The "sea of blue tape" that points out areas needing attention which I mentioned in "New Home Builders Deliver "Cleaner Upper" Homes " is partially shown above (click on photo to enlarge). Please keep in mind that my wife and I are happy with our lot location and Ryland in general, as the Ryland employees that we deal directly with have all tried their best to make us happy. But, I want to help Ryland Homes by noting, constructively, areas for improvement like less things needing attention before delivery. The specific problems of the Silestone Kitchen countertop that was removed for a week while we were living in the house are detailed in item #6.
Before you read the rest of this post, please keep in mind that my wife and I did not enjoy our first year of Ryland Home ownership. See "My Last Ryland Homes Blog Post & My Attempt To Help Ryland Homes!" to get a better overview of our Ryland Home complaint to the BBB, and links to the over 100 Ryland Home problems that were all eventually fixed after 13 months of having much of our time wasted.
Today, 1/12/08, here is our updated "Punch List" with "DONE" notes put together around our "close of escrow" on 1/18/08:
1. The exterior hardi-plank has many separations and minor buckling on the upper sides of the house. It cosmetically looks worse than our neighbors smaller buckling situations. We met with the Hardi-Plank rep on 1/21/08, and the reassurance letter from the rep that we were promised never came. The framers said they did not find where buckling was located from the inside of our attic, so our initial builder said he would bring them out again and show them exactly where the problem areas are. An attempt was made to bring the framers out again, but the date scheduled was not good for us. So, I emailed our initial builder to pick another date. He said he never got my email, and the framers showed up on that same bad day for us. We sent them away. Our initial builder said he would fix the problem before our one year warranty was up. * FINAL UPDATE = Finally, on 10/30/08 9 months later, extra 2X4's, 2X6's, and 2X12's were put on both left and right insides of our attic by new framers as "back braces". This solution came from our new builder, who quickly spotted the problem, and had it fixed in a few days. He had about one third of the hardi-plank removed and replaced with new hardi-plank along with additional Tyvek insulation. Both entire sides of the house were painted with two coats of paint. Additional insulation was blown in the entire attic area to fix the "stepped on" blown insulation that was there. The net effect was extra attic insulation and wood bracing for both sides of the house.
2. The flashings along the roof have many gaps that could let rain in. (Previous flashings fixed, but a newly discovered problem is on the front inside porch near the "right inside corner ") = DONE
3. The "pull down stairs" from the garage ceiling is very wobbly when climbing, and presents an injury/safety hazard. The base of it rests only on the corners of the side braces, and the middle needs reinforcing to prevent "side to side" wobbliness. (DONE by great "PUNCH LIST" person)
4. There is gutter and downspout missing from the front of the house right above where the front porch steps are located. Rain would pour down on people on the right hand side of the steps as you enter. (DONE)
5. Even though we have two vanity sinks in the master bedroom, and paid $200 to have the upgrade of "Eva Chrome Accessories" in the full bath, there is only one (on the left hand sink) chrome hand towel ring. This is not functional or convenient. (DONE)
6. There are numerous cosmetic details noted with "blue tape" that need to be fixed with the Kitchen Counter Silestone. Corner joints are out of alignment, with too thick of a seam, glue is on many spots, and there are many uneven spots on the bullnose surfaces. ( All Silestone countertops to be removed and replaced with new ones. All Silestone backsplashes to the left and right of stove are to be permanently removed. Underneath of bar area countertop needs painting, as noted previously by blue tape. ) NEVER RECEIVED DOCUMENTATION ! ( BUT DONE A WEEK LATER WITH THE CENTER ISLAND STILL NEEDING BUFFING WHICH WAS DONE IN CONTRACTOR'S TRUCK. OLD, SCRATCHED STAINLESS STEEL SINK WAS BROUGHT BACK EVEN THOUGH THAT CHANGE WAS IN WRITING - A NEW SINK WAS BROUGHT BACK AND INSTALLED FEW DAYS LATER.)
7. Heat Pump has frost all around the outside, and probably just needs more refrigerant. (DONE)
8. Shorten cord on pull down stairs in the secondary bedroom. (DONE)
9. "Water Valve Shut Off" compartment box in the front of the house needs all mud cleaned out of it. (Done by punch list person at the end of 3/08.)
10. Shower enclosure doors in the master bath need adjusting and alignment. Plus, the fiberglass has a nick on the upper right hand side that needs repair. Shower stall needs rust stains removed. ( Shower enclosure doors in MB still need adjusting. Scratch marks from cleaning and polishing on upper left need buffing, but nick removed and stains should be removed by now.) - On my 2/9/08 W.S.Request I said "1. When the "stand alone shower" people come out to switch out the rollers, and/or glass door for the master bedroom shower, please have them reverse the doors in our second bath tub/shower, as the handles to open the glass doors on the inside are located on the door that leads to the toilet. I think the hardware and the doors can be easily switched around so that the handles on the inside are for the door that leads to the floor in front of the toilet." Please add to that, a repair of two small nicks in the secondary bath tub floor. I thought they were dirt, but are not. = TWO DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS INVOLVED HERE, AND THE SCRATCHING NOISE IS NOW FINALLY FIXED ON 2/21/08. THAT SAME GOOD RYLAND CONTRACTOR MAY BE ABLE TO FIX THE "REVERSAL OF THE SHOWER DOORS PROBLEM WITH EXTRA "HANDLE HARDWARE". "Handle Hardware finally installed in June of 08.
11. Many interior door hinge pins need tapping down to be flush. (DONE)
12. Some windows don't open, close, and lock properly, as noted by "blue tape". ("On order" and documentation never came, SIX windows are not replaced, and the wrong size French Door glass was brought to us. But, by the end of 3/08, 5 of the 6 widows were replaced and the sixth was too hard to get at due to a heavy desk being in front of it. The person replacing the windows appeared to us to not want to be doing the work and we had to watch everything he did. Clear caulking was smeared on two of the new windows during installation, and we had to tell him and his helper to clean that up on the outside of those windows. We were told that a window that had a spring tension problem would only be the same if it were to be replaced, and that it would be "too much work". A manufacturer's rep for the window came out later and admitted it was a faulty spring tension problem that could be fixed with new spring tension balance weights. We don't want that subcontractor back in our house, so we are living with another newly discovered, minorly flawed window because of that.
13. French Doors to Lanai need moldings, holes drilled into threshold for "locking bolts", and painted to get rid of "dripping stains" at top of both doors. (DONE)
14. Numerous Kitchen Cabinetry repair issues of rough edges, wood imperfections, alignment issues, etc. that are noted by blue tape. ("On order" and documentation delivered.) - DONE.
15. Drill hole in cabinetry above microwave oven location, so three pronged cord can fit through to special outlet. (DONE)
16. All three ceramic tiled floors need to be re-grouted, and damaged or uneven tiles replaced. (Still being worked on.) (NOT SURE IF ALL ARE DONE AS SOME MORE TILES NEED TO BE INSPECTED - I'M FORGETTING ABOUT IT BECAUSE WE DON'T LIKE THE FLOORING SUBCONTRACTOR'S WORK.)
17. Numerous touch up painting needs to be done as noted by blue tape. - (All DONE by the end of 3/08.)
18. Master Bath Shower Head plate needs to be flush against wall. (DONE)
19. Secondary Bath Room lighting fixture needs to be centered and hole repaired in drywall from that move. (DONE)
20. Secondary Bath Room towel ring needs to be moved to the wall to the right of the sink. (DONE)
21. Utility Room has white electrical cover plate on the left as you come in from the garage that needs to be removed, and the drywall hole repaired. (DONE)
22. Reinstall light fixture over right sink in Master Bath to make flush to wall, and position the center plate within to be flush. (DONE)
23. Master Bath towel rings to be relocated per our discussion. (DONE)
24. Lawn in back yard has small patches missing where sod did not cover. Sod in is winter condition, and may need help come spring. (Extra patches of sod put down in the Spring).
25. Repaint base all around the house. (DONE)
26. Repair jagged edges and concrete all around the base of the house. (DONE)
27. Repair Foyer ceiling where "paint chips" are missing. (DONE)
28. Repair jagged edges on garage drywall. (DONE by my contractor putting wood trim all around.)
29. Roof stacks painted as they are white now while neighbors are a dark color. (DONE)
30. Water stains on outside rear steps and outside concrete patio in back need cleaning and the source of the water stains detected. (Pressure washing NOT NECESSARY AS I AM HAVING IT STENCIL STAINED)
31. Front porch and driveway concrete gouges need repair. (Punch list person did by the end of 3/08.)
32. Wood steps and landing leading from garage into Utility Room need painting with a beige color. (DONE)
33. Overall clean up of paint smears and dirt needed on all doors, walls, hardware, windows, etc. (Completion of clean up still needs to be done due to FOYER WOOD FLOOR REMOVAL DUST/DIRT BLOWING IN ON VERY WINDY DAY - 2/8/08. I told Ryland that only the portions of the house that got dirt and dust from the Foyer wood floor removal need cleaning by their clean up crew. I also said that there are still too many moving boxes unopened on the floors, so please hold off on this until we get unpacked). UPDATE: I got the cleaning done by the week of 4/21/08).
34. Fiberglass utility sink in garage needs cleaning AND LEAK REPAIRED. (DONE)
ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/17/08:
35. Molding around left panel of French Doors to the Lanie needs painting. (DONE BY CLEANING)
36. SS sink was newly discovered to have many scratches, so that needs replacing. (DONE)
37. Handles/bars/framing on MB and 2nd Bath shower sliding door needs cleaning on the inside. - DONE
38. Newly discovered "high ceramic tile" needs replacement in second bath. (DONE)
39. In second bath baseboard/beam to be squared. (DONE)
40. Right front foundation, outside corner, needs cleaning or painting. (DONE)
41. Lanai flashing on inside/upper center needs flattening. (DONE)
42. Lanai ceiling has obvious holes around can light. (DONE)
43. Lanai inner molding door frame on the outside needs painting. Also, on the bottom left and right corners of the inside of the screen frame, there are "pushed in" frame moldings. PAINTED AS OF THE END OF 3/08.
44. Family Room crown molding seam by TV area needs caulking and painting. (DONE)
45. Front porch ceiling has obvious holes around can light. (DONE)
46. Replace den window due to hole in framing on upper left section. Other window replacements due to various reasons previously noted by blue tape. Documentation to come. - NEVER GOT DOCUMENTATION AND ONE ATTEMPT AROUND 2/20/08 WAS MADE THAT I RESCHEDULED DUE TO OTHER CONTRACTOR JOBS GOING ON. I WAS NEVER TOLD WHEN THEY WOULD COME UNTIL THE LAST FEW DAYS BEFORE. NOW, ALL MY OFFICE DESK WILL HAVE TO BE MOVED WITH EVERYTHING ON IT TO GET AT ONE OF THE SIX WINDOWS. WHEN I BROUGHT THIS UP THE THE RYLAND WINDOW CONTRACTOR, HE SAID ABRUPTLY "YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE YOUR DESK". WOW, SIX DAMAGED WINDOWS WEREN'T CAUGHT BY RYLAND BEFORE I MOVED IN, AND NOW I'M BEING INCONVENIENCED WITH NO EMPATHY FOR THE CUSTOMER. LUCKILY, THE PUNCH LIST PERSON WAS THERE TO OFFER HELP AND DIFFUSE THE SITUATION. By the end of 3/08, 5 of the 6 widows were replaced and the sixth was too hard to get at due to a heavy desk being in front of it. The person replacing the windows appeared to us to not want to be doing the work and we had to watch everything he did. Clear caulking was smeared on two of the new windows during installation, and we had to tell him and his helper to clean that up on the outside of those windows. We were told that a window that had a spring tension problem would only be the same if it were to be replaced, and that it would be "too much work". A manufacturer's rep for the window came out later and admitted it was a faulty spring tension problem that could be fixed with new spring tension balance weights. We don't want that subcontractor back in our house, so we are living with another newly discovered, minorly flawed window because of that.
47. Foyer wood plank too high near front door in two spots. On 1/23/08 "hollow sounding" areas of the Foyer floor were discovered. Glue not keeping the planks of wood down properly. = OVER 20 HOLES DRILLED WITH GLUE IN THEM INSTALLED ON 2/8/08, BUT BUILDER WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE JOB, SO HE ORDERED A WHOLE NEW FOYER WOOD FLOOR. MUCH DUST CAME INTO MY LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN DUE TO THE THIN PLASTIC DROP CLOTH NOT WORKING 20 % OF THE TIME. BASE VINYL FLOOR HAD TO BE SCRAPED UP SO NEW FLOOR COULD BE PUT ON THE SLAB. MUCH INCONVENIENCE FOR A WHOLE DAY, SINCE ONLY ONE PERSON WORKED ON IT. (DONE)
48. Lanai French Door Glass on right will be completely replaced. = ON 2/20/08 THE GLASS CONTRACTOR FOR RYLAND BROUGHT OVER THE WRONG SIZE REPLACEMENT GLASS THAT WAS DISCOVERED ONLY AFTER THE DAMAGED GLASS WAS ALL TAKEN OUT. (This is same problem as noted in item # 46.)
49. Flooding problem in back left yard needs re-grading so that rain water flows out to the woods behind Lot #74. Soil will be placed underneath sod in certain areas of the back yard in order to elevate entire back yard (as neighbor's back yard sod is elevated. ON 1/24/08 GREAT LANDSCAPING SUBCONTRACTOR REGRADED BACK AND SIDE AND MAJOR FLOOD AREA NOW GONE.
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NEWLY DISCOVERED ON 1/18/08 ITEMS # 50-52.
We are looking forward to most of these repair issues being properly fixed before we occupy the house on 2/3/08. That allows for 15 days more to have most, if not all, things fixed. (UPDATE - Almost nothing was done while we were away!)
ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/18/08:
50. No power to three electrical outlet plugs in Breakfast Nook NE corner (above new countertop and on wall below window). (CAUSED BY MY OWN "EXTRA CABINETS" PERSON - (DONE)
51. No light switch to outdoor garage lanterns, and only one of two can lights working on porch ceiling as you walk out front door. (Light switch found in garage, so this was never a problem, and my own electrician fixed the can light - DONE)
52. Painting needed on 2 X 6 board across the top of the inside of the garage door, and extra drywall needed to enclose two portions of garage wall on either side of the garage door. (DONE)
ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/19/08:
53. 4 Entire outlets in Breakfast Nook do not work (two on back walls and two by new countertop area. (THIS IS DONE AND WAS A DUPLICATE REPAIR NOTE TO # 50)
54. Only one of two can lights working on ceiling of porch near front door. THIS IS A DUPLICATE TO #51 & DELETED AS MY OWN ELECTRICIAN FIXED IT.
55. Bedroom closet facing front street needs door stopper to prevent door handle from hitting window molding. (DONE)
56. Can lights in Kitchen provide different height extensions for bulbs and need adjustment, since one bulb could not be unscrewed easily. (DONE)
57. Adjust Foyer electrical switch tension (too tight) by front door. (I REPLACED SWITCH WITH A "DECOR" TYPE SWITCH, SO IT IS FIXED)
58. Please "ACID WASH" all three ceramic tiled floors installed by Ryland to properly clean grout and ceramic surface area. (NOT NECESSARY SO NEVER DONE.)
59. Almost all YALE DOOR LEVERS have too much "play" in them and need adjusting. (YALE SAYS THIS IS NORMAL.)
ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/20/08:
60. Leveling of the living room concrete slab floor, so that my wood floor can be installed properly. This will be done by my own flooring company on Monday, 1/21/08 so that wood floor install only loses one day. - DONE AND RYLAND DID REIMBURSE ME THE $270 IT COST ME TO GET IT DONE QUICKLY,AND I BELIEVE WITH MORE QUALITY, SINCE I HAVE VERY LITTLE CONFIDENCE IN RYLAND'S FLOORING CONTRACTOR.
61. Three screws missing from porch railing on right as you enter (by steps). - ALL DONE by the end of 3/08.
62. Buff sink top to remove scratches and swirls on second bathroom vanity countertop. - DONE
63. Faucet downspout fell apart when pulled up to get closed position in second bathroom. (DONE)
64. Chrome sink plug scratched and discolored in second bathroom. (PLASTIC vs. CHROME SINK PLUG NEEDS REPLACING, SINCE WE WERE TOLD IT CAN'T BE CLEANED) - DONE
65. Chrome sink plug scratched and discolored in both master bath vanity sinks. (PLASTIC vs. CHROME SINK PLUG NEEDS REPLACING, SINCE WE WERE TOLD IT CAN'T BE CLEANED) - (DONE)
66. Buff sink top to remove scratches and swirls on master bath vanity countertop. - DONE ON 2/21/08
67. Nails in garage attic sticking out two inches or more need bending back on 2 X 4 where insulation notice was posted. (DONE)
SINCE THERE IS DUPLICATION AND SOME THINGS NOT NEEDING ATTENTION IN THIS LIST, THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT 60 vs. 67 ITEMS IN TOTAL!
All comments welcomed regarding this list, THANKS.
PS - Before you finish reading this post, please keep in mind that my wife and I did not enjoy our first year of Ryland Home ownership. See "My Last Ryland Homes Blog Post & My Attempt To Help Ryland Homes!" to get a better overview of our Ryland Home complaint to the BBB, and links to the over 100 Ryland Home problems that were all eventually fixed after 13 months of having much of our time wasted.
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