Monday visit

I was out of town this past weekend so I did not have my usual weekend visit. I really needed to go anyway because I will not be able to attend the first walk-through tomorrow because I do not want to take a valuable day off. The goal of my visit today is to take a thorough look around and make note of anything I feel needs to be addressed.

My gorgeous hardwood floors were uncovered so I FINALLY got to see them in all their glory. After seeing them all uncovered I am very happy with my flooring choice. It breaks up some of the beige and I think it will look really nice once I add more color. With the floors being uncovered, the house is 99% complete. The only thing left to do is correct things mentioned in the inspection report.

Drum roll please....

Study

Picture taken from front porch

Dining Room 

Great room!

Breakfast area

Kitchen - obviously

Catwalk above great room

View from breakfast area to downstairs guest bedroom

Taken from catwalk

I honestly only found a handful of things, which were minor, that I would like addressed.

• I am still not happy with the touch up paint job done on the cabinet. Some contractor must have scratched the side near the double ovens while putting up tile.
• The floor transition from the foyer to the dining room (marble to hardwood) is a tad uneven.
• More info: Per Toll Brothers, they are the only builders who make sure that different types of flooring are even and therefore require no transitions (sample pictured below). If you look at my pictures above you will not see a perpendicular piece of wood demarcating the transition:



• My picture: 

  

  The wood is raised above the level of the marble a little - all other areas a fine

Mid-week Visit and Shutter Estimate

I drove out to the house today for two reasons  - to check on things and also to meet with someone from  a window covering company for an estimate.  Upon arrival I saw that a section of the driveway had been removed. I am not sure what the reason was, but I trust that it was necessary. While I was walking around with the estimate guy I noticed some water near the baseboard in the garage.  I will have them check on it.

Removed part of driveway

Water underneath baseboard - that is NOT on the ground

Close up

The estimate guy was very nice and seemed knowledgeable. He was very familiar with homes in my area and even told me what other people with the same floor plan had done with window treatments. My plan is to only have plantation shutters placed on the windows in the front of the house for uniformity. I want a clean look from the street so all the rooms in the front of the house will have the same color. The rest of the house will gradually get appropriate window coverings.

Some people, like my mother, are not familiar with plantation shutters so I will include pictures of plantation shutters and hopefully you think they are as beautiful as I do. These shutters come in a variety of materials with PVC and real wood being popular. According to the estimate guy the price difference in the two is minimal because PVC needs petroleum to be made and petroleum is expensive...TMI, I know. My plan was to do painted hardwood in the house and PVC in the garage but since the price is not different, wood all around it is. Some of you may be wondering why in the Dickens I would pay to have plantation shutters installed in the garage. Believe me, I really do not want to pay for them to be installed there but garage actually looks like part of the actual interior from the front and I want a uniform look.  A lot of homes in the neighborhood have them in their garages as well.

I will need a total of 8 shutters. We'll see how much the quote is for. I sure hope it doesn't make me lightheaded; passing out is embarrassing.

Here are examples of plantation shutters:

See how the windows in the garage face the front?

More Toll Brothers Advice

My last post was full of compliments for Toll Brothers, at least in my community, because of how my building process went overall.  Yes, there were minor hiccups here and there but overall things went smoothly and issues were addressed.

The most recent issue we came across involved our media room. After the initial construction meeting and before the foundation was poured, we met with the multimedia guy. During this meeting we discussed how to set up the media room. In the model, the AV equipment was in a closet, but of course that was some non-standard option. Naturally our next question was, "Well where are we supposed to put our equipment?" His solution was that he could build a cabinet to put adjacent to the wet bar that could store the equipment. He could make it the same height as the counter and it would blend in. We loved the idea and we had him route all the cables there on the plan. Now, fast forward 5 months.  There is no freakin' cabinet. We were emailed an invoice following the initial meeting showing the costs of different media options (i.e. addition CAT-5 outlet, additional audio pre-wire, etc) but there was no mention of a cabinet, but we discussed it so it should be fine, right? NO!!!! Since there was nothing in writing, it's as if there was no mention of it or as if the conversation never happened, even if we would be willing to pay for it. I mean, who in their right minds would have wire directed beside the wet bar for no good reason? The sales manager and the multimedia guy did not argue with us they simple said there will be no cabinet.

