Going With the Standard and Then Some

Now that we signed the paperwork we had 14 days to make any changes.  Here is what we initially chose, most were the standard:

1. Black kitchen appliances 
2. 25.3 Cu. Ft. Side by Side Black Refrigerator (Not standard)
3. Finished basement (Not standard)
4. Egress window in basement
5. 90% Efficiency gas furnace system
6. Standard faucet fixtures in bathroom
7. Chateau Chrome faucet fixture in Kitchen
8. Elongated toilet house
9. Standard carpet throughout
10. Owner's Bathroom Type E with soaking tub and shower (Not standard)
11. Double bowl vanity in owner's bath (Not standard)
12. Laminate flooring in bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room
13. Standard ceramic surround in bathrooms
14. 42" Maple Spice cabinets in bathrooms and kitchen (Not standard)
15. Sliding glass door dinette
16. Elevation B (Not standard)
17. Siding veneer front
18. Wood flooring in foyer
19. Recessed lighting throughout (Not standard)
20. Gas range hook-up
21. Nickel light fixture in stairwell
22. Formica counter tops
23. White cultured marble counter tops in bathrooms
24. 3 piece rough-in bathroom in basement (Not standard)
25. Added side window in family room (Not standard)
26. pine stair with oak handrail (Not standard)
27. 6 ceiling fan rough-ins (Not standard)
28. Island in kitchen (Not standard)

Out of all of these items, Mark gave us some of the non-standards for free.  Well, actually, I am sure the cost is still there somewhere, but it looks free on paper.  They gave us the finished basement, microwave and range, recessed lighting in the basement, hardwood foyer.  They also reduced the cost of the kitchen cabinets and the ice maker kit for the refrigerator.  Not a bad haul!

We decided against the morning room to save costs and to keep the size of the backyard.  The children will love running around and it would be awkward to constantly run face first into a wall that juts out of the back of the house.  So, we saved ourselves some money now and a hospital visit later. 

Of course, we still needed to meet with the wiring and floor people.  We knew if we kept adding that the total would still keep going up.  We had not even met with our mortgage person yet!