Ten Month Inspection and Baluster Upgrade Issue

It's that time! Actually we are pretty late with it, but nonetheless, tomorrow...our issues will be corrected. A major part of the correction began today with fixing a bad water issue outside. I'm very happy that is getting repaired, I just hope that the fix works this time. My sod looks awful but my trees look good! I tried adding some color to the flower bed but it's so hot here that everything is growing poorly. I'll keep everyone posted on issues we had our first year in and how they were  handled, or not handled.

One major thing that we were told won't be handled is the balusters. That's a major issue for us, and one of the guys from the district office called to tell me that we won't be getting them. I would tread very lightly with upgrades. We were told all three floors would have the metal balusters. The price was something like $2000. Maybe it was $1500? That was the price offered when we were planning to have a two level house. When we switched to a three level house, the number of balusters was cut at least in half for two floors. We were told the third floor would have balusters, but they were not put in. I asked for half of my money to be refunded or the issue to be corrected. They denied us. If you only did half the work, why take the entire amount of money? The guy we spoke to said the upgrades aren't prorated. That seems wrong to me. If I got more wood flooring, I would be charged based on the amount of the area. But things like balusters....They can charge a flat rate? That's dead wrong. I'm not at all happy about it. It doesn't seem like a big deal to some folks, but I'll post photos soon to show you all the difference. There is a reason we paid for them. It changes the space in a big way. Anyway, keep an eye out for my follow up post about the things that are fixed and about the photos of balusters. I'm thinking we should've skipped that and a few other "upgrades". As a consumer, you just end up stuck. It's hard to fight against a large company when it's just you. I'm tired of fighting. Right is right, wrong is wrong. Not giving me what I paid for is...wrong. Stay tuned.

Follow Up Post...

Hey everyone, so I said I would follow up on my last post, so here goes.

RH sent out their contractors very quickly after I made the service call. They showed up a day earlier than they should have, but I let them do their thing anyway. They went around, measured air flow in and out of the vents and returns, took the temp of each room and so on. They pretty much said the house heats and cools okay, but the vents and dampers needed to be adjusted, which they did for me. And get this...no joke. When I described the problem to one of the contractors about how some rooms are hot and others are cold, their response was, "It is not our equipment, it is your house. It is RH design of your house. We can not fix that. Talk to them about changing the design of your house." Really, dude??? Did he really say that? These  people don't know what to say out of their mouths to customers.

Now, we have had a problem with the thermostats blanking out in the house since the first month we were here. I have called them twice to fix it. First time they said, its an electrical issue so I asked that the electrician come out. This time they said my filters are too thick for the system. We purchased a few CASES of these nice, white, hypoallergenic filters (my kids have dust allergies). They told me to get the blue, cheap ones instead. The annoying thing is that even when we had the blue ones, it still blanked out. So, we are two service calls into this. One person says one thing. The next person says its something else. In the meantime, two of my thermostats still go blank at random times. I will have to go buy the other filters. So, do yourself a favor...make sure that you buy the cheap blue filters for your new home.

While we are on the topic of HVAC, it was really cold here a few days this past winter. My entire heating unit shut off and would not come back on for several hours at one point. I called, and they had contractors come out several hours later to fix it. By the time the contractor arrived, I guess my fireplace melted the pipes and it clicked back on. I asked how I can prevent it in the future...I was told that there is no way. That is a bit scary, I have to say... I prefer not to have my heat go out on the days when I need it most. Thank God we are one of the lucky folks who have dual units.

In yet even more HVAC news, there was a ticking noise we heard nightly. RH sent out their contractors and they cut a hole in my ceiling to find the source of the noise. Apparently, the straps holding up the metal things that carry heat and causing it to rub against something and it makes a knocking noise. Interesting. Unfortunately, that noise is back now. But they are willing to fix it,  so that's a plus.

While here, RH guys fixed my gutter vibration issue. I am thankful for that, cause it was really loud. They put rubber behind it, which seemed to solve the problem. Also, a lot of small issues were addressed like closet doors sticking, gaps at the front and garage door, my front porch light wasn't working because of a photo cell sensor had gone bad and some water issues. That light sensor worked but has since gone out again. Also, they showed me some winterizing things that needed to be done. I can appreciate that.

We are also having some grading issues, which are trying to be worked out. My yard gets swampy after it rains. They tried raising the low spaces that were low, but it's still a mess. I'll talk to them about that.

