Slowly settling in

Everything got delivered as scheduled over the last few days. Although there are two burners on my stove which are not working so I had to call up the Brick and they are ordering a new stove for me. It should arrive in two weeks. The assembly process has begun on everything that I ordered. It's been just one thing after the other. Nothing too difficult though, just time consuming. I've also had to make a few trips out to Home Depot and Canadian Tire just to pick up things so I can hook things up. I bought some stainless steel braided hoses for the fridge waterline hookup and the laundry machine. These are more sturdier than the plastic and rubber hoses that come with them. It's worth the investment IMO especially since they are on the main and upper floors. I've also been pricing out dimmer switches. Wow! I didn't think they were that expensive. But I still want to put a lot of my lights on dimmers so I can control the lighting, especially on the main floor.

Speaking of lighting, I came to the realization that my main floor has A LOT of lighting. I probably could have gotten away with two fewer potlights in the kitchen. But the rest seems alright. I basically have a bunch of zones and will never have all of the lights on all at once so it is nice to have the flexibility. On a related note, I'm finding that the lights installed overhead in the master ensuite shower and the bathtub in the main bathroom aren't very bright. I'm going to try putting in a higher wattage bulb.

I also just realized that the extra light outlet that I had added as an upgrade over the stairs is too close to the wall to install the 52" ceiling fan I was planning on putting there. I put this light outlet to help circulate air around. So looks like I'll need to put in a 42" fan which will not do as good a job. Also, the light outlet only has one switch at the top of the stairs when I had asked for two. I will be noting that down on my 30-day list.

In other house related stuff, I've begun trying to seal up some of the duct joints in the basement with the foil tape. My house inspector pointed out to me that air is leaking out of the joints so best to try to seal them up. Afterall, my basement is unfinished so I'm losing a decent amount of heat/air conditioning through these gaps.

Still lots to do and I'll report back on other things as I do them.

Moved in!

Well, the move yesterday went amazingly well. I had about 6 of my buddies help with my move of which one of them, Eric, used to be a mover back in the day. So, needless to say he was very efficient in loading up the truck. I basically told him to tell us what to move and he organized it all. I had a 26 foot truck and still had plenty of space left over. I should have gotten a smaller truck to give Eric more of a challenge. We started loading the truck at 8:15am and had everything in it by 9:30am. Then we drove from the Craig Henry area to Half Moon Bay and I gave my friends the tour of the house. Started unloading and were done by 10:45am. I returned the truck and we were eating pizza and drinking beers by noon. I'm quite amazed how fast we got it done. Now the fun part, unpacking... yippee

So I spent my first night at the house. I was so wiped from the previous few days that I simply crashed out. But I did manage to get a few things done and unpacked. It'll be a slow process I'm sure but hoping to get it to a point where I can sit back and enjoy it.

Tuesday is a big day. I've got the following happening:
> Delivery of:
- daughter's bedroom furniture
- sofa and loveseat
- washer & dryer
- coffee table and end table
- fridge and microwave
> Rogers is coming to hook up my internet
> air conditioning is being installed (just before the heatwave)

I also picked up some blinds for a few of the rooms from Bou Clair Home. I just got the faux wood ones. 40% off FTW!

House Inspector

I hired a house inspector to come take a look at my house for things. Buying a house is such an overwhelming experience that I felt that I needed that extra level of comfort in looking over my house. Plus, it's not as if I know the building codes and all the things to look for. I had printed off the Tarion PDI checklist which was a good start during my PDI but still wanted an experts opinion.

I used Acker Home Inspection to do the house inspection. Phil, the owner, is an active member on buildinghomes.ca and seemed to be really knowledgeable. There were also numerous positive experiences posted on the forums there and my experience was no different. I scheduled the inspection for the day after I close and will put these items on my 30 day list. Having the inspection done before I move in is good in that they can see everything in the house.

The team, Phil and Randy, arrived on time at noon. They proceeded to tell me the whole process and what they were going to do today and what I will end up with. We started to walk around the house and Phil would make notes into a digital audio recorder. What I really liked was that Phil would take pictures of the deficiencies to document them. Once in a while, Phil would pass his recorder to Randy who would key in the notes onto the laptop while Phil and I continued the inspection with another recorder. This made the whole process very efficient. Phil also tested electrical plugs, water shutoff valves, hot water, ventilation fans and other things. The exterior was just a visual. He used binoculars to look at the roofing shingles.

