Update

The railings have been repainted and the thermostat has been moved. Only 5 more days!!!

I don't have a new pic of the thermostat.

Final walk through

We finally went to our final walk through today and it went great! We walked around and went over every little thing and looked at every nook and cranny. The PM put blue tape on all problem areas and the crew was supposed to come in afterwards today to fix them. The cabinets were replaced that had chips in them and were straightened out. The planning desk drawers weren't straightened though, so he said thats an easy fix. He had even went through before we got there and put blue tape on stuff ahead of time. I'm happy my mom and her boyfriend went with us because they caught stuff we would've missed. Some things weren't fixed that I had asked for in the email, but he taped those things and said they'll for sure get fixed now. The biggest problem was the railings are the wrong color because the painter thought he read one color when it was actually another, so they're going to fix them. The tree was finally cut down in the backyard as well. They just have to go back and take the wood away. The thermostat wasn't moved, but it's still in the plans to be moved this week. They gave us 3 garage door openers as well. We move in ONE WEEK from today!! 😁 Something interesting we heard - Apparently there's one more street that's being added down the street from us, so there's going to be 28+ more homes in the near future.

Suggestions we have:

-Ask them to put the little stoppers (that they put inside cabinet doors to keep them from slamming) on the walls that some of the cabinets hit when they're opened. There's several places in the kitchen and in the laundry room that do that. 

-Double check the global source things (from Guardian) to make sure they installed them correctly. We paid extra to have them separate the basement from the main floor ones so we could play different music. They installed it the regular way so we wouldn't be able to do that. The PM is going to call them to have them fix it. 

-Don't be afraid to have them tape anything you don't like. If you don't have them do it there then who knows when they'll get to it. 

-Make sure they turn on the oven, burners, dishwasher, etc. 

-Check all outlets to make sure they all work. 

-Ask about the manufacturer warranties on the appliances, furnace, and hot water heater. Our PM wasn't sure off hand what the warranties were, so he was going to ask. 

-Buy a battery back up for the sump pump. From my understanding, it provides extra protection from the water backing up and going into the basement. 

-Get a dehumidifier right away. Preferably one that has a hose hook up so that the water can continuously drain into the floor drain instead of having to dump the bucket out every other day. FYI- they have a nifty gadget that shows you the humidity level of the basement. 

-Take a measuring tape and measure all of the windows yourself. Our PM said that each house can vary on window size (slightly). He said this should be a MUST if you wanted to order blinds to a specific size. The sales rep at the model home may give you a standard size, but that's not always accurate. 

-The PM highly recommended using a vinegar/water solution for cleaning the tub/shower/anything since the vinegar is non-abrasive. 

-I never would've thought about it, but he suggested Rain-X on the shower glass. Brilliant! You'll still want to squeegee the glass after every other use, but the Rain-X helps prevent build up too. 

-The last thing I can think of for now is that he suggested that we seal the tile grout (in the master bathroom) BEFORE our first time use of the tub/shower. He said the 411 brand of grout cleaner is really good. Also get a granite sealer/cleaner (2-in-1) so that every time you clean your granite, you're "resealing" it.


-Oh! I also highly suggest joining your Ryan Homes neighborhood's community Facebook page. (If they have one). On ours, neighbors talk and ask about anything and it seems to help join everyone a little closer together. For example, a package was delivered to the wrong house, so the owner got on there and asked who received it. The person responded and they met up. Or some parents get on there to help sell stuff for their kids' fundraiser, babysitting needs, complain about HOA stuff, general questions, etc.

Okay, now for a few pics I took:

Almost there

Nothing new to report. They're just in the final stages of cleaning. Next Wednesday is the walk through and I can't wait! That means there's only 2 weeks until we move in!! I've been slowly packing so that it won't be too bad our last weekend here.

Quick update

Our PM sent us pictures yesterday and today of our flooring. Yesterday they cleaned up the kitchen flooring and they put the carpet down today. They look great!

Q&A

We didn't go out to the house this weekend, but I did get answers to my questions that I sent to our PM.

-The kitchen cabinets are a beautiful color, but the quality of the work with installation was not good at all. Doors are uneven, there are chips in a few cabinets/doors, gaps in between the double cabinet doors (big enough to see into them), and the left drawers on the planning desk are uneven. We want all cabinets that have chips/defects in them replaced before the walk through, as we are paying a lot of money for them. And we want to make sure that none of the chips get colored in with some type of marker because we have heard of things like that happening. Please verify that these will be replaced and none will be colored in/covered up. The cabinets have not been adjusted, they will all be leveled and checked.  Anything with a scratch or dent will be replaced.

