Living in chaos

With 3 days to go until closing, I think I've reached the limit with packing to this point. I have packed almost 90% of my stuff and navigating around my apartment is becoming increasingly difficult. Thankfully, I have 8 days between closing and moving day so these piles should dwindle quickly.





My kitchen has been packed so I've resorted to using paper plates, cutlery and cups. It's actually not so bad....

PDI done!!

Today was PDI day and it was a busy one. The PDI itself was good - Mark from Mattamy took his time with all the rooms and made note of all issues that were of concern to me and Mike.

The number of deficiencies totalled 51. 48 were minor cosmetic issues (e.g. paint chips, nicks in trim, carpet pulls, etc) with 3 `major` issues. The major issues concerned missing backsplash in the kitchen (which is funny considering the upgrades list was taped to the kitchen window!), missing screens on all the windows (another giggly funny) and finally, a water issue in the utility room. This one concerns me because it seems to be coming from the copper line in the furnace. When Mark saw the pooling issue in the utility room and laundry room, he immediately phoned the builder, Adrian, who was obviously less than impressed with the work. It was noted on my PDI and I am confident it will be resolved by closing time. As well, they will clean up all the flooring and trim that was affected so it`s all good.

I managed to snap a couple of pictures for your viewing pleasure.



Main bathroom




Master Bedroom




Great Room



Dining Room - view from Great Room




Great Room - view from Dining Room

Unfortunately no pictures of the kitchen. The dishwasher was in the middle of the room and all of our documents, jackets, cell phones and general crap was on the breakfast bar so it would not have made a nice shot. However, my fridge and stove have been installed and they look marvelous. As well, I can`t be 100% sure but I do believe my counter top is the exact match to my parents house!

The colors all blend well together and the natural light is amazing - I couldn`t be more relieved and satisfied!

With 5 days to go, I can`t believe this will all come to an end!

PDI Tomorrow!

Well, nearly a year from my original purchase date, the day has finally arrived. Tomorrow, April 8, is my PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection). I will be meeting Mark from Mattamy at 2:00 pm along with my friend Mike. The original plan was to have Big Poppa accompany me however a cold virus that I could only equate to the Ebola virus, has befallen Poppa and he is resting in Sudbury. Get well soon Poppa!!

I have packed my PDI kit, printed off my checklist, reviewed my upgrade list and charged the camera battery. I think I'm ready....

Stay tuned!

2 weeks TODAY!

14 days until close and things are ramping up quickly! Between finalizing my packing, organizing my services and appointments AND working all day, sleep comes easily lately.

This past weekend, I went to the Home Show at Lansdowne Park. Despite having to circle the parking lot for about 15 minutes trying to find a spot, it was a pretty good show. Tons of people and tons of exhibitors made for an exciting yet tiring Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, my sidekick for the day was able to make contact with some services for his new condo!! Yay!

On Sunday, after a hearty breakfast, a trip to the house was in order just to see how things were going. And lo and behold, my doors were locked. So peeking in the front door window would just have to suffice until PDI. It's looking good and I'm experiencing a mix of excitement, nausea and anticipation for everything that will happen in the next few weeks.

Yesterday, I was contacted by my lawyer's associate yesterday to finalize some initial information and I will be expecting another phone call from the lawyer in the next couple of days with respect to the all important payment amount. Yes, if there's anything I've learned from this whole experience, nothing is free.

VID - Very Important Date

Last week, I received a voice mail message from Mark at Mattamy calling to schedule my PDI appointment. Woo-hoo!

For those who don't know, PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) is the appointment a week or so prior to closing which the homeowner (me) and the builder representative (Mark) will meet to tour the house before it is delivered to the homeowner (me).

Big Poppa will be making the trek for my PDI to offer a second set of eyes while I talk to Mark and ask him the anticipated billion or so questions I will probably have.

Stay tuned...

28 days to go

Well, I'm into the final weeks of renting and every day is an eternity. I took a chance today after work to try to sneak a peek at my place. Well, easier said than done. Due to the amount of construction traffic and home owners arriving home from work, it was a mad house. As there was a flurry of activity on my street, I could only look from a distance. Booooo....

But not to be deterred, I decided to go and run errands and return at a later time. Well, after a visit to Indigo books, Bouclair and a bite to eat at Kelsey's, I decided to press my luck and return to the scene. When I pulled up there was no construction traffic which was a telltale sign to GO FOR IT! I discovered my siding is well on its way. Yay! So feeling bullish, I checked the front door and entered carefully. And right there, in front of my eyes, on the way upstairs, was carpet - beautiful, soft comfy carpet.

OK - here's where it gets weird. I crawled up the stairs on my hands and knees as I didn't want to be detected with dirty footprints and saw a sliver of my newly installed hardwood. Yay! As I slowly slithered down the stairs on my butt, I saw a carpet remnant lying on the floor and I smuggled it out for design purposes. Not one of my proudest moments. Now if I could just locate my paint swatch....

Overall, I breathed a sigh of relief. My color scheme, while good on paper, was always a question mark with respect to cohesion. Up until now, I was always wondering how everything would look and flow in the house. But everything seems to be coming along better than I ever expected.

As this was an unscheduled trip, I did not have my camera so in honor of all things wonderful, I give you Matt Damon instead.

Tick tock...

Well, with one month and one week to go, it feels like the pressure is on. Well, not really but it's really exciting. There was not a soul to be found at the site today when I drove up so I surmised that things must be flowing along nicely. And holy mackeral, I wasn't wrong.

My kitchen is coming along so nicely. My cabinets and counter tops are in and to be honest, I am so pleased. I was nervous about how things would flow together because everything was done by eyeballing the Design Centre samples. The cabinets are fantastic maple and the counter tops are darker with black, dark brown and light browns thrown in and the cabinet handles are a brushed nickel. I think the black appliances will go nicely when they are delivered and installed. Whew....





I am also glad that I didn't go with the raised breakfast bar upgrade. I love the way the kitchen opens up to the dining area which, to me at least, gives a great open feeling.



As well, the bathroom has been tiled and vanity has been installed. Again, very pleased with turnout of this room. Super awesome...





This is the walk in closet in my master bedroom. I think I'm going to price what it would cost to have a closet organizer come in and help me figure out a design. I've never had a walk in closet and I've always dreamed of having a walk in closet so we'll see what the budget says. Stay tuned....



BTW, that thing in the corner on the shelf is the cover to the attic - definitely not part of the final product...