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Hello all,
This may be a silly question but do you know if the heat in our homes is electric or gas?
What about AC - gas or electric?
Thanks!
I don't think that any homes have been built with electric heat for many years, as it is the most expensive way to heat homes.
As to the air conditioning...GAS A/C?
I have never seen this concept, and am wondering where you got the idea that the air conditioning system could be powered by gas.
I do not live in Summerfields, but I would be willing to make a large wager that the heating system is gas-fired forced air, and that the A/C is electrically powered.
We had walk-through few days prior to the closing. It took about half hour and did not find any issues (very minor). Then there is another walk-through one yr after moving in, in case we find issues after moving in. The home has warranty for one yr for general problems and 10 yrs for foundation and structural problems. Some people did not have issues and did not opt for one yr walk-through.
Main thing to look for walk through is to take some time (they try to finish in 30 min), paint is not chipped off, all electrical switches, exhaust fans are working, floor does not make abnormal sound (will go away in a year if it is due to moisture collected during construction), bathroom faucets are working properly and there is no water leak, all tiles, marbles installed are Ok and of selected color, etc. Also take a list of your construction, electrical and media upgrades and verify that all upgrades are done properly.
The bank fair estimates are usually accurate. It costs around $5-6k for closing cost plus extra for escrow account for initial payment of mortgage, property tax, home insurance.,etc.
I don't think that any homes have been built with electric heat for many years, as it is the most expensive way to heat homes.
As to the air conditioning...GAS A/C?
I have never seen this concept, and am wondering where you got the idea that the air conditioning system could be powered by gas.
I do not live in Summerfields, but I would be willing to make a large wager that the heating system is gas-fired forced air, and that the A/C is electrically powered.
Agree with Retriever. Heating is gas-fired and A/C is electrical. The same air blower passes the air through either gas heated furnace or chiller (with condensing unit outside the home) depending upon heating or cooling cycle selected.
In the older homes, heating may be done by furnace run by heating oil or by radiant floor heating by passing hot water through coils in the baseboard (below floor) or heating the rooms by passing steam through radiator coils.
We are planning to buy a townhome in the community and have some questions:
1. The kitchen comes with GE stainless steel appliance package. Are the appliances of good quality? I know that the refrigerator and washer/dryer is not a part of the standard package. But an upgrade for $2550 is available. Would this upgrade include just the refrigerator and washer/dryer? Is it worth going with this upgrade or is it cheaper to buy and install it ourselves?
2. I read in the earlier threads that it works out cheaper to install the garbage disposal ourselves. Does it involve damaging the walls? (I know there we need to install a switch to operate it). Is there a provision for this switch near the kitchen sink?
3. Some of you had mentioned that it is better to insulate the garage, because the master bedroom gets cold cooler as they are just above the the garage. Does the townhome garage also need insulation? As per the floor plan, the master bedroom is not above the garage (if this is any useful info).
4. Is it advisable to go with the recessed ceiling fan boxes? (This will be an additional $250). Are ceiling fans useful in summer?
5. The whole house multimedia package is quoted at $2850. But, in earlier threads people were mentioning that we can choose individual items (like the 18'' panel in basement, Ethernet cables etc.) from the list. Is this possible?
We are planning to buy a townhome in the community and have some questions:
1. The kitchen comes with GE stainless steel appliance package. Are the appliances of good quality? I know that the refrigerator and washer/dryer is not a part of the standard package. But an upgrade for $2550 is available. Would this upgrade include just the refrigerator and washer/dryer? Is it worth going with this upgrade or is it cheaper to buy and install it ourselves?
2. I read in the earlier threads that it works out cheaper to install the garbage disposal ourselves. Does it involve damaging the walls? (I know there we need to install a switch to operate it). Is there a provision for this switch near the kitchen sink?
3. Some of you had mentioned that it is better to insulate the garage, because the master bedroom gets cold cooler as they are just above the the garage. Does the townhome garage also need insulation? As per the floor plan, the master bedroom is not above the garage (if this is any useful info).
4. Is it advisable to go with the recessed ceiling fan boxes? (This will be an additional $250). Are ceiling fans useful in summer?
5. The whole house multimedia package is quoted at $2850. But, in earlier threads people were mentioning that we can choose individual items (like the 18'' panel in basement, Ethernet cables etc.) from the list. Is this possible?
Thanks in advance for the answers!
1) Please ask this question to builder.
2) You can get switch pre-installed from electrical contractor while the home is under construction
3) Still it is better to get garage insulated. Also install fire-place if that option is available, considering NJ's unpredictable winter.
4) -It depends uponpersonal preference. Ceiling fans are good to run when the weather is warm, butnot hot enough to run A/C. It is also good to circulate air in hoe with highceiling rooms, as hot air pockets try to concentrate at high point.
We did not opt forceiling fan, as they will be used only for a short duration I a year, we canuse portable fans and do not want to disturb the view of ceiling with recessed lights
has anyone else noticed the fountain that one home owner installed in their front yard on Hopkinson? it is particularly unsightly when covered with the blue tarp which i assume is for weather protection. if i lived across the street and had to see that every morning I would not be happy!
We just closed on our home recently, I've been lurking for a while around this forum but never posted before.
I wanted to see what everyone thinks of the quality of the workmanship for their home.
We've noticed already a few things in the past week:
-crown modeling has separation gaps that were not properly covered (so you can see all the separate pieces.
-Cutouts in drywall can be seen for the outlets outside of the faceplates, also the same for chandelier area.
-The baseboard (bottom wood piece) on our cabinets just fell off (looks like it was never put on properly).
- cabinet doors are crooked/uneven, and some don't open fully. (mentioned in walk thru but still not fixed).
-Areas of the home are painted poorly (steps, attic door, hinge sides of the doors). Either the paint is not smooth or a final finishing layer wasn't put on.
-Our master bath tub tiles were cut to fit the vanity (I don't know why they could not move the vanity over cause there is plenty of space on the other side). I mentioned this in the walk thru but I was told this is normal for all homes.
I don't know if these are normal things and can be fixed on our 30day walk thru and whether or not anyone else has issues like these. They may be petty issues to some, but considering we paid so much for a home we expected a better overall finish job.
And we did mentioned some things in the walk thru but only few were fixed and rest we are starting to notice now.
I would like to know if garage insulation is necessary in the Atlantic model? Total cost is $1750.
Thanks,
Guest2014
Guest2014:
Yes, it is necessary. Otherwise garage will be cold in winter and hot in summer. We did not do it, but realize the mistake now.
Yogesh
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Need some inputs on townhouses
