Updates

I stopped by the model on my way home today and the sales rep said we are slotted to break ground on Feburary 20th. That was definitely a surprise to me. With 84 days to completion they should be done way before the mid-June dates we had planned on. Not a bad surprise, but unexpected. No permits have been applied for or approved yet, so that date could slip, but a week or two early might be good. I also learned that a few other houses near us have sold. Next door will be a Ravena, and another Yorkshire will be across the street and 3 houses down, but with a different front.

Permits and Stalking

So this is the downtime before construction.

All the selections have been done.

All the deposits have been paid.  Loan has been approved.   Current house is on the market.

There is nothing left to do until the pre-construction meeting.

I can't help it, but I have been driving through the neighborhood every few days.  Basically anytime I am in the area I do a pass through.    In the last 2 weeks the house across the street has finally started.  They are probably a good month ahead of us, but now their foundation is in.   It's interesting to see the shape of the house and be able to identify the floor plan (Courtland with side entry garage) based on the basement outline.

There is also a Yorkshire around the corner that is getting close to done.  This has the same front as ours but with a front entry garage.  Now that the brick is up you can really see it taking shape.    Then I met a neighbor the other day who was out taking photos of his Yorkshire while I was driving around (aka "stalking the neighborhood").  They have a completely different front and reverse floor plan though -- so you can barely even tell it is the same house.  So far there are 3 of our model out of 15 or so, but all 3 are very different.   Interesting to see how opposite people can configure the same plan.

Finally, today I noticed the permit application for the lot next to us was just filed.   They are supposed to be 1 or 2 weeks ahead of us, so we are getting close.   I'm guessing permits will be filed around Feb 1st.

Selections

I guess some people might like picking out flooring selections.  Not me.  Once we picked out the granite, cabinets and hard woods my mind basically shut off.  From that point on we went fairly neutral, which I am sure will be a good thing in the end.  We did end up having to upgrade the granite to get the all black we wanted and also the carpet + padding.   And the vinyl...

All of the flooring selections

Granite | Cabinets | Hard Wood Floors

Guardian - Low Voltage Wiring

So -- now that our structural changes are locked in and the blueprints have been ordered -- we move onto the interior selections.  Basically the Audio/Video/Network options and all the flooring.

First up was the Guardian representative.  Very nice guy, but unfortunate for him I already knew exactly what I wanted.  And I also knew that I was willing to wiring the entire upstair myself instead of paying $125 per cable for them to do it.   Ryan Homes agreed to run a 2" PVC conduit from the basement to the attic for me ($250 charge), so running wires to the bedrooms will be easy with that to feed through.

My only future issue is that I need to run 1 HDMI cable from above the fireplace to the baseboards.  Hopefully I can get somebody to drill a 1" hole through the wall studs for me pre-drywall.   Otherwise I will have to get creative.  Guardian wanted $450 to run this wire.   I can pay somebody to replace the drywall and repaint for $200 + the $10 HDMI cable.

Yorkshire it is

I guess the first post hinted at it, but we ended up selecting the Yorkshire model with a bunch of add ons.  The traditional colonial style appealed to us even before we decided to build -- so the Yorkshire was an easy choice.

There were a few major choices we made right off the bat.

1. A 3 car side entry garage was an almost necessity.  The HOA rules don't allow a rear shed if you live on a corner lot, so the extra storage space will be needed.
2. Finished basement with Media/Theater room :-)
3. Morning Room (aka Breakfast Room) with a 14x12 deck.
4. Gourmet Kitchen with the big island, 42" cabinets, granite, and a gas range.
5. 9' Celings on the 1st Floor and a gas fireplace in the Family Room.
6. and finally the Upgraded Owners suite.  Really this was just to get the nice bathroom.

All said and done it will be 4 bedrooms, 2 Baths upstairs.  1/2 Bath on the 1st floor, and a rough in for a full bath in the basement.

Upstairs

1st Floor.