We met with Creative Floors on Thursday and the meeting was relatively painless. We're going to be doing the hardwood in the living & dining rooms as well as the tile in our kitchen & morning room after we move in, so we only had a couple selections to make.
I'm not super crazy about any of the laminate floor options, but hopefully we will only have to look at this floor for a year or two. We upgraded to 8-lb padding upstairs and in the family room. Since we will be replacing the living & dining room carpet with hardwood we kept the standard padding in those two rooms. We chose a neutral carpet that wasn't too dark but dark enough to not show all the dirt.
This is the laminate we chose for the foyer, kitchen, morning room, and laundry room as well as the carpet:
We decided to upgrade the tile surrounds in both bathrooms to level C. So the walls will match the floor and there will be a decorative trim. I love the tile we chose for both bathrooms. They are very similar, but the decorative trim is different.
Master Bathroom
Today we met with Guardian hoping it would go as smoothly as the Creative meeting...not so much. We want a security system installed and were happy to hear it would be free; however, to get an additional keypad as well fire monitoring you have to upgrade (or course). Additionally, we have to have Guardian monitor our house for 60 months at $39.99 a month. I questioned why this monthly fee was so high and the rep justified it by saying we got a
warranty as well as the VoiceLink technology. With Voicelink there are no phone calls when the alarm goes off, they just speak directly to you through a speaker located in your house. I still think $40 a month is too high, so we will be re-thinking the whole package. We have 3-days to cancel. In addition to the security system, we want to mount our TV above the fireplace and a TV in our master bedroom, so we would like to have a pre-wires for those as well as a pre-wire for a surround sound system. So, when all was said and done this is what we added:
- Security system with the value package that includes an additional keypad, a heat communicator, smoke communicator, wireless receiver and key fob: $565
- Digital pre-wire in family room: $440
- 5.1 pre-wire for surround sound: $565
- Digital pre-wire in master bedroom: $330 (I think we may take this out though)
In total we spent $1,900. Definitely was not expecting that and am annoyed that we're at the mercy of Guardian's pricing; however, I'm sure we'll be happy that we have the security system in place as well as the pre-wires.
After meeting with the Guardian rep we signed the change orders and verified our color selections:
- tan siding with Georgetown Green shutters and white trim
- Santa Cecilia granite counter top
- Absolute Black granite fireplace surround
- cherry stain for railings
We also looked at the lighting package we are going to be getting. Both of us do not like the dining room and foyer chandeliers. They are candelabras and just not our taste, but we like the rest of the light fixtures so don't want to upgrade (nor do we want to pay for any more upgrades). So we may have to live with the lights until we can get something else.
Next up, we meet with the PM on March 2nd and we are slated to break ground on March 16th...so exciting!
I love your tile selections. They are beautfiul! Great choices. Like you we are going to do our own hardwood floors. We're going to put them in the foyer, dining room, and kitchen. We also got the base vinyl and honestly it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I definitely can live with it for the next year or so until we're able to do it ourselves.
ReplyDeleteJennlp your home is going to be beautiful! I really like the floor plan. It might depend on the area, but when we looked into the monthly cost of security monitoring with some other companies Guardian was pretty competitive and knowing what some of my family members do pay monthly it seems like a good price. It is crazy though how the little extras add up. Do you really have to sign a contract for 60 months? Or is that just locking in the price?
ReplyDeleteOur guardian contract is only 3 years.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the dining room and foyer chandeliers. I plan to put shades over the bulbs on the dining room one to make it look cozier - you can get them at the craft stores very inexpensively.
I love your tile selections...very similar to ours. We are also getting the same granite and fireplace surround. We upgraded the laminate flooring that we did get, but we are planning on keeping it. Makes absolute sense to go with base selections when planning on replacing it.
ReplyDeleteLOL...I wish our Guardian bill was only $1900!!!
Where did you land on the water heater?
I was surprised when the rep said 5 years, we were expecting 2 - 3. I'm still very unsure about the whole thing. I want an alarm, but may just wait until after settlement. It's easier to wire it during construction, but to be locked into 5 years makes me very uneasy.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about putting shades over the bulbs. I like that idea! Thanks so much for the tip!
BD...we've gone back and forth on the fireplace surround so many times, but I'm very happy with the black. We decided to hold off on the water heater. I actually got your e-mail while sitting with Guardian...lol. We really like the hybrid, and will change it out down the road. But we don't like the fact that the quoted price is basically the full cost of the water heater. Ryan doesn't give a credit for the standard water heater, if you know what I mean. We looked up the model while sitting in the sales rep's office and found it for $1699. So for now we're going to go with the electric water heater that comes standard and look to replace it in a couple years. Thank you so much for the information today and for getting back to us so quickly, it was very helpful.
ReplyDeleteLOL...I know where you are coming from on the surround for the fireplace. I thought we had come to a final decision no less then 3 times, but we finally went back to the black which was our first choice. It will go with about any color so in our mind it was a good choice.
ReplyDeleteWe were at the office today as well. We drove down to look at some of the siding on the homes near the sales office and found one that matched what we had selected. We stopped in to make sure it was the same color.
Glad I was able to get the information to you in time to be helpful. I understand where you are coming from. I think you are making a good decision on the water heater especially since they don't give you a credit for the standard one. You guys may be able to do the installation yourself if you are handy and brave enough to tackle plumbing or maybe you know someone who would do it for you...plus the price is coming down a little more every couple months.
Also, forgot to say, so exciting that you start construction in 3 weeks. That is awesome. We want to sell house #1 before taking that step :)
We drove through the development over the weekend. Looks like the model home is just about finished. They broke ground on the home on the lot next to ours which I believe is also going to be a Bainbridge Hall. Drove by your lot and there didn't seem to be any activity. What's up with that? Everything still going ok?
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