Given the above situation, my advice is the following:

• ALWAYS write things down that are okay'ed by ANYONE working for the builder 
• You typically only meet with the sales manager, construction manager and multimedia guy
• Once an invoice is provided, double check everything with what you wrote down address it
• ALWAYS ask what EXACTLY is included in an option such as a wet bar, butler's pantry, media cabinet, or whatever and be VERY specific
• Ask if the cabinets come with the glass doors, upper cabinets or under cabinet lighting like in the model. NEVER assume that your upgrade option will be like what you see in the model.
• We were surprised that the price of the wet bar only included a lower cabinet and a sink. The wet bar in the model had upper and lower cabinets. Don't be surprised by what your option does not include
• Address your concerns sooner rather than later
• We asked about the cabinet 4 weeks after the multimedia stuff was done. We thought maybe they were still making it. Perhaps if we weren't so close to closing they may have considered doing SOMEthing.

National Sales Event...more information

Several times per year Toll Brothers has 'National Sales Events' during which they offer money towards design center selections or structural options PLUS Free upgrades.  Since I tend to mention things that were part of the National Sales Event (NSE), I felt I should list all of the incentives. These change with each NSE so the information I am providing is from the NSE that took place February 9-24, 2013.  I could not find this information anywhere online.

$10,000 Towards Design Center Selections

OR

Structural Options

PLUS

Additional Amazing FREE Upgrades Below!

$2,000  Credit Toward Emser Tile Flooring Upgrades

$500 Credit Toward Shaw Carpet Upgrades

$500 Credit Toward Armstrong Hardwood Flooring

$400 Credit Toward Kitchenaid Appliance Upgrades

$400 Credit Toward Progress Lighting Upgrades

Free Baldwin Front Door Hardware Upgrade - up to $300 Value

Free Single-Stage Crown Moulding in 2 Additional Single-Story Room

Free Front Door Upgrade (one level up from standard)

Free Iron Stair Baluster Upgrade (one level up from standard)

Free Audio Pre-Wire in 2 Rooms

Free Gas Stub and Additional Hose Bib

Free Thermostat Upgrade to Honeywell Pro 8000 and 4" Media Filters

Free Trash Bin Pull-Out in Kitchen

Free 8 Additional Recessed Can Lights

Free Obscure Glass in Master Bathroom Window Over Tub (No Glass Blocks)

Free Paint Upgrade in a Single-Story Room

Free 30-Gallon Live Oak Tree

Free Exterior Keypad at Garage Door

Free 20x72 Dressing Room Mirror

In addition to the above, we were given another $2,000 for design center selections for previewing the design center (which was far, but totally worth it for this incentive).

Some people may be thinking, "Free? Yeah right. They probably just increase the price for the Sales Event!" Well I am convinced otherwise when it comes to Toll Brothers. Bottom line is this: Toll Brothers does not negotiate with their prices. Therefore, the ONLY way to get anything extra from Toll Brothers is to purchase during one of the National Sales Events. This was not planned for me, it just so happened that the week before I signed the contract is when I looked at the model and considering going with them.

While Toll Brothers is very aggressive with their pricing and lack of negotiating as well as with their contract protecting them to a degree that should be questioned, I would not hesitate to build with them again. This is all being said before I actually move in. Yes, I had communication issues with the sales manager at times, but overall things went smoothly and mistakes were promptly corrected. In the end, my house is gorgeous and I honestly feel like I got a quality home where corners were not cut and quality products were used. 

