After our pre construction meeting with our SR and PM we got to thinking about something that the PM said. he mentioned our staircase would be capped with a knee wall and that we would not have a baluster. I must admit I was rather confused because this is our first home. T emailed the SR and asked her what "capped" meant. She was very quick to send us pictures of another home that was being constructed and had a knee wall staircase. We were so glad we asked because every home we saw in person and the many helpful blogs had spindles. We took it for granted and assumed the spindles were standard. We immediately communicated to the SR that we wanted spindles. Even though materials had already beed ordered they agree to put in a CO without the late fee, because the SR admitted that she was not clear on this option upfront. We are very grateful to our SR and PM for making our experience as stress free as they can. The most important thing we have learned to to ask a lot of questions, and then ask some more.
Here is what it would have looked like without the upgrade
And here is what it will look like with the upgrade (Stolen from Rachel, Thanks!)