PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

There are six townhome models and four single-family models open to the public. If I remember correctly, two or three of the six townhomes had slab foundations (no basement) while there was only one modeled single-family home without a basement. This one has a basement...

 

On to the second unit in the second building...

 

According to the brochure, by default you get a very decent kitchen standard. Back in 2007 when my parents bought their Toll Brothers townhouse, they had only recently made granite countertops standard due to the downturn in the housing market at that time (so we got "Verde Butterfly" granite at no extra charge). Formica/laminate had been standard, with Corian being an extra-cost upgrade, and granite being even more expensive. Now, granite is standard in a wide variety of colors! The "gourmet kitchen" (microwave/wall oven combo with separate cooktop) was also an extra-cost option in 2007, with the buyer's choice of either black or white being standard at no extra cost, and stainless steel being extra-cost. My parents opted for a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and got "level 2" upgraded cabinets if I remember correctly.

By default, if you don't spend any money upgrading your kitchen in this neighborhood (Regency at Waterside in Ambler, PA), you get granite countertops and a standard Whirlpool stainless steel appliance package. This includes a gas cooktop with a ventilation hood above, a built-in 30" wall oven, and a separate built-in microwave above the wall oven. Even though this house has a gas range with a microwave above it, it would easily be more expensive than the standard cooktop/wall oven layout because it is a fancier stove with features like a convection oven...

 

I base a lot of my opinions of home appliances on Consumer Reports, and other independent reviews, and I am not a particularly big fan of KitchenAid unless it's one of their iconic stand mixers. This house has KitchenAid appliances, which are definitely more expensive than Whirlpool or GE (Whirlpool is standard on these houses as mentioned above, and my house has GE). Consumer reports says that KitchenAid is very "repair-prone", meaning that things broke and a repair person had to be sent out. Our Toll Brothers house had GE Profile appliances, and we lived there for almost nine years. The dishwasher had some sort of issue that was repaired under warranty within the first few months we owned the house, but in almost a decade the appliances were trouble-free. Everything is relative, however. My best friend's parents own a split-level home that was built in 1961 and had the original kitchen when they bought it in 1995. Over the next decade, they renovated the house and added onto it. Central air came in 2003, and a full kitchen renovation came in either 2003 or 2006 (I forget). They have a KitchenAid gas range that according to them has been trouble-free. My friend and neighbor Ryan (who installed the stereo and backup camera in my truck) had a GE Cafe appliance package in his old house, and reported nothing but problems, particularly with the stove and refrigerator if I remember correctly. At least one of them had to be fully replaced under warranty. Keep in mind that our Toll Brothers house had GE Profile and not GE Cafe (the latter didn't even exist in 2007 and Ryan's house was built in 2013). Those huge Wolf and Viking pro-style ranges can easily cost about ten grand, but Consumer Reports also listed them as being problematic; I know a woman who's got a Viking electric stove from 2003 that she says is the best stove she's ever had, and she's heard that quality dropped after 2003.

I am not picky about what kind of cooktop/oven/range/stove/whatever a house has, as long as it has a gas stove and a self-cleaning oven!

 

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This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen! This house has a rolling pin that matches the countertop!

 

My mom really wishes that our house had a sink like this one!

 

They didn't spare any expense, even in the laundry room!

 

Master bedroom...

 

I interrupt the regularly scheduled broadcast to inform y'all that I am 98 miles away from hitting 175K!

 

Master bath...

 

2nd floor loft...

 

Regency at Waterside is 55+, so I'm guessing that is this supposed to be the grandkids' room...? I love the bunk bed/playhouse!

 

You can once again just barely see my truck through the window in the walk-in closet; I've never lived in a house with a window in the closet, and I've certainly never lived in a house where I got my own walk-in closet!

 

With the exception of the rancher in Northern California that they bought together shortly before getting married, my parents have never owned a house that didn't have at least one walk-in closet in the master bedroom. The massive house in Northern Virginia (built in 1989) that we lived in from 2002 to 2005 not only legit had his and hers walk-in closets, but a huge bathroom with a jetted tub and a huge separate shower! Every house my parents have ever owned has had full master bath with separate tub and shower, thought I'm not 100% about the house in Virginia Beach (built in 1996) that we lived in from 1998 to 2000. The first house in Pennsylvania that my parents bought new in 1990, and which we lived in until 1996, had a master sitting room but only one walk-in closet. The Toll Brothers townhouse we lived in from 2007 to 2016 had only one walk-in closet.