Walk Through with Builder

Take someone with you.. It always helps to have another set of eyes.

We've been through this twice, each time we built. I HATE building and swore I would never do it again.

Hopefully you have a reputable builder and even those can and do make mistakes. Get EVERYTHING in writing because once you close the builder will disappear and things change.

Best wishes to you and I hope you have a smooth move!

Do you have a friend or relative who is in construction? Maybe someone who is a plumber, HVAC guy, or electrician? If so, bring that person along with you. I'm a general contractor, and to be honest, I've been less than impressed with many of the home inspectors I've run across (a lot of them are failed GCs, and it seems like they failed because they didn't really grasp building codes or construction methods very well). Anyway, a lot of issues you'll see in a new home will be with the plumbing or HVAC systems, which is why I suggested those trades in particular. Even if you know nobody in those fields, it would be well worth your money to pay a good plumber or HVAC guy his hourly rate to come inspect those systems for you.

If you're not able to bring any experts with you, don't worry. Take your time walking through each room. Open and close all the doors and windows to make sure they're functioning properly. Check the outlets to be sure they work. Turn on and off all the light switches. Flush the toilets, turn on the faucets full blast. Check under the sinks for leaks. Turn on the dishwasher. Look at the paint - any scuffs or chips should be touched up. All of the tile should be grouted properly (the grout lines should be almost level with the tile, not too low where water could pool in the grout lines). Turn on the air conditioning and heating to make sure both work. Make sure the hot water works and that the hot water heater is set properly. On the exterior, make sure the roof looks good and that the rain gutters are properly attached. Turn on the sprinklers. Check the windows from the outside and make sure they are sealed. Go into the attic and be sure they've insulated the attic. While you're up there, check to see that the HVAC ductwork is insulated and all connected.

Don't let the builder rush you. Take as much time as you need in every room. Walk into every corner of every room and try everything out. Take pictures of anything you want corrected.

Congratulations on your new home!

Get an Inspector.
A layperson, will not know nor see, everything per construction and what else has to be done.
An Inspector, will.

In addition to having "lists":
MAKE sure, you also have, painter's tape (it is blue and can easily be taped onto surfaces and removed)... AND, put a piece of this tape, ANYWHERE that still has to be completed or taken care of, or finished.
This will mark and indicate, to all, what still needs to be done.
It is a "visual." In addition to a list. Because, making lists can also be confusing unless you know construction lingo and how to write it down/describe it.
And, number the pieces of tape with a Sharpie pen. So you know, what it corresponds to, on your "list."

Going through a building site, as a layperson, it will be very confusing/hard to know...what exactly is up to par or not.
I grew up in construction...and I see things that a layperson will not.
So, getting an Inspector along side with you, will be helpful.
And also because, construction guys, can or may sometimes, not tell you what you need to know.

And what about the electrical? Hopefully, your electrical control panel is all labeled?
Make sure all doors are hung, level.
Check under all sinks/cabinets too, per plumbing and/or leaks.
Many many things, to check on.

And, don't just do a walk through of the interior. The exterior and foundations, needs to be checked, too.

I will tell you you will miss something. Just look for the obvious, especially anything custom you had done. Seemed like the mistakes I caught were them building what they normally do and not realizing the contract specifies something different.

Human error, ya know?

When we had the walk through, we had 30 days to fix "quick issues" like cosmetic things that we maybe didn't notice on the walk through. Then, we had 1 year to fix anything else with the builder. Then, our 10 year warranty for structural issues kicked in.

Make sure you understand what your warranties are.

Good luck!
L.

I think my builder was on crack when they build my house. I was missing the only telephone jack down stairs. Then the ceiling fan for the center of the den was in the center of the great room (den/dining room), which made the place the dining room light right in front of the back door.

When I called this to the foreman's attention, he said the fan was in the center of the room like the paperwork said and the light couldn't be too close. I had to show him my imaginary dinner table under the dining light and how this would block the access to the back door and prohibit the use of the bar stools.

Eventually it sunk in.

I don't know who your builder is and that would help. I used to be a warranty inspector for a major homebuilder and the walk thrus were part of my job. I have not read all the responses but the builder does not have to do anything with an inspection you get so not sure I would waste the money unless it is an inspector of new homes...there really is a difference! the walk thru should explain what your warranty is and is not so make sure you pay attention...you should check paint, carpet, tile - cosmetic issues that are never covered by warranty...including landscape....what you don't want to do is get into a fighting mode with your builder as you are going to need him/her......I might could look some things up if I knew who the builder is.....congrats on your new home!

Look inside the toilet tanks. After being in our house for a month, the master bathroom toilet wouldn't flush. Removing the empty beer bottles from the tank fixed that. SMH! We also had a bathroom sink leak underneath, inside the cabinet. It was a simple fix...tightening the pipe connection. Fortunately, our builder was very thorough and honest, and pointed out things I wouldn't know to look for. We were somewhat rushed because our final was scheduled one hour before closing. I would recommend more time than that if your builder likes to schedule the final just before closing. Good luck!!

Get out your notepad and do a preliminary walk through with a friend or relative in the construction business. Or take your favorite fix-it or do-it-yourself person who is familiar with what can and usually does go wrong in a home. Look up and down and turn everything on and off again. Do it during daylight hours. If your house is newly built, take the plans and make sure that everything shown on the drawings made it into the building. Oh, and take a small desk lamp and plug it in to make sure the outlets work, especially the ones that need to be turned on with a switch.

Have a list of all the upgrades and things and make sure they are there and in the proper place. Make the builder demonstrate how everything works.

If you can, bring a plug-in flashlight to make sure all the outlets work and that the ones connected to a switch work as well.

Be picky! After all, this is a house you are paying a LOT of money for. We made them re-cut the carpet around the floor vents because it was sloppily done and we made them re-paint a wall because it was sprayed-on too thin. After they re-sprayed the wall we made them clean up the baseboards! So be picky!

You WILL find things after you move in. Keep a running list and after a week, call the builder back. Usually they have a warranty on the build so make sure you get the number to call if there is an issue. On my first new construction we found a lot of things after we moved in.

Good luck!

I would definitely recommend getting an outside inspector!!!!!!!! We had a new home built as well. We did the walkthrough with the builder and then the inspector did a walk through, and boooyyyy the "walkthrough" we did with the builder only turned up very minor stuff, but the inspector found stuff that was more major that the builder then had to fix!! Yes you will have to pay for the inspector but I am so glad he found stuff that I would have never ever known. Like, we had unlike metals touching in the basement pipes and I guess that is not good, so they had to fix that. I would have never known that! We had a gas leak in the fireplace that wasnt very detectable, but the inspector found it and not the rep from the builder. Def worth the money for the inspector since the builder had to fix all the stuff he found! Good luck!

I would take a roll of blue painter's tape and mark anything that needs to be fixed or repainted. I would take a marker and number my pieces of blue tape. the numbers would correspond to the notepad where i was jotting down notes room by room. I would take my cell phone and take pictures of the tape so i knew the location in the room. Then when you have to go back you know what you told them to fix! good luck with your closing. Piece of advice--make sure your driver's licenses are current--otherwise they cannot be used as a primary piece of ID by a notary public and you will not be able to close unless you can present a passport or other approved ID.
When we closed recently, I asked the closer what the biggest problems she saw were (besides an agreement on the closing $$$) and she said it was the expired licenses!

I agree with others, get an inspector just like if you bought an existing house. They will look at things you won't see. Our builder was fantastic and fixed everything on the inspection report. That leaves only cosmetic issues for you to look for.