Home Owner Rights

Originally Posted By: Anne Stoyer
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



HI,


My husband and I purchased a new home in late January 2003, We have recently discovered that an area of our home (over our Master bedroom, bath, and closet) is lacking insulation—has almost none… Our room is so cold that we have had to move into our guest bedroom upastairs icon_evil.gif . Which leads me to ask… If the inspection laws require a set amount of insulation and the inspection list clearly states that this was checked then, could we possibly get the builders to foot the bill for having a private inspector come inspect the home and havethe builder repair or replace anything discovered? We have been working with the builders to get many items repaired…and they are extremely slow about it. Any information would be helpful, we are located in TEXAS.


Sincerely,


Annie


Originally Posted By: Blaine Wiley
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Anne,


If you are coming up on your first year anniversary, I would consider contacting a NACHI inspector to perform a one year inspection. This assumes that your builder has a one year walk through. The fee charged by the inspector is minimal compared to what your new home costs, and we have several very good inspectors in Texas.

I have performed many of this type inspection over the years, and you would be surprised (or maybe not) how many items are found at that time. It will help you make your list of items for your builder to fix, and should add to your piece of mind.

Blaine ![icon_biggrin.gif](upload://iKNGSw3qcRIEmXySa8gItY6Gczg.gif)


Originally Posted By: ltrower
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Anne,


Welcome to our board. Each state had some different regulations regarding inspection. A home inspection usually a visual inspection that should point out to you what was found at the time of the inspection. Some where in your inspection you will probably find something referring to the amount in insulation in your attic. As far as the R rating needed will vary as to the part of the country you live in. I will have to let one or our inspectors in you area answer that for you as I live in Oklahoma. This might be one of the things that your contractor has to get around to. Sorry for the problem. I am sure that before you go to bed tonight you will have a Texas Inspector help you.

I just wanted to let you know that your post has been seen and we value any input want to put here.

Lee Trower


Originally Posted By: Mike O’Handley
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Hi Anne,


Because you make mention of wanting to have the home looked at by a private inspector, It sounds like you did not have the home inspected before you bought it. However, you mention an 'inspection list' where the insulation was checked off. Was that the municipal inspector's record or the builder's list?

If your codes require insulation above the ceilings, it would be appropriate to contact the local building inspector's office, talk to the supervisor there, point out the oversight and ask them to address it to the builder. Nobody's perfect. Some municipal inspectors do 20 to 50 inspections a day, so it is possible it was accidentally missed. The code folks still have the ability to enforce corrections even after they've issued the certificate of occupancy.

I suppose now might be the time to point out that you should have had a professional home inspector look at the home before you bought it. As others have pointed out, it is common to find some significant issues on new homes that have been missed. That said, even if you had, it might not have done any good anyway. Over the years, I've been involved in a number of spirited internet debates with some home inspectors from Texas over the issue of going all the way into attics to inspect them completely. Apparently, there are a fair number down there who won't go beyond the hatchway, because they claim doing so will damage the trusses, it will damage the insulation, it's unsafe because it was too hot or all of the above. So, unless you'd hired a guy who you were certain would definitely have gone all the way in, a private guy might have missed it anyway.

The one-year warranty inspection recommendation is a good one. If you opt to do that, ensure that whoever you hire goes all the way into the attic and any crawlspaces you have and make sure they have a copy of the NAHB Residential Peformance Guidelines. You too should prepare for your inspection by obtaining your own copy of those guidelines at the NAHB website: http://www.nahb.org so you can familiarize yourself with the differences, if any, between the guidelines of the NAHB and the standards that you agreed to in the contract you signed with your builder.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike O'Handley
Your Inspector(tm)
Kenmore by the Lake, WA


Originally Posted By: jpeck
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Mike,


Insert a space after the "g" and before the ",", then the link will work.


--
Jerry Peck
South Florida

Originally Posted By: jwalker
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Anne,


I think you have several ave. to pursue that our members have brought to your attention.

My two cents:) At the very least I think you need a Builders (1) Year Warranty Inspection. Call someone in your area to represent/educate you thru this process.

Mike, You make some great points, especially about walking the entire attic. I havn't heard the argument about the trusses, generally the argument goes inthe direction of what is stated in the Texas SOP.
I do walk the entire attic area!!

Anne, If I can be of any service call or e-mail, also you can go to the FINDANINSPECTOR.US and contact the inspectors in your area.

I inspect Texas! Our Service is a long Term Investment!!


--
James Walker

Our Service Is A Long Term Investment!

OneSource Real Estate Inspections
DFW, Texas
www.dfwhomeinspector.com

Originally Posted By: Mike O’Handley
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Hi,


Thanks Jerry. Fixed it. Nearly 40 years later and I still can't shake all that stuff Ms. Sergeant hammered into my head in typing class. ![icon_confused.gif](upload://qv5zppiN69qCk2Y6JzaFYhrff8S.gif)

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike O'Handley
Your Inspector(tm)
Kenmore by the Lake, WA