Until Next Time...

This will likely be our last post for a while.  We're all moved in, but still have a lot of unpacking to do.  I want to say thanks to all of you for motivating us to keep this up to date.  From seeing the page view stats, I know there are a lot of loyal readers out there.  We hope this blog helped you.  We had a great experience building with Wayne Homes and would recommend them in a heartbeat.  All the employees have been wonderful and the quality of work and materials has been great as well.

If anything happens relevant to the house/warranty/Wayne Homes, I will post an update.  To the right of the screen is a "Follow by Email" field.  If you enter your email address, you'll be sent a note if/when there's a new post.  Also, if you have any questions, post a comment and I'll be notified by email that there's a message.

Now I'll give a quick summary of the last week.

Monday 8/20
The well was chlorinated.  It's basically mixing water and chlorine down the well shaft to kill any bacteria that may be there from the digging process.  It has to sit in the well and house plumbing for 24 hours.  Then we had to run the outside spigot for about 4 hours to get all the chlorine out of the well.  After that, we had to run cold water through all the faucets, showers, etc. for about 4 hours to flush it all out.  This was all in preparation for the county health inspection Tuesday.

Tuesday 8/21
We closed with Doug today.  He gave us shiny new keys and an accordian folder with all the warranty information.  We walked through the house and he went over all the maintenance we need to keep up with, and explained how everything worked (HVAC, shut off valves, etc).

The health inspector came and tested the well water.  Two days later, we got a letter saying it passed.

Wednesday 8/22
The cable, internet, phone, and security system were installed.  My husband also successfully hung the TV above the fireplace without any safety incidents.  Our new couch and kitchen table were also delivered.  I wasn't expecting the couch until after Labor Day, so it was a good surprise.

Thursday 8/23 - MOVING DAY!!
We woke up early and took the dogs to the kennel.  Then we headed over to the storage unit to wait for the movers.  Two Men and a Truck out of Akron did a great job.  They sent 6 men and 2 trucks to move our 10x25 storage unit and the stuff in the apartment.  It took about 2 hours for them to load up all our stuff from the 2 locations.  Then another 3 hours to unload and place everything exactly where we wanted it.  From start to finish, it was about 6 hours billed, which included travel time.  For being paid by the hour, they moved very quickly to get the job done.

Happy Camper

Friday 8/24 
The house number stone was replaced finally.  I think it looks much better now.  The numbers are still a little smaller then I would've liked, but at this point, it's good enough.

 

Thanks again and good luck to all of you!!

The Finishing Touches

Tuesday 8/14
We passed the plumbing inspection.  The fireplace fan was fixed too.

Wednesday 8/15
The stone guys came and caulked the office window.  The number stone still isn't fixed, though.  I'm waiting on an update to the situation. 

A cleaning crew came to the house today too.  They took all the plastic and labels off all the windows, swept the floors, cleaned the shower surrounds (paint, drywall mud, and putty globs), wiped down the mantle, etc.  It wasn't a deep clean, but was a great start.

Thursday 8/16
The bank inspection and final county inspection (including final HVAC) were done today.  We passed the county inspections and are getting closer to moving in.

 
The contractor from Home Depot came today to install all 17 blinds.  We picked them up from the store last Saturday, but only after I went to Giant Eagle and got $700 worth of gift cards so I could get a huge discount on gas.  I filled up my car for $0.75/gallon.  And I paid with my rewards credit card, so double bonus! 

The contractor was from CD Michaels and he did an excellent job.  We are impressed. I think the blinds look really good.  It was well worth the $118 to get the windows measured and blinds installed.  It probably saved my marriage ;).  It was hard to get decent pictures, though.  I'll add curtains later, but at least this gives us privacy to be able to move in.

We have our closing with Doug on Tuesday.  Cable, internet, and security system are being installed Wednesday.  The movers are coming Thursday.  I'll try to post an update next week after our closing.

Oh, S#@$

It comes full circle.  Within the first two weeks of construction, some kids pushed over the porta-john, and now within the last two weeks, it's on its side again.  We can't blame teenagers this time.  Sunday afternoon a gust of wind came through and it fell on the new driveway.  :( 

We have some awesome new neighbors who made a team effort to get it off the concrete, hose it off, and track down our phone number.  Seriously, about 4 different houses were involved.  It makes us feel even better about our neighborhood.

