Lisa Johnson's House and Home - Articles on Home, Family, and Living

Lisa Johnson on Buying a New Home or House

Chapter 9: Monitoring the Construction Progress

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October 1, 2003

From the time we first put our deposit on the house, Steve and I visited the construction site every weekend.  Sometimes more often than that.  Steve took digital photos of our home during each visit.

Construction usually goes on all week long except for Sundays.  Though, now and then you might find a sub-contractor working on a Sunday.

All construction is performed by sub-contractors.  The builder is not really a "builder".  They don't do any of the building.  Instead, they have a building supervisor on site to monitor the progress, make sure construction remains on schedule, and make sure each home passes the county inspections.  

Some of the people working for the sub-contractors were curteous and allowed us to walk through the house as they were working on it.  Some put on a rather grim look on their face as if to say that they didn't want us there.  We didn't care what they thought, this was our house.

Steve noted several areas of poor craftsmanship.  The homes are built very quickly, and with no supervision from the builder.  One of the studs in a bathroom was warped and clearly bended.  Yet the framing contractors used the stud anyways.  Steve took a photo of it, and complained to the sales representative it, and wrote a letter asking that the stud be replaced.  Subsequently, it was replaced the next week.

Other examples we found in our home were studs that split into two pieces after they drilled a hole through it to feed the wiring. Yet no one bothered to replace the stud.  Again, the builder doesn't actually supervise the work while it is going on, they just let the sub-contractors do their thing, and they do only what they are hired to do.  

In another place, it appeared some heavy piece of equipment was dropped on the second story floor, leaving a hole.   He complained about both, and was promised they would be fixed, but week after week, it was clear nothing was done.  Finally, after the dry wall and carpeting was put in, we could no longer tell if any of these were repaired, but the builder assured us it was.  Though later on, while we were doing our walk-through with the builder, Steve walked over that part of the floor and clearly felt the hole when his foot sank into it.  The the carpeting people simply laid carpeting over the hole in the floor!   How it passed by the county inspectors, we will never know. The builder had to fix it.

We walked through the homes of all of our neighbors while they were being built, and we saw just as many examples of poor craftsmanship and shoddy work.  Only that most of those buyers bought into their homes after they were built, so, they have no idea of the many busted and warped studs, poorly fitting joints, and plumbing leaks throughout their homes.  At least we have some piece of mind that we were able to get the worst problems addressed early.  Again, another reason why you should buy into a home before construction starts.

While this might deter you into buying a new construction home, you simply need to be alert and assertive. Remember that the builder really wants to sell you the home. They would hate to have a good buyer pull out voluntarily. Visit the construction each week, perhaps even more frequently, take photos such as the one you see on this page, and go to the sales representative and demand they fix all issues, or else you're not going to go through with the purchase. You wouldn't want to buy a poorly built home, so if the builder doesn't respond, it would be wise for you to drop the purchase.

Next:   Chapter 10 - Hiring a Home Inspector

Suggested Links

·  Tips on Buying a Home

·  HUD Homebuying Guide

·  Homebuying Consumer Info Center

·  Real Estate ABC

·  Home Buying Guide.com