Inspections: If these walls could talk
January 03, 2009
Tracy Hanes
Toronto Star
After
almost a year of living in their new
townhouse in Uxbridge, Libby McCready
and her husband figured there was little
wrong with their home. But Libby's
parents, who had bought several new
houses over the years, urged them to
take the time to fill out the Tarion new
home warranty program's one-year report
listing any issues.
As neither
Libby nor her husband had much knowledge
or experience with home building or
repairs, they hired home inspector Brian
Daley to have a look.
"We wanted
to make sure we caught everything but
we're not handy," says McCready. "Brian
found a number of things we never would
have noticed. The stuff he found came as
a surprise."
The most
significant defect Daley found was that
the clothes dryer hadn't been vented
properly, thus was not blowing outdoors
but into insulation, which could have
eventually caused a moisture and mould
issue. He also noted that the plumbing
to a toilet in a seldom-used second
bathroom wasn't on the right angle for
flushing, that a promised rough-in for
an electrical fan for the fireplace was
not completed and that attic insulation
had been flattened in places.
Armed with
Daley's report and digital photos, the
McCreadys filled out the Tarion Warranty
Corp. forms by the one-year deadline and
as a result, those issues are covered.
If they hadn't submitted the report in
time, their builder would not have been
obligated to repair the defects.
"Although
everything turned out fine, I'd never
move in to a brand-new house again
without having a home inspection done
right away," says McCready. "I would
have rather had a comprehensive list of
the problems from the start, as we'd
lived here for almost a year and some of
the issues could have caused problems.
The inspection was totally worthwhile."
Unfortunately, most new homebuyers
mistakenly "believe their new house is
perfect," says Daley, when that's seldom
the case. That's why Daley and Charters
Kenny, both registered home inspectors (RHI),
have launched New Home Inspections, a
company that specializes exclusively in
new home warranty inspections in the GTA
and beyond.
Other home
inspectors, such as Milton RHI and
engineering technologist Martin Sweeney
of
A Home Inspection
Company Inc. have also
started offering warranty inspections in
addition to their regular inspections of
resale homes. Sweeney began doing new
home inspections and preparing Tarion
documents for homeowners as new
development boomed in Halton Region.
New homes
in Ontario are covered by the Tarion
warranty for deposit insurance,
protection against defects in work and
materials, against unauthorized
substitutions and against delayed
closings and occupancies without proper
notice. The most common claims relate to
defects in work and materials, which
require homeowners to submit a list of
deficiencies at 30-day and one-year
deadlines.
While
builders provide a pre-delivery
inspection (PDI) for buyers to note
defects, Daley and Sweeney say these are
more geared to cosmetic issues, such as
nicks in drywall and whether the right
flooring, cabinetry, etc. are provided.
Those inspections usually don't include
checks of the attic, of heating and
cooling systems or an in-depth
exploration of the house's structure and
systems. And while independent
third-party inspections take about three
hours, PDI inspections are usually far
briefer.
Daley says
outside a new home, his company checks
drainage and grading, looks for
foundation defects, checks installation
of siding and brickwork, roof
installation and venting. Inside, they
inspect walls, windows, floors, ceilings
and doors for structural issues, check
that stairs are properly supported,
plumbing fixtures and fittings properly
installed, that insulation in attics,
basements, etc. is sufficient and will
see if the heating system is
distributing air properly.
"I often
find insulation is insufficient or
missing in attics," says Sweeney.
"Sometimes, vapour barrier hasn't been
installed, and on the roof I might find
that nail heads haven't been caulked and
sealed, which will eventually cause
moisture to seep in."
He says
it's difficult for the average homeowner
to have knowledge of the systems and
techniques used to build a house. For
example, the new tankless hot water
heaters and heat recovery ventilators
are "really sophisticated pieces of
equipment." He often finds HRV units
haven't been correctly installed.
Daley says
his company finds an average of 30
defect items during a warranty
inspection and Sweeney says his list
usually includes 20 to 30. J.D. Power
and Associates' 2008 survey of GTA new
home buyers found that the proportion of
homes delivered "defect-free" in the GTA
market was 12 per cent in 2008 (which
means 88 per cent had defects). The
total number of construction problems
noted by buyers was down to 21 per home
in 2008 from 23 per home in the previous
year, according to the J.D. Power study,
which includes only large volume GTA
builders.
"It's not
because most builders aren't doing a
good job or are taking shortcuts," says
Daley, but because homebuilding involves
numerous complex systems.
Most large
builders rely on sub-trades and as many
as 30 different trades can be involved
in the building of a home, says Daley –
and it's unlikely all were supervised
during the building process. Because
they are piece workers, saving time and
money is their No. 1 goal, says Daley,
which may compromise quality.
Municipal
building inspectors are responsible for
checking every aspect of a house as it
is being built, but it's virtually
impossible to do this effectively in a
subdivision, says Daley.
"What
generally happens is they check a small
percentage of homes in hopes the
builders will follow their requirements
for the rest of the homes."
While a
builder may offer to provide one of his
own reps for a warranty inspection, "it
is not in the builders' interest to find
fault in their own work." Daley says
some builders have the best intentions,
but it's more likely that their
inspector will find fewer defects than a
third-party professional.
Daley's
company charges $375 per inspection and
Sweeney charges $340 to $400, depending
on the size of the house. Inspectors
from both companies can help fill out
Tarion warranty forms.
Anyone
considering hiring a home inspector
should call at least three different
companies before making a decision,
Daley suggests. Those with RHI
designation have extensive training and
are insured. A good place to start a
search for a home inspector is with the
Ontario
Association of
Home Inspectors.
|
