Behind the walls - Electric & Plumbing

One of the advantages of new construction over purchasing an already completed house is the ability to see the things behind the walls and get an idea of how the wiring and plumbing snakes through the walls.  This helps for future expansion or just upgrading the existing.

As part of the pre-drywall walk through we were able to see the layout of wiring and plumbing and asked a few questions about it.  

Electrical - Wiring

Immediately upon entering the house through the garage one of the first things you can see on the outer wall of the house is the electric box, still opened up but all the wiring is fed into the box.  The house has 200 Amp service, but on this day it was not yet hooked up. 

Electric Box Wiring Above Electric Box

The service will ultimately be expandable as there a number of open slots based on the wires in versus the spots in the box.  The one odd ball orange wire runs to the unfinished basement where the utilities are and will be for sump pump.  It appears they used yellow wiring to the outlets and white wires to the switches and lights.  I didn't check if the gauge or coating is different between the wires, I will check next time I talk to Bob.  

Wiring in ceiling above the garage

The wiring runs over head up into the attic spaces, then down the wall to the receptacles, which should make it easier to expand later if necessary by running it up the same path they took when it was originally run.

View through Crawl Space in Master Closet

In another look you can see the same run of the wires over the garage, this time through the crawl space opening in the master closet.  While this is not wiring related you can see the PVC pipe which runs up through the left side of the picture, this is a Radon pipe, it helps ventilate any radon out from the bottom of the house through the roof.  There is no fan attached by default but could be added should remediation be needed at a later date.  The pipe is marked in big letters Radon, this is so contractors or home owners don't cut into it thinking its a drain pipe.   

Electrical - Lighting & Receptacles

Additionally on the electrical side there is a a number of other items you look at during the pre-drywall meeting, one of which is the lighting.  The base model has limited lighting by default and much of the items are options.  In our case we chose three rough ins, which are essentially just the connection for the addition of ceiling lighting or a ceiling fan, and the recess lighting package for the kitchen.  

Rough In - Morning Room

Our rough ins are located in the master bedroom, family room and morning room.  Our intention is to put ceiling fans with lights in both the master bedroom and family room and a chandelier in the morning room. Above you can see the morning room rough in.  The important thing to remember if you choose this is to make it abundantly clear that it needs to be centered on a flat surface of the peak.  We read on another blog that there's was originally installed on the angled beam and had to complain to get it moved.  In our instance this didn't happen it went in perfectly, they added a cross beam and installed it as requested.

The rough in allows you to have the electric and the support necessary for heavier items without having to roll in the cost of the device to the mortgage, for what will most likely be a basic fan or light.  Since these are options you should be allowed to select there location, if your not happy with where they are placed be sure to speak up!

Recessed Lighting - Kitchen

We felt the kitchen recess lighting package was a must as the default lighting is a long florescent light which looks like it belongs in a commercial building not a residential home.  Make sure to ask to see the base lighting for the kitchen at least a picture of it before moving forward without the recessed lighting package, as it will most likely not be in the model home.

In our home there is five lighting fixtures included with the package, and is the only place in the house where there is a chance to get it as a package deal and not purchasing a single one at a time

Electrical receptacles are standard in the house and based on local building codes have different requirements but as we learned the specific location is not always exactly the same.  In our house the codes require a receptacle withing 60 inches of the corner of the room and no more than 12 feet from the next closest one.  In other words a ample number of electrical outlets throughout the house.  No if there is a specific place you want an outlet, you can try to work with the PM, but more than likely you will need to buy an additional one.  Any one you buy extra should be placed precisely where you want it, and not in the run of standard outlets.

Kitchen Receptacles

Above you can see the receptacles that will be above the kitchen counter for outlets and switches.  Just in that one corner that is a lot of electric!  For our house we purchased two additional outlets one that will go with the wall mount setup for our TV in the master bedroom and one on the exterior centered between the two windows, where the deck will ultimately go.  The wall mount extra outlet is a must or you defeat the purpose of adding a wall mount setup as your power cord will be hanging down from the TV.  

