Closing Day!

This is it. Countless hours of checking our budget, researching builders, stressing over color selections, driving back and forth to the construction site to check on progress, and the excitement of shopping for the house... all resumed into a seemingly never-ending pile of papers and 2 hours of signatures. We did it; we're homeowners.

We did encounter a couple of bumps on the road. Expecting otherwise would have been completely unrealistic. But we enjoyed the process and look forward to making wonderful memories in this home. Even though this may not be our forever home, it will definitely be a special place for us.

Now let the projects begin!

Final Walkthrough

Yesterday we met our PM in the house for our formal final walkthrough. We had already spent three hours going over every inch of that house the Friday before with our Inspector, so we didn't spend too much time looking for issues again.

Frank went over some paper work and showed us some PDF documents with information on several things: where to go for help on everything in the home, warranty information, companies who worked in the house and brands used, etc. We went home with an online copy of those documents for our review, so we didn't spend too much time on them. He also had a copy of our inspection report, so we went over that with us and explained what will be done to fix it all. He retested the furnace and the dishwasher and attested it they were not functioning properly. After that, we walked the home again, mostly for us to explain hey we marked some spaces so he'll know exactly what to address. We ended the meeting going over the mechanics of the house and learned more about how to handle furnace, water heater, valves, etc.

We close this Friday at noon, so we will stop by beforehand to see what was and what wasn't addressed before closing. He mentioned some things possibly weren't going to be done by then. If that's the case with you, make sure to list those and get it in writing before signing anything.

We can't wait for Friday! I'm sure I don't be able to sleep the night before. I'm prone to that :P

Next time I update this blog, we will be homeowners. See you in a couple of days!!

T-minus 3 Days: Final Inspection

Hello, hello.

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted something new, but we've been busy. The house is basically done, so now we are on the worst kind of countdown: we know the house is ready, we could be living in it, but we still have to wait for the closing date. It's painful.

We ended up hiring an independent inspector to come to the house and provide us with an experienced pair of eyes before our walkthrough. He was recommended by a family member who works with him and he did my mother-in-law inspection a month or so back. We met him on Friday 5/26.

We are very happy we hired someone to complete this step with us. Andrew was very knowledgeable and thorough on his inspection, pointing out not only concerns, but also things Ryan Homes has done right. Chad and I took over the blue tape and marked every little mark on the walls and floors we could find. Most of what we noticed was cosmetic: some marks on the wall, a little paint on the carpet, a few dented hardwood boards, scratched door knobs... that kind of stuff. I suggest you guys look at every single inch of your home and don't be afraid to run out of tape. As Andrew said, ask for anything you're not happy with and go from there. RH won't fix anything you don't point out, so might as well ask for it.

He did find a couple of major things:
- Our dishwasher is not functioning properly. Water is pooling at the bottom and not draining properly during the cycle.
- Our furnace is not working. Gas is not being fed to it, so we have no heater in the house.
- There are a few shingles that were cut and glued instead of replaced. He said that's not as big as a deal, but it won't last as longer and there's no reason why they couldn't have replaced it.
- Where our dormers meet the roof, there is a gap that will allow critters to enter. He wants RH to board it.
- In that same spot, the siding should go under the board to allow for water flow. The siding is over that, so water may get behind the siding.
- The exterior trim paint is very sloppy. There are brush marks, missing spots, and even a hand print. He wants RH to redo it.

We looked at all cabinets, outlets, faucets, appliances, baseboard, trims, etc.
We have our official walk through in a couple of hours, so I'll make sure to add anything that has been missed in this post.

See you all later :)

D.O.R.M.E.R.S.

Would you look at that.

Week 12 - Closing Date!

We're in the home stretch now! We received our settlement date: final walk through 5/30 and settlement on 6/2! We are thankful to Ryan Homes for accommodating our dates--they actually had us settling that last week of May, but we wanted a June date so we could pay our first mortgage in August and have one month of "free" rent.

This process went by so quickly. I can't believe we are less than a month away from owning our first home. No more throwing money away in rent!

We stopped by today and took some pictures. We were also told we should have our dormers installed next week. I'll throw a freaking party when I see those dormers up :P

Carpet in the basement

First floor - faucet was installed and we have water

Little peak on our hardwood floor

Plumbing fixtures were also installed. No peed in there, we checked

Driveway, sidewalk, apron... just missing landscaping

Back of the house was filled, too. We are making peace with the idea of a sloped backyard

Week 11 Updates

Here's our updates for this week. We are so ready to enjoy this awesome deck! We also met the neighbors who live right behind us (our decks face each other). I believe they rent, though, so I guess they won't be around for too long? They seemed nice, nonetheless.

Back of the house. Wish the backyard was flat :|

Can't wait to grill!

Granite and sink were installed 

Garage door and concrete pathway

Bathrooms Progress

We stopped by the house today. Our railings were stained and the walls are painted (not sure how many coats were done and will be done). The main update is in our bathrooms--we got flooring and tiles. It looks great! Oh, and we got our electric meter, so no risk for delays :D

Stained railings 

Master bath tub

Master bath shower

Hall bath shower

Main floor

Electric meter

Trim Carpentry and Other Things :)

We made an appointment with our PM to check on the house since we couldn't walk the home on Saturday. Our PM said he doesn't have to be around for us to walk the house, just give him a heads up and check with the SRs first. We're cool with that.

