There’s a common assumption that a brand-new home doesn’t need an inspection. After all, it was just built, so everything should be fine. In reality, new construction is one of the inspection categories where we find some of the most significant and correctable defects. Subcontractor scheduling pressure, municipal inspectors covering large volumes of projects, and the sheer number of systems that need to come together in a single build all create opportunities for things to be done wrong, done incompletely, or left for the next trade to catch.
At Arrowhead Inspections, we provide new construction inspections for buyers throughout the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities, including the fast-growing communities of Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, and surrounding areas where new development has been steady for the past several years.
Builders are responsible for constructing homes to code, but code compliance is a minimum standard, not a quality guarantee. Municipal building departments do conduct inspections at key stages, but those inspections are often brief, high-level reviews rather than the kind of thorough walkthrough a dedicated home inspector performs.
Common findings in new construction include improperly installed insulation that leaves gaps, HVAC systems that aren’t balanced or commissioned correctly, roofing defects that won’t be visible until the first real rain, missing or improper flashing around windows and doors, plumbing that isn’t vented correctly, and electrical components that weren’t fully tested before drywall went up. None of these are unusual. They’re the kinds of details that get missed in the pace of a production build.
Getting an independent inspector on-site before your final walkthrough with the builder gives you documented findings that the builder is responsible for correcting under the construction contract. Once you close and take possession, negotiating corrections becomes significantly harder.
For buyers who purchase a home early in the construction process, we offer phase inspections at critical build milestones:
The communities we serve have seen consistent new construction activity over the past several years. The Road 68 corridor and Broadmoor area in Pasco, Queensgate and Horn Rapids in Richland, and growth areas around Kennewick and Yakima all have active builds underway. Buyers purchasing in these areas are often under time pressure from builder contract deadlines, which is all the more reason to get an independent inspector scheduled early in the process rather than scrambling at the end.
We’re familiar with the common builders and common construction types active in these markets, and we understand the issues that tend to come up in Eastern Washington’s climate, from crawlspace vapor management to roofing details that need to hold up to temperature swings from hot summers to freezing winters.
Don’t let a builder’s timeline push you past the point where an inspection can help. Arrowhead Inspections is available throughout the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities for phase inspections, final walkthroughs, and everything in between. Call 509-408-0468 or schedule online and let us review your new home before it becomes your problem to solve.
