A Delay in Movement - Ryan Homes Build

So originally we were planning to have our pre-construction meeting this coming Friday. Not necessarily a surprise, but the date is now pushed back to October. We don't officially have a new date for pre-construction, but they are anticipating the beginning of construction being October 13th.

This isn't something worth pointing the finger at Ryan Homes, because I know our county. Our county has extremely strict stipulations related to any zoning, building, paving and so forth. The county supervisors have had strong, strict requirements since this development has been in the works to be approved in 2009. So the completion of this entire project is something that is probably not going to come easy. They have an idea of the way they want the community and neighborhood to look and they are going to stand by it until the vision is fulfilled and I cannot be against it. I have extremely high hopes for this community and am more than willing to wait it out. No matter HOW BADLY I WANT MY HOME. ;)

I just want a job well done. In my parents neighborhood, which was a RH development from 2003, it feels as if the house could fall down when the wind blows or the rain pours and you can hear every little thing outside when in the living & dining rooms. And just for clarification so you all don't get the wrong idea about all RH's, our previous home was a RH and was build spectacularly.

With that being said, I would assume that we have a January/February closing. As long as the Winter does not prove to be an issue, I believe that maybe we will see that date. Fingers are crossed! It is only going to be sweeter with time. Even though I want nothing more than to be inside those four walls. :)

In addition, they have added in fire hydrants and it appears they have finished the majority of the plumbing line work. Clearly, I do not know all that needs to be done. But it really does look like they are ready for the paving to begin. I am hoping any day now. :) The other great part is that they removed the brush to the entrance to our section of the community which will lead to a roundabout with our home directly diagonal to said roundabout. Progress people! I am still excited to see the day that we have a sign indicating our lot! :)

 It doesn't seem like much, but it sure is pretty to us. It is progress and a new place to call home in the future. We are grateful and blessed. Also, assuming that our home will be somewhere near the brush/wood/tree pile in the first couple of pictures. :)

Pre-Construction Meeting Questions Updated - Ryan Homes Build

Most of these questions were answered within the overview of our options reviewed by our project manager. Quick and easy. There were three or so that were left at the end to ask. :)

• Smooth or rough ceilings? I NEVER put any thought to this until I saw this so frequently in other posts. Why would you do rough ceilings? I got laughed at. SMOOTH. 
• Have the appliances changed? The refrigerator is no longer being sold. Found the newer model that had been sent to the SR. 
• Standard recessed lights over each shower? I continue to be told yes. But this is just a reminder to verify. Yes. 
• Standard recessed lights in porch? Again, told yes. I'd like two built-in. Yes, two standard. 
• Remove granite backsplash lip? I don't know the true wording for this, but I think that it looks cleaner with the lip removed for backsplash application. Easy to remove after we move in to put backsplash, but this is a quality control issue according to inspector. 
• Crown moulding on kitchen and laundry cabinets? I haven't found much clarification on this. It would seem to me that this would not be standard, but I never saw it listed as an option? Continue to need clarification. Although for sure not in laundry room. 
• Will laundry cabinets be installed high enough to accommodate our stands? Yes. 
• French door vs. sliding door in back? Crossing my fingers for a french door.  Yes, one stationary, one that opens. 
• Different switch for pendants vs. recessed lights? MUST have this. Yes. 
• White mantle? Praying this is possible, but if not we will install ourselves. We do not want a stone mantle. Most likely doing stone. 
• Glass cabinets above the range? End of cabinets? Really crossing my fingers on this one. The glass makes a huge difference in my opinion. Not an option. Would have to reach out to Timberlake distributor instead. 
• Do the end of the cabinets round at the wall? This is something that I'm just simply clarifying. The upgraded kitchen shows this online, so I am assuming this is a yes. Yes. 
• Outlet on landing of stairs? Wondering if we can add this in. Seems simple enough to request to add-in. I want to be able to put scent plug-ins here. A little silly you may think.. ;) Not present and not a big deal the more I think about it. 
• Switched outlet for tray ceiling lighting in master and dining? We are planning on putting rope lighting in the tray. We have already paid for the outlet, but just want to make sure it is run by a switch. Yes. 
• Move crown moulding on tray to bottom? This is related to a model home we saw in MD which has the rope lights in the master and dining room trays. Our SR is not sure our PM will accommodate this. It never hurts to ask. If it cannot be done, we will ask to leave off the crown moulding and apply it ourselves. Because otherwise, the outlets placed in the trays would useless. Yes, will be 1/3 way down
• Extra insulation in laundry, bathrooms, and between master/bonus? I cannot STAND to hear the bathroom shower or toilet running in the bedrooms next door - this happens as my parents home that was a RH from 2003. Will do ourselves. 
• Mini deck and porch having trex/geo-deck material? Hoping for trex or some variation because of the cleanliness and way it looks. Concrete. Not exciting but it is what it is. 
• Archway vs. raised in bathroom between sinks and shower/toilet? This is a pretty big deal to us. It changes the openness of the bathroom A LOT and I'm hoping this is a simple fix. Archway, no. Possibly raised. 
• Tile ABOVE the showerhead? No bigger frustration than halfhearted tiling. Our previous RH (that we did NOT build) had upgraded tile, but it stopped below the shower head. Made our nice bathroom seem a little less nice. Yes. 
• Have shower head raised high enough? My husband is 6'4" and many shower heads do not accommodate his height. Hopefully a simple request. Yes. 
• Light rough-in for morning room? CANNOT remember for the life of me. Kind of important! Yes, chandelier. 
• House paint color? A beige/greige/off-white may be nice? I think we may paint sooner than the 10-month inspection anyway. So it is kind of a flexible point. Forgot to ask. 
• Light on the back “deck” recessed or on the wall? I believe one of the neo-traditional models we saw had a recessed light in the overhang of the small "deck". Recessed per plan. 
• Laundry room light? Our previous, lovely home, had the large, long tube light in the laundry room. But am starting to entertain the idea of additional recessed lights here. From what I understand it's a typical round light. 
• Wood stairs to bonus and wood stairs to bottom of basement? Yes, wood stairs to bonus but not to basement as that is not per plan. 
• Is the blower necessary now that we have a new fireplace? TBD.

