Warranty Inspections

Have you purchased a newly-built home within the past year?

Unless otherwise specified, that home came with a standard one-year warranty covering building materials and workmanship.

Experts agree that owners should have their new home inspected at least a month before that one-year warranty is set to expire.

Even if you have noticed no problems with the home, there may be hidden damage or things happening that you don’t know to look for.

The experienced home inspectors of NationSpec will perform a thorough visual inspection of the building materials and workmanship in your home so that, if necessary, you can have repairs made while the home is still under warranty.

Not everything in the home is covered under this warranty, however. Any appliances you purchased are typically covered under other warranties – which is why it’s a good idea to save all the paperwork from every appliance you purchase.

 

What is a warranty inspection?

A warranty inspection covers the same ground as a residential home inspection.

Even if you had a new home inspection before you finally closed on your house, it’s a good idea to have one again after 11 months (giving you that extra month to have the contractor fix anything that needs to be fixed that falls under their purview).

Many contractors and subcontractors were involved in the construction of your new home. While municipal inspectors have inspected the home during its construction – their only goal is to make sure all the systems meet code. They are not concerned with the craftsmanship of the cabinetry, for example, or of the carpentry.

Any defects in material or workmanship might not show up for several months, so having a warranty inspection done just makes good sense.

 

Should you wait for 11 months?

Sometimes problems manifest themselves immediately. If your roof was installed incorrectly, it may start to leak at the first good rainstorm. The time to call your builder for repairs is immediately, not wait and make a list of things to be repaired when you hit the 11-month mark.

Having said that, sometimes you don’t notice that the roof is leaking until an inspector comes in and actually looks into a crawl space.

 

What goes into a warranty home inspection?

A warranty inspection covers the same material as a residential home inspection. We conduct a thorough visual inspection of every element of the home, from the structural system to the electrical system to the HVAC system to the plumbing.

We also check your major appliances using RecallChek. Note that with appliances, the warranties actually come from the appliance manufacturers, not your builder.

 

Structural system

Problems with a new home built with substandard materials can emerge over the course of one winter, with the home being subjected to temperature fluctuations and severe weather such as thunderstorms, windstorms, or heavy snow.

 

Electrical system

If you can’t have too many appliances plugged in at the same time without tripping a circuit breaker, that is a sign that the room hasn’t been wired properly.

 

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning system

Homes can be heated through electricity, gas, or LIP (liquid propane). The heat may be forced air – coming through vents – or radiant heat, coming through floor boards. A central air conditioner will use the same vents as a forced air furnace. All these elements need to be checked to ensure that they are bearing up well.

 

Plumbing system

If corners were cut in the installation of plumbing pipes or fixtures, constant blockages could occur. This might be a sign of poor workmanship. We inspect the complete plumbing system to ensure no problems are developing.

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NationSpec’s Visual Inspection Checklist