New Home Construction Overseen by Connecticut CT ASHI Certified Home Inspectors
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Watch this ABC News video on new construction consumer complaints;
New Home Woes: Shoddy Construction
Complaints about home builders increased more than 50 percent in five years. Read the article here.
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Read this blog on the problems found in this one new home.
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Why you should be considering more than upgrades when building a new home
Having a new customized home built can be an exciting experience. Getting through the process however can be a long and at times difficult ordeal. People having a new home built often rely entirely on their builder to help guide them through the construction. Unfortunately he may not be the best person to advise them on their project. Consider the following:
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Home builders and most contractors involved in home construction are not licensed professionals
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No license means no mandated formal training, no continuing education, and minimal accountability
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City building inspectors check for code compliance, not quality
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City building inspectors usually spend less than 10 minnutes inspecting a home
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Codes do not cover all aspects of the building process
These are facts that the majority of people building new homes or for that matter having work done on their existing home, do not know. So what can you do to be sure your home is built correctly using quality materials and construction techniques? We are here to provide the solution.
JRV Home Inspection Services can assist you with your build through our New Construction Consultation and Progress Inspection Service. We are an independent, professional, certified, and most importantly licensed home inspection and building diagnostic consultation company.
Our basic service consists of an initial review and discussion of your building plans to look for potential design problems and to point out beneficial upgrades or changes for you to consider. During the actual construction we periodically monitor your home and present you with a detailed progress assessment report. Our service consists of five basic “phase” inspections.
- Foundation
- Rough framing
- Rough mechanicals, electrical and plumbing (before insulation)
- Insulation
- Finished home
We will monitor your building project more frequently than the above basic service if you desire.
But the city building inspector checks the house, right?
Most people believe the municipal building inspector checks the home during construction and for the most part they do exactly that within the minimum scope of their job. It is important to know that “building officials” work for the municipality that employs them and are not directly responsible to the person buying the home. It is also interesting to note they are generally not liable for items they miss.
Understand that the building official’s job is only to look for and be sure that the home meets building codes. Codes are minimum standards, open to interpretation that mostly have to do with safety and to a degree general functionality, not quality. Also some general construction practices are not covered under codes.
FACT: It is far easier, less intrusive, and cheaper to catch problems before or during construction than to repair them after the home is finished and you have moved in.
Our ultimate goal is to work together with you and your builder before, during, and if necessary after construction to make reasonably certain you move into a quality built home.
Recommended links:
This web site is dedicated to helping people avoid problems with builders and other related home construction services through education. The author has written two books on the subject of new construction problems.