I'm not necessary interested in timelines as I know timing, weather, and other situations arise. We can be flexible and accommodating for this ride. :) But I am definitely SUPER excited for the future. 

Time is Moving Forward - Ryan Homes Build

We stopped by the farmhouse this past Saturday and had a great time talking with our SR about the progress, fireplace stone selections, and lo-and-behold.. a time to break ground! :)

August had felt SO far away and when it appeared, I didn't put much thought to it. From what we had been seeing, we knew that the roads would be poured in the development this month, but I had gotten so used to waiting and watching that it didn't click that once the roads were in, our home would soon be built! :)

Our options for the fireplace stone selection are different then what I had seen in other Ryan communities and I'm really stuck at what to choose. We want something that has some color and depth to it and we were looking forward to choosing stones that were round - not liked stacked brick. We want some color because we have a lot of grey/black/brown/white colors and we need something to warm the place up.

This is literally the only thing that we have had trouble deciding on because it was different than what we were expecting. We are taking the week to think it over and will go back tomorrow to place our decision. I am thinking the left of the first row. I could even entertain the idea of the left one on the third row mostly because of the shapes and change in colors. I love the colors of the one on the right in the third row, but not the stacked brick look. I think hands down, especially after posting here, that we will choose the top left selection.

Anyway, onto BIGGER news.. we set our pre-construction meeting for Friday, August 22. And, the BIGGEST and BEST news.. we are set to break ground on Monday, September 1st! I went to the farmhouse on Saturday not expecting any kind of news like this, and I left BEAMING and almost hugging our SR I was so excited! :) It is finally starting to feel more REAL after waiting these past couple months. I can barely wait for those days to come, but I know they will be here before I know it. We are having our pre-construction meeting earlier than the typical week beforehand because we are going out of the country for two weeks. So unfortunately, we won't be here to see them break ground, but from what I'm expecting is just some excavating so it's not too much of a bummer. We will be back in the country on the 11th, so I plan on racing over and scoping the area out. My family is also right down the street from the development so I am hoping they will keep us updated! The biggest reality check of this whole thing is that we have been pretty lax on our savings for closing and December/January will be here before we know it. I would love to be in the house before Christmas, but I am not sure if that will happen or not. I know we will find out more during the pre-construction meeting in relation to the planning phase. But January does give us further time to save those pretty pennies! :)

There is no logical progression to these pictures, just some that I took while we were scoping out the area with our SR the other day. He took us to see different areas than what we had previously seen. I just love everything about the serenity of the area and, in a way, am sort of sad about the significant changes that will overtake this land in the future. I was able to scope out the proposed plans online yesterday that gave me a LOT of insight into what to expect from the community. They are definitely retaining the sense of small-town feel, but it is also going to be extravagant in and of itself as well.

These trees are part of the "greenway corridor" and will separate the different neighborhoods. 

Hard to tell because it is such a BIG panorama, but this serves as the entrance to our section and will someday house a roundabout. Straight ahead will be 1.2 acres with sidewalks lined with street lamps and benches all leading up to a gazebo in the center. If you click on the picture to zoom in, you can see a pile of dead trees in the middle. Hypothetically, this is where our house may be as it is not staked out.