Day 53: More Dry Wall Mudding & Major Purchases

First of all...made some purchases today.  Now that we have a firm closing date and dry wall is up, we made a few purchases and scheduled some deliveries.

Refrigerator:
We were originally looking at a Samsung French Door 28 cu. ft. refrigerator with an LCD screen and WiFi.  It had apps on the screen like Weather, Picasa, Pandora, an inventory system, etc.  I was watching the prices fluctuating and over memorial day they dropped quite a bit but went right back up after the weekend. :(  The MSRP is $3,499 and the big box stores usually has it for around $3,199 to $3,299 (more than I wanted to spend).  It had dropped to $2,899 over Memorial day but although it was still a bit pricey, I think if I would have had a closing date and had already locked in my interest rate, I would have purchased it.  Opportunity missed. Again...said face. :(

Well we went to a few locations and shopped for other units.  We found another Samsung 32 cu. ft. unit that is being discontinued and was marked down from MSRP $3,499 to $2,339 (HH Gregg others were higher).  Some things we really liked about this unit was like other newer high end refrigerators is that it had LED Lighting and Dual or Twin Cooling.  The particular one didn't have the ice maker in the door which allowed the ice tray to be larger and it had a second ice maker in the freezer section.  It could make 12lbs of ice per day and hold 10lbs.

What we ended up with.  After shopping around we were ready to go buy the Samsung above and just so happened to walk by a GE Profile.  We weren't originally looking at these because we thought the Samsung and LG made a better product.  Turns out GE is made by Samsung (until recently...they are starting to make their own refrigerators).  OBTW, Kenmore is made by LG or Whirlpool, depending on the model.  The GE Profile we looked at was absolutely beautiful.  The stainless on the outset is a much higher grade. It is closer to the Premium line found in the in the Samsung's.  It had a really sleek appearance.  Trade offs.  It doesn't hold or make as much ice.   It has the Ice Maker in the door but it gives you more space in the refrigerator.  It still has LED's and they face in toward the refrigerator so at night you don't get blinded.  It still has the Twin Cooling System.  It has a really cool LCD display that doesn't show finger prints like the Samsung.  Another observation I noticed was that it doesn't show fingerprints on the stainless like the other models.  Trust me I tried.  People were probably looking at me funny for wiping my hands all over the refrigerators.

Here is how the numbers worked out.
GE Profile 29 cu ft French Door Refrigerator
MSRP: $3,099
Marked down to: $2,599
Negotiated Price: $2,000 (HH Gregg does negotiate/haggle)
Shipping and Set-up: FREE

Blinds:
We are going to start out with the 2.5" Faux Wood Home Decorators Choice at Home Depot.  I like the blinds more than Lowes or similar products and the installation fees are much cheaper.  For $118 they will install what ever you purchase from them.  Lowes basically charges $9.90 per blind.

The fee includes measuring.  So someone will contact us within the next couple days to come out and measure.  We were waiting on the sheet rock to be put in before we scheduled this.  Also, the rep at Home Depot said they would accept the Lowes 20% off coupon you normally get in your final closing packet from RH.  So even though it is for Lowes, Home Depot will take it.

Another item of note is that the blind installer will charge a pick-up fee for the blinds.  I do not have any issues with picking them up myself.  I can't remember the fee but it was between $59-$79 (almost as much as the installation price).

More Drywall:
The drywall crew was in today doing some more work.  They finally did the first layer of mud on the nail holes and the ceiling in the two story family room.   They want to be done by Wednesday and I think that is a realistic plan.  They should be starting on texturing the ceilings by Tuesday.

Flooring:
Something I just noticed was that someone came in and put screws in the floor on the main level.  They didn't put them in on the second floor and I'm not sure if they will.  I'm thinking that the cost for RH to have to fix a squeaky floor after nailing down 3/4" oak is pretty expensive, versus pulling back some carpet on the second floor.  Truthfully, the squeaks I can't stand are on the stairs and second floor.  The house I'm renting now is only 8 years old and you would think it were over 100 when you walk upstairs.

Brick:
We have 60% chance of rain tomorrow with Thunderstorms.  Probably NOT going to see the masons, so their Wednesday estimate for completion will become Thursday, Friday.

A look ahead:
I'll have to get a current pulse from the PM tomorrow but if they finish drywall by Wednesday, then we should see some painters soon, followed by our hardwood floors.  That is what we are really looking forward to.