Doug called the company first thing Monday morning to come pick it up, but as of 7:30 pm, it was still laying there.  Ugh, it stinks and needs to go.

scratches :(

The driveway company came back today to cut the expansion joints. 

Close-up of the texture

The painter came back today to do all the touch-up work.  He painted the window trim that was scratched up by the framers.  He also fixed some of the damage and marks that happened since he was there last.

 

We're still waiting on:

• The plumber to fix his issues so we can pass inspection.
• The specialty guy needs to come back and finish a few small things, too (towel ring, tp holder).
• The stone guys need to come back and caulk the stone/office window and fix the number stone.

Our bank inspection is Thursday, so these guys probably need to show up soon.  Doug is on the case and I know he'll take care of it all.

I did talk to the cabinet guy and he's going to special order the crown molding and scribe for the kitchen cabinets.  Once that is delivered, he'll be back to install it.  This was arranged outside of the Wayne Homes contract since it was an afterthought, so it won't hold up closing.

Driveway

Saturday, the driveway was poured.  Thankfully the rain stayed away.  We used Russo Concrete in Canton and they did a great job.  Tim Russo and his crew were very flexible and we're very happy with the driveway.  They did our neighbor's driveway last year.  Our landscaper came out Friday night and spray painted the driveway and sidewalk for them.

Space for a plant/small shrub/etc

Denied

We failed the final plumbing inspection today.  Thankfully, it's nothing too major, but annoying nonetheless.  There were two things noted on the failure, both are related to the 3/4 bath rough-in in the basement.  1 - The caps on the two pipes are not the type of caps the inspector wants. 2 - There originally was a black cap/surround on the shower pipe.  For some reason the plumber removed it, but shouldn't have. 

This is an older picture.  You can see the black
surrounding the pipe on the right side of the picture.

Today - black plastic stuff is gone

So Doug called the plumber and gave him a stern talking to.  He'll be back out to fix it soon, but I don't know when.

The painter is coming in tomorrow to do the touch-ups.  Our driveway was also moved up to tomorrow.

Carpet, Appliances, and Love

I freaking love the new appliances and the soft carpet.  Look at all the buttons on the washer and dryer.  They chime and ding and light up.  Squee!!

The fridge is a bit larger than I expected, but I'll make do because it has crushed ice!! 

Basement freezer

 The carpet guys decided to come today instead of tomorrow.  I absolutely love the carpet.  It's really soft and plush.  We just kept the standard Mohawk Smart Strand.  We did upgrade the padding to a Stainmaster 8 lb. Odor/Pet padding.

The plumber also came back today and installed the toilets and pedastal sink in the half bath and did other plumber-type things.  :)

The garage door opener was also installed today.  It has a ton of bells and whistles I didn't know about.  It's a Chamberlain 3/4 HP Belt Opener.  I think I can get an app for my iPhone to open and close it remotely.

The electrician had to come back to replace tags or something that the siding people removed and didn't put back.  These are necessary for the final electrical inspection.  The dumpster was hauled away today too.

I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow.  We're going to Home Depot Saturday to pick up all the window blinds so the contractor can install them sometime soon.  The driveway should be installed Monday.

Specialty Work

The "specialty work" was done today.  This consists of closet shelving, bathroom accessories, and shower door installation.  Some of the shelving looks crooked in the pictures, but it's not really.

My closet

Master Bath Linen Closet

Dylan's Bath

Spare Bedroom

Hall Linen Closet

Master Shower

A contractor from Home Depot came out today to measure all the windows for 2" faux wood blinds.  For a flat fee of $118 labor, they'll install all of them.  That's money well spent as far as I'm concerned.  Good news is that they can mount them inside the trim.  I wasn't sure if it was possible with the Pella Proline windows, but it is.  Now that the measuring is done, we need to go to HD to pick up the blinds and schedule an installation time.

The fireplace guy came back today too.  He put the gravel stuff around the fake logs and installed the glass front and made sure it works correctly.

The electrical inspection was supposed to be today, but it didn't happen.  We also learned the carpet won't be installed until Friday.

Tomorrow the appliances will be delivered and the garage door opener will be installed.