The outside outlet was placed in the wrong place, just under the corner of the window, I think the electrician was following the 60 inches from the corner rule, but this should not have applied and it should have been placed in the proper location.  We let our PM and Sales Representative know and I will follow up when we hear back on whether they can move it or it will have to stay as is.

Electrical Receptacle

Above is a picture of the insulation pulled back to see the wire run to the receptacle.  The wire runs up along the stud in this case.

Cable / Data Receptacle 

A second type of receptacle is for cable and data connection.  This may vary in your area but as part of the base house price you get two phone and two cable connections, placed anywhere you want in the house. The representative from the wiring company worked with us, since we don't have a home phone and if we get one it would be a Voice over IP (VOIP) phone which would not require standard phone lines, so we were able to get 3 cable and 1 data as part of the standard package.  We decided to add 2 additional cable connections and 1 additional data connection.  

Plumbing 

The other items which can be seen before the walls are closed up is the plumbing, and vent ducts.  In new construction the piping for water intake is PEX a highly flexible and durable product.  It is able to be easily curved and fit into application behind the walls with fewer joints that copper pipe.  Copper pipe also is a target for theft due to the value it obtains as scrap.  If cooper was used in the house prior to the walls being closed up it is likely it would be stolen out of the house.  For drain pipes PVC is used it is more rigid and comes in a larger size which makes it good for this purpose.  

PEX, PVC & Ducts

In the above picture, as seen from the family room looking up, you see application of both PEX and PVC with some aluminum duct work  The PEX can be seen on the right side of the picture, thin and flexible the pipes that curl up are the hot and cold water which are going to the master bathroom.  Multiple PVC lines are both ventilation for the drains in the powder room on the main floor and drain lines for the master bathroom.   

The following are a couple views from the upstairs hallway bathroom, on the left you will see the hot and cold water PEX lines in thin, both running for the sink which will sit directly in front of where this picture is taken, the toilet and tub which sit to the right of the view from this picture.  Additionally you will see the drain pipe for the sink.

Hallway Bathroom Sink Plumbing

Hallway Bathroom Tub Plumbing

The pipe that appears to go up is in fact the drain pipe, but as mentioned earlier the way they design it is to have the drain pipe with ventilation to allow air to help push down the water as it moves through the pipe and make it easier to move the waste water away and out to the sewer line.  This can also be seen in the next picture from the master bathroom.

Master Bathroom Plumbing

In the laundry room they prepare the waterlines for a washer hookup.  This is different than the lines to sinks as these need to be placed in a manner to cap the line and allow for hookup after the fact.  The washer lines feature both the hot and cold water as well.

Washer Hookup

Behind the wall in the kitchen between where the refrigerator and the laundry room sit is the main return vent as well as the and the radon vent pipe.  Its tough to notice in the picture but the radon pipe is marked here so that it is not cut into so that the ventilation for radon is maintained.

Main Ventilation And Radon Pipe

In the final look behind the walls is something I had never seen before my experience with building this house. It is a ventilation channel for the fan that goes over stove in order to ventilate out the house rather than your standard fan that just circulates it up and away but the hot air remains in the room.

Oven and Microwave Vent 

In the next look we will see the house interior with walls up.  The house keeps moving along quickly, we received the tentative closing date, of June 20th.  Our Sales Representative Jackie says once we are at the stage we are and the work is all inside that the closing date is most likely not going to move, but no guarantees.  

Pre-Drywall Meeting - Part 2

This is part two of the series for the pre-drywall meeting.  If you missed the first post the pre-drywall meeting is the home buyers chance to see the things behind the walls before it is closed up and have a walk through of the interior of the house where the you can ask questions to the project manager about the different elements of those behind the wall items.  In the walk through my wife and I took, I took a number of pictures so I am breaking down the posts into a couple different sections.  This post will take a look at the inside of the house focusing on the rooms themselves in the next post we will take a closer look and the items in the walls, like electrical and plumbing.

