When buying new construction on Long Island or anywhere else, a home inspection is a must! Most builders of new homes use sub-contractors for the plumbing, electric, drywall, etc. Just because it's new, doesn't mean it's perfect!
Michael Thornton wrote the original post. He is a Home Inspector in the brentwood, franklin, nashville & the middle tn area and knows full well what he is talking about!
Just Because its New Construction Doesn't Mean You Forgo the Home Inspection...
How man times have we all heard it? The on site agent "Pooh Pooh's" the notion of getting a home inspection. Touting, "This property was inspected by 'the Codes' department and...". Balderdash!!!
We all know or should know, that builders are 'for profit' entities and are only as good as their subs and on-site supers. I have yet to see a codes official crawl through a crawl space. Not to mention that they are not always the sharpest tack in the box, but then, that is a blog of a different color.
While sustainable growth engineered lumber is the norm for new construction nowadays, there are criteria dictated by the manufacturer that must be followed to ensure satisfactory performance. Proper support of the spans and adequate load transference to the earth is crucial.
In this instance, the builder missed a critical bearing point and made an impromptu repair. There are several things wrong here:
One - the support girder was over spanned. Support columns are to be 6' apart for this building jurisdiction.
Two - The support columns are to be placed on 18"x 18 footer pads. They weren't...
Three - The girder was woefully undersized - not to mention missing squash blocks to transfer the load bearing wall weight...
Four - Missing steel plates for shimming purposes. Wood shims are prone to crushing...
Once again, proof that the small fee paid to a good home inspector/home inspection company, will save you and your clients lots of money.
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