Insist that he finish (including cleaning) before you close. Construction clean up can be expensive! If you still need another coat of paint after Wednesday, getting that done (without getting paint on stained woodwork) can also be pretty expensive. For the big jobs that can't be done until spring (landscaping, final A/C testing, etc.) maybe having title company hold 1.5 times the bid price will work. But, make SURE you ask what happens if the builder DOESN'T come back and finish in a reasonably timely manner and that "timely manner" is defined. Will the title company release the funds to you if you wind up having to hire someone else to do the job? Or does the language say that, once the big jobs are complete, Title company will release the funds to the builder? If so, builder just has to wait for you to finally get fed up and pay someone else to do the job then he can waltz into title company and say "job's finished, pay me." And you get stuck paying twice! Make sure that after a certain date, you have the option of hiring someone else to do the jobs and then the money will released to YOU to pay them - including an additional 20% to pay you for doing builder's job of hiring and overseeing the work! And, for the little jobs, is title company going to want to bother policing builder's performance? For smaller jobs, the only alternative I would agree to would be if builder was willing, in writing, to allow me (not bank or mortgage company) to hold back least 2 to 3 times as much money as I thought it would cost to hire other people to come in and do the jobs AND he agreed that after a limited period of time (say 6 weeks maximum) any jobs that were not competed, I had the right to hire anyone I wanted to finish them and, when all work was done, then builder got paid whatever was left over, if any, after I deducted all costs for finishing the work plus an additional 20% to pay for my trouble. And, all I had to provide to builder was a copy of receipts for materials and labor paid out to justify what I deducted. I don't think you're being at all picky expecting that your new house won't have cracked shingles or cracked tiles or gouges in the bench of your mudroom. The house should be as near to perfect when you move in as it will ever be. Maybe your builder needs to postpone his trip out of town???

uh oh, based just on what you've written so far, I foresee problems. First off, does your contract specify TRCC "standards"? There are a couple of things you need to know about TRCC and the TRCC standards. First, TRCC (for you non-Texans, that stands for Texas Residential Construction Commission) is now a DEFUNCT state agency. It was sunsetted this past September when the legislature finally got the message that the TRCC was operating as a builder-protection agency and that homeowners simply weren't going to stand for it anymore. Second, while the TRCC was in effect, it adopted a set of minimum warranty standards that replaced the old legal standards of good workmanship and fitness for purpose. The TRCC standards include a one year warranty for workmanship and materials, a two year warranty for plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, and a ten year warranty on structural components. Each standard specifies in excruciating detail what is and what is not considered a defect. Whether those standards still have any legal effect now that TRCC is defunct is up for debate and, so far as I know, no legal cases have yet worked their way thru the courts to settle the issue. IF your contract specified that the builder would meet TRCC minimum warranty standards, then my guess is that a court would say the standards apply in your case. If your contract did not specify TRCC standards but you entered into the contract with your builder before TRCC was sunsetted then there would be a good argument that the standards should be applied because both parties were relying on the rules in effect at the time the contract was signed. But, if you entered into your contract after TRCC was sunsetted AND your contract doesn't specify TRCC standards, then I think you would have a winning argment that TRCC standards have no application. And, given that TRCC's warranty standards were written so favorably to builders that 8 foot tall walls could be out of plumb by as much as two inches, the earlier legal standards of good workmanship and fitness for purpose served homeowners far better than the new warranty standards. Prior to TRCC, it was was left up to juries to determine if an alleged defect was bad enough to be considered covered by implied warranties of good workmanship and fitness for purpose - and since juries were likely to think about issues as if they themselves had had to face the problem in their own new homes, they tended to require builders to meet standards that the rest of us find more reasonable. Like, walls should not bow an inch and a half in the middle and there should not be 1/8 inch gaps between pieces of trim work! But, even tho the TRCC standards are so loose (despite being so detailed) that a house has to be practically falling down around you before it is considered "defective", NO WHERE in the TRCC standards does it state that a punch list defect must be "visible from 20 feet. If your builder is telling you that, he is lying thru his teeth (which is why I predict you'll have problems). Instead, different potential problems are defined in different ways. For example, paint issues are often "punch list" items and RULE 304.21(2) specifically states "Paint shall cover all intended surfaces so that unpainted areas shall not show through paint when viewed from a distance of six feet in normal light." Another big punch list item is often defects in hard surfaces such as ceramic tile, granite, finished concrete, etc. RULE §304.20(3) specifically states. "A surface imperfection in floor hard surface shall not be visible from a distance of three feet or more in normal light. A surface imperfection in non-floor hard surface shall not be visible from a distance of two feet or more in normal light." See what I mean about your builder's so called "20 foot" requirement! I think you would do well to download the old TRCC warranty standards and read thru them carefully well before your walk through. If you believe that they ought to apply, get your builder to state in writing that he considers them to apply then take a copy with you to your walk through so you have it to refer to. The TRCC warranty rules can be downloaded from the site linked below. DON'T just rely on the so-called "plain language" versions. They leave out the details and those are what you need to read. The formal versions are rather long but other than that, they are not difficult to read or understand. So read them and be prepared to make your builder meet them. And, forget the idea that you'll do the walkthrough to find defects WITH your builder in 1.5 to 3 hours. He'll be doing his best to rush you along and distract you from seeing defects. Go to the house ahead of time with several very observant friends and do your own walk through without the builder there. If your house is a 2000 foot home, expect to spend at least 6 hours. If it is larger, expect to spend proportionately more time. Make detailed notes of all the issues (room by room) so that when you are walking thru with the builder, it is just an opportunity to point the issues out to him. That you can do in 1.5 to 3 hours... and you can give him a typed up copy of your lists at the end so that he can't claim you never mentioned something. If you're anywhere in the Austin area, I'll be happy to try to make time to meet you at your new house (before your date with your builder) and help you do a walk through. I've gotten pretty darned good at seeing the defects and I am sick to death of lousy builders screwing homeowners. I just this minute finished talking to my next door neighbor who is in the process of having a horse barn built behind her house and it is already a total screw-up...to the point where I think her best option at this point would be to fire the builder, tear down what he has done and start over. Among other things, the concrete foundation is not level but rises and falls with the slope of her land and then her builder put NOTHING between the concrete wood 2x4 sill plates so they're going to rot out almost immediately. Anyway, back to your situation, while your builder may SAY he'll be showing up for a year to finish punch list stuff when you find it later, don't count on it. Once he has his money, you have ZERO power to get him back without filing a lawsuit against him. Anything on the punch list that you aren't willing to fix yourself better be fixed before you close. Since he seems to be lying to you already about the 20 foot thing AND wants to rush you thru the walk thru in 1.5 hours, I somehow doubt he is going to be a stand up guy and come back to fix problems you find two months after you move in.

