Water Heater Information

Gas or tankless?  Wonder what the differences are?

I do not have a tankless water heater.  I have gas.  And I can tell you from my experience, I LOVE IT!!   The water gets hot quickly and stays there for quite some time.  We can run the dishwasher, the washing machine, and have a shower going all at once.  It's nice. 

I know someone with a tankless water heater.  When they've visited my place, they comment about how hot my water is and how quickly it gets there.  I also found out they were told that before they run their dishwasher, they have to run the kitchen faucet on hot first, in order to get hot water running for the dishwasher.  Having gas, I do not need to do this.

So do your homework.  Ask questions.  Do research.  Find out all you can about all your options before committing to one.  That's the best advice I can give you.  For some, tankless is the best option.  For others, Gas is.  Only you can answer what the best option for you is, once do you all your research.  So don't be afraid to use google and talk to you PMs.

Happy Building!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I can't remember if I have seen pictures of other bloggers homes decorated for Christmas on blogs, or on FB. lol I think maybe a bit a both. But they were all beautiful. Someone did ask me to post pics here though. So I thought I'd post a few of the decorations we have. Nothing major. It's a new home and it's going to take time to get it the way we want. We still don't have curtains. But we aren't the only ones. =)

This didn't quite turn out how I had
imagined.  But I'm not re-doing it.
It stays.  lol  Next year I'll figure something
else out

Morning Room Light

We have more plans for all this next year.  Starting with curtains.
lol 

These are just a few of the decorations we've done.  We do want to do more, and have plans.  But all that takes time.  We've also wrapped the banister in garland & lights, and have red blubs and silver bulbs hanging between the posts by red ribbon.  No good pics of that though.  We have some garland and poinsettias above the kitchen cabinets.  And of course, wreaths and floral arrangements, snowmen, and such around the house.  The girls got pick a wreath for each their bedroom doors.  =)    They loved that.

For all those who settled this past year, or will be settling before the year is out:  I hope you all enjoy your first Christmas in your new homes.

To all those who are considering building, still building, or just dropping in, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas as well.  I hope each of you enjoy your holidays.

My sister will be my neighbor soon, and family from Germany will also be here soon.  We got some bad news regarding my Grandfather's health, and this will be our last Christmas with him.  With all our family here, we plan on making it a great one.   Treasure every moment you have with those you love.  In the end, it's all that matters.

So HAPPY HOLIDAYS and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

Clearing the Air

Apparently it is widely believed that anyone blogging about their building experience with Ryan is getting paid or compensated by Ryan. Someone even told me about a lawsuit in another state about this very thing.

When we decided to build with Ryan, I went online for research and ran across Thrifty Amy's blog. She vowed to blog honestly, good or bad. I thought that was an excellent idea, so that is what I did too. I blogged about the good and the bad. I blogged about my feelings as well.

This blog is all mine. Always has been. I decide what goes into it and what doesn't. NO ONE, not Ryan, not ANYONE, has paid more or compensated me in any way. EVER! I have never even so much as gotten an offer for that.

This blog was about MY experience. It was meant to be PERSONAL. If along the way I shared anything that helped, great! =) But again, it was about my experience with building. Period. It was not meant to promote Ryan, or anyone else. It was meant to document my experience from beginning to end. That's all.

I just wanted to set the record straight.

YAY RYAN! And dishwasher update

So excited! My sister had her pre-drywall earlier this week and it looks like they'll be able to move prior to family arriving from Germany! YAY!!! So excited about this!! We all are! There are no words for the excitement and relief we feel. Thank you Mr. PM!! YOU ROCK!

Remember my post about the dishwasher after we first moved in? I wasn't really thrilled with it, but found that Jet Dry did help some.

The other day, I stopped to tie my shoe. I was in the kitchen, in front of the dishwasher. I noticed a little bit of water running down the front of it from the vent at the top of it (it was drying the dishes at the time, so condensation build up maybe?). Could this be why the seam in my floor started to pull apart in front of the dishwasher? (we use it every day) I am not sure. But it would make sense, right? I don't know if we'll ever find an answer to that question.

We have the stainless steel GE model number GLD5660RSS. It has a small vent in the upper left corner of the dishwasher.

I have done some research and GE is no longer making this model (wonder if this why?). So hopefully anyone just now starting the building process won't get this model.

We loved how quiet it was. And we love that it has an alarm to tell you when the process is done and you can start unloading it. We wished for it to dry a bit better or at least have the option to dry/warm longer on the dishwasher. All just personal preferences really.

Now that we have noticed the water while drying issue, I'm paranoid. DH isn't fond of that either. So now we're saving up for a new dishwasher. lol Mother's Day maybe? lol

It's fixed

Going through the online customer care center was easy. They were prompt to reach us (with in 24 hours). We set up our appointment.

They came yesterday, and were actually about 30 minutes early. What a surprise! They were very polite and got the job done. My 2 yr old hugged one of them. lol Easy.

Our PM has checked in a few times to make sure we were getting service and it was getting taken care of.

We're very pleased with the quality of service and people we have dealt with. =)

Banister Pics for New Build Noob

NBN: Here are the pics of our banister. Yours may not suppose to be the same, but it sure shouldn't look like it does. I'm sure you're PM will catch it, but I'd bring it to his attention anyway.

Feel free to show these to your PM. Hope this helps.

Want a GORGEOUS house with all the perks for practically nothing? $25,000 free!

Then consider living by me!! lol

Ryan has an Awesome incentive right now! Included in the price of every house you get the following for free:

YES, IT’S INCLUDED!

Up to $25,000 of Incentives INCLUDED Now through October 31!*

*Incentives include retail value of:
• Architecturally appealing elevations with stone or brick
• Designer kitchen with granite counter tops, 42” Timberlake maple cabinets with crown molding
• Kitchen Island
• Hardwood foyer
• Luxury Owner’s bath with separate tub and shower and double sink vanities
• Tankless water heater
• GE appliances with smooth top range and microwave
• Patio or deck
• Energy Star Qualification
• And More! Visit our neighborhood for a complete list of features.
• PLUS Ryan Homes Pays up to $2,000 in Closing Costs* ‡


See what I mean? If you are thinking about buying a new home, now is the time! NO JOKE!! Man...Where were these when I signed? lol I was told, but it is NOT confirmed, that you may also get a Morning Room and recessed lights. Not sure on that one though. It's not on the website. I got that info word-of-mouth. But as you can see the website does say "And more!". So maybe?!

Anyway, I just wanted to get the information out there for anyone following in my area who might be considering purchasing. This is October's incentive. No one knows if it will be around in November. In order to get it, you must sign a contract before Nov. 1.

Happy Building!