Cabinet Hardware

I purchased our cabinet hardware today.  I am paying only a few dollars more than the Ryan Homes package and will have custom hardware in every room.  It took us a while to come to our decisions but we have found the ones we love now.  Can't wait to get them installed now.

Upstairs Hall Bath

Upstairs Hall Bath

Upstairs Hall Bath

Basement 1/2 Bath (We will probably be painting this cabinet in a light gray and use yellow accents)

Basement 1/2 Bath

Master Bathroom

Master Bathroom

Kitchen Drawers

Kitchen Doors (These two kitchen ones are the same color they just look different due to lighting in the pictures.  I had other pictures that look the same color, but were to dark to see the details.)

Bonus!!!

They have already done the appraisal for our house and it is appraising for more than the purchase price.  Like the title says.... Bonus!!  I was a little concerned what the result of the appraisal would be especially since the house is not even done yet, but it all came out just fine.

Delayed Closing :(

We were going to close on Dec. 10 and then move on the following weekend.  This would have been a crunch for time but that was ok.  But alas we have been delayed yet again.  This time though it is due to the government shutdown.  We will now be closing on Dec. 20th.  This means we will not be moving until after Christmas.  While we would have loved to be in prior to Christmas this does give us more time to get things done first.  We are now planning on moving the weekend after Christmas.  Soo this is both somewhat sad but also a possible blessing in disguise.

A Couple of Extra Purchases

Just got home from Menards.  I wanted to cash in on the 11% back sale a little.  I purchased my garage door opener and a can of chalkboard paint.  The garage door opener was already on sale from $248 to $223 then with the 11% rebate card I am saving about another $25 dollars.  Thus I am saving a total of almost $50 on the opener or 20%.

The garage door opener is a Chamberlain 3/4 HP belt driven with a wireless keypad, 2 remotes, obstruction sensors, LED garage interior keypad with motion sensor for the light, and a control that links the remotes to an interior light.  The opener has a programmable auto close timer, and battery backup.  It also has MyQ which means that simply by adding a wireless transmitter (about $60) I can control the garage door opener and multiple other devices with a cell phone, tablet, or computer.  With this system you can control lights, lamps, and other things in the house.

The Chalk Board paint will be used for the angled wall in the kitchen.  It will be a great spot for a calendar, to do list, family messages, etc.

Final Walk-through and Closing Date Scheduled

We now have an official schedule for our final walk-through and closing.  Monday, December 9th is our final walk-through, this also happens to be my last final for school... YAY (to both)!!  Our closing is tentatively scheduled for the following day December 10th.  While I am thrilled with this it will make things very hectic and called for my wife and I both rescheduling our vacation times for a second time.  We have several things we need to get accomplished after closing and prior to moving in.  Therefore it will be a very busy week not to mention my pinning ceremony will also be on that Thursday.  Maybe as a pinning celebration everyone can come over and be put to work :).  Just kidding.  We are all very excited and cannot wait to get into the house.

The Past Weeks Progression

Everything seems to be moving right along.  They have installed the Master Bath window, water barrier and shower pan for the Master shower, temporary handrails, fireplace insert, plumbing, HVAC ducts, cold air returns and furnace, gas lines, moved the kid's bathtub into place, installed washer and dryer hookups, dishwasher hookup, fireplace gas shutoff valve, flu for range hood venting to exterior, water heater, basement window, water main shutoff, box frame for tray ceiling (my PM is angling the corners for me per my request), rafter access box installed, wiring for thermostat in place, and handles for the front door and garage to laundry room door.  They also started installing electrical wiring and boxes while I was there Friday.  I haven't yet seen what all they accomplished and will probably check it out sometime today.

Master Bathroom window

Water barrier for master shower

Temporary rail in place

Fireplace insert with gas line underneath and shutoff to the right

Kid's bathtub in place with additional plumbing

Cold air return system

Cold air return in kitchen/dinette

Washer and Dryer hookups

Plumbing lines

Dishwasher and sink hookups (the dishwasher will be my wife's favorite thing)

Flu for range hood vent with extra bracing for wall cabinets

Water heater (they still have to install the re-circulator)

Basement window being well utilized right now

Water main shutoff valve

Master ceiling tray box in place

Rafter access box

Thermostat wiring in place

Furnace installed ( I am not overly happy with the placement.  With the layout of the furnace, venting, water heater and sump pump, it effectively takes nearly half of our storage space out of play)

Front door handle in Oil Rubbed Bronze (love it!)

Oil Rubbed Bronze interior garage handle

We've Been Framed (and Windowed and Doored)!

I am certain that this title has never been used on a blog before.... I like to be original.  Oh well, maybe it has been used before.  We went back today to find that all of the windows except the one in the master bathroom have been installed.  They also have the roof completed, the temporary front door on, and the door from the garage into the house installed.  We all walked through again as we are now able to get a real feel for the home.  One thing that we like is that we seem to have a pretty good view from every window in the house.  One thing that I love at our current home is a large (8 foot) bay window that looks out to our large treed lot.  I will miss that but not really a whole lot else about the home will be missed.  That being said I was glad to see that I wouldn't end up feeling completely hemmed in with no view.  Now we look forward to what lies ahead.  I meet with our PM tomorrow, he stated that they were making some changes and he wanted me to meet another PM.  Not sure if we are switching all together or will be working with both yet but we will see.

Windows and Temporary Door In.

I love the height of the garage.

Entrance to Laundry Room from the Garage

Kitchen and Pantry

Pantry and Refrigerator Nook

Laundry Room and Stairs from the Dinette

Family Room with Fireplace in the Background

View from the Dinette towards the front of the house

View of the Living Room from the Hallway

Entry and Stairs to the Basement

Basement with steps to the side and 1/2 Bath in the background

I will make this into a closet in the future

View of the basement from the bathroom hallway

The stairs to the 1st floor with the unfinished storage/mechanical space in the back

The Loft

The upstairs hallway from the front towards the master bedroom

Bub's room

Sis's room

Master bath with a huge linen closet and our soon to be walk in shower

Master bedroom from sis's room

Additional view of the master bedroom

The cutout for our tray ceiling

Master closet and kid's/hallway bathroom 

View from the master toward the signature clock tower