At Rite Rug, the price is...wrong.

So today we had our appointment at Rite Rug to make our selections for flooring.  It wasn't as fun as you might think, since we went in there already knowing that we weren't going to upgrade a thing, but we still got something good out of it, which I'll share later.

After reading some of the other blogs, as well as speaking to some other Verona owners, we did some research...and found that getting any of the upgraded flooring through Ryan is going to be way more expensive than if we do it ourselves.  And on top of that, we'll get a better product to boot.  We're also lucky enough to have a couple hook-ups in the contracting world, so we're very confident that we'll be able to put some kick-ass flooring in after we get the keys to the house, for much less than it would've cost to have Rite Rug do it.

I almost felt bad (but not really) for the sales rep at Rite Rug, because I know they bid for the flooring contract with Ryan Homes at a loss on the base level flooring, they make their money on upgrades.. but we stayed with base for everything.  Actually, I think she was a little annoyed with us. ;)  But still, a nice lady.

So this is my advice to all who are building a home, but especially those who must get their flooring through only one source:  Do your research BEFORE you have your flooring appointment.  Crunch the numbers and have a good idea how much you can expect to pay to get the floor you really want, either if you do it yourself or through a contractor or other installer.  That way, when you get the price at Rite Rug, or wherever your builder makes you go, you will know if it makes sense to have them do it.  For us, it was an easy decision, based on not only the price, but the quality of the product.  It was going to cost about $2400 for the level 1 carpet upgrade, and I couldn't even tell the difference between that and the level 0, which is what Ryan includes for free!  I can go to Home Depot and have carpet installed for $3500 that is so soft you'd sleep like a baby on it!  And tile?   Yeah, my father in law and I can knock that out in a day.  Hardwoods?  I have a guy for that too.  Some people are willing to pay an arm and a leg for the builder to do the upgrades, just so they won't have to worry about it, or so they can pay it off over 30 years, but we really want to keep our mortgage as low as possible, and on top of that, we can get it done better and cheaper ourselves.  Just consider all your options and know your numbers before going to your flooring appointment.

Oh, speaking of hardwoods, has anyone seen the "wood-look" tile they have now?  Holy crap, this stuff looks great!  You wouldn't believe its actually tile!  We saw some at Rite Rug, and fell in love with it.  I never knew this stuff existed!

Nice, huh?

So after we crushed the soul of the sales rep at Rite Rug, we went to Home Depot and priced the wood-look tile they have...and its actually cheaper than some of the wood floors!  I was surprised....so anyway, now we're thinking of going with that.  If anyone has any experience with it I'd love to hear some feedback on it.

Okay, I will leave with a question:  Is dooring a real word?  I think spellcheck just answered my question, because there is now a red squiggly line under the word dooring.  But there's also one under the word spellcheck, so that just shows that you really can't trust computers.  The reason I ask, is because while we were at Home Depot today, in the flooring section...looking at floors, we then decided to look at ...you guessed it; doors.  So when a helpful employee asked me if I was looking for something in particular, my reply, with no hesitation, was, "Dooring."  My wife immediately felt the need to follow that with, "DOORS", just in case the man was confused with my language.   He pointed us in the right direction, and as we walked off we had a good laugh over it.  Or, to be more accurate, my wife laughed her ass off at me.  But I will say this; the man never blinked an eye, so I'm sure that means he's heard the term plenty of times.  And if "flooring" is a real word, why not "dooring"?  I say it IS a real word.  But if anyone out there wants to weigh in on the matter, be my guest.

Okay, that's all for now.  Stay classy.