We passed all our inspections on Tuesday and had already moved a lot in but finishing up this week. Trying to get the old house ready for friends to rent so I haven’t really gotten to enjoy or unpack. We still have things to do backsplash, mirrors and glass doors for the showers. I upgraded 3 toilets to the TOTO vespin and the others are Koehler Persuade that the plumber recommended, that upgrade to the TOTO was the best thing I did I wish I had enough money to change them all but happy I got 3.

Interior Paint Question: We are seriously considering SW Alabaster for all walls, eg-shell sheen. Thinking about choosing same color/sheen for ceilings. Anybody else do similar?

PS All of our trim/baseboards and woodwork is knotty alder, natural.

Linda - I’m doing all Alabaster on walls, trim and ceiling. I would go flat on the ceiling for sure.

Linda - we did flat Modern grey on walls and flat white on ceilings. We have stupid tall ceilings in the living room and our paint consultant mentioned that flat touches up easily while satin you sometimes have to repaint the whole wall.

We close tomorrow!! Thank you guys for helping me let go of the $$ stuff. It’s tough, but it helps because I know you all can relate and know EXACTLY how I feel!!

We got the preliminary closing doc and asking what the impact is if we put even a little more $$ down, and with the craze of the parade over the weekend we don’t have our walk thru scheduled! Need to get that lined up for this afternoon after they get all the staging furniture out of there.

So much to do! You guys... I can’t believe this is really happening. I’ve always admired those beautiful homes with all the nice touches... but I don’t think I ever REALLY believed that WE would have one. It’s overwhelming to me that it’s really happening.

Congrats to those closing or moving in! So exciting.

NewEnglandGal - I had the same debate on inset cabinets...I ended up doing some inset and some full overlay. I searched and saw pictures where it looked nice and well thought out. Just thought I would throw that out there in case it was an option for you.

Lindavana, we did SW Alabaster on all our walls and white on ceilings. Love the Alabaster!

Newenglandgal.....one thing regarding the inset cabs. I installed them and love the look, but you do have to be careful about banging and nicking the edges of the frames when putting away or removing items from your drawers or cabs. With overlay, if you ding the edges, they are covered by the cabinet/drawer fronts, but with inset, all the edges are visible and once they’re banged up, there is no real option to fill in the dents. Just something to consider depending how careful you want to be when working in your kitchen.

Congratulations Kate E!!!!!

Kate- congratulations! I am so happy for you!

Congrats for those of you that are finishing up your journey , I hope your moves all go smoothly.

We are moving right along , trim carpenters finish up in the next day or two . Electric was brought in to the house along with the waterline . Builder asked for paint colors this week .

GC is saying late June , i just don’t see it happening. But I’m hoping as we have to be out of our apartment by July 3

Newenglandgal- I love your color and stone combination! I want a cedar shingled house so badly, but my husband says absolutely not, due to maintenance. I will either have to settle with fiber cement shake shingles or nix it. I have yet to see a realistic fiber cement shingle so will probably have to forgo my dream. Still trying to search for an exterior that I love. Thank you for the info, cant wait to see it all come together.

bsda71....have you looked at nichiha premium shakes? They are pretty realistic looking for fiber cement.

nidnay- No I hadn't even heard of that brand. You are right, from the pictures they look very realistic. Thank you!

bads17....we installed them on our house and although i would have preferred real cedar, the Nichiha look pretty okay. Here’s a closeup...

Nidnay thanks for the heads up on the cabinet edges. I didn't think of that. I just ordered them this morning so praying they will wear well. Supposedly this cabinet has a good painted finish. The only people abusing my cabinets will be my kids and grandchildren but I will be telling them to be careful. I love your house but I think pretty much everyone does! It is beautiful!

bsds I had not heard of the shingles Nidnay mentions but do know of Nucedar. They actually feel like real cedar and you cannot tell the difference, even up close, however, the price reflects that.

We just priced out wood composite garage doors Holy moly! 12-15k for garage doors!!!!!! What the heck.

4 days until Close. Is it normal that the gutters and shutters are not done yet? Keep in mind I am doing my own lamdscaping.

