Final Inspections

We are finally getting really close!

On Wednesday, Emilie went and did a walk-through of the home with Steve, the construction manager, and Terry, who is our "customer care manager" and will be our contact for warranty issues, etc. There were a number of nicks and scratches, nothing too major, and in fact many of the items Emilie found were things that either Steve or Terry had already noted. Emilie pointed out that the glass doors on the fireplace were missing, and Steve said they would call the contractor and get those put on. Steve said that they would get right to work fixing the rest of the issues. It only took about 30 minutes to complete the walk-through.

Then on Friday, we had our private inspector come in and do an inspection of the house. We were both able to be there, which was nice because we got to see the inspection process, and he also did a great job explaining what he was doing and how some of the mechanical things worked (like the heat pump vs. strip heating). He started in the kitchen and then worked clock-wise through the house, checking all of the cabinets and drawers to make sure they worked, and also the electrical outlets with a cool little plug that lit up if the outlet was wired correctly. He turned on all of the appliances to make sure they were working, and ran the dishwasher for a rinse cycle to make sure everything was draining correctly. He even turned on the stove and oven and stuck his hands on the elements to make sure they were heating up (fortunately he didn't try that technique with the microwave!). In the bathrooms he ran water in the sink, shower, and flushed the toilet at the same time to make sure we had adequate water pressure. He climbed up into the attic in the garage to take a look around (we have about 16 inches of insulation, whatever that means), and he also got up onto the roof to take a look around.

Overall, the inspection went pretty well. It took about 90 minutes, but he was also doing a fair amount of explaining along the way. He found a few "marginal" items, like there is some paper or something stuck in the exhaust fan in the microwave/range hood, and the wiring for the disposal was not snug against the wall under the sink like it should be. Besides the broken window in the master bedroom, we also discovered that the window in our small bedroom was scratched and would also need to be replaced. Steve, the construction manager, was coming and going during the inspection, and he didn't think any of the things we found during the inspection would be a problem to fix.

So, here it is Saturday. Monday afternoon is our new home orientation, where we meet with Terry again and he shows us how everything works and how to care for the new house (it is also our chance to make sure everything has been fixed before closing). Then we close on Wednesday afternoon! And we'll start moving in on Thursday! By this time next Saturday, we'll hopefully have phone service established and will be able to post from our new house! We are so excited -- we can't wait!!! (But we'll also be glad when the whole thing is finished!)