**This post was written a few weeks ago and I forgot to post it, so sorry if some things are outdated. We are now to the point of our ten month meeting. I have a list of things that need to be worked on. Thankfully, it is mostly minor things. We are settling into the house. Is they're any thing that I should make sure not to miss?

Overall, I wish I had been a more informed consumer when purchasing this house. I think if I had to do it again, I would buy a previously built house. I caution you to make sure you know exactly what you are getting when selecting upgrades. Some things were not worth the money. Some things were not done as expected. I'll be posting a better update about issues we have had about upgrades and how you can try to protect yourself. More on that later. Until then, take care!

Hello Everyone! Any Advice?

Hello everyone! I hope you are all staying warm during this crazy cold winter. The house is.... coming along. I wanted to get some feedback from you all regarding some issues before I call RH. I have an entire list of things for them to fix, but I wanted to your thoughts on these items.

Do any of you have hot and cold extremes in your homes? My living room and downstairs library are both very cold, and so are my master bedroom and FROG. If I put my thermostat on 72-73, the kids bedrooms becoming really hot, but the other rooms on the other side of the house are flat out cold. I know some people say you can adjust the dampers, but we were told ours are automatic, and I have no idea where they are. RH came to check this out once but they said it wasn't an issue. I live here every day, all day. It is definitely an issue. It was also a problem in the summer. I'm thinking I will need to hire a company to get to the bottom of this. We have two heating units and this is still an issue. Thoughts? Advice? Anyone? :-) My thermostats keep blanking out also. Have you all experienced this? RH also came to check this out before, but were unable to find a problem.

Another issue is a crazy loud vibrating noise when its windy. It is LOUD. I am not sure if the gutters are loose or what, but anyone else have this problem? It literally wakes up my entire house. The vent outside of the kitchen microwave is really loud and annoying too. If anyone has this issue, have you found any solution? If so, please share.

Other than that, we have a few large settlement cracks, several nail pops, caulk pulling away from the walls, a gutter that feel off, and some places with questionable workmanship (paint mainly).. but overall, nothing too terrible. I plan to go online and try to get some issues resolved, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any ideas for fixing my problems first. We have installed light fixtures and blinds throughout the house. I am looking at ideas to make the house look a little less. ..ryanish.... and a little more me. I'll post pictures once I find some thing. I'm thinking a set of barn doors would be gorgeous! Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you all. Take care!

Update Time!

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. Things have been going up quickly in the neighborhood. We are moved on to a new phase of this whole process. After the thirty day fixes, you dont really hear from the PM you built with. A new guy comes in to deal with issues. That has been fine for us. There are surveys that are given at various times. Be honest on them. RH pays attention to them. Anyhow, I'm just checking in with a few updates.

Things are going well on the home front for the most part. I never thought much about the noise before moving here. The trucks idling and riding through the neighborhood at 6-630am is a bit much for me. They even do it on weekends. The workers are bad about speeding through the neighborhood and about blocking the entrance and exit roads. It's extremely frustrating. The school bus has been having issues lately because she gets here, and there are trucks in the road doing various things. She will often have to wait several minutes or try to make a tight u-turn. Yesterday, there was a sewage truck blocking the road. Today, it was a truck delivering cinder blocks. The school bus comes at 6:45am. I'm serious when i say. .... work and noise start early! On the plus side, the dumpsters have been moved out of the street and onto the lot they are working on. That's nice. If only the workers would be as considerate, things would be nice. I'm constantly having cigarette butts and loud men yelling in the front of the house. Its pretty annoying, to say the least. 
Some good news is...we have not had any creepy crawlers since the hole was patched. I'm glad that is resolved.
Our utility bills while using the heating system have been lower than expected, which is a nice surprise.
We had a few minor issues, one with electrical and one with the thermostat blanking out at random times. RH sent out folks to check it out within a few days. One issue was resolved, the other we are keeping an eye on.
The house has been settling. There are random nail pops and cracks in the walls. It's nothing that is alarming but just expect it to happen. We will get it fixed after ten months.
The third floor option is a must have! It is awesome to have the extra space up there. My only gripe is that I wish there was a storage room up there.
The fireplace is a must have! It is really nice and warms the room well. Ours is gas and I'm so glad we got it. It was totally worth the upgrade! Just be sure the gas line is sealed. I do wish it had a fan option on it, but even without it, I like it. Besides, all homes need a mantle!
The metal rails on the steps are another thing you must have! They open up the space nicely. They are expensive, but what isn't?
The dishwasher offered in the standard package is garbage. It's loud. There is no timer on it. That thing runs for hours and you can hear it upstairs in the master bedroom. If you choose to upgrade any appliance, make it this one.
Also, there is a vent or something behind the microwave. That thing is loud! Every time the wind blows, it flaps. I keep thinking that there is something over there. This will take some getting used to. I wish I could tape it down.
One last thing.... If you have the option for gas, go with it! Gas stove, gas dryer, gas fireplace and gas grill line. I dont regret any of it! In my opinion, these things are worth upgrading!