Overall, the house was in pretty good shape. He had noted 25 items, some of which were ones that were on my PDI list which still needs to be fixed. I should note that he doesn't look for cosmetic items, more for functional and structural items. Some of the larger items he noted were:

- door frame in door to garage not sealed properly
- garage door does not park in all positions (i.e. closes by itself)
- insufficient insulation in attic (apparently, it was supposed to measure almost 14" (R40) worth but was only at 11" (R32). but it was sprayed evenly)
- incomplete caulking around master ensuite shower
- powder room toilet only flushes if handle is held
- water trapped in insulation (possible leak but could be condensation)

One item which I'm not sure about is the laundry room ventilation. There appears to be an external vent but there is no exhaust fan in my laundry room. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to get one but can't seem to see anything in the standard features list. I'll still note it on my 30 day list.

The final report would include a cover sheet for my 30 day list for Tarion and Mattamy, listing of defects found, a comprehensive report with more details, a cd of all of the forms and pictures taken. So, all in all, a very thorough report. Cost of the inspection was $370. I plan on having them come back just before my 1-year list is due to Tarion.

Packed!

Well, I'll be moving into my new house tomorrow. It'll be me, a 24 foot U-Haul truck and 6 friends. I like to call it, remember when I helped you move? Well, it's time to repay the favour.

And I am officially a homeowner!

At around 4:45pm, I got the call from my lawyer saying that everything is ready. I pack up at work and head over to the Mattamy sales office. The girl at the reception desk told me that I had to go to the construction office to get the keys. But then she said that she didn't think they were still open and that she thought they closed at 4:30pm. I'm pretty sure I gave her a dirty look and said that I only got the call from my lawyer at 4:30pm. She told me to go check it out and I'm pretty sure I made some comment that they better be open. Okay, so I may have been a little rude but really, Mattamy's communication between groups really sucks.

Anyway, off I went to the construction office and I see lots of trucks parked out front. This was a good sign. I go into the office and was promptly greeted by someone calling me by name. Phew! I sign for my keys and Matt F. (the same guy who did my framewalk) came out and then went with me to my house. We walked through the whole house checking off stuff that was on my PDI. There were a few items that still needed to be fixed but that I was expecting that. I initialed off on the items that were done. On a side note, I must say that Matt F. from Mattamy seems like a really good guy and seems to really care about his work.

So, now I am officially a homeowner!!

The house overall looks pretty good. There was a gift basket that had a bunch of cleaning supplies and stuff. I guess they were admitting that the house could still use a good cleaning?

I went outside to grab my camera from my car when the couple who bought the Queenscliffe Corner across the street from me pulled up. They came over and introduced themselves and we started chatting. We showed each other our houses (they're closing in about a month). I also met my neighbour next door to the left. He had closed yesterday. His house is very nice too. It's the Eastland model, the one I considered getting too. I also saw that there were people in Block 501 that were moving in too. I believe they closed today.

Well, I guess this is the end of the house buying experience. But stay tuned as I continue to write about my home ownership experience.

And now the wait...

I went down to my lawyer's office this morning to sign all the documents. Interestingly, I will be picking up the keys from the Mattamy sales office. I had thought that I'd get them from my lawyer when he received them. That's how my friends got theirs with their Minto homes. That's fine because my lawyer is on Wellington St. where the roads are all torn up. Now the wait is on for the big phone call. Any bets on how productive I'll be at work today?

One day away!

I'm one day away from closing. w00t!! A couple of small annoyances. First, The Brick will not be delivering my appliances until Friday. They were supposed to be delivered before my closing date and Mattamy to install them. Not sure what the mix up was but the Brick was supposed to coordinate with Mattamy but I kept getting the calls. I really dislike dealing with the Brick. Hope this will be my final time. Anyway, Mattamy customer care said that they'll have someone on site on Friday to hook everything up.

I also need to go meet with my lawyer tomorrow morning to sign the papers. Good news is that I should be getting some money back because the extra money I had to put down for the upgrades and such. But sucks that I'll have to go see him first thing and then go back to get the keys whenever they arrive. Oh well, just some minor speedbumps but still totally psyched to become a homeowner tomorrow!

