New Construction Punchlist Tells a Story

Everyone who buys a new construction home needs to understand the role of the punchlist!

If you don't find problems and make the builder correct them before you close on your new home, you're going to waste money due to poor construction and/or materials. You'll spend money on higher utility bills, repairs due to faulty installation and/or materials and worst, having to replace home features much sooner than is reasonable. And I'm not talking about a couple hundred dollars.

Last year I spent more than $12,000 replacing the stone veneer (installed without a channel for water to escape), plywood sheathing and insulation behind the veneer. As the condo was twelve years old, they had to strengthen some wall joists plus two new windows.

This article documents the punchlist for my new Florida house, which I closed on two days ago. You might wonder why I went ahead with the closing?

That's easy. My confidence that the builder will complete everything with quality in a reasonable amount of time is gone. It's taken 9 months to complete what should have been a 4 month build process and I was tired of waiting, with lots of schedule dependencies in jeopardy. You'll see that I was really buying the shell of a house, with plans to gut and replace the kitchen, bathrooms and flooring (you can watch that story here …).

So here's what should be inspected before you close on your new home, to create a punchlist that ideally a builder will complete before the closing. In fact I pushed my closing out to get a majority of these items done but oops, done … but done wrong?

• Kitchen cabinets and countertops – ignored because these were ripped out a few hours after closing.
• Kitchen appliances – ignored because as my appliance guy said, they're “bottom of the barrel”. The GE dishwasher was too noisy …
• Bathroom cabinets, countertops, light fixtures and tile installation – ignored everything (ripping out) except the tile. We're still fighting over the horrible installation which you can read about here, Shower Wall Tile Done Wrong.
• Interior doors and trim – got lots of focus except for the baseboard which will be replaced after the tile flooring installed.
• Flooring – ignored as I'm pulling everything out to have wall-to-wall-tile installed for less than half the upgrade quote the builder gave me.

• Painting – is absolutely critical. I was shocked to find the tops and bottoms of doors not painted! With my handyman business, I often reminded homeowners that the #1 reason to paint is to protect wood (read Water & Wood Rot: Repair Rotted Wood Door Bottom).
• Electrical – critical and most lights tested (no fixtures for island pendants and garage coach lights). The home inspector checked every outlet for power and just realized I forgot to check all the wall switches yet.
• Plumbing – tested indoor faucets, toilets and the home inspector testing the bathtub and shower, including the drains flowing freely.
• HVAC (heat pump) – covers the units (an air handler inside, a compressor outside) is the most important component of your home. The home inspector checked the heat and most important, that cool air was coming out of every ceiling grille.

• Roof – was checked by the home inspector with a ladder outside and climbing into the attic to see if there had been any roof leaks. He also checked the vents to the outside and the attic insulation while up there.
• Siding – was inspected, from the exterior walls and trim to the patio, driveway and landscaping including the irrigation system.
• Exterior doors and windows – identified problems with door locks and safety issues with the windows (details below).
• Landscaping – is important because I'm not an avid gardener and wasn't happy with the sod installation. You can learn more by checking out the landscaping items on my punchlist below.

Punchlist for Home Built by Richmond American Homes, Florida

This punchlist was created a week before the closing. Then the closing was pushed from Tuesday to Friday, to make time to complete a majority of the problems identified. Sadly (and typical), some of the sub-contractors have taken care of their items but most have not … and 2 weeks later, the list still hasn't been entered into Richmond American Home's warranty system.

So I'm tracking everything online with the hope that it will provide more incentive for them to complete things faster? Sad when the contract was signed in August, work started in September and now it's May. This production house has taken longer than a custom house I built years ago!