If you are having a new home built, you may be curious as to what inspections and testing are required throughout the building process; your thoughts may wonder what is required and what is recommended—and if you should follow the recommendations or if they are just a way to get more money out of you.
New home construction requires inspections at different levels of the building process. Typically, your builder is in charge of handling these, as they cannot continue to the next phase without certain inspections. These inspections are often done by a city employee, but a third party could be hired to ensure nothing was overlooked. AcuSystem Inspections performs third party inspections for new construction homes and commercial properties.
Pre-Slab Inspection: Prior to the pouring of concrete, we ensure everything has been correctly prepared to help safeguard the home you are building is on a solid foundation. This inspection includes a review of planned slab thickness, load bearing sections, installation of moisture barrier, placement of steel, and verification of termite pre-treatment.
Lintel: All lintels are inspected to ensure they have been properly installed, tied, supported, and painted to reduce rusting. This inspection is conducted prior to filling the cells with grout.
Wall Sheathing: Before the wall sheathing is covered, we inspect the installation and nailing of the vertical wall.
House Wrap: Verification of proper watertight installation, including a review of joints and ensuring adequate lapping, proper nail or staple placement, coverage of sill plate and foundation joint, and proper drainage provisions.
Frame: The framing, truss installation, sheer wall construction, plumbing top out, electrical rough and the HVAC installation are all reviewed in this inspection to ensure the installation matches the construction plans and meets all local codes.
Lath: Prior to the application of stucco, the stucco lath and related accessories are inspected to ensure the lath is correctly placed and fastened to the wall, and that it will provide adequate waterproofing for the stucco application.
In-Progress Stucco: This inspection is conducted during stucco application to ensure proper application methods are being adhered to, and to correct improper applications before they cause long-term building issues.
Stucco Cores: Verification of proper application of stucco through visual inspection and moisture intrusion testing.
Blower Door Testing: Verifies the new construction is up to the newest Florida energy code, as outlined in Section 402.4.1.2.
Building Final Inspection: An inspection of the work completed by each trade (i.e., building, electrical, plumbing, etc.) and full review of the home-similar to a pre-purchase home inspection.
When choosing your home inspector, it is always a good idea to do your research on the company you are thinking of going through. Look through their website, ratings and even call to learn more about what they provide, the training and certifications. Check out our certifications, licenses, and training as well as the benefits we have to offer our clients here.
Looking for more information on new construction inspections or looking to set up an appointment to have your new build inspected? Call us at (813) 361-9302 to request your home inspection service.