On occasion we perform construction progress and final walk-thru inspections for brand new homes. While builders try to avoid mistakes, they are not always successful, as you can see from the photo above. Sometimes hazards are built into homes from the start. Over time, the wood framing directly above this area could become charred and eventually hit a flash point causing an attic fire. Remember this photo the next time the news reports an attic fire. Gas appliance flue problems and electrical defects cause many avoidable attic fires. Additionally, the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning is very high at a home like this.
Most people think it is a waste of money to pay for a home inspection on a new home. Home inspectors in Phoenix perform very few new home inspections as a percentage of the homes built. Only a fraction are inspected at the final stage and even fewer are inspected during construction. As a result, homeowners accept homes that have latent problems. Often they find out, when they go to sell, that their home has multiple defects that should have been corrected by the builder prior to purchase.
At first, this particular Phoenix home builder was irritated that their newly finished home was being evaluated by a home inspector. Once the disconnected furnace flue was discovered, they changed gears and became grateful for the extra oversight. We all can make mistakes, and since humans are responsible for constructing homes, it should come as no surprise that errors occur. No builder is perfect and there is no such thing a as “perfect home.” Having your new home inspected by a Phoenix home inspector during construction is simply the wise thing to do.