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Thursday, June 13, 2013

Day 56, 57: Brick Almost Done & Mini Flooring Crisis


Day 56 (Wednesday, 12 June 2013):

Mini flooring crisis:
I didn't get my post done on this day due to a mini flooring crisis.  Up until yesterday we though that they were going to begin installing our flooring this Saturday...so basically in 2 days.  I got an email from our Rite Rug rep late in the afternoon yesterday telling me our flooring was back ordered until Late July...basically after we are supposed to close.  As you can imagine we were less than happy about this news.  We had already picked hardwoods, one other time due to mix ups and this would be the third time.  Issue 1.) It was only 2 days away from when they were to install our flooring meaning any delay could push our closing date out past the Point of No Return and probably a larger issue 2.) We made all of our selections off of this flooring and have purchased furniture to match it.  So not very happy at this point!

The sales rep indicated in the email that Armstrong was willing to offer 2 of their other lines at the same cost and provided we links.  Well I wasn't about to select flooring from a website.  So we went into Rite Rug and found the samples.  The Good News we found one that was really close and was actually a higher end flooring.  It had a 50 year warranty instead of a 20 year and it was much more rustic and had less of a sheen.  Our vision for our first floor was a 100 year old home that we renovated.  We wanted the floors to look like they were original to a century old colonial home and then from the base boards up, it was crisp and clean (tall white baseboards, double crown moldings, etc.).  So this flooring still kept us in the color family and the concept we were trying to achieve.  As it turns out, it was a substantially more expensive flooring.

Despite the fact that we were able to find a replacement, I was a bit heated that we made flooring selections in January, then again in February and here we were in June, 2 days before installing and my spouse and I were being thrown into panic mode.  In the end we are nice and reasonable people but thought there should be some level of consideration made.  I asked them if they would put a 2' wood border around our family room.  We didn't have it in our original budget to do wood throughout our entire main level so we were doing carpet in the family room and study.  I actually prefer carpet in the family room but this way, we will have the illusion that there is hardwoods throughout and a large area rug in the family room.  It wasn't a large concession in material costs but will take maybe a couple extra hours of labor.  It was a fair request and they agree to do it.  So crisis averted and flooring should begin this Saturday on schedule.

What we ended up with: Armstrong American Scrape 3/4" Oak Brown Bear.

Also, while we were at Rite Rug...as it turns out, they are getting OUT of the Area Rug business.  They were blowing out their rugs for just above cost.  We purchased two rugs while we were there.  Pictures below.  When I say they were ridiculously cheap....I mean OMG cheap compared to sticker price.

Brick 99% Complete:
The masons finished everything except the window ledges and fireplace box on the back of the house.  We had a really bad storm come through last night, so they did not come out today.  It only rained for a couple hours this morning and has been sunny ever since.  I've noticed these guys don't watch weather and keep their crew on stand by.  Time is money and they just burn it.  I just don't understand how they survive with this type of business model.

Day 57 (Thursday, 13 June 2013):

Our paint showed up but no painters.  They will probably be out tomorrow.  They have to finish tomorrow in order for flooring to begin the day after.

I had paid Home Depot to measure for blinds.  The blind guy came out and did the measurements today.  I should have a quote by tomorrow.  Easy and painless.

Also, we had our first broken window (one of the really tall ones in the dining room. Of all windows to break, that is one of the most expensive...ouch!).  PM already ordered a replacement and it isn't letting water in, so I'm not too worried about it.

Enough rambling here are some pictures.













Butterscotch Glaze Cabinets, Santa Cecilia Granite,
American Scrape Brown Bear Hardwoods




You can barely see the line where the hardwoods will
go to create a border around this room.
To the right of the line will be carpet.


You can barely see a Black Line indicating where the wood border will be.

You should be able to see the line going up the left side here
 
8x11 Rug for Formal Dining Room

5x8 Rug for Formal Living Room

Paint...Yeah! but no Painters. This is all Pavilion Beige, no Primer.
The bucket says for New Construction and says that you either use a specific
Primer or do 2 coats. I'm thinking this is only 1 Coat.  I wonder if they think that
by the time they do all the touch ups, they will have added two coats?
 
At least I know it is the correct paint...

 
 

8 comments:

  1. What a clever idea to do the hardwood border! I love the color you choose too. I cannot wait to see your house all finished and decorated... It's going to be gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you. We've seen them do this on home shows before and thought it would be a great compromise. Carpet is cheaper than wood and in a room like this, we would have a large area rug anyway...so it just makes sense. The other thing is you don't have to worry about the corners curving up and tripping on them. I'm just really grateful that Rite Rug saw things the same way I did and made the concession. I really hate to have to fight for every inch. Although someone goofed up on this, I can say they have always made it right no matter what.

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  2. The rug choices are really nice your family room is going to be fabulous with the carpet and wood border. Really decorative way to make the room feel homey without spending an arm and leg on hardwoods. Its going to be gorgeous cant wait to see the paint!

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    1. We're crossing our fingers. Paint is supposed to be done tomorrow so flooring can start Saturday. Now the good stuff really starts and these new floors are going to look great!

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  3. I wish Rite Rug runs out of of lowest end flooring selection and offers us free upgrades :) We promise not to be picky, anything else they offer is higher end than we selected :)

    The house looks very majestic. Very beautiful. I typically don't expect RH to build houses like this, I thought this would be more in their higher end NV Homes range. Prior to this the highest end home we've seen (in pictures) was the Waverly, which is offered in our community but no one built.

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    Replies
    1. I hope the run out of flooring for you too. ;-) That would be great! We started out budgeting for a "C" flooring but when we really had to start to cut to get everything we wanted, we went down to a "B". Which for us was an engineered product. A few weeks later (over 30 days in the process and no hope of changing anything else), they called and said they will no longer allow engineered wood to go into houses with basements. So they offered us the "C" flooring for the "B" price. So we were back to what we had really wanted with our revised budget. The rep said the flooring should really be a "D" grade. The flooring is what fell through and we ended up selecting like something that was a few grades above RH highest level. This kind of made up for the heart attack we had.

      We had been shopping RH and others for over a year and a half and thought the Avalon was their nicest home. We had no idea about the others until we found out about this development. We had been to the sales office several times but RH bought a bunch of custom lots down the street from another builder. It was meant to be.

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  4. Urgh the frustration of this whole process, but in the end you scored. If we hadn't been delayed we wouldn't have gotten our different kitchen layout. Love the floors, they are a bit more rustic than ours but a gorgeous rich color. I really hope that choosing the handscraped floors they get better with age. I can't wait to see your floors go in. It will help me visualize ours.

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    Replies
    1. The floors we thought we were getting were hand scraped but had more of a sheen on them. These new ones have a medium sheen and are more distressed. We are much happier with these because they won't show day to day dirt and winter footprints as much, like a shinier dark floor would. Agree, looking forward to adding some additional character to them.

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