Pre-Drywall - First Floor

The front steps are not in at this point so entry into the house is always through the garage, I imagine it will be similar once everything is all said and done.  Through the garage is entry passing through the laundry room and into the kitchen.  From the entry into the house the first view I saw was out the back through the morning room.  The lighting at the time we came over 9:30 AM was great in here, the open floor plan lets light flow throughout the house. No lights or flash required here!

Morning Room

As we moved in to the house I was able to get a different angle on the morning room, at the point where it intersects the kitchen.  You can see the half wall which separates the two rooms and serves as the hinge point for where the gourmet island optional feature we picked will jut out into the kitchen on an angle towards where I am standing in the following picture. 

Morning Room - Kitchen Intersection

A few steps forward and allows us a look into the kitchen.  

Kitchen

In the picture above you are able to see the whole of the kitchen on the left side in front of the half wall you can see the drain pipe and water lines which is where the sink will be.  in the center of the picture a grey metallic area is in front of where the stove will be located. The angled wall in the far right of the room is the pantry.  This is a standard part of the Florence model floor plan but was a great feature in the house for us.  Storage in and around the kitchen was always a challenge in our current house, this space will provide that easy access area, especially for some of the bulkier items, like the 12 pack of paper towels.  The near right is the laundry room from which we first entered.

Here are a few additional angles of the kitchen:

Kitchen from the Family Room

Kitchen from the Morning Room

Adjacent to the kitchen is the family room, which is the third room including the morning room and kitchen which make the large open floor plan on the main floor of the house.  This will be the main gathering area, and is the gateway to the second floor.  In the Florence model the staircase to the upper floor starts from the back of the house and goes up towards to the front.  In the next picture you will get a glimpse of the family room from the third step from the bottom of the stair case.

Family Room

For the room that we will spend a great deal of time in, I take very few pictures of it.  Just the one from the many pictures was of it, I will have to take it from a few different angles next pass through.  Off to the left of the picture above will be the first floor powder room and coat closet.  These are tough places to get good pictures as they are small areas, but without walls you can see them through from the other rooms.

Powder Room and Coat Closet

The picture above is of the powder room on the left and coat closet on the right as seen through the wall from the living room.  This is the front room, kind of a sitting room, but from the looks of it in the following couple pictures it seems much bigger than a sitting room.

Living Room - As Viewed From Front Door

Living Room - Side View

There is an option to have a window in the side wall of the house which is the one directly ahead in the above picture.  We obviously decided not go with some due to cost, but I don't think its necessary as there is plenty of light from the double front window.  There is a lot of extra wall space available as well.

Front Door - Inside View

Above is a look from the corner of the living room back towards where the previous two pictures were taken, looking at the front door straight ahead.  You can see off to the left of the picture the staircase down into the basement.  It will lead to the finished portion.  I didn't successfully get any pictures down there a little too dark and my flash didn't go off.  However down there we were able to see the sub-pump, furnace and hot water heater in the unfinished section.  In the next post I will take you through some of the items we talked about down there in regards to the wiring and piping that exists in that section. On to the upstairs!

Pre-Drywall - Second Floor

At the top of the stairs up from the family room is the loft, if your out looking and have a Florence Model as the model home in the development you will most likely not see this option as this can be a fourth bedroom. The loft is the standard option, I think its one of the best features, if you don't have an overwhelming need or plan to need a forth bedroom, stick with this floor plan and throw the budget at some other option.  The loft makes the top of the stairs wide open, and it looks giant.  The loft also makes the master closet larger as some of the space is used for the 4th bedroom closet.  There is an optional window in this room, totally unnecessary in this selection the two front windows one directly in front of the stairs and one in the loft provide ample lighting.

Loft

Loft with temporary railing

The loft is in the front right of the house, at least on the standard build and not reversed floor plan.  on the left side of the front of the house is the second bedroom.  From the top of the stairs which faces towards the front of the house you make a right and loop back towards the back of the house. The hallway has two doors on the left one for each of the second and third bedrooms.

