" Cabinets should generally be installed before vinyl plank flooring. Install flooring after installing cabinets because floating floors need room for expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. Installing cabinetry over vinyl planks might restrict movement causing buckling or separation issues in your floor. " Best Practices.

Go into a house farther along and check the info on the lvp product. I'd personally not honor the time restriction on the design center. You need info to make the choices best for you. The lvp will likely be floating. If you decide on a different product, it can be sold with the carpet on Marketplace or CL. European Oak wide engineered plank or the lvp equivalent is a current option. Many sources, like Monarch Plank for hardwood or Flooret for lvp.

Thanks for the help. Good answers.

We are paying cash, so no bank or appraisal involved. This means that the no flooring option is also an option. I'll look into it. I think that it would be my first choice.

How about you show the floor plan for this "new production" in the over 55 community?

A bit of courage in order: ) Location, climate, relatively, is nice too....yes we are nosy.

You have to ask yourself if the $10K differential in the upgrade vs. having an outside contractor do it is worth the time and hassle. To me, in the scheme of what you're paying for the entire home, I'd just have your current contractor do it even if it's a bit more expensive.

Here you go, Jan.

It's not reflected in this rendering of the floorplan, but we've already chosen to extend 2/3's of the covered porch into a finished sunroom which will extend the great room with an additional uncovered patio, a fireplace and added 4' extension to the garage. The total finished sq. ft. will be 2,676 on one level. The development is located about 35 miles northeast of Atlanta. It will be a little over 1,000 homes when completed.

I am moving the doorway into Suite 3 around the corner to the Casual Dining area and changing the swing of the door from the Garage into the Rear Foyer. The builder will do some limited changes. Of course, they cost money.

We already live in Georgia. We considered Florida locations, but determined that there just wasn't anything compelling to move to Florida, bugs, snakes, alligators, climate, taxes, hurricanes, sinkhole risks and uncontrolled insurance costs. It made Georgia a no brainer for us.

The Over 55 developers are now expanding and building throughout the country and not just in Florida or Arizona.

Here is a link to the website floorplan. Pear Plan

We won't close until March of next year. But, we have to make our interior selections in August. Wish us well, we've got to downsize from ~5,000 sq.ft to 2,676. That third garage by will come in handy.

On the no flooring option, Lvp and carpet don't come precut. It he won't give a credit, remove the flooring boxes when they are delivered. Same with the carpet rolls,

I know a lot of people who didn't move to another state when retiring (including me), so there's nothing crazy about that decision as far as I'm concerned. I like still being near to long time friends and being able to use the same healthcare providers.

It looks like you don't have a basement, which explains the three car garage. When my mother was a divorced empty nester she moved to a house with no basement. Her theory was that a basement just attracts "stuff." The stuff expands to fill the available space. Lucky for us because when she passed we had her house ready to sell in a week. It is a gift to your children (or whomever is tasked with the final disposition of your home and belongings) to leave them something pared down, and you will probably also enjoy being less encumbered. It can be a long process to get there, however. :-)

I am assuming that your home will be built on a slab. Make sure to chose a well padded underlayment for the LVP. We put it in a house and cheaped out on the underlayment and it was tough on our joints. Even with area rugs and being several decades from retiring.

We did use lower quality LVP because we knew we would be selling soon so maybe nicer options wouldn’t be a problem. Just something to consider in a retirement home.

I see things that could be better on that plan......but questions precede

Grand kids visit? Adult guests over nite??

You need an office?

Have you looked at your clothes and the new primary suite closet?

You're two people alone in the house 90 %?

Do you need to travel that far for laundry room, or you like to do that task near the kitchen?

Do you want a view into primary bed from the only wall that can contain a television in the great room??

How many do you entertain and how often?

Screen name suggests someone cooks, maybe a lot....one of you , both of you?

That sort of thing and whatever you may like to add.......

If you love a sunny and bright kitchen? You will not have it in this house. So I am asking: ) as it's important or not?

Daylight is not deeply penetrating. You are extending covered areas that EVEN if all faced south, would render the window coverage a non factor into the kitchen.

One train of thought is go with the builder's standard and buy some really nice rugs. It is along the lines of the bald man philosophy.

Jan,

Thanks for the input. It's just the two of us, no kids, no grandkids and soon, no dogs. The number of visitors will be very limited. I plan to use the Den for my home office. The sunroom will be the She room. The third bedroom will be my DH's art studio. He has art lamps for good light. These houses are on tiny lots with 10 ft. between houses so you don't want a lot of windows on the sides of the houses. It will be like living in Uptown New Orleans again. The HOA does the yard work for us. We will only need one guest room. This is our last house before they cart us off to the crematorium.

The contract is signed, the model chosen and the lot selected. It's a north-south lot with the back of the house facing north. The only decisions are the interior finishes. Thus my questions about flooring options.

While I am downsizing, my closets are pretty empty compared to my friends. Moving every three to five years keeps you from acquiring too much. Although, I have four dining room tables. Two were inherited and two I purchased before the inheritances. That's a problem.

I am very aware of the deficiencies of a production build plan. I also understand the lighting issues, too. Hence, my choice of lighter brighter materials with lots of good interior lighting. We have decades of experience renovating historic homes and have built two truly custom homes ourselves. I am a retired real property appraiser. I've seen everything.

We are buying primarily for the community. We will need others to watch out for us who are in a similar situation. We will watch out for them, too. Thus, community is the most important element. Clubhouse and activities will be included, too.

