Something that has irked me both about my purchase at the Meritage and at Trace is that they expect me to do work once I move in to finish it off.
At Meritage I needed to seal the granite tile in the kitchen. I left this for months before getting around to doing it.
At Trace I needed to seal the grout in the bathroom and again have procrastinated to the point where my grout is now water stained. So I just spent an hour sealing it. This was my second go at it as I apparently mis-applied the aerosol sealer the first time because the container only did a third of the shower when it should have done two showers. I’m also puzzled as to how I’m supposed to let this dry if I’m not supposed to use my shower for 48 hours after the first application.
I really don’t understand why they can’t take care of all the details for us. I understand that regular maintenance will be required but I’d rather have my first impressions be positive ones rather than hunched over in my shower wondering if I’m sealing it appropriately.
Something I appreciated at the Meritage which the Trace could have done better is provide a new home owners guide. The kind of info I’m looking for in a home owner’s guide is information on what cleaners I should use on my hardwoods, carpets and counters. What shouldn’t I use. And in the case of sealing stuff, what sealer to use. It’d be even better if they could put all this information online because I’ll likely lose whatever guide I get or forget to pass it on to my tenants, etc.
I also liked how at the Meritage we got paint cans with all the different paints they used. At Trace they gave us some communal cans but individual cans would be better. And include the exact color mixes and brands in the new home owners guide in case I need more.
Popularity: 2% [?]
11 responses so far ↓
1 vc // Oct 15, 2007 at 9:50 pm
welcome to new construction. this always happens.
2 nitsuj // Oct 15, 2007 at 10:06 pm
you paid how much and had to seal your own grout? that just seems…wrong.
3 Matt // Oct 15, 2007 at 10:39 pm
One day I will develop my own condo building and all the grout and tile will be sealed.
4 Eric K // Oct 15, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Let’s just hope they installed a water barrier underneath the thinset, tile and grout — especially because untrained homeowners are sealing their own grout.
It was always fun watching the Flip-this-house shows when they filmed the bathroom tile work. You could see that they never used a water barrier between the concrete board/wonderboard and the thinset/tile — the buyer wasn’t going to know that their bathroom was missing that critical water protection, and the owner would be long gone before the water damage would be visible.
5 DMG // Oct 16, 2007 at 6:58 am
Matt, I am experiencing a similar issue at the Parc. When I moved in, there was an unfinished desk feature in the corner that was not there on either of my walk throughs. The granite that covers the desk has yet to be installed and to add to the fun, one of the walls it has been attached to was damaged during the install. I also have to seal the grout in the bathroom…oh…and the toilet tank leaks when flushed.
6 Mike D. // Oct 16, 2007 at 7:27 am
Yep, my experience is that grout pretty much never comes sealed, and I, too, have always wondered why not. It’s shocking to me that it only took you an hour. Usually it takes at least an hour to buff the excess off the tiles themselves.
7 mhays // Oct 16, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I’ve wondered that ever since I bought my current place at the Ellington in 2001. I guess I’d better seal it someday…luckily no spills yet.
8 katrina // Oct 18, 2007 at 5:36 pm
sounds like someone needs to start a business that writes ‘getting started’ manuals for new home owners…
9 Peckhammer // Oct 19, 2007 at 6:18 am
“sounds like someone needs to start a business that writes ‘getting started’ manuals for new home owners…”
There is one. It’s called Home Depot.
10 Matt // Oct 19, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Actually I do have a home owners book from Home Depot. However what I want is a guide to cleaning the specific floors and counter tops they put in and not generic recommendations.
11 Peckham // Oct 20, 2007 at 6:38 am
“However what I want is a guide to cleaning the specific floors and counter tops they put in and not generic recommendations.”
Ah… I see. Well, every product in your condo has a data sheet and it’s probably on the Web.
Leave a Comment