Construction Update - Week 9

We just received our weekly update from the PM on this snowy first day of spring.  It was another week full of progress. This week our house was inspected by PG county and Energy Star and insulated.  The crew started on drywall yesterday and will be working on that through early next week.  Around the middle of next week they will sand and paint. Then the trim carpenters will be starting to install interior doors, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and trim moldings.  

We're headed out of town for a week tomorrow and it sounds like we will come back to a lot of changes.  Can't wait to see everything in person next weekend!

Predrywall Inspection Issues Resolved

Yesterday morning we got our full home inspection report back from predrywall.  Our home inspector really understood the urgency to get this turned around to us quickly so RH would have a chance to resolve any issues before the drywall went up.  We also have a really good PM who addressed everything in the report line by line.  Since our home inspector said most of what he found is pretty typical at this stage, I'll list it out below along with what our PM did to resolve everything.

1. Gaps around the joist flashing for the cantilever deck - RH reattached the flashing saddles and added more sealant
2. Cantilever joists were pulling loose from the I-beams - RH added more nails and hammered everything together again
3. A couple of the I-beams were split below the living room floor (our inspector said this is the most common thing he finds at predrywall) - RH added metal straps to secure the split beams
4. Nails sticking out of the subfloor - RH already knew about this and will be removing these nails and sanding prior to flooring
5. Missing nail plates in a couple spots - RH added the missing nail plates
6. Kink in the bath exhaust - RH corrected this and it will also be inspected by Energy Star today
7. Bowed studs in a couple places - RH was already aware of these and corrected them yesterday
8. Tiedown straps weren't secured in the basement - RH was already aware of this and had planned to nail them in yesterday and they did

Overall, my husband and I really felt like the predrywall inspection was well worth the money since this is our chance to catch any structural issues.  We also felt like RH was aware of most of the issues and had plans to correct them already, which gave us a good piece of mind about the house.  We are still very pleased with RH and the work that has been done on our house, and we can't wait to start getting drywall this week.

Pre-Construction Meeting Follow-up

Since I only did a relatively quick post after our pre-construction meeting, I want to go through some of the questions we asked our PM during the meeting along with his answers.

• What are the anticipated dates for the pre-drywall meeting and settlement?  There aren't any tentative dates yet, but it should be in 8-9 weeks and possibly longer depending on the weather.  We'll get an email from our PM 2 weeks before the pre-drywall to set up the meeting.  He anticipates that settlement will be about 6-7 weeks after the pre-drywall meeting.
• We want to bring our own home inspector to the pre-drywall meeting and the pre-settlement walk through.  How should we coordinate this?  Once we select a home inspector we should send their license and insurance information to our PM, so that the inspector can be approved by Ryan Homes to be allowed in the house while it is still under construction.  Our PM needs this information at least a week in advance.  He also said that he would schedule our pre-drywall in the morning and then our inspector could come through with us that afternoon.
• Can we visit the homesite whenever we want?  Yes, we just have to call in advance.  24 hours notice is best.  Our PM wants us to visit as often as we want, so that we really feel like we are part of the process.
• Will we get updates throughout the construction process?  Yes, our PM will either call or email us weekly with updates on what was completed during the past week and what is scheduled for the upcoming week.  
• How many steps will there be to our front door?  Our PM anticipates that there will be 1-2 steps, and if there are 2 steps they will be spaced out (one closer to the sidewalk and one closer to our door).  He does not want to have to put up a railing since it changes the look of the front of the house.
• Are there any exterior outlets and where are they located?  Yes.  There will be an outlet by the front door, an outlet on the deck, and an outlet out back by the AC.
• Are there any exterior lights? Yes, there will be a light on the deck and a light by the front door.
• Will there be drywall in the garage? Yes
• Will there be outlets in the garage?  Yes
• Can we put a deadbolt on the garage door? No, because that has the door is according to the plan and can't be changed. Our PM said he will give us contact information for a handyman that can install a deadbolt in our door after settlement.
• Can we move the recessed lights above the island so they are centered?  (We plan to replace the recessed lights with pendant lights after we move-in.)  No, because there is a joist that runs over where we want to move the lights.  Our PM said we can revisit this during pre-drywall in case there ends up being a way to make the lights more centered.
• Can we pick our own slab of granite?  No, but there shouldn't be too much variation in the slabs.
• Is there an outlet on the kitchen island?  Yes, there are two outlets on the island.  One will be on either end.
• Is it possible to move the attic access to the closet? No, because there isn't enough space in the closet.
• Can you change the wire shelving in the laundry room so that we can put in a stackable washer and dryer set?  Yes
• Where is the thermostat located? On the wall between the stairs on the main floor.

We also went over the placement of all of our prewires and all of our options.  During the meeting we went floor by floor.  Our PM gave us details on what would be on each floor and gave us a chance to ask questions.  

The only question we still have is what color the exterior siding and shutters will be.  Our sales rep has been calling the main office daily to try to get us this information, but the designer for the community still has not yet decided on the color scheme for our block.  We know it will be something neutral and it is our only minor issue so far, so it is not really bothering us.  Overall, we are really happy with our entire Ryan Homes experience so far.  We can't wait to stop by our homesite this weekend to check on the progress!  

Construction to begin in the next two weeks

We just got an email from our sales rep that construction will begin on our house in the next two weeks!  We are working with our sales rep to set up our pre-construction meeting with the project manager.  We will likely be meeting with the project manager on the 19th since we are both off work that day.  So far everyone we have worked with through Ryans Homes, NVR, and their subcontractors have been so helpful, and we can't wait to finally meet our project manager.