Mark, I've always had hardwood floors and I have a number of really good Persian rugs that will work in these spaces. You are right to point out that they will cover a multitude of flooring sins.

Dan, I'm going to start with your advice. Thanks for the suggestion. If I don't see something that I like at the Design Center that I'm willing to pay their price, I'll have them put the materials in the garage and sell them on Craig's List.

Good advice from everyone. Thanks.

Text below the pics..well aware you're "happy" with all.

Given you're old pro's at reno and moving, also given it sounds like you're quite used to some luxury, and you're plan is "next stop cremation"? : )

For what it's worth, I do see some things I'd like better, (were this me), and just based on downsizing bunches of folks to luxury senior living.

Your primary bath: Room to move! becomes ever more important as you age. What if you do need a walker? You're not working and getting ready at the same time? I did a plumbing jiggle. Do you NEED a door to the potty? Just asking...

The corner pantry in the kitchen...You probably know better than I from real estate experience, that the concept is pretty dated. I'd lose it for reach in pantry. You'll make new friends, everyone tends to dine out as often as they can in these places, everyone thinks they will still cook a lot, but it seems to happen less.

I might like some glass french doors on an office.....?

And?

My own little bugaboo.....lack of dedicated powder room that you can make smashing looking, with zero view of the bathing aspect in sight.

You COULD do that here! ( 1/2 " to one foot sketch) Still affording a very infrequent overnight guest en suite access to the bath.

Just tossing these out there, based on prior clients in identical circumstances.

One more? You're using LVP. .....

It's very moisture proof. It CAN be run right into a bath, which make shower and bath tile selections totally non competitive, easier, and the bonus? Literally no thresholds. I did this for a senior facility, and they copied for ongoing reno's . Yup....right into the bath. Unless you're prone to flooding a space, or have no curb at the shower? It is just great, and looks great as well. Warmer underfoot too.

Good luck in you new digs - while remembering the room to move issue, or even a possible stay over for "help" if that ever is needed, There are a lot of miles between this , and the very LAST stop. That much I know far too well. Will add that in your case? Resale is not a huge issue.

A little ps here

Below is my bestie gal pal. Downsized her from 3800 sq feet to a lovely apt in senior living. She'll turn 96 in a few months - still incredible and just a blast.- a real dame! No mobility issues and LVP everywhere!! in her apt. Flavor and feel of her former home, replicated as much as possible.

In general · More Info

In general · More Info

In general · More Info

In general · More Info

..............we still do a bit of the Christmas: ) Of course it is faux: ) fire. She loves it - and it's toasty to boot. Can only say I should BE so lucky in my old age.

The floor, is Fusion Max, 7' x 7 " LVP every inch.

In general · More Info

Most builders will not close without some form of flooring, wall paint, cabinets, etc. In some places, you cannot get a Certificate of Occupancy without it. So, you need to explore what your jurisdiction requires, and what your builder requires. Building in a builder owned subdivision, from a builder plan, all owned by the builder, is a different experience than doing something custom. There are certain baselines and requirements that you cannot get away from. You don't own the house until closing. So, while they will accomodate you, they aren't going to bend over backwards.

It's honestly not worth the hassle and potential damage that can occur if you try to replace a bunch or all of the flooring after closing. While it doesn't feel good to pay inflated prices, I would highly recommend paying your builder for the flooring you want installed. Also, depending on whether you are in a rush to move in after closing, finding and scheduling a contractor to replace the flooring could take some time based on their schedule availability. Having gone through this multiple times, I started off where you were and refused to pay many of the over inflated prices to upgrade things. But I eventually came to the conclusion to pay for it so the house is as done as possible at closing.

I'm back after a year. We have closed on the home and will be moving in next week. We close on our current home the following week.

I've learned a few things along the way. Some that surprised this old dog. After going through the builder's design process, we decided to go the road less traveled.

All the beautiful options and design features that you saw a the model home park cost you lots. A ridiculous amount of lots. Once we figured out how the process worked via access to the local community FB page, we decided to take builder standard on pretty much everything. We did upgrade much of the electrical in preparation of replacing the kitchen. We also extended the family room into the sunroom for additional square footage.

The upgrade pricing in the design center was 300% with no credit for the standard product. This was across the board. Let me give you an example. Shower head. Builder standard was included in the base price. Entry level Moen shower head. Nothing fancy. To upgrade to a Moen magnetic shower wand with flexible cord was around $300. This very unit can be purchased at Lowes for $90. I'll wait and install it myself.

This exercise was repeated time and again. This is a huge profit center for the developer. As far as the flooring went, we decided to do the same thing. We accepted builder standard carpet and laminate. They were really ugly for a reason. They assumed no one would ever live with it as is. We decided to install our own flooring to our standards a specifications by a contractor that was interested in doing a good job. We purchased our own LVP. Understand that our neighbors are paying three times more for their floors. It's quite shocking.

It cost us about $7.50 sq.ft to demolish and install including materials. It would have cost around $25 per sq.ft for something I didn't even like from the builder. That added up to big bucks.

Our next task is the kitchen and master baths. We will put new cabinetry and reconfigure the cabinet choices along with better appliance selections. That's going to save a similar amount across the board. Don't worry about the old kitchen, I'll sell it to a builder on FB Marketplace.

I'll post some pictures when I get farther along.

I think you played the game well and won.