Flooring & Countertops

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:

Templates have been placed on our marble slab selection – This piece will be installed to the left of our wall oven
The rectangular, taped off section here (below the stencil) is being reserved for the kitchen island – We love the accentuated dark grey veins in this piece
Unfortunately, when the stone cutters were moving the larger countertop piece, the stone snapped in half. Instead of starting at square one, we decided to compromise and use this darker veined piece of marble from the same lot.
Here is another view of the replacement slab. I really like the mixture of colors in the section that the corner sink will be cut from, but I’m having a harder time with the darker section towards the opposite end.

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.

Our engineered hand scraped hardwood flooring has been installed and has been covered to protect it while the final work is completed
Love the rich colored and wide planked birch wood we selected. It really compliments the white trim and Smoke Embers paint color we picked out!
The wood and spindle material has been delivered for the stairway and landing leading up to the second floor – We can’t wait to see it installed and stained to match our flooring

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:

While we liked the cultured marble bathroom countertop sample we based our decision off of in the builder’s show room…
…this is what the product actually looked like after it was delivered and installed in the guest bathroom
Close up of the cultured marble bathroom countertops installed in the jack n jill bathroom
As you can see, the gray “veining” in the material that was installed looks nothing like the sample we based our decision off of
We suspect this may have been a bad batch and that the grey colored resin was not mixed properly
We engaged our new home consultant who is in contact with the distributor. If the distributor confirms that this is the intended look, Derek and I have agreed we will be pushing for the builder to have it replaced.

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
  • Power wash exterior, second coat of paint – TBD

Punch list items:

  • Replace spray foam over sprayed roof shingles
  • Repair damaged brickwork
  • Replace damaged window trim
  • Replace damaged island trim

One Reply to “Flooring & Countertops”

  1. I love the flooring… what a wow factor!!

    Good call on pushing to get the Jack-n-Jill sink a 2nd thought. It kind of looks like someone cut their own hair and it was just left, spread out, in clumps on the sink😂 This must be a mistake !! I hope you guys are able to get it replaced to what you originally picked out from the builders warehouse🙏🏼

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