New home inspections

Vancouver home inspector Tom Munro has seen in new homes the kind of things that would make Mike Holmes shudder: Homes being built without damp-proofing or water-proofing in the foundation, for example, even when engineers’ reports claimed the systems were compatible with the provincial building code.

The founder of Munro Home Inspections has seen toilets not bolted down securely, kitchen hood fans ventilated improperly, and joist hangers installed upside down, all in homes just about to be put on the market for the first time.

Then there was an 80-litre hot tub in the master bedroom ensuite located over the dining room in a beautiful new home that had been staged for an open house. As he does with all his inspections, