Eastwood Village Helena Options

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k2308man

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Dear my Irvine neighbors,

We are about to choose some options for our Residence 2 at Helena.

Since our budget is tight, we will choose standard or basic options.

My first question, when it comes to Cabinet above toilet in master bathroom, it would cost us $546. Do you think is it better to install Cabinet from outside third-party?

Second question, they charge a lot of money on Electricity, such as lighting and outlets. Do you think is it better to do electricity from outside third-party?


Thank you for your advice!



 

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I would definitely do the recessed lighting package now.  It's an opportunity to get easy access now instead of dealing with an invasive mess after the house is all done.  We opted not to get the cabinet over the toilet done because we were also looking to cut some costs and that one made sense to do later.  They also tell you where the cabinets came from so you can order a matching one after escrow.  If that doesn't matter to you, you can get something similar from Home Depot.
 
Do all electrical and structural work with the builder. 

Cabinet and other little add-on, you can do it after.
 
The electrical isn't so bad, I've seen worse.

The recessed lighting though. Wowiee. Personally, I'd go outside... They'll patch it up if it's a downstairs room (you'll need to repaint), upstairs is easy.
 
I think if you do the recessed lighting in the 3 bedrooms upstairs, it's probably worth going outside.

I would also not upgrade the paint through the builder, not a big fan of their quality. It was forced on us if we wanted to buy in first phase but I'd definitely go outside. 
 
I would get the electrical outlets if you plan on needing more because you could be paying more for having an electrician doing it for you.  Recess lighting is also very important and you'd be paying at least $250 for each with an electrician.  The cabinet above the toilet is really easy.  You can buy them at Home Depot/Lowes yourself and just nail it in a stud after some minor cutting. 

I would go through the builder for lighting and electric since it's better to put the expense on a 30 year loan @ 3.5% rather than paying 100% of the amount right now. 

An alternative is having one ceiling fan with multiple led lights in the middle of the room instead of 4 recessed lights.

Are you getting any other options? 
 
Canned lights are expensive for Helena. Not sure whether it is same case for other communities like Petaluma.

This is what we did.

Added Switch separately and did pre-wire and tied the wiring to switch. Once you have switch and wiring, LED lights installation will be anywhere from 65$ to 85$ when you do after closure.

EL-S3EL-1105 Interior Light Fixture Pre-Wire for Ceiling Mount Light Fixture Without Switch *Must be tied to an Existing Switch * Note: The Maximum Weight Limit Of A Future Ceiling Mount Light Fixture Should Not Exceed 50 Pounds $80.00

EL-S3EL-5031 Caseta Dimmer Switch *Option Only Available with LED Lights $72.00
 
Any warranty issue for doing electrical work after COE? You should given this a consideration.

IP has I think 3 year for electrical related warranty.  In the past, I had multiple switches that went bad and IP after service was great!
 
collected said:
I would get the electrical outlets if you plan on needing more because you could be paying more for having an electrician doing it for you.  Recess lighting is also very important and you'd be paying at least $250 for each with an electrician.  The cabinet above the toilet is really easy.  You can buy them at Home Depot/Lowes yourself and just nail it in a stud after some minor cutting. 

I would go through the builder for lighting and electric since it's better to put the expense on a 30 year loan @ 3.5% rather than paying 100% of the amount right now. 

An alternative is having one ceiling fan with multiple led lights in the middle of the room instead of 4 recessed lights.

Are you getting any other options?
Click to expand...

You're also going to be paying property tax on that expense forever if you add it in your loan.
 
$100 per each Elite LED recessed from IML.
$60-70 for each caseta switch (use the 10% off movers coupon for Lowes or HD)
$10 or $15 can't remember for each switch to be installed or DIY.

Pay for the J-box/pre-wiring only, do the recessed post close would be my 2 cents.  We put in 20 recessed post close and IML did a great job.
 
Thank you Everyone for your precious advice. I really appreciate that.

We may decide like this.

* Cabinet over toilet (Outside)
* Electric Outlets are enough after model walk-through (No additional required)
* Master, 2, 3 bedrooms lighting (Only pre-wire and switch on ceiling mount light for each rooms at $306 per room, we will buy ceiling light at Home Depot)

If anyone knows a "good electrician" in town, please recommend to us.

Thanks!
 
k2308man said:
Thank you Everyone for your precious advice. I really appreciate that.

We may decide like this.

* Cabinet over toilet (Outside)
* Electric Outlets are enough after model walk-through (No additional required)
* Master, 2, 3 bedrooms lighting (Only pre-wire and switch on ceiling mount light for each rooms at $306 per room, we will buy ceiling light at Home Depot)

If anyone knows a "good electrician" in town, please recommend to us.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

For the cabinet over the toilet, you can also get that done by the closet organizer people.  I have the Cabinet Plus did the master closet and they also did a cabinet at a recess area and cabinets at office for us.  If you have a white cabinets at sink, they can match it pretty well. 

For the electric outlets, usually the amount of outlets that came with the house are more than enough.  Some of the place you might consider getting more outlets are the garage (if you like to work in the garage a lot), behind the toilet seat (if you are thinking getting one of those electric toilet seats with water spray feature), and backyard (builder usually provides only one, you might want more for landscaping lights and power gardening tools)

Regarding to the electrician, look under ceiling fan installer and electrician on this list: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,11117.0.html
 
I really don't know your financial situation. But you mentioned you are on a tight budget.
I think you should save money. Then create an emergency fund. Then after that you should save for your upgrades.
(I know most people on TI wouldn't give this advice)

k2308man said:
Dear my Irvine neighbors,

We are about to choose some options for our Residence 2 at Helena.

Since our budget is tight, we will choose standard or basic options.

My first question, when it comes to Cabinet above toilet in master bathroom, it would cost us $546. Do you think is it better to install Cabinet from outside third-party?

Second question, they charge a lot of money on Electricity, such as lighting and outlets. Do you think is it better to do electricity from outside third-party?


Thank you for your advice!
Click to expand...
 
You might find an outlet on the stair landing to be handy either for plugging in a vacuum or a nightlight in lieu of stairway lights.
 
irvine6789 said:
Canned lights are expensive for Helena. Not sure whether it is same case for other communities like Petaluma.

This is what we did.

Added Switch separately and did pre-wire and tied the wiring to switch. Once you have switch and wiring, LED lights installation will be anywhere from 65$ to 85$ when you do after closure.

EL-S3EL-1105 Interior Light Fixture Pre-Wire for Ceiling Mount Light Fixture Without Switch *Must be tied to an Existing Switch * Note: The Maximum Weight Limit Of A Future Ceiling Mount Light Fixture Should Not Exceed 50 Pounds $80.00

EL-S3EL-5031 Caseta Dimmer Switch *Option Only Available with LED Lights $72.00
Click to expand...

This is a good idea. How did you install the recessed led light ? Can you share any pictures ? Thanks
 
akkord said:
$100 per each Elite LED recessed from IML.
$60-70 for each caseta switch (use the 10% off movers coupon for Lowes or HD)
$10 or $15 can't remember for each switch to be installed or DIY.

Pay for the J-box/pre-wiring only, do the recessed post close would be my 2 cents.  We put in 20 recessed post close and IML did a great job.


Who is IML?
Click to expand...
 
Irvinemonk said:
akkord said:
$100 per each Elite LED recessed from IML.
$60-70 for each caseta switch (use the 10% off movers coupon for Lowes or HD)
$10 or $15 can't remember for each switch to be installed or DIY.

Pay for the J-box/pre-wiring only, do the recessed post close would be my 2 cents.  We put in 20 recessed post close and IML did a great job.


Who is IML?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

IML = Install My Lights.
http://www.installmylights.com/

I highly recommend them.. They do a great job with install and cleanup!
 
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