Second Bedroom

In the above picture since you can see through the walls all of the three front windows on the house can be seen on the right is the second bedroom.  On the left you see the top of the temporary banister for the stairs and the loft off in the distance.  And in the one below you can see the room itself.

Second Bedroom

In the second bedroom there is an optional window on the wall in the right of the picture.  If it is in your budget this one could be a good one to get to have some extra light, but not entirely necessary.  It does take a little of the wall space away, so in our case we went without the selection, should give a little more room to work with.  A little further down the hall is the third bedroom, which has one window and no optional one available as it only has the one wall to the outside of the house. This room divides the house right through the middle, with the other bedroom to the front and the master bath to the back.  In the below picture you can see the master bathroom and some of the plumbing for it through the wall. 

Third Bedroom

The view above is from the doorway while the one below is looking back the other way to the front of the house.  You can see the closets for both the second and third bedrooms as well as the hall closet. 

Third Bedroom

Finally we have the master bedroom which takes the whole of the back of the house when you include the master bathroom. The first picture looks from the inside corner of the room on the garage side of the house looking across the master bedroom towards the bathroom.   

Master Bedroom

The final look below takes the other angle of the master bedroom, in which you can see the optional window to the left.  This is a must have in our opinion gives the large room so much extra light and helps as the sun moves throughout the day to get a different lighting perspective.  In the front right of the picture is the entrance to the walk in closet.

Master Bedroom

The next post, the third in the pre-drywall meeting thread, will take a more detailed look at some of the items behind the wall.

Pre-Drywall Meeting - Part 1

The pre-drywall meeting is the home buyers chance to see the things behind the walls before it is closed up and have a walk through of the interior of the house where the you can ask questions to the project manager about the different elements of those behind the wall items.  In the walk through my wife and I took, I took a number of pictures so I am breaking down the posts into a couple different sections.  This first post will take a look at the progress on the outside of the house as well as some views of the yard.  In a subsequent post we will take at the rooms inside and then a post taking a closer look at the items in the walls, like electrical and plumbing.

Pre-Drywall - The House Outside

At the time the drywall is ready to go up the outside of the house itself is at a point where it is pretty much completed.  There is more exterior work to go but most of those things are the items which are held to the end so that the work is not destroyed as the workers move in and out of the house. 

Front View with Siding Up

The siding is mostly completed, and I initially thought it was left that way purposefully to allow the utilities to be added without damaging the siding, but as we talked with Bob he mentioned that the siding was not finalized because they didn't have enough to finish and would be getting more to finalize.

A little work left to do

We braved the unfinished hill to move around to the back of the house to get a look at that angle.  The basement in the back is pretty close to being fully exposed in the back.  This leaves a large drop off for the sliding doors exiting off the morning room, which can be seen in the following picture.  Additionally are the windows from the family room on the bottom, the master bedroom windows on top and a small square window in the master bathroom window on the upper side.

Back Side of House

Pre-Drywall - The Yard

The landscaping is not done yet, but the trees are starting to grow there leaves.  We purchased a premium lot, which has a large lot for the area and the back is wooded.  There will need to be some clearing to make the most of the large lot but its nice and secluded feeling.  Here is a look at the back yard from the ground.

The Yard - A Look from the Ground

Its hard to tell from the picture where the lot ends, especially since the survey stakes are not in, but it is 75 feet back from the corner of the morning room and closer to 90 feet back from the other corner of the house.  We have 25 feet of space on the left side of the house and 18 on the right.  This is a crazy compared to our current house as it feels like you can reach out the window and touch the neighbors.

The next view is from the master bedroom back windows, looking down on the yard.  Its tough to tell in the picture but its almost three stories up due to the high foundation in the back.  On the right side you can see the morning room roof.  You can't see in those morning room gutters there is already build up from the trees, gutter guards are going to be a must for us, especially before fall comes and the trees all shed the leaves.

The Yard - A Look from Above

In the next post we will be venturing inside the house and get a look at the rooms before the walls get closed up with drywall, and then an up close look at the wiring and plumbing behind the walls.