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Thanks again to everyone for the information!

I was wondering if anyone else has purchased the Hillsview model and what do you think of the upgrade for the raised breakfast bar?

Also, does anyone know approximately what the cost of a wooden staircase would be for a similar model? If anyone has purchased that upgrade recently.

Sorry for the many questions - I will ask all this when I visit the sales center again but I'm just very curious and this site is a great resource!

Thanks!

Hey Fellow Chuchmachers

Just to touch upon a few items mentioned over the past few threads.

As first time buyers my wife and I had no idea how much the closing costs would be either but our bank, lawyer and friends that have bought similar homes in Hawthorne Village are all talking around $5000.00.

CHUCHMACH_Hillsview, we've been looking into the wooden stair case as well. If I remember correctly, off the top of my head the wood staircase is approximately $3000.00 and stain is about $1000.00 added to that. I would strongly recommend getting the stain done as well. Friends of ours tried to cut costs bu staining the stairs by themselves and it turned into a nightmare. It took way longer than they had anticipated and they had problems evenly applying the stain.

We're taking forever at the DC too! We've been there pretty much every weekend since mid October and all we really have is a tentative tile, counter and cabinet picked out for the kitchen......Still fun though.

One last thought regarding the capping of costs. We're going to be backing on the High Density Residential / Commercial / Office area and thus our back fence will be built for us. I'm pretty sure our lawyer capped that cost for us as well.

Hope that helps.....talk to you all soon!

Ciao!

Vince

Sorry all, I've got an add on thought to the stair staining.

My buddy who I know would not screw me on price owns a hardwood flooring company. We plan on using him to do our flooring throughout the main floor and eventually upstairs as well. I've known the guy all my life and as you can imagine he's giving us a hell of a deal but when it comes to the stairs he's pushing me to have the stairs done by the builder for a number of reasons. Please see below.

1) My buddy tells me he'd probably have to charge me the same amount if not more than the builder. This coming from a good friend of mine who I know would not screw me on price.

2) The stairs will not be "true" hardwood. The existing stairs would be "capped" to look like hardwood stairs. I liken this to laminate floors.

3) The stain could take as long as a week to dry. If the stain is wet on the stairs it can't be walked on and thus you will be sleeping in your living room for a week until your stain drys.

Thats my piece! Ciao!

Vince

We purchased a Hillsview too. I really like the raised breakfast bar. My bf and I decided to go with the alternate layout with the island, but if we had gone with the regular layout we would have upgraded to the raised breakfast bar and added the pantry.

As for the stairs (I have my design book handy), to upgrade to all oak stairs is between $2753 and $4238, and all maple is between $3616 and $5366, depending on the rails and pickets you choose. The cost to stain all-wood stairs is $980 per flight. I agree with Vince - if you want to have wood stairs, it's worth it to order through Mattamy. It's a really difficult and expensive job to do afterwards. Same with the staining. It's a bit overpriced, but a really tough and messy job to do yourself (because Mattamy will varnish the stairs clear if you don't order a stain).

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JLB

Thank you for all the information! I went yesterday and added the raised breakfast bar upgrade.
The prices for the wooden stairs aren't that bad - I expected a bit higher so this is great.
My scheduled closing is in December 2011 and I was just wondering approximately how long after you purchased were you called in to the design centre? I'd love to see all the options and prices!
Thank you

Good decision, I think. With the raised bar you sacrifice a tiny bit of counter space, but I really like that it hides the sink / kitchen clutter when you're in the front hall or dining room.

We purchased the first week of Oct, and close Nov 2011. We got called for our design book after just a few weeks. We won't have our 3D kitchen drawings for a while though. Let me know if there's anything else you need a price for until you get your book.

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JLB

2 syllables (Chewch - match) No R, No K, not Italian 'dummy' - proud UKRAINIANS - 4 of 5 Chuchmach brothers, Peter, Nick, Adam & Alvin moved to Milton 50 yrs ago in the early 60's to raise their families. They owned the local Restaurant/Hotel on downtown Main St. - The Charles Hotel for more than 30 yrs - now Bryden's. Family members have all been supportive members of the community through school, church, hockey, figure skating, real estate, etc. When the oldest brother Peter died of cancer, The Peter Chuchmach Memorial Golf Tournament was formed. When Alvin's wife Annette, mother of 6 died of cancer, the name was changed and is now Golfing 4 Cancer, organized by family friend Mike Boughton.
3 generations still live in Milton. Young Nicole made us all proud with her efforts which made news after her mother Sophie also died of cancer.
www.sophiesrun.ca
thank you, welcome to Milton

chuchmach

I just wanted to clarify. At no time was it my intent to offend anyone. I was merely pointing out that 'chewch" is pronounced the same way as "chooch", the Italian word for idiot or dummy.

Thank you for the information regarding the street name. I was aware that the names were derived from prominent Milton families. I found a thread on the Villager but there was no information on Chuchmach.

I would also like to commend your family on its efforts in battling cancer. I know the horrors of this torturous disease as my family has been affected as well. I too look for ways to participate in raising awareness and funds for cancer research. In fact at the moment I am participating in Movember, an annual event that raises awareness for Prostate Cancer Canada.

Looking forward to becoming a Miltonian,

Vince

JLB

What are the 3D drawing of the kitchen you're talking about? Is there 3D drawings for anything else?

Ciao!

Vince

Hi Everyone,

My boyfriend and I purchased lot 380-04. Our tentative closing date is Feb 15, 2012.

Wow.. so many more people.. Thanks JLB for always answering my questions.. And for all the tidbits that you, VCola and the rest bring to this thread.. Great Stuff... Keep it Up...

So any of the Chuchmachers on lot 378? Anyone with Westgate Corner???

I know a few of you have mentioned doing the hardwood through a 3rd party... How about the Kitchen counter top? We are most likely going to get granite via Lowe's or Home Depot. It appears to be much cheaper?? What are your suggestions??

Hey Icey,

My parents had put their own hardwood flooring in a few months back, they couldn't get over how much cheaper it was. Of course we did the labour ourselves, but for the most part it was simple and straight forward.

When we figured it out cost wise; for us to do the hardwood flooring ourselves in our new home we would be saving hundreds. And with all the cost of upgrades adding up, it is looking more and more appealing for us to do it.

Certain things (ie staining the stairs), we have been recommended by many friends and family to have the builder do it as it is simply too time consuming and costly to do it yourself.

But when it comes down to upgrades such as hardwood, we found it is a rare opportunity to save some money.

Take care!

Vince - Apparently we'll get 3D drawings of our kitchens eventually. They're provided by the kitchen supplier (Cartier in our case), and show the different upgrade packages that are available. It's just the kitchen that has the drawings, but they won't be ready for a while. I ask every time I'm in the design centre.. I'm excited to see them! lol

And no prob, Icey. Great choice on the Westgate.. I love that floor plan! (though we bought a Hillsview) Oh, and I've heard from people that have done it that replacing your counter with granite after closing is an easy job as long as you haven't already done a backsplash.

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JLB

Hi JLB,
Thank you so much for all the information!
Do you mind telling me what the cost is to add the pantry in the kitchen for the Hillsview?
Thanks a lot!