Final Flooring Selections

Well after several issues with flooring selection we have now made our final choices.  We had selected the previously shown Engineered Hardwood that we are absolutely in love with.  However we have been told that in this area the builders will not do an Engineered Hardwood except on a slab foundation.  This still makes very little sense to me as I know that this can be done and many other areas are able to do this.  We Like the floor that we have ended up with but we Loved the floor we originally selected.  It had lots of texture and color variation to it that gave it a very unique character that none of the other selections had.  We are trying to stick to somewhat of a craftsman theme for the house and both feel that the first selection was also much more fitting.  So far this has been my only issue with Ryan Homes but it is one that was very irritating.  Anyway as follows is our final flooring selections.

• Simple Touch Sand Swept Carpet - Whole House - $3,565
• Upgraded Padding to 8 lb. Admiral - Basement and Main Floor - $675
• Rustic Heritage 5" Wide Birch in Tobacco Brown - Foyer, Kitchen, and Dinette - $4,190
• Station Square X2122 - Upstairs Hall Bath - $50
• Station Square X2080 - Basement Powder Room - $50
• Station Square X2083 - Main Floor Powder Room, Laundry, Master Bath - $200

We also added a switched receptacle in the upper cabinets in the kitchen ($110) for future under cabinet lighting.

Rustic Heritage 5" Hand Scrapped Birch in Tobacco Brown

The end result of the hardwood will be something like this.

Station Square X2122 - Upstairs Hall Bath

Station Square X2083 - Main Floor Powder Room, Laundry Room, and Master Bathroom

Station Square X2080 - Basement Powder Room

Simple Touch Sand Swept Carpet - Whole House

Timeline update!!

Ok, third post today.  I told you I was behind, this is actually from today though.  We went to the model to make a few changes and sign off on some things.  Our SR looked at our timeline and noted that an estimated ground breaking day is Aug 7. This is both very exciting as I can't wait to have our new home, and stressful at the same time.  This would have us in the house in Oct instead of the previously projected Nov.  This is good news!!!  The stress comes from having to get a bunch of other loose ends tied up before then.  I can't wait for groundbreaking though.  I am so excited for the build to start and go by and see the progress each day. My kids are also excited and I think the process will be a great learning experience for them also. There is another Florence (elevation D) going up on the lot next to us.  We have been by it a few times and the kid's, especially our daughter, thinks that it is ours.  This has given us several chuckles already during this process and I am sure more are to come.

More Changes and Some of Our Own Additions

Well I posted this earlier today and I am already back on here to edit it.  We are going to stick with the fiberglass set-in shower in the master bathroom.  The reason for this is, that it is going to cost quite a bit more than we planned (over $3k) and still not really be what I was wanting.  I have relatives that are masons and can probably do this for much less cost in the future.  As a result we are going to drop the tile flooring in the master bath for now also.  We are switching it to the same resilient flooring that will be in the basement 1/2 bath.  We also made some changes to our other flooring selections earlier but our Rite Rug SR still has not submitted the codes and it has been more than a week since I told her.  We are now down to the wire as tomorrow is the last real day that we will have to meet and sign off on changes.  We did meet with our RH SR and made a few other changes today as follows.

• Changed all bathroom fixtures, faucets, towel bars, TP holders, and shower door to oil rubbed bronze ($1,195)
• Added 2 pendant lights over island ($395)
• Added outlet on stone fireplace for mounted TV hookup ($195)
• Delete master bathroom tile (-$995)
• Other flooring changes (???? - still waiting :{  we are wanting to change from the laminate flooring to a hardwood flooring in the Entry, Dinette, and Kitchen, also we selected a carpet that was a little lighter in color)

Master Bathroom and Basement 1/2 Bath

Entry Foyer, Dinette, and Kitchen
Engineered 5" Handscraped Hickory Plank Hardwood

The look in a room

The changed carpet color for the whole house

We have been looking at several different options for fixtures throughout the home.  This is some of the items that we are currently talking about purchasing for our home.

Family Room Ceiling Fan
I think this will be very fitting with the exterior styling and the stone fireplace.

Garage Door Opener
Changed from what I originally thought.  This one is a 3/4 hp, belt driven with 2 remotes, keypad, battery backup, auto close option (1, 5, or 10 min timer), plus a remote that links to lights in the house.
This one is only $10 more than the one I initially looked at but has a better warranty and more features.

Also we are debating getting a touch faucet for the Kitchen sink instead of the one I had posted previously.  It is about $140 more but would be so much more convenient.  I really do not like having to touch the faucet when I am cooking, especially with chicken.

Delta Addison with Pull-Down Sprayer and Touch Technology $355 at HD

Guardian Meeting

I am a little late in getting this post up but here it is.  I must start by saying that I was not really looking forward to this meeting.  I read a lot of negative reviews about Guardian as a whole.  My experience was a good one though.  Our SR was honest and personable and did not use any high pressure sales tactics that I had read was often the case.  He asked what service providers we used and what rooms we would want equipment in, then showed us what we would need to make it work.  Here is what we ended up with.

