Things progressed a lot while I was away, and we had our pre-drywall meeting and our independent inspection yesterday. On the hottest day of the year. We sure know how to pick em.
Our pre-drywall inspection took almost two hours, I think we were just moving pretty slowly because of the heat. Even though it was only 8am, it was already in the high 80's with 120% humidity. And we were walking around in a house that had been closed up all night, with no AC or electricity. Fun times.
The house looked great. Totally solid. No weird bowed wood, no giant knots in any support beams, no big gaps, no slanty walls. Our PM was great, I really like him. We walked all through the house and talked a little about how it operates, and how air flows. We asked a lot of questions, and got all of them answered. Not sure I remember the answers though...
As for mistakes, we found only 2. They hadn't installed the microwave socket in the correct place. We are getting a gas stove, and code requires the microwave to not be above it (something about giant balls of flame), so its being moved to a spot right next to the fridge. Our PM hadn't noticed that, so I was quite proud for figuring it out. Also, the soaking tub was badly chipped in 3 places. PM was not happy about that, but said it would be taken care of.
Also, the PM was not happy about this:
We actually found it in the basement, tucked into a pouch that was holding HVAC paperwork. Hey man, its been hot - who wouldn't sneak into the basement for a cold one? Even if it was a cold Bud (ick!). Other than that, and a cigarette butt in the basement, the house was totally clean. I'm sure they made sure it was cleaned out for our scheduled visit, but its really been mostly clean on our unscheduled visits too. Way less trash laying around the construction site than at my actual house. :)
 |
| This is where my cabinets will go! |
 |
| Where the fridge and microwave will go |
 |
| Tradesman hard at work in 100 degree heat filling holes with pink goo |
 |
| giant hvac |
 |
| This is the little nook in the living room. I was thinking about adding some bookshelves. Need to be very careful not to drill into the water lines.... |
 |
| Its like there is a giant octopus living in our ceiling |
 |
| Or one of those air puffed wiggly arm person displays at the car dealership |
 |
| Chipped bathtub. :( |
So, at 4pm (and 125 degree heat index) we met our independent inspector, who had already been there for a bit wandering around the exterior. We walked the house with him for another half hour or so. You know what he found? One metal plate that was missing from the half wall in the kitchen. That was it. In the whole house. If he hadn't been so impressed and complimentary of the PM and the job he was doing, I would think he was just not paying attention. But he kept saying "he (PM) beat me to it." All the things he normally finds on houses, he wasn't finding. No holes, not bowed wood, not gaps, no code violations. Nada, nothing. I'm having mixed feelings as to whether we got our money's worth! But for a couple hundred dollars, having a professional verify our gut feelings about the house was worth it.
We are really glad we went with Ryan and are feeling very confident about the outcome. While I was shuffling through some old paperwork, I found some letters that I had written to the developer/builder of my current house 10 years ago (which was also new. boy am I spoiled). I had totally blocked all of those problems out! It was bad - very bad. I won't go into it, but this experience with Ryan is so much better than my last experience with a local (synonymous with corrupt) builder.
Lots of other news but this post is already WAAAAY too long, so more later!
