Adding our own

While we were watching the insulation go in I happened to remark that we should have added insulation to the laundry room for sound deadening. 

My boyfriend took that to heart. He confirmed with JP that it would be ok for us to add our own insulation. 

He spent $130 at Lowes and is now at the house putting insulation in my laundry room and the master suite. 

They dropped off the equipment for the brick exterior. Hopefully that starts Monday. 

I can't express how amazing Inverness and their subcontractors have been. It's been a great experience so far. Susan and JP have gone out of their way to make sure we get the house of our dreams. Now if they can just hurry it up. Lol

Our insulation crew has a sense of humor

I made a quick stop at the house to check the progress of insulation. Everything is done except the basement. 

Our pre-drywall is Monday at 11:30. I'll have to get off work for a while to attend. Luckily I work just a couple of blocks away. Can anyone tell me about how long a pre-drywall meeting runs?

Now, about that sense of humor...  Notice the clever caulking technique at the end. 

More insulation

The insulation guys said they were coming back today with a full crew. 

It looks like they've used spray foam in all the cracks and crevices of the house. 

It looks like they've finished the 2nd floor and the owners level. 

They started on the kitchen and still have the rest of the first floor, the upper rec room (our office) and the basement. 

Hopefully with a full crew they are able to finish today. 

A couple of interesting finds in the house:

Our inspection receipt with a couple of minor issues they had to fix. 

And the first switch in the house. It's next to the furnace. 

Insulation Time

We must have passed our final framing inspection. The insulation truck was pulled up to the house. 

Our windows are all in

My missing archway has appeared

I just love all the archways. It's an optional package deal, plus we added an additional one to the mudroom. It's one of my favorite features of the house. 

I'm not sure how long it takes to insulate a house. I'm assuming only a day. It seems like a breeze compared to all the other jobs. Hopefully we hear from JP today or tomorrow for our pre-drywall walk through. 

New at the Bluffs and an update from JP

The Bluffs newest neighbors had their pre-construction meeting today.  JP was touring a staked out lot #9039 with them.   

So far we have #9039, then #9041 and hopefully #9055 in the lineup.  

 

The Wyndham for Lot #9039

 

 

 A Pinehurst I for lot #9041 though the rumor is they are thinking of switching to lot #9047

And finally the Dartmouth I on lot #9055.  They are putting on a 3-car side garage as it's a corner lot.  

#lot 9049, The Pinehust II, across from Cathy & John's has a sale pending.  

 The Bluffs are growing by leaps and bounds thanks to Susan.  The construction zone living should be interesting.

After JP's meeting my boyfriend hunted him down and got an update on the schedule.

They officially finished framing today by putting in my my missing arch.  I had almost forgotten about it.  They were working on installing our two last windows.  Everything inside has been cleaned up.

They have the official framing inspection from the county tomorrow.  If all goes well, insulation will begin.  Then we have our pre-drywall walk through

The guys who will install our brickwork are finishing up an apartment project and we are next in line. 

I'm still watching that calendar really closely.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Tuesday we reach the 12 week mark from the day we started excavation.  It has been 27 weeks since we walked into Susan's office at Inverness Homes.

Some days it feels as if we have barely begun and other days it seems like it's taking forever.  The closer we get to closing the more it seems it slows down.

I found the "New Construction Sequence of Events" that they gave us at the beginning of the process.  I wanted to compare our timeline to what they said it would be.

The Construction Process is estimated to take approximately 120 days from excavation to closing. (Some Inverness communities will require approximately 135 days)

*We started March 3rd, so closing should be anywhere from July 1st to July 16th*

Foundation Installation Phase: This stage takes approximately 30 days to complete.
Reality : March 3rd to April 11th, 5 1/2 weeks or 39 days
This phase was started at the end of winter and Mother Nature wasn't happy.

Rough Framing: Depending on the size and complexity of the house, framing will take between 1 and 3 weeks.
Reality: April 15th to May 6 (the day the stairs were installed), 3 weeks or 20 days

Mechanical Stage: 21 to 30 working days for electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, heating, insulation and appropriate inspections.
Reality: Started May 7th.  Completed electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, heating.  Still need to complete insulation.  Currently at 17 days.

If I can assume we finish up this stage in the upcoming week we can move on to the next steps by the 29th

The next steps: Inverness Timeline (these are my own estimations)

Pre-Drywall walk (est. 5/29)

Drywall: Approximately 1 to 14 days (est. 6/12)  (I love how it starts off at 1 day... that's a mighty small house)

Finish Stage: Approximately 45 to 60 days. (est. 7/27 to 8/16)

Pre-Settlement Inspection, Orientation and Closing: 3 to 5 days from Inspection to Closing date (est. 8/3 to 8/18)

Now if I follow their timeline it's pushing way past our desired closing date, the end of June. Our lease on our current home ends the beginning of August.  I'm looking at what stage we're in and I'm starting to worry.  I've seen these houses come together quickly but according to their timeline we are WAY off.  Each phase we've gone through so far we have gone to the max amount they project.  I can only assume the next stages will be the same.  Right now I'm crossing my fingers to close by 7/16.  That will give us a couple of weeks to get the new house ready with paint, shelving, etc.  As well as get moved out of our old house and clean it up before our lease is up.  Tick Tock, Tick Tock...

Counting down to drywall

We haven't yet heard when our pre-drywall walk through will be. We still have two windows yet to be installed. 

My boyfriend took this opportunity to install his speaker wire in the master bath. He's installing two speakers in the ceiling with the stereo placed in our closet. 

There is a big pile of sand in the yard by the stack of bricks. I'm assuming they need it for the mortar?  I'm not really sure. 

I am so ready to see some changes to this exterior. 

Progress at the Darby

We stopped by the house to check on the progress. All of the plumbing, electrical, low voltage, gas and hvac are all in place. The crew was out fixing all of the framing JP marked. 

Studs were straightened and added

Some were moved

They patched all the holes

And moved my closet door to the correct location

The yard was filled with stacks of brick. The Savannah Gray I ordered. 

The drywall was piled in every room

The windows were installed on our garage doors

And the kids tub is installed 

The inspector was just pulling in as we were leaving. It looks like next week is going to be filled with some major changes. 

Framing inspection

JP went through the house with a fine tooth comb. He and his orange pencil. He marked everything wrong we noticed and so much more. I don't know what we were worried about. He's a pro. 

I have no idea what most of these markings mean, but there were quite a few "xbs" and "nailer" marks.  The "oop" isn't quite clear either. I took it to mean "oops" but I seriously doubt that's what it actually means. 

This "move" is on my pantry wall. I hope they don't move it too much. I like the size of my pantry. 

These lines are on the crooked studs over the fireplace. They need to straighten them out. 

This one says "change window opening" and points to my top window that has yet to be installed 

One of my favorites

Pointing at this

My boyfriends tub was installed. He sat in it with plenty of room to stretch out. He was very happy.  I'm just glad we upgraded to the larger water heater. 

The electric panel is in and the meter is installed outside. They dug a trench and connected it all to the ugly green cap by the curb line. 

As you can see in the picture above. They also came out and finished installing the cable boxes. We have to thank Cathy and John for that. They have suffered with no cable or internet while the utility companies figured out if our street really does exist. Men is suits were called... They called friends of friends in other offices... Finally the big trucks rolled in yesterday and made something happen.