-We noticed the island must have “buckled” and split when the countertops were installed. I’m sure that is already in the works of being fixed, but still wanted to add that.  The Island is in two pieces, they will come out and buff it to blend the pieces.  However, you will be able to see a connection point.

-Will there be caulk added to where the planning desk counter meets the wall? Yep
 
-The thermostat on the main floor is in the worst spot it could possibly be. I planned to hang a mirror in the middle of that wall, but the thermostat is almost in the middle where I couldn’t hang anything. In the model, it is all the way to the left side. Please have the thermostat moved over to the same spot.  How far are you looking to get this moved, closer to the kitchen?  I have not been through the Landon Model, I will swing through there to see its location.

You are correct on the model, it does have larger steps.  Our lead walks and steps are 36”.

-There is also a chunk missing out of the concrete on the porch on the side next to the neighbor’s house.  This will be repaired. 

-The railing going to the upstairs is crooked.  The railings defiantly need some adjustment, this will be fixed.

-Call me picky, but the handle on the door coming in from the garage is a brown color when the rest of the door knobs in the house are chrome colored. Can we have that knob match the rest? This is by design, the satin nickel color will carode over time and turn green and black.  We use the Brooze door knobs to help/prevent the weathering.

-There is a scratch on the floor in front of where the stove will be. My father in law felt it and said it was raised and he could pretty much get a fingernail underneath it. Please make sure this is replaced.  Yes
 
-Some of the drywall was smooth and some of it was very rough as if the painters didn’t clean the walls and painted over the dust. Will the walls be smooth by the time we move in?  They Drywall touchup was in process, this should all be cleaned up.
 
-In the 3rd bedroom, there are gaps in the attic door where it looks like air can get through. Will these be fixed? Also, the right window in that room doesn’t close all the way. Will this be replaced or fixed?  Yes, this is part of the process for the attic blow.  The completed job will have the access tight to the trim with a piece of weather stripping in between. 
 
-Upstairs hall bathroom vent has a broken piece. Please replace. Yes

-When you walk into the Bonus Room and look up, there’s a bulge where the wall meets the ceiling. What will they have to do to fix that?  Yes
 
-Master bedroom door has a chip on the part of the door that closes. (Sorry, it’s hard to explain the location of it).  I could not find this, it may have been fixed prior to me looking though.  We will defiantly fix this though.
 
-When you get to the bottom of the steps in the basement and look at the ceiling, there is a small hole.  Will be touched up.
 
-Mark flipped one of the downstairs light switches off and when he tried to turn it back on, the light wouldn’t come back on. Maybe it tripped the circuit breaker?  Breaker needed replaced.
 
-We noticed a sink in the garage for, I believe, the laundry room. Is this something we’re getting or was that ordered by mistake? We didn’t see any other water hookup in the laundry room.  Wrong top was delivered.

-Mark said there will be someone out there to finish the driveway tomorrow. What is it that they’re going to finish? I’m curious because the driveway seems very rough to the point that if one of my kids fell off their bike on it, they would get scratched up VERY badly.   By design we “comb” the driveway which is what I think you are talking about on this.  Would like to talk to you more about this on site. This is by design, and the reason for this is safety when you driveway is wet, snowy, or icy.  Your car and people would slip around if it was smooth.
 
-Question about the cardboard on the flooring – shouldn’t all of the flooring be covered with those cardboard boxes? A lot of floor was showing, which leaves a lot of risk for more damage.  We try to cover as much as we can, but some areas get uncovered.  The house is being cleaned on Monday, all of it will be removed and cleaned.  We will walk the house and make sure there are no other repairs then in front of the range.
 

We know that a few of these things were probably already going to be addressed/fixed, but we wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page. If you could send your reply with your answers to each question in a different color next to the questions, that would be great. Everything else looks fantastic by the way!  I hope I answered your questions, like I said please call me if you have any further questions.

Trip back to the house

We went back again today with my mom, her boyfriend, and my father in law which was a great thing we did because they were all very helpful and insightful! We noticed more mistakes than yesterday and learned a lot of different things in general. I'm just going to post pics of the problems we saw with a description under the photo. Hopefully they're already planning on fixing some of this, but we want to make sure they know we know about them. We don't want them to try to cover up the stuff with the cabinets.