Weekly Weekend Visit

We visited the lot, as usual, with the expectation that not much would be noticeably different.  The major difference was that the appliances are in!!! They were not mentioned during the weekly construction update so it was a nice surprise. As far as appliances ago, we stuck with the standard double ovens which are convection ovens. I found this information on overstock.com helpful with both explaining the differences between traditional ovens and convection ovens and the benefits convection ovens offer:

1. How is a convection oven different from a traditional oven?
   A traditional oven uses radiant heat to cook food. While this is a time-honored method of cooking, one side of a dish may receive more heat than the other side, causing the food to bake unevenly. A convection oven constantly circulates the hot air inside to provide a consistent temperature on all surfaces of the food, resulting in even cooking.
2. Do convection ovens cook food faster?
   Yes, food cooks faster in a convection oven due to the increased food-surface temperature. The airflow boosts yeast breads to new heights, allows fats to render quickly, seals meats and creates tender, flaky pastries. While each convection oven comes with specific manufacturer's specifications, cooking time is typically shortened by approximately 20 percent.
3. Are special pans necessary?
   Regular pans are fine, but pans with lower sides are desirable because high pan sides may hamper airflow. A flat cookie sheet produces evenly browned cookies in less time than a cookie sheet with sides. When roasting, place the food item on top of a roasting rack, positioned within a shallow roasting pan. The rack allows the hot air to circulate around and under the roast, cooking from all sides.
4. Should conventional recipes be adjusted?
   Because food cooks faster in a convection oven, you should check for doneness approximately three-fourths of the way through a traditional recipe's recommended cooking time. In addition, you may need to lower the temperature of baked goods by 20 to 25 degrees to keep cakes, breads and biscuits from baking before they can rise sufficiently.
5. Can a convection oven cook more than one rack of food evenly?
   This is where the convection oven shines. Unlike a traditional oven where you must remove and switch multiple pizzas to different racks during the cooking process, a convection oven allows you to load every rack with food without compromising the food on any rack. The hot air circulates between racks and heats all food surfaces evenly without the food being rotated.

We upgraded the venthood to one with a more powerful fan just in case something gets a little burned on the stove. lol We upgraded the cooktop and dishwasher as well, but only because we were given a credit of $400 for the National Sales Event.

They have completing the finishing process with the wood on the stair rails and they look really nice.  

The fireplace has been 'trimmed out,' whatever that means. When we were at the house today I could not tell the difference for the life of me. I will have to rely on photographic evidence!

Weird tilt-out sponge tray

Kitchen with appliances

Carpet has been replaced by marble

The 'trimmed out' fireplace - I don't see the difference

Second staircase

My venthood and cooktop - blue tape marking a damaged tile

Midweek Visit :-) & Weekly Construction Update

Today's visit was awesome! It was awesome primarily because of two things. One, the tile in the foyer has finally been uncovered and they are gorgeous. Two, the carpet has been installed!!!  I have wanted patterned carpet for such a long time. It is the little things like this that make me feel so appreciative and blessed. I love the carpet. Period. Yes, it contributes even more of the the color BEIGE to the house (don't act like you hadn't noticed) but I do not plan on having so much BEIGE forever. I have to pace my changes for budget reasons to be honest. I plan on staying here for at least 15 years and I think that is enough time to add color.

Love the marble

Master with carpet

Carpet up close

Also, hardware has been installed - meaning towel bars, toilet paper holders, towel rings, door stoppers and door handles. Everything looks great.

This time I came to the house prepared. In tow I had blue painter's tape, which we were told to use to mark things we notice that need to be addressed, and my bug spray! I don't have time for finding spiders in random places once I move in. Call me crazy, but if I get it taken care of now, I will have less surprises later. I didn't have enough energy to spray both upstairs and downstairs so I just sprayed the perimeter downstairs.

I used the tape the mark several things we'd noticed over the weekend and some new things I noticed as well.

Here are more pics taken today.

Here is the area I mentioned before where there would have been 3 types of flooring - wood (covered), marble, and carpet (shown). The carpet will be removed and replaced with marble.

Master

Game room 

Upstairs hall

View from foyer to great room

*********************************************************************************

Weekly Construction Update -

Due to the Holiday the construction update was later in the week than usual. Here's the update:

- The carpet is in (see above)
- Hardware will be going in today (see above)
- The construction manager will walk around the house this week and make a list of things that need to be fixed
- Next week will be all about inspectors