BIG QUESTION: new home construction

[InRich]

I'm about to take possesion of my new home from Cardel Homes in Cranston. This question goes out to anyone really. Would you get a private home inspection done by the 3rd party contractor, a home inspector to go over the home before the initial walk thru?

[Mibz]

Yes.

[Masked Bandit]

Yes, especially with these dipshits.

[Cos]

IMO not on a new house, you have a one year new home buyers warranty

[Weapon_R]

Since you don't know anything about home construction, you should hire an inspector to take a look. A new home warranty won't cover problems that take years to surface but a good home inspector might spot them so you can get them fixed before they are covered up.

[Sugarphreak]

....

[benyl]

You should have gotten the home inspector come by during construction so that he / she could see what is behind the walls.

Getting one now may not be of great value.

[sillysod]

i built with Cardel...
we were there every night checking things and fixing shit that they screwed up. In the end everything was good, but only because I fixed it my self.

With Cardel you pretty much HAVE to get it inspected if you plan on keeping it for more than a year or two.


Cardel or Avi are probably the worst decisions you could possibly make.... trust me.

[Kloubek]

I thought Cardell was decent. We almost bought with Avi!

I guess the build DOES get inspected at certain intervals. However, that doesn't mean everything is 100%.

We *just* moved into our new place in Kincora, and I am not going to bother with an inspection. Mind you, we have a 10-year warranty on the structure, so we're really not too concerned if they messed something up...

[JAYMEZ]

I just went with Cardel , got the Stapleton (Cranston Show home). Tell me how it all goes.. They just dug my hole this week , im excited!

[Supa Dexta]

riiight^??? (2 posts up^)

Oh yeah, I could care less if sometime in the next 10 yrs my brand new home fuks up, and I have to be inconvenienced by contractors traipsing around in here, and more bills piling up, headaches and run around for things that should have been done right to begin with,,,,

Its not wonder the shotty construction goes on in calgary when people don't demand better.

[Rarasaurus]

^
Exactly and if you are counting on your 10 year warrenty good luck.. Read up on it most people have a very hard time claiming anything and them agreeing to cover it... They will more than likely side with the builder.

[G3500]

Originally posted by sillysod
i built with Cardel...
we were there every night checking things and fixing shit that they screwed up. In the end everything was good, but only because I fixed it my self.

With Cardel you pretty much HAVE to get it inspected if you plan on keeping it for more than a year or two.


Cardel or Avi are probably the worst decisions you could possibly make.... trust me.

You are correct I'm currently building a house with Cardel and so far i am not too impressed, they messed up my foundations and now some of the concrete in the front of my house. I think its a good idea to have a home inspection done even on a new house. Its a small price to pay for such a huge investment.

[Mibz]

If you're relying on home warranty to fix shit, I have a feeling you haven't used home warranty before. Also, having that shit fixed before possession is a LOT easier than having it fixed when you're all moved in, there's furniture everywhere, etc.

No builder I've ever seen works off-peak hours so you're not only taking a day off work, but you're sitting there while these guys tear your house apart and attempt to put it back together properly, making a ton of noise and a ton of mess. I guarantee that any drywall repair will have a mess left that you're going to end up cleaning, and any ceiling repair is going to leave you wanting to kill yourself.

[DannyO]

Anybody have any input on Mattamy homes?

[03ozwhip]

or on lifestyle homes? i never thought that i may need another inspection for a brand new house that has to pass inspections for everything before its given to the owner...

[Cos]

^^ see I know a house inspection company were forced under because they werent actually inspecting any of the homes. They were doing something like 4000 houses a year without inspections.

Now that they have slowed down, workers and inspectors arent being pushed, and a bit more people looking at how the inspections are going. I am personally inclined to believe that things would be 'better'.

Now if you haven't been watching throughout the whole construction then yes get it inspected. I also agree on new home warranty being a bitch, I never personally have done it, my place was used.

Good Luck

[Klobi-1-Kinobi]

Originally posted by JAYMEZ
I just went with Cardel , got the Stapleton (Cranston Show home). Tell me how it all goes.. They just dug my hole this week , im excited!

Are you by chance building just south of the new comm. center?

And for the op, you do whatever you need to do in order to address any issues with your new home BEFORE possesion. Once the builder has your money in full you're pretty much sol.

[adidas]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
"Holmes inspections" are apparently coming to Calgary soon, too bad they are not here yet or you could hire them.

www.mikeholmesinspections.com

Yea they are in calgary already.

Dont expect Holmes himself to show up on your front door step.

[C_Dave45]

I'll give you my opinion, for what its worth. I've been in the new home business for well over 20 years. I work on hundreds of new homes by all the big builders. No matter who the builder is you get screw ups and short cuts, done by sub-trades, that the builder or on-site super hasn't caught. A home inspector basically inspects for stuff that doesn't meet code, or things that are damaged (old foundation cracks, old cast-iron plumbing that needs replacing, bad electrical that wont meet code, etc)He's not going to look for "deficiencies" per se. He won't look at a bad paint job, or a bad taping job..or wont see if the walk-in pantry you asked for is the right size. So if you want to spend the $350 on one go ahead...but he'll likely just say "everything" looks fine, because its all brand new, and its all been inspected and passed at the various stages.

Better than hiring an inspector would be to just regularly be on site to catch anything the builder has missed. ie: those extra plugs you paid for...the upgraded crown molding, etc...Because if you wait 'til posession date and THEN say "hey, you missed my plugs...." THEN its a pain in the ass to get them to fix it.