New Construction Home Inspections

An independent inspection of a home while it is being built, carried out for you rather than for the builder. A newly built home is expected to have relatively few issues, but no home is perfect, and each stage of the build covers up the one before it. We inspect at four points: the footing before the concrete is poured, the structure before the drywall goes on, the finished house before you sign, and the whole property again in the eleventh month, before the builder's warranty ends.

Because neither of them works for you. Your builder runs their own walk-through, and the permit inspections your jurisdiction carries out remain a separate part of the build, arranged by the builder, against the code rather than against your interests.

Our inspection is independent of both. It works to the same standard we apply to every home inspection, and it answers only to you. Your builder remains responsible for the work and for arranging the approvals their jurisdiction requires.

No. Each one stands on its own and you can book any of them individually. They cover different things because the house is at a different stage each time, so booking more of them leaves fewer blind spots, but plenty of buyers come to us for one stage only. If the build has already moved past a stage, that stage cannot be recreated, so tell us where the house has got to when you call and we will tell you what is still open.

As soon as the framing, wiring, plumbing and ductwork are in and before the insulation and drywall go up. That gap is often only a few days, and it is the last time anybody can look at the bones of the house. Ask your builder when the rough-in will be complete and call us as soon as you have a date. The same applies to the footing inspection, which has to happen while the forms and reinforcement are still exposed.

Most builder warranties run for the first year after settlement. Waiting until month twelve leaves no room: you still need time to submit the claim, and your builder still needs time to schedule the repair. Inspecting in month eleven gives both sides a runway. Once the warranty expires, the same defect is simply yours to pay for.

No. The difference is timing, not thoroughness. Your inspector treats it as a brand new inspection and checks every aspect of the home. What changes is what the house has had a chance to reveal: a pre-settlement inspection sees a home nobody has lived in, and an 11th-month inspection sees one that has been through a full year of weather, settling and daily use. Drywall cracking from foundation movement, sticking doors and grading that has shifted show up after you move in, not before.

No, and it is important to be clear about that. It is a visual inspection that documents the visible concerns we observe within the agreed scope: the footing forms, the accessible reinforcement, the soil and grading, and the site conditions, before concrete conceals them. It does not certify structural capacity, soil bearing capacity or engineering design, and a structural or geotechnical question may need a separate qualified specialist. What it gives you is a photographed record and a set of questions to put to your builder while the work is still exposed.

The written report is delivered by email in 24 to 48 hours. Every finding is described in plain language, organized by system and location, and photographed where it is. It is formatted so your builder's team can act on it directly. You can see the format first in our sample reports.