New Construction Home Inspections

This is a question we hear often. People are always surprised when we answer “YES, you should have FOUR inspections.” People are familiar with a home inspection for an existing home, and may or may not be aware of the limitations of a non-invasive home inspection performed on an existing home. Expensive finishes and drywall can make finding latent problems very difficult or even impossible.  

On new construction, unlike an existing home, we have the opportunity to catch and address issues that would be invisible in a normal home inspection. Once we explain the reason for each of these four inspections, it becomes clear this is a once in a home’s lifetime opportunity to catch and address problems that become little time bombs once they are hidden behind drywall and other finishes.    

The four inspections we recommend for new construction occur at stages in a home’s construction that are considered major milestones. Once complete, each stage allows the next stage to occur. Access to these early stages of construction becomes more difficult or impossible at later stages without extensive repairs to the damage that occurs. A five minute repair becomes a five hour repair, or worse. Oftentimes, these repairs leave visual scarring to the finishes that are considered acceptable.  

Homes are complex, and building a home is never a problem free event. On a good day, the problems are caught and addressed. On a bad day, they get missed and hidden away only to cause unnecessary and frustrating collateral damage at the most inconvenient time. Many builders welcome and encourage private home inspections because problems can be identified at a stage that allow them to be easily addressed with a minimum amount of impact to the finished product. This means the customer will experience far fewer issues than are typically encountered during new home construction. These same customers are more likely to leave a good review for the builder and that is something builders desperately want.   

Stage 1 Foundation inspection - This should occur after footers, foundation walls, framing fasteners, and below slab plumbing are poured and installed. It should occur before the slab floor is poured to allow inspection of any plumbing. {View a sample report link}  

Stage 2 Pre-drywall inspection - This should occur after all framing, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical is installed. The house should have all nail protection, fire, and weather sealant/protection in place. This is just before interior insulation and exterior siding/veneer is installed. {View a sample report link}  

Stage 3 Final inspection - This should occur after all finishes are installed, and systems are fully functional. This is just before final touch up and walk-through occurs. {View a sample report link}

Stage 4 Eleven month warranty inspection - This should occur after a full annual cycle of seasons, and initial settlement has occurred. All systems should have been operating at live-loads for an extended period. This inspection is just as thorough as the final inspection, and will allow any problems that occurred during this period to be documented and then addressed by the builders warranty just before it expires.   

Each of the four inspections will include an objective, thorough, and informative report including photos of issues that can be shared with the builder to allow all items to be addressed with the least amount of impact to the finished home.  

If you have already missed the opportunity for a foundation or pre-drywall inspection, that’s OK. You can still benefit greatly from our thorough final inspection.  {Click here to schedule your new construction inspection.}