Trim Installed

The last week has been about the trim being installed and starting on the paint.

Becky and I also picked out our appliances, bought a mattress and handles for the cabinets.  BYE BYE MONEY.  It kills me to pay so much for things, but I know we won't be spending so much money in the future for things, so it's fine.  These pictures were as of yesterday.  Almost done!

DAY 93

Woodland friends.

Almost all doors had door springs or stoppers up high.

Screens!!! No more bugs!!

The temporary stairs were removed and these were put in.  Finally!

I can't wait to see these painted and the glass exposed.  The door on the right doesn't close perfectly well, so we'll have to make note of that.

The basement now has a better banister and hand railing.  I can't wait to get this place cleaned up as it's very dirty and spider webs are starting to form.  NO THANKS.

The biggest eye-sore in the universe.  They have to put it on because of the dropoff outside of the sliding glass door.  My dad and I will build up the land outside there, but even if we don't immediately, I am taking this freaking thing down as soon as I get my keys.

Half wall above the sink capped off.  This could probably be a little lower, but I still like it.

Garage step put in.  Works for me.

Front door lock.  Some rooms had lockable doors, but I expected a few more/

Trim Delivered / Problems and Concerns

The trim was delivered, which had me really excited because I feel like putting in the doors and everything else is a huge step towards making it feel like a real home.

A few things.  I had a concern with the ceiling, which seems can not be fixed.  Since the first coat of paint has been put on and everything has dried, the ceiling doesn't look bad.  I was looking up knockdown textured ceilings and it seems like what we have is that.  I still think there was a BIG miscommunication error and we were not told or shown what we were getting.  Jace told us none of their model homes have smooth ceilings, but I just simply don't remember noticing what the ceilings were like.  I just assumed a smooth ceiling could be achieved.  Either way, most people that come over actually compliment the ceiling before I say anything, so maybe it's not all that bad.

DAY 85

The underlay for the vinyl floors.  We decided to buy laminate flooring instead on our own.  We are still going to get the vinyl and carpet for the first floor, but we won't pay for the labor.  Go Jace on that one!!

So, Becky and I went up late to look at the trim and I was super mad because the french doors had wood paneling instead of glass.  Well, I'm a dummy because it was glass with a film on top for protective.  Crisis averted.

The painter put on the first coat of paint and the ceiling looks a little better, but this tape mark in the sun room is VERY noticeable.  I've spoken to Jace about it and he agrees it is not satisfactory.  If it doesn't get better, he will have the drywall guys redo it.

This weird part above the basement entrance is only there because we have 9ft ceilings.  The still probably could have boxed it off or something, but the real concern was that the angled part was textured like the ceiling.  It looked idiotic, so we had the painter smooth it over and just keep it the same color as the walls.

Uh oh time.  While digging out the downspout drains, my dad hit into the gutter on the front of the house.  It's pretty bad and he felt awful.  We'll get it fixed.

Cabinets / Drains

The last two weeks have been comprised of some small projects around the house while the painters and trim guys did their things.  We are a little behind schedule because the father of the trim guy died, so we are behind a few days.  No major problem whatsoever. 

On Saturday the 15th, my dad, Becky's dad and my Uncle Dwight put in most of our cabinets.  We had to get the base cabinets in because the counter top company was coming in the following Wednesday to measure.  It was an all-day affair, but went fairly smoothly.  We screwed up the cabinet size to the left of the corner wall cabinet and bought one that was too big.  It's not a huge deal and we'll just have to get the proper size.  The base cabinets all look great and we didn't have many problems.  Our only issues were that we had to measure for a dishwasher we don't currently have and ensure the door wouldn't hit the cabinet handles (which we also don't have yet).  I think everything went well and we should be alright.  I am very happy with the black cabinets and think it will look very sleek.

DAY 82

Get the corner squared and the rest falls into place.

Covered up for now.  We still have the wall cabinet to the left of the corner and then the ones on top of and in between the appliances.

Another side project is connecting all of the downspouts and running them to the road.  This is another thing that I would NEVER know to do if not for my dad.  It took a while, but it's done.

DAY 84

Connecting them all together and cutting a line to the road.  Major league roots to cut through.

Gutters On

Nothing crazy.  The gutters were put on on Wednesday.  Everything looks good.  We had a concern with the drywall crew as there was a very strong cigarette smoke smell upstairs.  I don't smoke, don't want to smoke and don't want to smell that crap in my house.  We told Jace and he took care of it.  Go him.


