsdale-maple-espresso-600h.jpg).

Electrical/Stereo Upgrades

First Floor

1. Added a quad outlet to the wall opposite the windows in the family room.
2. Added a quad outlet to the rear windowless outside wall of the study.
3. Converted the downstairs hall, stairway and upstairs hallway lights from 3 circuits into 2.
4. Added a ceiling fan rough-in in the family room and dining room.
5. Converted the fluorescent light fixture in the kitchen into 2 dome fixtures.
6. Moved the light over the sink to centered over the breakfast bar.
7. Added a switched light to the study.
8. Turned the standard garage light sockets into dual outlets centered over each garage space so I can added LED lighting.
9. Split the outlet in the cabinet for the microwave into two circuits and added a switch for one circuit so I can add undercabinet lighting.
10. Pre-wired for surround sound in the living room.
11. Pre-wired for in-ceiling speakers in the dining room and kitchen.
12. Added an ethernet jack to the wall opposite the windows in the family room.
13. Added an ethernet jack to the windowless outside wall in the study.

Second Floor

1. Added a second bath fan to the master, so the bathroom and toilet areas have their own fans.
2. Added outlets in both master bedroom closets.
3. Pre-wired for surround sound in the master bedroom and loft.
4. Pre-wired for in-ceiling speakers in the master bathroom.
5. Added an ethernet jack to the wall opposite the windows in the bedroom.
6. Added an ethernet jack in the loft to the wall shared with bedroom 3.
7. Pre-wired for ceiling fans in all bedrooms.

Other/Outside

1. Added a future tube from the basement to attic.
2. Added low voltage wiring to all soffits for future LED lighting.
3. Added pre-wiring for speakers behind the house.

Next up: One Step forward, two steps back