First Floor, Anyone?

My visit today was later in the evening, and there were no workers around. I was able to get a little closer to inspect all the happenings. First floor is framed and it looks great! I didn't actually walk on it, since I was unsure of how structurally sound it was, and I had my baby girl with me. But we looked in all the windows, and oooooo'd and ahhhhhh'd accordingly.

Pic in random blogger order :)

Front of the house

Standing where the entry door is from the garage - looking through the kitchen and towards the morning room. My only pet peeve about the Savoy - NO mud room! 

Fireplace going on the back wall of the house

Right side of the house - first window is the Study, last two windows are in the Family Room

Left side of the house - entry door into the kitchen from the garage, and back windows are the Morning Room

Morning room.....getting evening sun!

Back of the house

Basement 

Men at Work

Framing week has come, and my stalking is in overdrive. I plan to try and make it to the house every day...I don't want to miss a thing. I mean, when am I going to have another home of my very own framed?

<Dear Lord>
When I meet you face to face, please have my final abode framed, dry walled and decorated. Asking as humbly as I know how...your child, Me.
</Amen>

So yeah, this is the LAST time I plan to see any home of mine being framed; therefore I'm going to see all I can see.

I arrived about 5pm today, and let me tell you...for all those who told me not to worry about wet wood....you were right! There is nothing wet in the DMV today, as we are in the midst of a scorcher. So imagine my surprise when I showed up at 5pm and the men were hard at work! Say WHAT! I looked at the temperature reading on my little car gadget, and it said it was 90 degrees.  I suppose writing code in my air-conditioned cubicle in jeans and flip flops has gotten me a bit spoiled. How can anyone even concentrate in this kind of heat?

I took a few quick pics from a distance, as to not get in the way of progress. And then I helped the only way I knew how....by running up to 7 11 and getting some bottles of cold Gatorade. I dropped the bottles off, and the guys were VERY appreciative. I let them know that I thank God for them, and that I am truly grateful for their labor.  And then, I was off. But never fear, I plan on going back tomorrow. I hope they realize I'm a stalker. :-)

Wood in the Hood

There's WOOD!

Today was the big delivery!!!  I made my way over to the house to see if the wood had actually arrived, and to my delight, it had!  Of course, as I sit here typing this....it's raining. Sigh. I know....it should all be ok. Plenty of my blogging e-family friends had wet wood, and it all worked out, right???? Rain always seems to arrive at the most inconvenient times. But no need to fret over things for which I have zero control....that's what I always say. :)

Also, the garage and basement floors have been poured. So there is more progress, and for this I am grateful.

Time to Pour

Made a quick stop by the lot today...looks like they are preparing to pour the floors for the basement and the garage. It's progress, so I'll take it!!

Garage Floor

Basement Floor

Sump Pump

Lots of pipes

Anybody know what this is????

Camping Out

going for a hike!

I've had a successful weekend camping with Girl Scout Daisy Troop #5228...Whoooooo Hoooooo! And I'm glad to be back to indoor plumbing....which had me thinking all weekend.....If we were going to sleep outside and play in dirt for two days, we could have done this ALL at my new house!! :-)






But before I headed to the woods to teach the girls the art of working together, and the importance of community, caring and sharing, and how to properly make s'mores....I had to see if any progress had been made on the lot.  And yes.....we have some progress. I've been back-filled! YaY!!

I'm usually at the lot later in the afternoons or early evening, but since I was heading out of town, I stopped by early on Friday, and while I was standing in the midst of the lot, my PM pulled up. This was my first time speaking to him since we've broken ground. We got a chance to chat, and he informed my that my wood is expected to be delivered on the 28th, and he hopes to have the entire house framed by June 6. Apparently the framers are behind schedule by a couple of days. I'm ok with slow progress - so long as there is progress. So very exciting!!

Waterproofed

Since construction started, the lot has been fairly muddy....but not today!! It was good to be able to venture a little closer and take a better look without fear of a mudslide. Looks like we've been waterproofed, and things are moving right along. Can't wait to see what's up next. :)

 

Garage

Right side of the house - it's a walk out!

Appears to be LOTS of plumbing.

Back of house - sliding glass door and morning room

Baby girl enjoying climbing dirt mounds - in what used to be a clean uniform.