In my experience, final inspections from the building department are sort of a non-event. The real inspections are the ones that were done while work was in progress and before walls and ceilings got closed up. The final inspection is usually just a check for any glaring problems (unlikely), to ensure that things like smoke detectors are in place and operating, and that energy conservation requirements are fulfilled. When it comes to your punch list, it's always a good idea to hold back some amount of your final payment until the items on your list are satified, but it's probably unreasonable to withhold the entire final payment. If you have a good working relationship with your GC, there's probably no reason to think that he'll skip out leaving you unhappy at the very end of the process. I've always found that the best way to deal with the punch list and any withheld payment is to simply discuss it with the contractor and find a number that you both find agreeable. Depending on the scope of the project, and unless there are a number of very large items on your punch list, $2,000 to $3,000 is probably in the ballpark -- but you'll probably have some sense on what you think is a fair number. Your contractor most likely will want to get things wrapped up quickly, too -- just so he can close his books on your project. Hope this helps. James

Thank you for sharing photos. I read your last thread but it was hard for me to follow.. the photos help a lot. I am still struggling to see how the rooms all fit together but I see how they are all visible from one another. I have a much smaller home but I have the same issue with shared, untrimmed walls. I first had the rooms painted different colors-- but it felt so discordant that I had them repainted to carry one color throughout. It was amazing how much that improved the vibe and visual flow of the house-- and it felt bigger and more spacious. To answer one of your questions, when I did have different colors butting up on an shared, untrimmed wall, I used the color of the primary room (or the one most likely to be flowed FROM) on the end piece. I know you are absolutely set on the pumpkin for the dining room but do consider that it will break up your expanse of ivory walls-- it will scream. Is that the effect you want in your sea of creamy ivory? Would you consider some great swathes of orange in curtains ,seat covers and accessories for that room? I do love orange and I love that you want to boldly use color but it feels like too much contrast-- not just in color but in style. You have a relaxed eclectic cottage vibe going in much of your house. Your inspiration palette is perfect for that-- but a bold orange room feels much more modern to me. Just a thought. Love that you are going to paint your fireplace. I have a very similar fireplace and will be painting mine this fall too! I am a little concerned about how much you want to paint in the LR. Will you white wash or paint the floors? I think it's worth considering keeping some of the wood tone in the room.. it will add warmth and continuity as you move to the paneled room. Definitely paint the china cab. It will give it new life! I think I want to see the chairs remain wood-- recover in your new palette-- but I want their warmth. I might also want to see the coffee table as wood. One other thought on the floors-- I remember that you said they cannot be refinished again. I assume they are not thick enough? When I refinished my floors, my bff (who has a gorgeous home) was instantly jealous. Her floors are beat up and old -- but they have SO much character. I love them and i love how her rugs look on the floors. We spend so much time on here looking at new floors and gorgeous woods I think it skews our thinking. I had to refinish my syrupy orange oak floors- if not because of their color, because of the damage from time, water and carpeting. Do consider whether you can use rugs to add color, texture and character without painting the floors. I think a flat weave or dhurrie style would be lovely with the direction you are going and they can be picked up pretty inexpensively. Again, just a thought. One more tip on painting. I also have plaster walls with the same texture (that photos seem to emphasize). I used BM aura matte paint on my walls. The matte finish is perfect for these old plaster walls! It hides the imperfections (if you have them) and it hides that goose pimple texture. I love love love the matte finish and wouldn't use anything else. Yes-- paint the faux brick. Use a good primer to make sure it sticks. Again, I love your palette and I think it's a great direction for your style. My final thought is-- are you willing to reconsider your plan for ivory walls? I definitely think light and airy is a good direction but is ivory too stark? I love your green in the family room addition. There is a wonderful range of light grays and colors that lean aqua, blue, green. I so wish you lived on the east coast because I'd give you access to my basement full of sample cans. Two friends have repainted their homes based on my samples lol. A few that come to mind may not be quite light enough for you but they are lovely-- the first is SW Oyster Bay. My bff painted used it in her living room and it is easily my favorite color for a wall. I do think it's a little darker than you want to go but it's definitely in your palette (and looks great with ivories, oranges, greens). I have BM Gray Owl in my bedroom and while it leans green-blue it is ever so delicate and ephemeral. It looks great with orange, aquas, pale greens and dark turquoise. A little more neutral with a hint of green is Ancient Marble. You can try your colors (or stick with ivory) but as I imagine your plan in my mind's eye, I want to see a hint of color in the walls. Just a hint.. just enough to be enchanting. Good luck with your projects-- you have an aggressive plan but it is going to look great when it is done! Think how fun it will be to watch each room inch towards your vision!