Last, upgrade, upgrade, upgrade the kitchen! I have a few neighbors who didn't and they regret it. If you dont add the island AND peninsula, there is dead space in the kitchen. This is true also for the Ravenna model. Definitely upgrade the island! Besides, having the extra eating space, prep space and plugs is really nice for  entertaining and cooking. 

That's about it for now. If anyone has any specific questions about the Verona model or anything, just leave it in the comments. Happy holidays!

Creepy Crawlers...Rodents

Have you seen any mice or other unwelcome visitors in your home? We have. Several, in fact. It took me a long time to post about this because I was really upset and angry about this situation. We began seeing them the first weeks we were here. I was convinced there was a hole somewhere, but I was assured that my house was sealed. We hired pest control. We bought sticky traps. You name it, we tried it. The issue is. .... they kept coming. So after some screaming, yelling, sleepless nights and sanitizing my entire house over and over, we found the issue. There was an UNSEALED gas line under the fireplace. We kept seeing them around the fireplace, so this made sense. It was a good size hole. And it was open to the crawlspace. We sealed the hole. And guess what, no more rodents!

I'm frustrated because we hired pest control, spent a bunch of money on pest control products, and so on. I called Ryan Homes and their response was.... "We dont insure against pest." I understand that. But. ... this was no traditional pest issue. This was due to a hole. AFTER we found the hole, realized the insulation was falling under the house, and realized that the door to the crawl has been open for several months because it was broken  and accidently left open since our final walkthrough, some people from RH came to help fix it all. They sealed a hole or two they found under the crawl, temporarily fixed the door and put the insulation back up. I can appreciate that. I wish this had been done after I found the first mouse. I wish I had pushed harder to get them to come and look for holes before. They told me since i live in a construction zone, mice are common. I get that. I understand. But this was too common. We had about 7 in a short period of time.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to let you all know, if you have a fireplace, and field mice, double check the lines coming into your home, double check the crawl space doors and anywhere else that may be open to the outside. Other neighbors have had issues with mice too. I'll have to ask but I think the fireplace is where they found a hole too. The neighbors bought this stuff called Great Stuff with Pest Control. It works for the moment. Good luck. I hope you all dont have this issue but if you do, definitely look for the way they are getting in. Good luck! Hopefully this is the last of my major issues, and I can get on to the fun stuff.

Update: After speaking with the neighbors, it appears they had their hole in the same place. One of them also mentioned sealing the line behind the stove better too. Just check and double check these places so that you dont have to go through this  sort of situation.

Great Customer Service Experience with Ryan Homes

First off, to follow up on a previous post, my columns were addressed. One of the PMs, Matt, came out the next day after I posted to fix them.He tried to fix them and paint them, but the reality is, the guys who originally "fixed" them kind of made a mess of them, so they needed a little more work than Matt could do that day. But I appreciate how quick he came out to deal with it.

So, this morning I went online and sent a message to Ryan Homes about my columns and a roof leak that we noticed in the last storm. About 5 hours later, I got a telephone call from a guy named Drew. I am not sure of his position in the company, but he came out the same day to address my issues. He did a water test to determine the source of the leak on the porch. He made an appointment to get our columns looking good again. While here, he also advised us on some other issues we had, including the need to fertilize the grass, and fixed a couple of other problems we noticed around the house. He was seriously a jack-of-all trades. He had a very helpful attitude and was more than willing to help, which is more than i can say for some other folks. Now, there has to be a follow up to today's work, but that's fine. It should be taken care of pretty soon. I am quite impressed with Ryan Homes Customer Service though. Thanks guys!

The Reality Is...

The reality of new construction is...things will break. Things will not be perfect. And that's fine. That is perfectly okay. I expect it. What distinguishes one builder from the next is how they handle these things. I am happy overall with my home. Are there things that have needed repairs? Yes. Will there be more things? Yes! And that's okay...and as long as it is done the right way, I will continue to be happy with my home.