by Brian Jones- Sighthound Home Inspections, LLC.
Inspected Once, Inspected Right!®
Thanks for visiting Sighthound Home Inspections, LLC. If you're reading this blog article, you likely received a flyer in the mail that identifies that your home is likely reaching the end of your builder's one year warranty. Read below about the importance of a warranty inspection, and if you have any questions please call the owner of Sighthound Home Inspections, LLC directly at 850-296-8329 with any questions you have.
Don't forget to mention the flyer you received for a special discount on your warranty inspection!
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You've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a brand-new construction home, so everything should be perfect, right? It should, but most often it's not.
When you move in and begin discovering issues, it can be extremely frustrating. The moving process is a headache, so to compound the stress of moving with finding things throughout your home that your builder botched or overlooked, can be overwhelming. Many of these issues don't show themselves until you've lived in your home for several months. Even worse; many of these issues don't show themselves because they simply aren't visible to the average homeowner. This could be due to the issue being in the attic, on the roof, the homeowner not knowing that something they see is problematic, or an issue that most people don't recognize as being an issue until it's too late.
The best way to help ensure the longevity of your home's health is with an 11th Month Warranty inspection.
11th-Month Warranty inspections are one of your final chances to hold your builder to their warranty to fix any issues that exist now, along with defects that may cause additional issues to your home many years in the future when the builder's warranty has expired. Arming yourself with a detailed and professional inspection report by Sighthound Home Inspections, LLC before the builder's warranty expires is your best chance at getting your builder to cover the cost of repairs.
Your builder likely has a 1-year warranty that covers workmanship, poorly installed components (windows, roofing material, insulation, roof flashing, trim, doors, etc.), along with electrical, plumbing, and HVAC issues.
Why should I have an 11th Month Warranty inspection? What if I already had my home inspected before moving in?
If you care about the longevity of your home, any owner of a new construction home should consider an 11th Month Warranty inspection. Even the builders with the best of reputations often have subcontractors who make mistakes that aren't caught during the final walkthroughs.
If you already had your home inspected before you closed on your home, you put yourself in a good position where many defects in your house were (hopefully) detected and reported to be fixed.
So why should you get another inspection 11 months later?
Living in a house for 11 months can often uncover conditions that weren't initially present or found during your first inspection. Things like roof issues (leaks, missing or damaged shingles with manufacturing defects, deteriorated sealant on roof nails), flooring problems, plumbing leaks, erosion around the home, and window problems won't manifest themselves until the home has been lived in and had some "wear and tear" or exposure to the local climate.
11th Month Warranty inspections are one of your final chances to hold your builder to their warranty and fix any issues that exist now, and defects that may cause additional issues to your home many years in the future. Arming yourself with a detailed and professional inspection report by Sighthound Home Inspections, LLC before the builder's warranty expires is your best chance at getting your builder to cover the cost of repairs.
When should you get a warranty inspection?
While it's called an 11th Month Warranty inspection, we recommend scheduling one sometime during the 10th month of living in your new home. This will afford you and the builder time to coordinate and schedule needed repairs before the end of the warranty period.
Don't think problems in your home could happen to you? Look at just a few of the many examples of the (sometimes dangerous) problems we've come across in new construction homes here in Walton, Okaloosa, and Bay counties:
These photos depict the following defects:
Window weep hole blocked with mortar- this can cause moisture that gets into the window components to not drain properly, leading to moisture entering the wall cavity. This can lead to damaged framing, drywall, and electrical issues, and increase the chances for mold.
Missing weep holes in brick veneer on the exterior of the home- weep holes in brick veneer siding systems allow any moisture that enters behind the brick (since brick and mortar are porous) to properly drain. If water can't get out, then many years from now you might have damaged wall sheathing behind the brick. This can cause issues for the integrity of your brick siding as well as increase the chances of deterioration of the exterior walls of the home.
Gap between electrical service meter and panel cover- this can allow rainwater to enter your electrical panel. This can cause corrosion within the panel and on the breakers, causing electrical issues for your home in the future (after your builder's warranty has long expired).
Disconnected gas appliance flue vent- this photograph was taken after a family had been living in the house for 11 months. A gas appliance vent was found to be disconnected in the attic space. This was a significant and deadly condition, as it allowed carbon monoxide to freely discharge into the attic space, which could potentially have entered the living space of the home.
Exposed foundation rebar in slab- exposed rebar in a slab foundation can result in corrosion many years from now, and could contribute to cracking and instability of the slab. All rebar in the foundation should be completely covered by concrete to prevent corrosion and deterioration.
Fiberglass shower surround (walls) with a crack besides being unsightly, over time, water from the shower will enter into the wall cavity behind the shower insert and cause moisture damage.
HVAC supply vent opening was not cut in the drywall ceiling. This was only observed by using a thermal imaging camera (which we use on every inspection). Without finding this condition during a new construction inspection, this would ultimately lead to moisture damage from condensation forming in this location.
These photos are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to common issues found in these warranty inspections. Don't let your home go unprotected and be sure to schedule one of these inspections to hold your builder to their warranty!
Sighthound Home Inspections, LLC provides a Florida Licensed, InterNACHI-certified, and IAC2-certified inspector to complete a thorough inspection of your house's location, exterior, and interior and guarantees quick delivery of a photo/video-rich inspection report that makes it easy for your builder to see a reported defect as if they were in your home looking at it.
If you're interested in taking advantage of holding your builder to their warranty, then contact Sighthound Home Inspections, LLC at 850-296-8329 or by clicking the button below.