Everyone knows that new construction homes do not need a home inspection!
Why bother—what a waste of money. The jurisdictional inspectors have been all over the home like white on snow since day one. Plus, why would a builder with a good reputation, or any of the sub-contractors working for the builder, that is looking to maintain their good reputation and relationship with the builder, mess with their good reputation and relationships by doing less than professional work?
Of course if you believe this, I have some Mountain View property I will sell you in the Florida Keys.
Here is just one example of some of the many issues I found in a new construction home the other day. In the crawl space, the main plumbing drain makes a long run across the crawl space and has several metal hangers to support the pipe.
While the plumber likely installed the hangers properly initially, someone has come along later and disconnected two of the hangers leaving the pipe to sag and hold water (perhaps the insulation installers?). While not a difficult repair, it is just one example of why inspections on even new homes are important.
Here is a partial list of other issues on the new home:
1. Hot water to tub and shower fixtures above 146 degrees F.
2. B-vent above roof not tall enough
3. No bollard to protect water heater in garage
4. No flashings above window trim
5. Crawl space vents missing vent wells
6. Door bell not functional
7. Kitchen sink/countertop not caulked
8. Seams of 4-piece tub/shower unit not caulked
9. Heat at upper floor registers 30 degrees warmer than lower floor registers
10. Weather-stripping missing on crawl space access door
11. Garage/House door self-closure mechanism disabled
12. Gas fireplace not functional
13. Property address numbers incorrect on house
14. Concrete installed on top of siding
15. No clearances under faux stone at grade
15. No GFCI/AFCI protection at all required locations.
16. Deck ledgers installed on top of siding.
17. Skylights not attached.
18. Missing roof/attic vents (holes open)
All of these items easily exceed the cost of the inspection and is by no means a complete list. While some will be relatively easy to fix and perhaps already on the builder’s punch list, others the builder will not address at all (like the one where water runs down hill).
By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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