The building envelope of a home provides a climate-controlled indoor environment and comprises all elements of its outer shell. These elements include
The design of a home’s building envelope moderates the indoor temperature; prevent water, dust, and wind intrusion; minimize energy loss; and prevent weather elements from being trapped inside the walls. All building envelopes are vulnerable to failures, making home building envelope inspections an important aspect of home buying, even for new home construction. As the demand for homes continues, all home assembly can be rushed, increasing the risk for a home envelope to vulnerable to intrusion or failure.
If you are assisting a client with the purchase of an older home, recommending a home inspection is often welcomed and expected. Clients looking to buy a newly built home may not expect a pre-purchase home inspection recommendation. It is imperative to discuss the potential failures of a home building envelope and that even newly constructed homes can have failures—new does not equate to perfection. And a new home construction inspection can help your client to get issues corrected by the builder without push-back.