Any thoughts on alarms on doors for pool safety vs child fence around pool. We have to have or the other to pass inspection. Anyone have any thoughts on pros or cons of either....

Wysmama anything you can do for pool safety is important And well worth the money! Our school gives Josh the Otter books out to our pre-k and kindergarten kids and has him visit the kids to talk about not going near the water unless there is an adult! Imo this is too late, we should be teaching our Toddlers about this too. Not trying to be a downer but it Is so important to put in lots of safety features around a pool because those little ones are so fast. Maybe your kids are older than mine and are already safe around water!

KH- yes, we have lived in Florida for a very long time. Water safety is important. All of my kids learned to swim about the time they learned to walk. Supervision is paramount.

I am more concerned about other children. My youngest is nearly 9. But I’m sure there will be younger kids around at some point. I just want to sleep well knowing I did all I could to protect everyone’s kids from our pool. We have a fence but are not caging the pool right now. Trying to determine how best to secure the pool. Code dictates that the 3 sides that are fenced is fine and we need to secure the house side with either a child fence or alarms on doors and windows.

My choice would be pool fence as it also protects children who may not be in your house to sound the alarm, ie those little ones wondering off from their home and thus ultimately you too from a lawsuit. I think insurance might be a little less too with a pool fence. At least that is the case in our area.

I would probably do both. Door alarms are relatively cheap and a fence would bring more peace of mind

I agree with both the 4th side of the pool and door alarm.

Ondrea - wow your house is stunning!!! In my experience, yes it’s normal- but my experience may not be normal, ha! We are closing today and there is still a list of things to be done, mostly little stuff. But the big one is concrete - driveway, front & side walkways, back stoop and patio. Weather is not cooperating. Needs to stop raining!!

Kate E

Congrats on your closing.. it is pouring down rain here too. The gutters are scheduled to go up as well... that should be interesting. We are watching for tornados.. kidding but I am in the belt.

You must be excited. I love all the things you have done with your home. Our builder put our house on his Facebook page. I wanted to comment "Zoom in on those awnings" but I decided to be nice.. wink, wink.

Just like getting married.. it's good luck to close on a rainy day :)

Cheers to you KATE!!!!!

nidnay- I always assumed you had real wood! We met with a potential builder last night and I told him about nichiha, he hadn't heard of it which didn't surprise me, but I think I might have to get a quote on it myself. Do you know if it was much more than Hardi board? Or if there was a learning curve on the installation since it is much thicker than traditional?

NewEnglandGal- I have not heard of NuCedar either, I will have to check that out as well. Although our bid came back way over budget(actually right at budget but allowances are laughable) so not sure I should even do that to myself lol.

bsds71....to quote my builder ......“The Nichiha is around 7.50 per sq. Ft. installed. It’s much thicker so hard to compare to other cement siding but cost is not too much higher then thinner competitors stuff. Real cedar shake is around 12.00 per sq. Ft. installed. It’s not a very hard learning curve. Just have to follow the install instructions. So that’s the main thing. But not a big deal”.

Anyone have a landscape plan they care to share. I do not have any experience with that kind of thing and received a plan from the landscaper. Would like to see others.
I can post mine, but it is challenging to read...

I didn’t scrutinize the plan, but right off the bat I see a major problem with planting Nellie Stevens Holly so close to your foundation (if I’m reading the plan correctly). Nellie Stevens can reach heights of 25 to 30 feet and 10-12 feet wide. Way too large for foundation plantings (unless you want to completely cover your front elevation). If he’s putting them where I think he is, then I would question his expertise in landscape design.

wysmama just so you know, the alarm on your door will go off everytime it is opened unless you turn it off so you may only want to put the alarm on at night.

Ours drove us crazy at our Florida home and we ended up taking it off, however, I fully understand why you want every precaution taken if it means saving a child from drowning. We will be putting in an above ground right off our deck and will be looking at options as well.

Our older grandchildren know not to ever go in alone and they swim like fishes but our youngest age 4 and almost 1 do not.

