Sunday, July 29, 2012

Another disappointing visit

We have not been to the house in a week.  We decided to not go nearly as frequently, to avoid seeing no progress.  Our PM sent me an email wednesday saying that the steel was on site and framing would start on Thursday.  Thursday afternoon he emailed me and said the framers got held up at another site and would not be out until Friday, but they would work Saturday to catch up.  So imagine our surprise when we made the 1 hour drive there this morning to see our home looking exactly the same as it did last week.  Well... surprised is not exactly the correct word for how we felt, but my Grandma reads this blog so I will refrain from using the words to describe exactly how I felt.  We called our SR because she works on the weekends, and she has agreed to help us out by looking at our home on her way in on  the weekends and letting us know if it is worth a trip.  At this point we are getting anxious on whether or not we will close on October 1st.  As you all probably know, the interest rates are crazy low, and I want to lock in, but I can't until we are 60 days from closing.  T's car lease is also up on August 15th, so we were hoping to lock in before we had to apply for another lease which will be another hard credit inquiry to worry about.

A couple of posts ago, I talked about how I was unhappy with the size of the garage.  In the previous post T discussed that she was upset about the crack in the basement.  I now have another area of disappointment to share.  The concrete guys applied a sealer to the garage floor.  Although I appreciate the effort, it completely ruins my plans for finishing the garage.  I had already picked out the epoxy I was planning to use.  You cannot apply an epoxy over sealer or it will not adhere.  I shared my plans for the garage floor with the PM at our pre construction meeting, but I did not specifically say "dont apply sealer to the floor".  You may have read before that there are 2 things I wanted on this house, a 3 car garage and and full basement.  Well... I got both, but between the giant crack in the basement and the sealer on the garage floor, I am completely unhappy with both.  I just hope the rest of the home is perfect so that T will enjoy it.

There is not doubt that this house will be much better than our apartment, but when we decided to build I as hoping for something to last us 10 years.  Now I am thinking we will live there only until the housing market will allow us to get most of our money back in resale.  Who knows though, maybe Ryan will completely blow me away with the rest of the home and win me over.  I sure hope they do.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Week 3

It's week 3!  We've got our floor poured in the basement and 3 car garage.  The sump pump was installed before they poured the concrete.  A few concerns with the concrete though.  The temperatures have been 100 degrees the past two weeks.  They poured the concrete in extreme heat and now the basement has discoloration that looks like it is stained with rust puddles.  I have no idea what the stain actually is.  There's also a huge crack running from the garage wall back to the back of the house.  This is such a concern because we are planning on staining the concrete in the basement and we were very clear about that when we met with the PM.  We are now wondering how the stain is going to look.  Has anyone else had problems like this?

They also delivered the 2 boat loads of wood.  The PM said they are putting up the steal today and starting the framing tomorrow.






Wednesday, July 18, 2012

My first disappointment of the build

Today I experienced the first disappointment of the build so far.  There have been a couple of delays with the concrete and plumbing work so we haven't been out for a few days to visit.  I was told the garage and basement floor were to be poured today.  I drove out to the home site after work to see some progress and found no concrete poured.  Delays happen, I understand.  I just don't enjoy driving out there, for nothing. I am told we are right on schedule.  I think we will switch to only visiting once a week to avoid trips like the one today.

Now for my 2nd piece of disappointment.  The garage.  It looks absolutely tiny.  I knew the garage dimensions were not ideal for me in any Ryan home, but we liked so many other things that I decided to proceed.  Let me say, as the man of the relationship, all I cared about was the garage and the basement.  So naturally I am disappointed to see a garage layout that seem to small to even park both of our cars in.  Maybe it is my eyes playing tricks on me because there are no walls for me to focus on right now.  I sure hope so, because right now is the most unexcited I have been since we stepped foot in the neighborhood a few months back.

If anyone can send me links to pictures of their cars parked in the garage I would appreciate it.  All the pictures I have seen are of empty garages. I know the stairs will take up a few feet, and I can't even picture my car fitting in and being able to walk around the car.  Someone please send me some pictures that will make me excited again!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Week 2

It's now week 2.  Finally, the basement walls are poured and we can imagine how large the house is going to be.  I saw the PM today and he told me about the waterproofing wrap around the entire basement.  Here are some details about the wrap.  He said it's much better than the waterproofing spray other contractors use.  A glue is used around the perimeter of the wrap to prevent water from penetrating.

Advantages of DELTA®-MS Foundation Waterproofing Membrane:
  • High density polyethylene is impermeable to water and water vapor
  • Outlasts the life of the structure (will not break down or disintegrate due to soil acids)
  • Non-polluting and non-toxic
  • Can be installed on damp or frosty surfaces
  • Installation is unaffected by temperatures
    (-30° to 80°+ C/-22° to 176°+ F)
  • Requires no maintenance
  • Unaffected by freeze/thaw cycles
  • Spans across all cracks and other surface defects
Morning room (right)
3 car garage

View of basement(left) and porch (right)

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Footer Time!

Week 1, digging is done.  Walls are next.


Jack's first visit to the site. 


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Ground Breaking Day

Today was the big day!  I am off all week trying to waste some vacations days before I lose them.  I decided to watch the crew dig our basement, and they sure do it quickly.  It is 101 outside today so I sure hope that CAT has AC.



We are excited to finally see some action after all of the research, decisions, and selections.  I smoked a pork shoulder last night so I could take the SR and PM some food.  Let's hope it was enough to win them over, just in case I need them on my side before it is all said and done.  We are looking at closing October 1st.  Man, will I be glad to be done with apartments!  Time for a cold glass of beer to celebrate.