A Little Progress

The weekend brings a little more progress. The forms have been removed and viola....I have a basement.  I inquired about getting brick to grade, but they don't do that in my neighborhood. I really like that look. Instead, I have brick-looking cement. I guess I'll take it. ;)

I know everyone has said this....I've read it on quite a few blogs - but I tell ya - the house looks small. SUPER small! Not worried though. I'm sure it will be all good in the end.  Some pics from today below.

A Pleasant Surprise

In my last post, I said I wasn't going back to the lot until the weekend....I looked at the weather forecast, and it was quite bleak for the rest of the week. A forecast of rain, rain and MORE rain. So I figured I would save myself the disappointment of making the trip, only to see a big muddy pit.

But today, I had this feeling. Something just told me that I should swing by, just to make sure I wasn't missing any action. Especially since we have had some rain, but the days have not been complete wash outs. So I pulled up to my lot and was pleasantly surprised to see...........

(and thank you blog fam, for telling me to throw that extra pair of 'lot' shoes in the car....they came in handy today!)

And another bonus....I met more neighbors. I think it's pretty cool that the homes around me (except one) are all occupied by folks who are already moved in. My neighbors next door in the Ravenna went to closing on the same day I signed my purchase agreement in February, and I met another wonderful family that settled in December.

Only you guys can understand how majorly excited I really am!!! It started raining on my visit, so I didn't get as many snaps as I would have liked. But there's always the weekend. :-)

I Can Dig It

As so frequently happens, work was hindering me from doing what I actually wanted to do - be at my lot watching some action go down. So of course, as soon as I did my time, I made a beeline over to the lot to see if anything actually occurred. As I approached the lot, I saw the bobcat, and thought "this is a good sign"! Sure enough, I've got a hole!! Whoooo Hooooo! Who would of thought I could be so excited about a bobcat moving some dirt around? LoL.

And on an even nicer note, I met my next door neighbor - he was out doing some weed-whacking. Seems to be a very nice guy!I warned him of my stalker-like tendencies, and he just laughed. I do hope he realizes I was serious. ;)

Looks like it will be rainy the rest of the week, so I'm assuming this little bit of progress will be coming to a halt. Maybe I'll visit again sometime this weekend and see if anything has changed.

Stoked and Staked (Pre Con Meeting)

This afternoon I had my pre-construction meeting with my SR and PM. I really like my PM - he was friendly, personable and knowledgeable. He's been building homes for Ryan for more than 30 years, and lives in a Ryan home that was built 17 years ago. He also gave my his business card, complete with his cell number, and told me to call him anytime I had any questions or issues - even if it was on a weekend. I can appreciate that. I provided him with my cell number and email, and he told me he would email me pics from time to time as well. I'd say we're off to a GREAT start!

The PM pulled out the big architectural blueprints, and we went over the entire house - outside and in - floor by floor, room by room. Like most of you, I've looked at my paperwork so much that I've memorized every option I've selected, so it was easy to confirm that everything was correct. I had 3 change orders, and all my changes were correctly included.

I found only a couple of things interesting while going over the home. First, the sump pump....the one I thought I wouldn't have. LoL. I just *assumed* being in a walkout, for some reason I wouldn't need one. It's certainly not a big deal, but now I guess I have to think about a battery back up. My PM said that Ryan puts in a battery backup if your basement is underground, but not for a walk out. (He said he'll see what he can do on getting me one).  And second....the attic/attic storage. There is attic "access" in bedroom #3, but not with any stairs, because technically, per the PM, this isn't a viable area to use as storage. So question...for those of you who know more than I....do I have to have the attic access? Can't we just close up ceiling and keep it moving? Along these same lines, my PM mentioned that there would be an area in the garage that could be used as attic storage. Any SAVOY owners reading this....do you know about this garage/attic access?

Lastly, my PM says they plan to dig on MONDAY, May 6 (weather permitting)!!  I was sooooo totally shocked! I figured it would be another couple of weeks before the big dig. We went to walk the lot, and I found out that the lot has been staked. I was expecting a not-too-large yard, and I'm fairly satisfied with what I've got - 26ft between my side neighbor, 26ft from my back neighbor, and 37ft of side yard (I'm on the corner). Sound like a big 2-story deck is in my future.

Tentative date for my final walk-through has been set for August 12th. Woot, Woot!!