PDI complete!

Today was the PDI. I met with Mark A. from Mattamy. We all got there right at 2pm. First thing I noticed was a lot of the little green pieces of painter's tape was gone in my house although a few still remained. I took that to mean that they came in and did some repairs/touch ups. The next thing was that the electricity was not working. Mark told me that they are waiting for Hydro to finish and to flip the switch. I had him note that we will not be able to test anything electrical related on the PDI list. Then we started upstairs and went into each room and then worked our way downstairs and then outside. Overall, I didn't see anything major. Most of the windows had their screens missing but while we were there, someone had dropped them all off. To my eye, the workmanship overall looked pretty good. Nothing seemed really crooked or installed poorly. Pretty much all the items on my list were cosmetic in nature and for the most part, very minor. Mark had pointed out a couple things here and there which I didn't notice. I didn't feel rushed either. Honestly, if I really wanted to be particular, I could have noted down more minor blemishes but in my mind, these don't concern me. I'm willing to bet I'll cause much worse when I'm moving all my stuff in. Some of the stuff that were noted:

- floor squeak in upper hallway near bedroom 2
- window catching in master bedroom
- caulking not complete in master ensuite
- end of countertop of master ensuite vanity not complete
- minor drywall damage around shower
- fix caulking in main bath on right side
- heat register not fitting properly
- paint/scuffs on railings
- repair ceiling in great room (looks like they had to cut a piece out to get at something)
- fix drywall and gap around hood fan duct box
- waterline to fridge incomplete
- garage had gap on right side, trim incomplete
- some chips at bottom where fridge cove is

So that's pretty much it. Honestly, I don't think all of my PDI list items will be complete before I close but like I said, most of it is relatively minor. On some of the blemishes I had noted, I had to look pretty hard for them. We did go outside to look at the exterior but everything looked fine to my untrained eye. We couldn't access the backyard either. I'll let my home inspector look more closely at my house after I close for the 30-day list.

I asked how many other people are closing this week and he said three. My block and 503 are the first ones to close. Next will be 507. Three more days!!!

One more week

Today, I am officially one week away from my closing date. I popped by my house yesterday to check it out. To my surprise, the front door wasn't locked so I was able to walk right in. In fact, my neighbour's doors were wide open. Maybe there was someone working in there, I couldn't tell for sure. Anyway, back to my house, the carpeting was put in. And there were little pieces of green painters tape everywhere which looked like were put there to indicate where they need to fix, repair, touch up, finish, etc. But overall, the house looks pretty much done. The gas meter still needs to be put in out front but there wasn't anything major that I could see that wasn't done. My house is numbered and my mailbox was even installed. Check out the latest pictures on my picasaweb album starting with this one.

While I was there, I saw a family pull up and was checking out one of the houses across the street. I knew it was a member from the buildinghomes.ca community forum which I have been posting on. So, I introduced myself and had a nice chat with them. They seemed pretty excited about the progress of their home and they should be so. It was neat meeting people who you've been conversing with on an open forum.

All of the townhomes along Burritts Rapids Place are coming along nicely. I'm excited that I will be calling it home in a week's time. Not excited about all the packing though. Still have lots to do and think I may have sorely underestimated how much stuff I have. Is that show "Clean Sweep" still on? Think I could use their help.

HMB is safer...for cars

I set up my house insurance policy yesterday with Bel-Air Direct. This is the first time that I've had to get my own policy. Setting it up is pretty painless although there are a lot of questions to answer including whether your house is within certain distances of a fire hydrant and fire station which would affect your premiums. I had actually got that information from Mattamy beforehand. I am currently with Bel-Air Direct for my auto insurance so I will now get a discount on my auto insurance for having multiple policies. At first, they quoted my discount at $189 but then got a call back from them saying that the discount will actually be $290 because the HMB area is deemed to be a lower risk. I never thought of my current neighbourhood being unsafe so probably still relatively low risk although maybe that sweet old lady next door isn't so sweet? Could be just a front to cover up some elaborate car chop shop operation sending stolen cars to South America. Hmmm...better put 'The Club' on my car tonight.... :-P

Finally...Mattamy opens their model townhomes

After entering the Ottawa market for over two years and having sold a bunch of widelot townhomes in Kanata and Barrhaven, Mattamy finally has available two model townhomes open for viewing: Maplefield End and Fernwater End. There is a third one in between them but it was not complete. Actually, it wasn't anywhere near complete. Not sure if that was part of the plan.