Sorry I am bad at landscaping. I only know if I look at a flower and whether I l like it lol

bsds Nucedar is between 10-13/sq ft! We are paying 17k for our white cedar dipped shingles that carry a 10 yr warranty on one dip and 25 year on twice dipped (we got it dipped once) and our home is a little over 2k sq feet single level.

Ondre'a your home is so nice! I bet it is really gorgeous inside!

Everyone's homes are so stunning.

Kate how is everything going with the move?

Nidnay- yes I noticed that as well. Seems most of the plants he is recommending are too close together, or close to the foundation, or concrete work. That was one of my major issues with it. Also I do not want boxwoods as they smell like cat urine.
I did drive around the neighborhood and many peoples plantings are too close to the foundation. Which looks nice now, but when the trees and such mature they are gonna be a problem.
I will be sending him an email with my concerns. Honestly thinking to do the bare minimum to meet HOA and then plant what we want over time. I have a lot of research to do. I am no gardener.

Thanks all! Closing went well! Our big move in date won’t be until Friday or Saturday- when the moving truck arrives with all our stuff that’s been in storage for 11 months!! Because of the parade - they just moved the staged furniture out today, final cleaning is tomorrow. Then we’ll start moving in.

We did assemble our son’s new bed so his mattress has a few days to expand (foam mattress from Nectar).

Kind of anticlimactic to close on your new house and then go home and hop on a conference call, but oh well! We did take our dog over to the house and let her sniff all over... we followed her like a hawk on the basement carpet just in case. She’s 11, but just in case

Congratulations Kate E!!

Wysmama,

We are in the same boat. I am doing my own landscaping and I am stumped. I am not a fan of boxwoods either. Spent my lunch at a nursery until the alarms went off. There is lots to learn & I will be watching for landscaping pics and plans. We had tornados touch down today so I doubt the gutters got installed. Be safe everyone in the path of this storm.

NewEnglandgal - Thanks for the complement. Several ladies on this thread have really helped me. Nidnay, has been amazingly patient with me. Flo is truly a gift.

Our alarm dings every time a door opens too. I am not sure if I should turn it off since the Grands are 2 and 4 years old. Can I turn it back on when they visit.. it is weekly.

Kate E - I really want to hear your review of the Nectar bed. We are interested in replacing our bed. Your pup will be right home in no time. My son can't wait for us to dog sit. Minka is 85 pounds of fur and laughter.

He wants a pool. I appeased him so far with a jacuzzi. Do I need to gate it?

My first walk through is Thursday. I am open to suggestions on what to watch for and not miss.

I have to ask, did anyone have any issues with placement of outlet plugs? Because of code and there being a plug every 20' I believe it is, we have had a couple issues of where that 20 ft ended up, specifically one right at a window in the kitchen. I am hoping inspector allow them to place it a bit further because there is NO ROOM and I am not squeezing a plug under the window. Also had to reconfigure the island a bit to find an area for a plug because you cannot place one under the overhang of an island and there was nowhere on the front. I just want to warn others who are building that this can be an issue.

Ondre'a I agree, many people here full of support and wise advice. Flo was one of many who helped me as well.

Kate good luck with the walk through! Look at the corners and under cabs. Check all faucets, toilets, showers. Turn on heat/air, and check all lights.

Ondre’a .....did you hire a home inspector? We did, and I’m so glad. Sixty five page report but they were mostly piddly things and he was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the build (he sees a lot of junk and poorly put together homes) except he almost got electrocuted! My electricians did a REALLY stupid thing which actually surprised me. After wiring the house, when they screwed the metal cabinet surround into the place where all the circuit breakers are they used the wrong length screws (too long) and one penetrated a 240 line slightly. Well, when the inspector went to take off the door to the breaker box the thing exploded. It was so hot it melted the metal screw (see pics). That easily could have been me because I’m in and out of there all the time turning off and on breakers and slamming that panel door (I’ve been adding Lutron wireless dimmers for some home automation lighting....love them).

