We received a call this morning giving us a heads up that we needed to bring our induction cook top to the construction site for the marble countertop installation. When we arrived, we found that some finishing trim work was being completed too.
By the end of the day, when we stopped back to pick up the cook top, the kitchen countertops and island were done. And, we had some closet shelving, bathroom mirrors, and doorknobs too.
All in all, while the plumber and HVAC contractors haven’t made an appearance yet, it was a nice surprise to have this other work completed a day early. Here are some pictures of today’s progress:
Last week we met with our construction supervisor and new home consultant. We wanted to meet on site to discuss the placement of our driveway and some concerns we had regarding the grading process.
Prior to meeting, we sent an email as a reminder that we paid extra to have a basement and were told there was an added cost in this contract line item to cover trucking in fill dirt (to build up the driveway, parking pad, and around the front and sides of the home). In our on site discussion, we pointed out the fact that the layer of topsoil from our lot had been scraped away by the grader and used to back fill for these things instead. Because of this, our lot was stripped down to the red layer of clay. We explained that this of course will cause issues in the landscaping portion of the build process, as the compacted clay soil is not ideal for growing grass by seed. Ultimately, we requested that the builder consider using topsoil instead of fill dirt to replace what the grader moved. They agreed and assured us that the building supervisor would schedule another on site meeting to discuss these details with the proper parties.
Earlier this week, we made one of our daily lunch visits to the construction site and noticed that the power had been ran from the electrical box out front to the utility meter on the side of our home. We also noticed something we had originally overlooked in the excitement of seeing our cabinets installed: wiring for the vent fan and under cabinet lighting that needs to be re-routed.
We sent a quick message to our contact and she assured us this would be addressed. She also made us aware that the countertop company had been out to the site to create templates, and suggested we schedule a time to lay out how we wanted these cut from our slab. So, we coordinated a time with East Coast Granite and did just that. Here are some pictures of the process:
Another update, this one we are probably the most excited about, a big portion of our flooring was installed! All that’s left is the carpet and hardwood stair treads leading up to the second level.
Finally, the update we are probably the least excited about… In an effort not to be redundant, I’ll just let the photos and their captions do the explaining:
With three weeks left until the one year anniversary of signing our contract, we are getting down to the wire of the 8-12 month build time quoted to us.
Here are the items still left to complete:
Final Plumbing hookup, toilets, sinks –> Plumber was scheduled Feb 22nd, but was a no show
Power on HVAC –> Scheduled for Feb 25th
Lighting, fan installation –> Delivery Feb 25th and installation Feb 26th
Kitchen countertop installation –> Scheduled for Feb 26th
Final Electrical hookup, light switches, electrical box covers, reroute electrical for vent fan, under cabinet wiring – TBD
Carpet, hardwood stair tread installation – TBD
Poured concrete for the driveway, patio, parking pad, sidewalk to front entryway – TBD
Appliance delivery, installation – TBD
Deck, sun room – TBD
Stone accents in front of house, around fireplace, install fireplace cap – TBD
Garage door, mailbox installation – TBD
Gutters, downspouts, extend drainage pipes around basement of house – TBD
Internal paint and trim touch up, clean up – TBD
Septic tank installation – TBD
Final grading, landscaping, irrigation installation – TBD
Yesterday cabinets were delivered, and by the end of the day today, the kitchen and bathroom installation was complete. Next step is coordinating with East Coast Granite to template and install the marble countertops.
We are down to the last two months of the build process and we are starting to get really excited about the big move. On Tuesday, we’ll be meeting with our construction supervisor to discuss the placement of our driveway and hopefully by that time, or soon thereafter, we’ll have better projected completion dates for the remaining work:
Last March, when we originally signed our contract, we provided an address for a house in one of the builder’s tracts that we liked the external color of (Sherwin Williams’ Grizzle Grey). Unfortunately, when we took one of our daily trips to the construction site, we noticed that the color being painted looked a lot darker than we expected. We decided to drive by the house we based our color decision off of and that’s when we knew that the builder had made a mistake.
We called our new home consultant and had her check the contract and compare the color that was being painted with the color at the address we had asked them to base our color scheme off of. She confirmed that it was definitely two different colors.
In the end, the darker color (James Hardie’s Iron Grey) really grew on us and we ended up liking it better. The blue/grey tone really pops with the bright white trim and black accents, especially in the back of the house which gets full sun.
Here are some photos of the external paint progress to date:
Now that the first coat of paint is complete, here is a walk through video of both the inside and outside of the house:
Painters have been on-site and busy getting the interior walls and trim painted. We went back and forth on the color a bit as the builder only had a selection of about 5 or 6 different interior colors that they normally paint. Originally, after telling us we had to pick from their selection, we settled on a color called “Amazing Gray”. We proceeded to purchase a couple gallons of the color and paint the master bedroom in our current home to see how well we liked it. We didn’t. So, we went back to the builder and firmly requested a color we love, “Smoke Embers”. The new home consultant got back to us after speaking with the painter and agreed to paint our requested color. We are so glad we didn’t settle and love how the interior is coming along.