Maybe it's about time that we start suggesting that new construction have a home inspection. I have purchased 2 new homes myself and there will always be problems & little glitches. Who will inspect the house for you if the builder doesn't? As this home inspector points out, the village makes sure that the home is to code not that everything is working properly.
Great post that makes you think from James Quarello an inspector in CT. Who's on your side?
If there is one thing about new construction this Connecticut home inspector knows is that all new homes need inspections. Unfortunately most new construction home buyers seem blissfully unaware of this little fact. After all the home is brand, shiny new. Oh and it's been inspected by the town inspector...for free. And there is a one year warranty. Yep nothing to worry about, everything should hunky dory.
Do people lose all connection to reality when purchasing a newly constructed home? Has everyone not at one time or another purchased a brand new item only to find out it's defective? I wonder if buyers fully understand a home is a complex structure consisting of many interrelated systems put together over the course of several months by many hands. When you consider that fact it's amazing how often there are just minor problems.
Sometimes however there are potentially larger issues that crop up when a buyer is wise enough to have the home inspected.
For example on a recent new construction home inspection I discovered two potentially serious problems.
The first was with the manufactured fireplace. The installer did not correctly fit the ceramic surround together leaving large gaps. Behind the surround is the wood framing for the fireplace. Using this fireplace could result in a much bigger fire than expected.
The second issue was with the bedrooms electrical wiring. The arrow is showing the voltage drop at this receptacle, 102.5 volts which is much too low. The minimum is 108 volts. All receptacles in this bedroom and a few in the adjoining bedroom showed a similar drop indicating a problem in the circuit.
What potentially could occur due to this condition is damage to an appliance plugged into the circuit because of the low amount of current. A fire is another possible occurrence.
Both these issues are fairly easy to repair. They also have not and would not have been discovered by the municipal inspector. Building officials do not test circuits, however the electrician should, and the fireplace is manufactured and as such most of the installation falls on the manufactures instructions, not the building code.
Which brings up another point; not all aspects of home construction fall under the building codes. Who do you suppose is checking on the areas that slip through those cracks?
Having a home inspector thoroughly inspect a newly constructed home can seal up those proverbial cracks giving the buyer a safer home and peace of mind.
James Quarello
2010 SNEC-ASHI President
NRSB #8SS0022
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC
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