Better view of the thermostat in the middle of the wall

Hole next to the light. Im guessing an easy fix

This is what I mentioned in my post yesterday where the island split when the counter was placed

Manufacturer defects - little holes and looks tacky

Knick in the big cabinet and paint/scrapes. We want this cabinet replaced

Another manufacturer defect or maybe a scratch

Scratch on the floor. Father in law said he could stick his nail under it. 

A lot of the cabinet doors were uneven. Hopefully when they fix these, it doesn't make a lot of ugly holes on the inside.

Along with being uneven, a lot of the double cabinets had a gap in between the doors and you could see into it. It's hard to tell by this pic.

Small hole/gaps in attic entry. Potential for air to get through

Broken piece on hall bath air vent upstairs

The right window doesn't close all the way

Closer view

Bulge where the drywall meets the ceiling in the bonus room

Chip on the master door

Railing is uneven and tilting a little bit. This would bug me every single day.

Should that insulation be showing?

Small hole in the basement ceiling

I'm guessing they'll caulk this later, but we took a pic just in case.

Details matter

We finally got out to the house. It looks great! The driveway is just about done (they said they have to come out Tuesday to finish it), the counters in the kitchen/bathrooms are in, all cabinets installed, some faucets, light fixtures, thermostats, inside doors, and a few other things I know I'm not thinking about. I'm in LOVE with my kitchen colors!

The upstairs hall bath is good, but I'm not happy with our tile choice in the master bath. I KNEW we should've upgraded to the large brown tiles, but we were trying to save money. We chose the small almond tiles and now I've realized it was a mistake because now we have off-white tiles right next to stark white countertops. It looks like we tried to match two whites but failed miserably. We found a lot of knicks and dings around the house, but we'll address the big ones and are hoping they will fix the little ones before the walk in. My mom and her boyfriend stopped by and they noticed some things we didn't think of as well.

Problems:
-Thermostat on the main floor is just about in the middle of the wall instead of to the left like it was in the model home. Now we wouldn't be able to hang a mirror there like I wanted.
-My mom's boyfriend said there's no hot/cold water hookup where the rough in is in the basement.
-Window in bonus room has what looks like a Bebe gun hole (but they have the word "replace" written on the window.
-A lot of the kitchen cabinets have small chunks missing, scratches, and paint marks. We won't settle for these and will make them replace all of the cabinets if we have to. We don't want to wait until the walk in in case they try to paint the chips or something.
-Master bath tile color and even the quality of the tiling look seems "off" to me.
-Mom noticed a scratch on the flooring in the kitchen.
-Call me picky, but the garage door walking into the house had a brown colored door knob (this seems like the actual door knob and not one of the temporary ones) while all the inside door knobs are a chrome color.
-The drywall is very rough. It seems like they didn't wash the dust off before they painted on the primer. Not sure if that's the finished product or not.
-No electricity outside the garage for a sensor light (the ones that turn on when it detects movement outside).
-The part of the island under the countertops seemed to have buckled when they put the counter on. Now under the counters, the island is kind of... what's the word... splitting?
-Planning desk drawers are crooked on the left side.
-Front steps look weird compared to the rest of the concrete. Almost like it was raining when they were being poured. And they seem very narrow compared to the model home. Only one person can fit on them.

That's all I can think of for now. I know the PM has been very trustworthy thus far and hopefully he will address all these issues before the walk in. I'm not going to settle for any answer but "okay" when we tell him we want the thermostat moved. Now for the pictures!

Some of the sidewalk is in too

Ends of the floor were uneven but I'm guessing that'll get fixed?

😍😍😍

Dishwasher is in

Looks like they're going to install the mirror

At least I'm very happy with the white counters and Cherry Bordeaux cabinets

And love the size of the tub

Putting trim in the tray ceiling. We didn't know they were going to do that, but it's a plus!

Does anybody know what this is? That's the laminate that's going in the laundry room, but not sure what the bowl is for. It looked too small for a sink?

I never noticed the 3rd garage ceiling is so high. Looks nice!

Since this isn't a pic of the whole wall, it's hard to tell how almost centered the thermostat is. But the switches are almost all the way to the right.

See how the steps are speckled and different color than the rest of the cement? And very narrow

Hard to tell in this pic, but the drawers on the left are crooked.