Anyway, all that to say I’m so glad we got the house independently inspected. My builder was surprised we had it done (many people don’t feel it’s necessary with a new build). In any case....he had to fix all the stuff on the report and some of it no one would have ever found unless they climbed up on the roof to closely inspect all the flashing etc. Well worth the money.

Oh my gosh nidnay that is scary! I would never think to get the house inspected either after build. What a great idea, especially for those who have a GC or building in a development. You are so smart! :)

Nidnay, I will start hunting for an inspector tomorrow. I know the bank sends one but I will ask more questions. Holy cow, that is crazy what happened to you⚡ So glad it was discovered. I had Lutron dimmers put in also. They did get the gutters up today. It is pouring so hard ⛈right now, the thunder rattles the windows. Freaks me out. The roof is surely being tested. Fingers crossed no more tornados today..

If you have any realitor friends, they’re always a good source for inspectors because they use them all the time and they know all the best ones.

Random question. How do I prevent birds from crashing into my large windows. Two little guys have met their demise. It breaks my heart.

That’s actually one reason I chose to have grills on my windows. I have so many floor to ceiling windows that I knew it would be a problem. Of course there are those hideous decals you can stick on the windows or you can install screens or plant bushes in front of them, but really there is no real solution to that problem. We’ve actually only had one casualty since the windows were installed. I remember growing up we lived in a very contemporary home with HUGE picture windows.....I was always holding bird burials as a child :(

NewEnglandGal, outlets here are required every 8 feet.

Hm I typed that wrong. I think kitchen is 24 inches-2 ft. All I know is it has brought up issues we didnt anticipate. Hoping an easy fix.

Ondrea - I’ll definitely give a full review on Nectar once my son sleeps on it a few nights! So far we’re happy - we set it up on Monday night to start to expand, we also heard some beds can have an odor that just needs a few days to dissipate. We honestly haven’t experienced much of an odor- if you stick your nose right to it (we did) it does smell a bit plasticky - but nothing significant. The mattress and the 2 free pillows have expanded/filled out pretty well in just 24 hours. We got the foundation too- very easy to assemble.

Ninday- Oh my goodness, so sorry that your inspector got shocked but glad it was discovered!! We hired an inspector after our last home - it was a spec home by a production builder, and after a few minor mishaps... we hired one knowing full well the builder wouldn’t do anything, but we wanted to know if there was anything major. (There wasn’t.) this time around we built semi-custom with a much more reputable builder and figured we’d be okay without one... but over the summer we probably should anyway to be certain- because everyone makes mistakes!! Thanks for the reminder ;)

Good news- the cleaners got in today - so we will start moving some stuff over tomorrow! Living with the in laws, so as I’ve bought stuff for the house it’s been taking up an extra office at my husbands office space. He’ll be happy to get it cleared out!! We’ll probably go over tomorrow and do some spot cleaning ourselves. Cleaners made 3-4 visits... but we are pretty picky and will still find things to clean! (We own a cleaning company, lol.)

Kate E.....our build was completely custom and I felt slightly sheepish about hiring an inspector but I knew he would find things even though I worked with a very reputable builder. It also gave me peace of mind knowing I was doing my part by being diligent in having everything thoroughly checked. I almost didn’t do it but then thought twice, knowing it was the better part of wisdom to have it done.

Ninday... alright I’m definitely doing the inspection for sure!! Thanks for sharing your experience!! ☺️

nidnay- Do the grills fix the problem with the birds? Or at least help? Also, where are you located? The extremely rude and unhelpful sales representative for Ohio, MI, and WV said they don't sell the Sierra Shake. I'm quite taken aback by this salesman's rude and unprofessional approach, hopefully I can get in touch with someone that is willing to work with me.

Yes. I’d like to know if the grills work too.

It is May 1st, new thread here: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5685146/may-2019-building-a-house

bsds71....grills don’t solve the bird problem completely, but they certainly help. Of course, aesthetically, certain homes would not look good with them, so if your style of house doesn’t call for them, obviously not a solution for you.

Sorry you had such a negative experience with your local sales rep for the Nichiha shakes. I’m in NC and this area is quite familiar with them.