New Construction Inspections

Building your Dream Home is an exciting and often daunting task. You have no doubt carefully selected a good
and reputable builder; but even the best builders make mistakes. We know. We have made our share!

You can rely on government inspectors to find some mistakes. These inspectors are often overworked and can
spend only a few minutes in each home looking for major safety and structural problems. In addition,
government inspectors are, by law, limited to enforcing the minimum standards required by the local building
code. Problems that could adversely affect your Dream Home often go unnoticed and uncorrected because of
the limited time and the limited scope of government inspections. Ask yourself: Do you want to rely only on
overworked government inspectors when your largest and most important investment is on the line?

As a licensed contractor, certified building code inspector, and author of a comprehensive book on the
International Residential Code, we specialize in new home construction inspections. We act as your in-house
quality assurance department by carefully inspecting your Dream Home at critical stages of construction.
Discovering problems early is the best and least expensive way to correct them.

We can help you and your builder with the following important tasks:

PLAN AND SPECIFICATION REVIEW

Are your plans and specifications accurate and detailed enough so that you understand what you are buying and
the builder understands what to deliver? Poor communication is one of the most serious problems facing both
home buyers and home builders. We apply our extensive experience in construction, accounting, and project
management to help improve communication between you and your builder. We can recommend improvements
and clarifications to the plans and specifications that can help guide the project toward successful completion,
and maybe save some money as well. Changes during construction often cause substantial delays and
cost increases.

FOUNDATION (SLAB) INSPECTION

This inspection occurs just before the builder pours the concrete floor (in slab-on-grade construction). During
this inspection we spot check the foundation measurements and the location of plumbing pipes and electrical
outlets. We also estimate whether the builder has elevated the home to allow for proper drainage when final
grading is complete.

We require at least a set of foundation, plumbing, and electrical plans for this inspection. Production builders
rarely allow inspectors access to these plans, so we usually do not recommend this inspection for homes built
by production builders.

PRE-DRYWALL INSPECTION

This is the most important inspection a home will ever have. After the drywall is installed, many important
components and systems are concealed from view forever. Major structural problems are not common;
however, other problems are common and these problems can adversely affect the cost to operate and maintain
the home and can adversely affect the health and safety of you and your family.

Experience shows that larger and more complex homes usually have more problems and more serious problems
than smaller homes. Experience also shows that two story homes usually have more problems than one story
homes and that homes on basement foundations have more problems than homes on slab-on- grade
foundations.

The pre-drywall inspection occurs just before the builder installs insulation and drywall. The basic framed
structure of the home is complete. All rough plumbing and gas piping, electrical cables, and heating and air
conditioning ducts and attic-mounted equipment have been installed. Most windows and the stucco sheathing
and lath are usually, but not always, installed.

Regardless of the home's size, all homes should have a pre-drywall inspection if for no other reason than to
provide peace of mind that an experienced professional who works for you has carefully inspected the home.
Don't let your right to this important inspection lapse.

FINAL INSPECTION

The ideal time for the final inspection is a few days before your scheduled walk-through with the builder. This
allows us to complete the inspection, issue the inspection report to you (and to the builder if you wish), and
discuss the findings and recommendations before you meet with the builder. This way, both you and your
builder are prepared to discuss the inspection findings during your walk-through.

Some clients ask us to attend the builder walk-through with them. We are happy to do so if it is in addition to
our regular final inspection; however, most builders prefer that we are not present at the walk-through. We
understand and agree with the builder. The final walk-through is the builder's opportunity to explain the "care
and feeding" of your new home and it is your opportunity to create the punch list of (usually) cosmetic issues.
We are always available to discuss our findings and recommendations with you and the builder, so our
attendance at the walk-through adds little value.

So we may conduct a full and complete inspection, gas (if any), electricity, and water should be connected and
functioning before the inspection. Equipment such as the water heater and furnace (air conditioning) should also
be functioning.

During the final inspection, we inspect for any damage that may have occured since the pre-drywall inspection.
We test the operation of systems, such as hot water, electrical, and air conditioning. We inspect for the proper
amount of visible attic insulation and we inspect the overall condition of your Dream Home.