Home Buyer Beware - Who's Watching the Construction of Your Home?
In fact, if you bring up the word "contractor" at any cocktail party, everyone has a horror story to tell. If you're having a home built, you start to wonder, "Who's watching the construction of my home? Who makes sure it's built right?"
Most new homeowners I talk to say, "Well, isn't the local building inspector taking care of that?" Yes, to some extent they make sure the house is built right - but only from a building code standpoint.
Remember that the building codes are minimum standards your builder must follow. For example, the code says that a bathroom exhaust fan must provide a given number of air changes per hour for a given size of bathroom. The code doesn't care how noisy the exhaust fan is.
The codes cover design criteria that are intended to keep your house from failing structurally. Codes also emphasize life safety issues, to protect you if you are not smart enough to know that you shouldn't use your hair dryer in the bathtub.
It's what the building inspector does NOT inspect that you should be concerned about. Rarely do they climb onto your roof to see that the roofing shingles are installed properly to prevent them from blowing off in the first wind storm. I don't recall ever seeing any local code inspector check to see that the tile around your shower has a moisture barrier to prevent mold problems later.
If the building inspector is not watching your house construction, then your builder must take responsibility for the other 10,000 opportunities to build things right (or wrong). Many of the biggest builders in the country have internal inspection systems to ensure their homes are built right, but many do not. Some builders use third-party inspection organizations to check some of the structural items that the code inspector does not check.
Chances are, your new house was not inspected to the extent that you will be satisfied. What can you do?
The number one solution is to educate yourself and don't be afraid to ask questions if it looks like something is not right. One of the easiest ways to do this is to get copies of the installation instructions from the manufacturer of the products being installed on your house. Many are available on the Internet at the manufacturer's Web site.
Another way you can protect your investment is to hire an independent inspector to periodically check the work in progress. This can be expensive, but it's a bargain compared to what lawyers working on the problems that occur later may have to charge per hour. Check out the inspector's qualifications; some home inspectors may be knowledgeable about new construction but may lack the experience needed to do a thorough examination.
People often hire inspectors after the house is built, just before they close on the sale. Houses must be inspected as they are built. Most inspection people are hired too late in the process, when the most important things are covered up or are difficult to fix.
Ask your builder if he uses an independent inspector. How often and at what milestones does he inspect the home? Are there inspection reports available for you to see?
Homeowner beware: don't assume that your home is being built right. Take control of the outcome by educating yourself about construction practices and making sure your new home gets the quality focus you paid for.
Related Tags: design, quality, homes, beware, building, code, contractor, construction, inspector, standards
Gary is an independent construction quality advisor. He visits hundreds of housing job sites a year, coaching, auditing and generally raising the bar on quality. Gary is also the primary author and producer of the website at http://qcfocus.com
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Home Repair Articles - Handyman - Cut Costs and Learn to DIY
In the middle of avid do-it-yourselfers and those who insist on calling a professional lies the terr - Home Repair Articles - Be Your Own Roofing Contractor - Get Up There And Stop The Leak Before It Ruins Your House
When it rains, it pours - in your living room. This is not good! If you've got water coming in, even - Home Improvement Articles - How Do Wood Fireplace Inserts Work?
First-time homebuyers and those who have lived in homes without a fireplace may be unfamiliar with w - Home Improvement Articles - A Denver Wood Burning Fireplace Makes Your Home Ready For Winter
Denver homeowners are enjoying the sunny warm weather of summer, but not very long from now winter's - Home Improvement Articles - What's Hot in Direct Vent Fireplaces?
Are you looking for a direct vent fireplace? Then you've likely spent some time searching on - Home Repair Articles - Boiler Installation Tips And Advice
If you feel that the time has come to upgrade your boiler to a newer more energy efficient design th - Home Repair Articles - The Correct And Safe Way For Boiler Installation
During this economy crisis it is very important to understand various ways on how to be more conserv - Home Repair Articles - Deciding On That French Home Accessories
Whether one is designing a home for the first time or simply redecorating, there are a lot of option - Home Repair Articles - Creating The Perfect French Atmosphere With The Right French Home Accessories
Not a lot of people prefer the French style these days. Modern designs are presently more preferred - Home Repair Articles - The Benefits From The Combi Boilers
Heating units or boilers that are installed in many houses in Britain this days are combi. The combi
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Kitchen Heating is Essential for Every Home
In every kitchen there is a problem if the room temperature or the water temperature is below comfor - Properly Installed Do it Yourself Gutters
There's not much glamour in gutter systems, but when properly installed, they do a great job of dire - Alarm Systems - Feeling Safe
In 1858, a man named Edwin Holmes, invented the first burglar alarm system. It was a simple device c - What to Do Before You Build a Fireplace
Fireplaces are found in homes across the world in all countries that witness severe cold during the - Don't Fall Into "the Money Pit" During your Home Remodeling Project
One of the funniest movies I ever saw was "The Money Pit" starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. They - New Ideas for Wooden Decks
Many people today prefer homes which provide space to lounge around and have a very casual and a ver - Aluminium Fences Are Both Beautiful and Practical
Once upon a time, people were concerned only about the safety and security of their homes and hence - Do it Yourself Concreting and Concrete Resurfacing
There are many low-pressure crack injection kits which come with simple instructions so the homeowne - How to build an outdoor kitchen
Like most major outdoor fixtures, this will take twice as much work as its indoor counterpar - Types of light bulbs
There are several different types of light fixtures and usually these will vary based on the