DAY 79

We put on the pipes coming out of the bottom.  WH does not do that.

Ceiling Problem

Also, on Tuesday, the drywall guys came to work on the ceilings.  There was a massive amount of miscommunication between my family and Wayne Homes.  They asked us last year if we wanted a textured ceiling.  We said we wanted smooth.  It turns out WH does not do a smooth ceiling because it is just too hard to do because you will see the drywall seams.  Jace told us their "smooth" option is that they texture the ceiling and then run over it with a knife to create a dropdown knockout ceiling.  The way he was talking made it seem like it would be pretty smooth, but not perfect.  Well, I am not happy with the results...

I called Jace to express my concerns, but basically there is nothing I can do.  The drywall crew has since sanded everything and the ceilings have dried.  It seriously doesn't look as bad anymore as it does in the pictures, but I am still not very happy with it.  We'll see....

Garage Door / Stone

Hey now.

We didn't finish chipping all of the wood and vines, but luckily the guys we know are allowing us to keep the chipper for a while, which is super nice of them.

The garage door came in on Monday and then the stone went up on Tuesday.  The stone looks wonderful.  I would love to have more of it around the house, but even just on the bottom of the front of the house makes such a difference.  The guys did a great job and I am so happy with how it looks.  We will be building a retaining wall off of the left side of the house and may use some more of the stone to cover the wall and make it look nicer.

DAY 77

DAY 78

We will build up the dirt to around one block below the stone.

The tops to these pillars are a little crooked.  We will need to talk to Jace about this.

The seams have lightened a bit and look even better.

The retaining wall will be on the left side, right at the base of the back end up the stone.

This is NOT for a light.  It was supposed to be a line that would run underground for a future lamp post in the yard.  We will need to talk to Jace about this as well.

Drywall Taped / Meeting With FM / Yard Clean Up

The drywall crew worked this week on taping and mudding the drywall.

On Thursday, Jace came out to meet with us and basically give us an outline of the rest of the road.  He predicts we will be in our home on July 23rd, which is freaking amazing!  The only delay may come with the installation of our counter top or some grading of the land, but we should be fine.

I didn't take many pictures of the taping, but it's all pretty much the same.  So far, so good.

DAY 72

 DAY 75 and 76

So, when my dad and I cleared our land, we had a massive amount of brush, branches and VINES.  SO MANY VINES.  We had a pile probably 30 ft in diameter and ten feet high.  We are lucky to know someone that has a woodchipper we could use.  My dad knows everyone, it seems.  He cleared a path on our adjacent property which will serve as a landing for the chipped wood.  Nice.  Anyways, we spent all day Saturday and today working and there is still a ton left.  I know things like this take time, but man...

Anyone see Fargo?

 

 He spread out the wood with the backhoe to make it easier to pull.

 

The pile is now doubled in width and height.  It actually didn't produce as much as I thought it would.

 What was left midday today.

The garage door is supposed to be here tomorrow or Tuesday and our cabinets are being delivered Wednesday and we will install them ourselves this coming weekend.  We are also trying to work a deal where we get the carpet and vinyl for the family room, kitchen and sun room, but not have it installed.  We will use it in the basement and install our own laminate flooring.  I loathe vinyl flooring.  Gotta go.  Season finale of Game of Thrones is on.  Maybe I'll put a House Lannister sign up somewhere in my house...

Drywall Hung / Wires Run (Kind Of)

So, yeah, the drywall came.

My dad and I scrambled and got some insulation in, but despite what Jace said, the drywall crew came in on Friday and freaking knocked it out in a day and a half.  They worked so hard and tirelessly and did a heck of a job.  Friday it was all hung and Saturday they finished up the corners.

On Sunday, my dad and I tried running some wires we previously should have run.  We re-ran some wires in my media room and installed boxes like we should have weeks ago.  We then ran speaker wire to each bedroom through the attic.  That was actually pretty easy, but getting the speaker wire to the main floor, especially the sun room, will be a total pain in the butt and it is ENTIRELY MY FAULT.  I am going to kick myself for a long time for this.

DAY 66

Nicely delivered and set up in each room.

 

 DAY 67

DAY 69

In my media/geek room, I have a side break out panel/media bay that will allow me to plug in various video game systems or anything else for that matter and have it display on the TV in that room.  I just didn't want cords stretching across the room to play games, so this is a nice solution.  The boxes were installed post-drywall on Sunday.

 

 

Our completion date!  I actually do not think everything will be done by then because our cabinets and counter top may take a bit longer than we would like.