The walls have been sanded and primed, we have cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, interior doors, and trim base. Looking good! We're so happy we got to see the house today. They should be tiling this week and granite will be coming soon, too :)

Hall bath and the infamous bath tub!

Master bathroom ans our double sinks

Railing is in

Kitchen and sunroom

With an empty house, that island looks huge!

Front entrance

And this is what's going to be our dormers! :D

DIY: Rustic X End Table

Hello everyone!

Even before the hubby and I signed on our house, I've been collecting Pinterest Pins on different subjects: decoration, organization, and yes, DIY projects. Watching Fixer Upper and other HGTV shows made matters worse, so now I have something to say: Hi. My name is Viviane and I'm a Pinterestoholic. That's it, I'm addicted. I've got a fever, but more cowbell won't do it for me. I need to build something!

A couple of months back I bought a Kreg Jig. I had never used one and figured that would be the one tool I should have handy when building anything. Finally, I was able to give it a try and that thing is magic!

"But what did you build, Vivi?" Alright, alright. I got excited with the background story part of this post. Anyway... I found Ana White's Rustic X End Table plan one day and decided I'd recruit Chad to help me building it. I love the farmhouse style of this table and it looked somewhat simple. Below is our experience building it. Enjoy it!

Material list*: 
2 - 2x4 @ 8 feet long
1 - 1x12 @ 3 feet long
2 - 2x2 @ 8 feet long
2 - 2x6 @ 8 feet long
Corner bracket hardware
Decorative bolts
2 1/2" and 1 1/4" PH screws

Cut list*: 
a) 8 - 2X4 @ 22 1/2"
b) 4 - 2X2 @ 16"
c) 2 - 1X12 @ 16"
d) 2 - 2X2 @ 26 1/2" (long point to short point, ends are parallel, 50 degrees off square)
e) 4 - 2x2 @ 13 1/4" (longest edge, one end cut at 50 degrees off square, other end cut at 10 degrees off square)
f) 5 - 2x6 @ 27"

*both taken from Ana's site


First, we built the frame of the end table by attaching the 2x4s (a) boards in a shape similar to a squared letter "A" and then connecting both "As" with the 2x2s (b). During this step, make sure you're checking the square and level after each attachment.

Note the squared "A" shape. Distance from the top of the bottom board to the floor is 2"

We used the Kreg Jig to attach the boards. For the 2x4s, we drilled holes A and C and used 2 1/2" PH screws to hold them in place.

   

Only top and bottom boards need holes drilled on both ends. You will use both to attach the side boards

For the 2x2s, we drilled B and C holes and also used 2 1/2" PH screws.

Drill holes on both ends of all 4 2x2s

Attach all 2x2s to one side of the table, then attach the second side using the pre-drilled Kreg Jig holes

Stress test!

At the end of this step, you will have the frame of your table. Feeling accomplished, we took a break to enjoy the beautiful weather and wonderful view:

But back to work!

The next step was to add the bottom shelf of the table. For that, attach both 1x12s (c) to create a tray. Again, we used the Kreg Jig and drilled three sets of holes A and B (right, center, and left) on the board. One of the boards will have holes on both sides to attach to the table and to the other 1x12:

We used the 1 1/4" PH screws for this step

In this step, it is likely that your tray won't fit perfect into the bottom part of the table. We tried using some force to make it fit, but we were afraid we would damage the board, so Chad used a sander to smooth out the end of the boards (the 16" end, that is). After some trial and error, it fit perfectly.

Finished step. There's a little gap on the bottom left corner, but we are going to put some wood filler later

The next step is to cut and assemble the X on the side of the table. We were a little anxious about this step, but it was surprisingly easy. One part of the X will be a longer piece of 2x2 (d) and the other part will be two smaller cuts of 2x2 (e). As specified on the cut list, both ends of (d) will be at 50 degrees off square, while for the smaller pieces (e), the end that connect to the table will be at 50 degrees square and the end that crosses the longer piece will be at 10 degrees off square. We used a miter saw to measure and cut the boards. As usual, MEASURE TWICE AND CUT ONLY ONCE. There were a few trips back to the saw to adjust the smaller pieces to make sure it was a perfect fit, but we took our time and all turned out fine.

Here are some pictures of the process. We attached the two long sides first and used a 2 1/2" PH screw to attach them to the 2x4. Make sure to place the screw at the widest part of the corner of the table so the screw doesn't pierce through the wood. The smaller piece piece connects to longer piece with a 1 1/4" PH screw and a pocket hole done with the Kreg Jig.

One side complete and step finished

Next step is to build the top of the table. Just like the bottom tray, we assembled the 2x6s (f) and built the whole top piece before attaching it to the frame. We drilled three sets of pocket holes with the Kreg Jig (A and C).

We attached the top to the table from the underside, using 2 1/2 PH screws. We used two screws for each side.

TA-DA! The table assembly is completed! To finish up, we sanded the whole thing using first 150 sand paper and finishing up with 220 sand paper. To prep for staining, we used Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner (water based) and stained with two coats of Dark Walnut Stain + Poly from Varathane. We thought it was going to look darker and maybe we didn't mix the can very well, but honestly, we do love the color. A nice addition was the L bracket we placed on the 4 corners of the table. We bought a 4" pack from Home Depot. It was silver, but we used Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint to get the color we wanted.

This wasn't a very difficult project and we are planning on building the coffee table and the console table to complete the set. I hope you enjoyed it!