• Pre-wire for wall mounted TV over the fireplace
• Pre-wire for rear surround sound speakers in the basement (this will be used for the surround sound system that I currently have)
• 5.1 Surround Sound system (ceiling mounted) in the family room
• 3 high speed internet hookups in the loft, family room, and basement (upgraded to Cat6e)
• 5 Pack of extra lines + 1 free line
• Total cost for everything $2,305

The other things that were offered just did not have the value for me.  The central vac to me is just not worth the cost.  The intercom, my voice can carry to the neighbors house so this is definitely not needed.  As for the security system I see the value in it, I just have a hard time justifying the cost for a what-if scenario.  That is just me, always stressing about costs.

Thanks to our SR for making what I felt was going to be a bad experience, into a pleasant one.

Flooring Selections

We went to Rite Rug today and made our flooring selections.  It was a little stressful, but also lots of fun.  I was a little disappointed that they have done away with Level 1 upgrades, but If they were having problems with them I can understand why.  It just created a little bit of a sticker shock moment in the long run.  All said and done though, we are very happy with our selections.

Click on the Picture to Enlarge It.

Selections:

1. Upgraded 8 lb. Padding to Main Level and Basement - $675
2. Upstairs Hall Bath (Station Square X2122) - $50
3. Andover Square Cabinet in Upstairs Hall Bath
4. Scottsdale Espresso Cabinets in Kitchen
5. Jamocha Granite Kitchen Countertop
6. Island Koa Laminate in Kitchen, Dinette, and Entry Foyer - $2,815
7. Intuitive Tavern Textured Carpet throughout the whole house - $3,565
8. Midnight Black (looks kind of smokey) Hand Rails
9. Main floor Powder Room, and Laundry Room (Station Square X2080) - $125
10. Basement Powder Room (Station Square X2121) - $50
11. Bathroom Countertops
12. Accent Tile for Master Shower
13. Master Bathroom floor 12"x12" (Sandalo) tile, and 9"x12" (Stone Radiance) tile - $995
14. Scottsdale Maple Cognac Master Vanity Cabinet

Kitchen, Dinette, and Entry
(Island Koa Laminate)

Living Room, Family Room, Bedrooms, Loft, Hallways, Stairs, and Basement
(Shaw Intuitive Tavern #201)

Main Floor 1/2 Bath, and Laundry Room
(Station Square X2080)

Upstairs Hall Bathroom
(Station Square X2122)

Basement Half Bath
(Station Square X2121)

We still have to talk to our PM about our bathroom.  We selected the option of a full size shower with a linen closet, but we do not want the fiberglass drop-in shower.  We have selected the following tiles to take the place of the drop-in, but have yet to hear what, or if, there is going to be an additional non-standard charge to us for this change.

Lighting and Plumbing Fixtures

This post is just to show our lighting and plumbing fixtures that will be in the home when we move in.  We plan to change many of the plumbing fixtures throughout the house in the future.

Plumbing Fixtures:

Bathroom Faucets

Bath Tub and Shower Fixtures

Lighting Fixtures:

The light fixtures in the bathroom will most likely be put facing down instead of up as these pictures show.

Hallway Lights

Basement 1/2 Bathroom and Upstairs Hall Bath (reversed to face down)

Dinette

Exterior on sides of garage door

Entry Foyer

Basement

Master Bathroom (again facing down)

2 Pendants over the island

Powder Room

There are also oil rubbed bronze light fixtures in the pantry, closets, over the master shower and hall bath tub, recessed lights in the kitchen, recessed lights at the foot of the stairs in the basement and on the main level, recessed light over the entry porch, and 2 eyeball lights over the fireplace.

We have our meeting scheduled with Guardian for our electrical changes.  This will take place 7/15/13.  We are now waiting to hear from Rite Rug to plan out our flooring selections. We will keep you posted.

Option Changes and Exterior Colors

We went to the community today and talked to our SR and made several changes to our option list.  We also looked at the exterior samples that would be available to us and made a few more decisions about colors.  The stone we originally wanted will not be available to us :( so we have to change that.  I am happy with the changes that we have made though.

Option Changes

Removed Options:

• Closet Under Basement Steps (we will add it ourselves later)
• Gas Stove Hookup
• Removed 1 Extra Outlet from the Garage
• Removed Dedicated Circuit Outlet in Storage Area of Basement

Changed Options:

• Changed the Master Bathroom Vanity to Maple Cognac Cabinets (-$75)
• Changed Interior Door Handles to Antique Bronze ($150)
• Changed Fireplace to Floor to Ceiling Stone ($2,200)
• Changed Light Fixtures Throughout to Antique Bronze ($0 Yay!)

Added Options:

• Garage Door Opener Pre-Wiring ($75)
• 10' x 12' Deck ($2,395)
• Switched Receptacle in Tray Ceiling in Master Bedroom (for future rope lighting above crown) ($110)
• Blower and Remote for Fireplace ($350)
• 2 Recessed Lights over Fireplace ($300)
• Ceiling Fan Rough-In ($225)

Updated Visuals of our Upcoming Home:

Stone Fireplace and Recessed Lights

We are going to make this our pantry door and paint it white
($170 at Home Depot)

This is the what our Master Bathroom Vanity will look like except the counter top will be different 

Our Colors: The stone will be on the front, the brick on the left will be on the bottom of the sides and back of the home, the shutters will be the small blurry sample up there (grey), the door is the muted black sample at the bottom, the upper level will all be the light green 2nd from the top in the back, the shake above the garage door and in the eaves will be the tan 3rd from the bottom in the front; the trim, windows, and garage door will be in white.

