New Home Inspections

NationSpec performs a wide variety of commercial and residential home inspections.

We are headquartered in Katy, Texas, and are happy to travel anywhere within a 75-mile circumference of that location to perform any inspection you may require.

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Why have a new home inspection?

You’re thinking of buying a brand-new home. You may be asking yourself, do you really need a new home inspected before you purchase it? Aren’t inspections just for older homes?

On the one hand, there’s no legal requirement that says that you – let alone the building contractor – have to have a home inspection in order to buy a house.

It is simply a very, very good idea.

And yes, this holds true for new homes just as much as for homes that are a year old or older.

Why?

 

Doublechecking on the builders and municipal inspectors

 

Builders

There are dozens of new home builders in Katy and environs, and some are more competent than others.

Texas in fact does not require residential building contractors to undergo any competency testing. Anyone can start a general contractor company and obtain a license to do business in a particular city or cities simply by submitting an application and paying a fee. All the licensing authority does is conduct a criminal background check and ensure that the company has a certificate of liability insurance. (Having said that, the Permits & Inspections authority in ay cities may require a pre-construction meeting if the company hasn’t worked in that city before.)

 

Municipal inspectors

Before a home, or homes, can be built in most cities in Texas, a permit must be obtained from the city and plans for the home submitted.

Municipal inspectors will have inspected the home building in progress before any concrete was poured, and a certified energy code inspector (obtained by the building contractor) would have conducted energy code inspections.

The municipal inspector will also have performed a framing/pre-drywall inspection, and a final inspection.

Since all these inspections happened, you may wonder if there really is a need to have an independent home inspector double check their work?

The answer quite simply is yes.

Builders make mistakes, inspectors make mistakes.

By having an independent third party inspect the home, you are simply covering yourself.

In addition, NationSpec investigates elements that the municipal inspectors do not.

 

What goes into a new home inspection?

Our expert home inspectors make a visual inspection of every element of the home.

 

Structural system

NationSpec home inspectors will go through every portion of your home thoroughly. We will operate under the assumption that the home was never inspected – so that we look into everything from the electric wiring to the plumbing to the quality of the drainage and more.

 

Electrical system

You can never inspect a building’s electrical system too many times. Although carelessness while cooking causes 40% of home fires in Texas, many other fires are caused by faulty wiring. It’s best to make trebly sure that your new home’s electric system is up to snuff.

 

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning system

Depending on what you use to heat your home, it’s essential that you have proper venting elements to remove dangerous gases from the home. We check for proper venting and much more.

 

Plumbing system

In 2009, Texas became the second state in the country – after California – to require that all new residential and commercial construction install high-efficiency toilets (HET). High-efficiency toilets restrict how much water is used per flush (no more than 1.28 gallons. In addition, the maximum flow rate for shower heads was set at 2.5 gallons per minute.

We ensure that plumbing meets all required codes.

 

Appliances

Even the latest-model appliances may be defective and have recalls. We perform a RecallChek on all appliances.

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NationSpec’s Visual Inspection Checklist