Both model homes are very nice. Not surprisingly, they did quite a few upgrades to them both. Probably not a bad thing that they didn't have these models ready when I was buying as I probably would have spent more on upgrades. Hahaha. But it was definitely nice to walk through a Fernwater. It got me rethinking about how I will place my furniture. For example, I think I will put the loveseat along the wall with the window and center the sofa like on the main wall as pictured below.
The kitchen layout is slightly different than mine. The biggest difference is that the dishwasher is located to the right of the sink and therefore the breakfast bar extends out further. I don't recall that being an option when I had bought so I'm guessing it's a new Architect's Choice option. Not sure if I would have gone with this option though. If I did, there wouldn't be much room to put a table in the kitchen area.

Update on my house: I went by my house since I was in the neighbourhood. Just as I arrived, a couple of cleaners just had finished up my house. They were kind enough to let me go in the house before they locked up. So, I snapped some pictures of the insides with it mostly clean. The carpeting was not done but the underpad had been laid down. I could see that a few other small things still needed to be done but it was refreshing to see it so close to the finish product. I chatted with the cleaners afterwards and they were telling me how they usually clean each house three times. Their next two visits to my home will be just before my PDI and then again on my closing date.

Spending like it's going out of style

The shopping continues. Over the past couple of weeks, I have bought a sofa and loveseat from Sears. Also bought some chairs to go with the dining room table. I made the final payment for my appliance upgrades. I think I'm done on the big stuff. Still looking for a bedroom set for me and a computer desk but those aren't high priority right now. Focus will be on the little and useful things like kitchen and other domestic stuff. I also need to get window coverings but I'll have to wait until I move in so that I can get the window dimensions.

I noticed Canadian Tire had the garage door opener that I bought for $20 less than what I had paid in May. So I went back and asked for the difference back. At first, they said they only refund differences within 14 days but they have a 90 day return policy. I asked what was to keep me from returning the one I had bought and re-buying it at the lower price. She agreed so she processed it just like that. Refunded the original and resold it to me at the lower price. Frugal? Cheapskate? Penny Pincher? Go ahead and label me. :) That money paid for a couple of tv trays I bought afterwards there.

I guess I have been spending lots of money as of late as my Mastercard account was flagged and put on hold due to the recent flourish of transactions. Last night, I tried paying for gas with one of those speedpay thingies at the gas pump and it got denied. I called Mastercard up this morning and straightened it out. I don't mind that this happens especially since I know people who have had their credit cards compromised. All is good now and it's time to hit the stores again today. Staples, Ikea and Home Outfitters, here I come!!!

PDI Scheduled for July 13th!!1!1!!!

I just received a call from Mattamy to schedule my PDI. It is scheduled for July 13th. Woo Hoo! I guess everything is on schedule then. I did go visit my house yesterday and it's looking really good. The hardwood flooring was put in. All of the bathroom vanities were done including the sinks and toilets. The lighting fixtures were all in including potlights. I like the fixtures that they put in for the kitchen eat-in area and the ones in the hallway. My original plan was to replace them all but I may just end up keeping them. But I still will be replacing the ones over the kitchen sink with pendent ones later. The kitchen cabinets are in but the countertop was only half complete. Admittedly, I was a bit worried about my colour choices but seeing them now, I think it's going to look really nice, especially with the contrast with the black appliances. One thing I noticed that I never thought of was the railings. They are made of oak and my floors are maple. So, the railings have a lot more wood grains in it. I should have gotten the maple railings to match the floors better. This is an upgraded cost though.

The biggest item that I can see that's left to do is the carpeting. After that, it's just little things like finishing the trim by the floors (i.e. putting quarter round down), paint touch ups, installing closet doors and shelves, etc.

I think that I will be able to fit two cars on my driveway. It's hard to tell for sure but just eyeing where the street lamps have been put in along the street and guessing where my driveway will end, I think it's possible. I won't have a sidewalk on my side of the street either.

Today, I will be going to the bank to finally sign my mortgage papers. The bank was apparently super busy so they only got the paperwork together a few days ago. I am two weeks from my closing date as of today. Can I get another Woo Hoo?!?!