Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Pre-Settlement and more...

I can't believe we have  been in our home a month!  It seems crazy to think we waited so long for this home to be done, and now the time is flying by while we are there.  The past week we have managed to complete a lot of the projects we had planned to do when we first moved in.  We changed out a few light fixtures in the home to something more personable.

**Are you building a Ryan Home?**  As you know with selections almost everything is extra.  One thing is lighting pre-wires in every room. Our last home we did not do this, mostly due to the cost. When we built this one we knew this was a MUST!  We had about $1500 in lighting cost.  A little trick you can do with your home, if offered.  The dining area usually (don't hold me to it) comes with the chandelier and pre-wire.  If you know you are not using that room as a dining room to start, or want something different.  Ask them to move the chandelier into the morning room.  Then you have a light in there (it doesn't come with one). Then just do the pre-wire in the dining room.  You will just a a bulb in there, or you can do with the bravo light included.  We just did the bulb since we knew we would be changing out some lighting.  We moved things around so it all worked out.

This past Friday was our pre-settlement meeting with our PM.  If you have been following my blog you know we have been having issues with our flooring install.  Ryan homes actually took on fixing some of our damage and billing the company for the work.   They came out Friday and replaced all the damaged pieces on our island and the areas in the hallway that were knicked from install. It looks brand new again and I am so happy!  We have the best Project Manager.  I can honestly say that he has been on our team from day one and makes sure all is good with our home.  A few things we had to have them fix....
  • Doorway trims 
  • Paint/Patching touch ups that were missed
  • Settling of our master bathroom door (Which he said is normal in the Palermo)
  • Kitchen Cabinet (flaws and hair line cracks)  we have the level 2 which are wood.  So they will expand and scratch easily.  There were a few areas that needed repainted and filled in.
  • Replaced outdoor lamp post due to broken glass.
  • Installed gutter drain due to one missing
  • Replaced Chair rail on one wall in our dining area.  It was split from one end to the other.  
  • Drywall fixes (this will be done on a different date)  
Still waiting on...
  • Landscaping
  • Exterior Paint
  • Driveway and Sidewalk
We will turn all our drywall fixes in around 10 months.  This time around Ryan only gives a one time Drywall fix.  Since we had so many nail pops the first time we are going to wait for them to get this all squared away at once. 

Before your settlement go around your home and check every nook and cranny.  Make a list because once they arrive things are easy to forget once they start talking about how they will fix it.  Mark off everything as they fix it and keep for your 10 month to double check and make sure it doesn't need addressed again.

We have been satisfied with out home so far.  I have kept my husband busy decorating and hanging things daily.  Hopefully once we square away the main levels we can take a break.  Our future projects are as follows:


  • Mudroom landing station--- We are going to DIY and I am hoping for this. Mudroom Inspiration
  • Deck (Hubs will build)
  • Debating between reusing our Invisible fence or getting a fence, which is a lot of $$$$$.  We took our invisible fence system from our last home (the box and collars) which should save us about $500.  We are looking at $800 for install of the wires.  Or a aluminum fence can be anywhere from 6k-8k. EEEK  Since we are a corner lot we really have no way to keep other animals out and also keep our kids boxed in.
  • Subway tile back splash in kitchen.  We plan to do the same as we did the last time. --Subway tile back splash
In the next year or so....
  • Finish basement bathroom and add another bedroom to the basement. 
Check out my photos below of the progress we have made!  I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful!!!

We have since added this beautiful wood light fixture and the cornice valances.

Kitchen, I love love love the farmhouse theme.
Another view.  We hope to attempt the back splash in the fall.

Thankful for really cute local boutiques, Ikea, Marshalls and Etsy!