17 Jun All New Home Constructions Are Built to Code Though, Right?
Below are four critical points to understand how building codes are applied to residential house construction.
- Codes for New Construction Homes Are Just a Bare Minimum Requirement
Building codes are a set of minimum standards by which constructing a home to any lesser degree is essentially illegal. So building new constructions to local building codes is simply complying with local minimum standards. These codes do not guarantee that “best practices” are applied when constructing the house.
- New Home Construction Varies Regionally
Building codes are based on national standards, whereas quality and certain variables of construction can vary largely across the U.S. Such as, you do not want to construct a house in Tampa, Florida necessarily in the same way you would build a house in the mountains of Denver, Colorado.
Building codes do adjust for this with the different wind, climate, and seismic zones, but the nuance of regional construction methods, materials, techniques, and environmental challenges makes it difficult for codes to be adopted perfectly to localized standards and needs.
- Building Officials Have Very Little Time for New Home Constructions
The degree to which local building officials are able to check on new construction will vary by city, state, and county. Because building departments are generally overworked and use an inadequate fee structure for permits, the result is a limited scope of on-site inspection of every system of a newly constructed home. However, local building codes and local code enforcement do help with the overall inspection of the structure and wiring in houses.
As mentioned earlier, over 3,000 components of a house require inspecting. Given the average on-site time for building officials during the construction of a residential home is less than 4 hours, it is no wonder that some things are missed.
- Building Codes Defer to Manufacturer’s Specifications
There are many components of a new construction that should be installed according to manufacturer’s specification, such as the roof, siding, and furnace. The building code may have some basic standards, but proper installation will require following the directions from manufacturers. Generally, there is nobody checking to confirm if these systems were properly installed.
Building codes and building departments do an excellent job in helping to ensure that safe and reliable houses are being constructed. However, houses are very complex systems comprised of many components that are installed by a small army of different contractors. Even the best builders with the best intentions will have difficulty executing everything perfectly on a residential build. A huge gray area exists between building codes, best practices, and the workmanship employed in building your house. A fresh set of eyes from a third-party inspector will help confirm that your newly constructed home is in good shape.
New Construction Home Inspection
A good home inspection on new construction will give you the benefit of an objective third-party looking over the house. You will gain valuable insights into the houses’ attributes and vulnerabilities, as all houses have both.
A third-party home inspection can add value by evaluating the overall quality and design of the building. In addition, it will give you a good idea of maintenance items to keep in mind, and it will almost certainly come up with a helpful list of small repair items that were missed.
Occasionally, significant problems are uncovered that can save the homebuyer and builder thousands of dollars and the possible nightmare of litigation and costly repairs.
If you need to schedule a home inspection or have questions please contact us at 941-779-7170 or click here to email us.
