Today I had my first walk-thru with the project managers to make sure that my customizations have been framed out correctly. They agreed that its much easier to correct something now, rather than further in the process. They even asked me about modifications that I hadn't thought of previously, and that I wouldn't complain if they weren't included. They bolstered my already high confidence in them when they said "We want to get it right and make you happy."
Here are the customizations that came up as a result of today's walk-thru:
  • In the dinning room, where the drop ladder/overhang that would meet the column that I'm not having put in would be, there was still an out-cropping that was a partial wall that they agreed to remove.
  • They're going to give me shelving in both the "mud room" (former laundry room) and the laundry closet upstairs that is one of my modifications.
Here are the customizations that were agreed to beforehand:
  • The fireplace is on the side of the house, and the box for it is at a height where the fire will be at eye level while seated (it's a modern linear fireplace instead of a traditional one).
  • All the drop ladders/overhangs for the columns that won't be there are also not there - it feels so much more open than the model!
  • The loft upstairs loos great!
  • The laundry closet upstairs is framed. They told me that it's bigger than the laundry closets they usually put in their townhomes, so I'll have no problem getting a full-sized washer and dryer.
  • The ultra shower in the master bedroom needs to be corrected - they forgot to take out the linen closet and give me the extra foot in the shower. Seeing it framed out, I thought about keeping the shower as is, but I decided to get the extra foot of space. They didn''t seem to mind having to do the correction, and even offered to put a few shelves for linen in the master closet.
  • The bar in the basement has been framed
Here are some extra tid-b s that they told me during the meeting:
  • My fireplace will be installed this Friday.
  • They think I'll have my pre-drywall meeting in just 3 weeks, by the end of October!  And they think that their original estimate of closing by December 21st is still do-able.
  • They asked me if I wanted to receive the columns that I'm not having installed, just to have, in case I wanted to install them later. I told them no, and that they didn't even have to order them.
  • The hay that is down is just for run-off prevention. They will put sod down before closing, depending on how the winter is going. They noted that last year, they were able to put sod down all winter because it didn't really frost.
  • When I move in, I will have only the first layer of my driveway. 6 months later, they will put down the final, top coat of my driveway and make it level with the lip of my garage.
  • They will leave me extra flooring in my basement, particularly tile.
  • My porch won't have any railing, and will only have one step. Since the house isn't in a flood prone area, I'm really happy about how close to on-grade the porch and garage are. Years of lugging groceries and having awkward deliveries makes me appreciate the lack of steps. 
Getting to walk through the framed house was awesome. I would've taken pictures, but I didn't want to take up too much of the project managers time, so look for pictures in a few days. Pictures will probably slow down in frequency, since the outside work of installing windows, brick and siding (the front and kitchen/patio doors have already been installed) will probably go slower than the framing did and because I won't go into the house too often before there is drywall - though, now that I know it's structurally safe, I'll probably go in once a week.



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