If you or your client purchased a new construction home within the last year, we strongly suggest that you have the home inspected before the one-year warranty expires. We can identify things that may have been overlooked during construction. Small mistakes can lead to problems - and in some cases - large problems. The time to identify these items is prior to the expiration of your 1 year warranty. We refer to these as 11-month inspections. These inspections are particularly effective because the homeowner has lived in the home for nearly one full year - and may have already identified some concerns. Using this information, combined with our observations and findings, our clients' can be confident when they present our finished report to their builder so that all remaining concerns can be appropriately addressed. These inspections are in no way intended to criticize builders. Rather, they are intended to help both the buyer and the general contracting company feel confident that the best product has been delivered.
See below for a few samples of defects found at 11-month inspections. Click here to see many more samples of defects from 11-month inspections.
In this example, kick-out flashing was present but was improperly installed/positioned. This also allows leakage to occur behind the wall claddings and will significantly damage the wall structure over time. Unfortunately, this type of leakage usually goes undetected until the problem reaches an advanced stage.
This image shows a closeup of the materials behind the siding. The house wrap does not overlap the window flange, which means that water can drain behind the flashings. This would result in damaged / decayed wall materials over time. A similar mistake was found behind a second siding location. This means that more mistakes are likely present.
The only option for repair is to remove as much of the siding as is needed to gain access to all mistakes. In some cases, this can result in complete re-siding.
This is the ceiling of a large indoor sport court, viewed with infrared. You can clearly see the difference in heat between the ceiling and the walls - based on the color. This means that there was no insulation installed on the back side of the ceiling. The homeowner mentioned that this was a very cold room during winter months - and thanks to infrared, we know why.