This is the colors of our Kitchen.  We however will not have the morning room to the left or the gourmet island.  We will have a center island with bar stool seating.  We will have the recessed lights, 42" cabinets, crown mold and stainless appliances shown here.  We have not chosen our flooring yet.

Lot Pictures:

Our lot!

Our Little Family with our sold sign

View from the back of our lot, for now, towards the club house in the back.

View the other direction, for now, towards the signature clock tower in our community

The Entrance to our community

Landscaping being placed in front of the club house

The club house with a pool behind it

One of the ponds in the community, this is the largest and is next to club house (we would pass it on our walk to the club house)

Side Note:  Our sales rep gave me the HOA contact information so that we can call to get our club house access fobs.  This will allow us to start using the club house and pool now instead of waiting for construction to be completed in the winter when the pool is closed.  :)

This is the start of our journey to create our home.  This is the Florence in Elevation L, cottage style, from Ryan Homes.  We signed the contract and selected our lot yesterday, and have a meeting with the NVR loan  officer this evening.

Our colors for the exterior are as follows:
(Note: we will have an exterior carriage light on each side of the garage door)

• Stone is about the color in the picture
• Shake above the garage and in the eaves is also similar to the pictures
• Siding on the second floor is a light Sage Green
• Brick wrap on lower level sides and back will be similar to the stone in color
• Trim will be in almond and white accents

Our Options Thus Far:

• Elevation L with Resort Facade ($10,995)
• Finished Basement ($12,995)
• Glass Pane French Door to Basement ($375)
• Storage Closet Under Stairs in Basement ($450)
• 1/2 Bath in Basement ($2,995)
• Additional Window, on side, in Living Room ($425)
• Kitchen Island ($1,695)
• Scottsdale Maple Espresso Kitchen Cabinets ($2,595)
• Crown Molding on Cabinets ($595)
• 42" Cabinets ($995)
• Gas Range Hookup ($275)
• Stainless Steel Range, Dishwasher, and Over Range Microwave (vented to the outside) ($1,495)
• Side Fireplace with Granite Surround in Family Room ($3,395)
• Master Bathroom Upgrade to Oversize Shower and Linen Closet (We are modifying the shower by deleting the fiberglass set in and opting for a ceramic tile shower with a sliding glass door instead.  I will update color selections later.) ($995 plus tile)
• Double Bowl Vanity in Scottsdale Maple Espresso in Master Bedroom ($995 + $450)
• Additional Window on side of Master Bedroom ($425)
• Tray Ceiling with Crown Molding in Master Bedroom (We are having them lower the crown molding just enough to put in our own rope lighting above it, and adding a switched outlet for hookup above the crown as well.) ($795)
• Andover Square White Vanity in Upstairs Hall Bathroom ($100)
• 2 Additional Wall Outlets in Garage (we will probably add another in the upper cabinets in the kitchen for above or below cabinet lighting also) ($250)
• Recessed Lighting Package for Kitchen (we will also put 2 recessed lights above the fireplace) ($795)
• 8" Depth Sink in Kitchen ($275)
• Additional Exterior Carriage Light by Garage Door ($225)

Things We Got Free (YAY!!!):
(Note: Total freebies - $24,485.....   I like free :)

• Finished Basement
• $5,000 off Options
• $5,000 off Elevation Upgrade
• Stainless Steel Appliance Package

We still have to make some of our color selections as well as our meeting with Guardian for electrical, and Rite Rug for flooring and the afore mentioned shower tile selections.

Very excited about the process but also a little stressed at the same time.  They are projecting completion sometime between October - December.

Here are some pictures of our color selections thus far:
Kitchen and Master Bathroom Cabinets
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Kitchen Cabinet with Counter Top Sample --->

Our plan is for our shower to end up looking something like this

Exterior Color Overview

Exterior Colors Again
The Siding will be the 2nd from the top on the left side.
The Shake will be the 3rd from the bottom on the right (the 2nd fully visible sample)









The Shutter color












The Stone (for some reason it looks a little darker in this pic, it has    a little more of a tan hue to it)

The French Door to the Basement (The end result of our home will look almost exactly like this)















The door handles will all look like this










One more exterior pic of the elevation, just for good measure :).

Wrong colors but this shows an already completed Florence Elevation L

Another exciting note is that our home will be one of only 2 with this elevation in the section that we are building in.  There is one other lot available that it could be built on if that buyer chose to do so, but that would be all.  Our lot is the last available lot in a cul-de-sac in our section also.  It is easily accessible to the main entry road and within walking distance of the pool and clubhouse.  In the future they are supposed to put in exercise equipment, as well as build a basketball court, and children's playground.  They are currently preparing to start the placement of over 5 miles of walking trails also.

This is a start, I will continue to post as things change and progress.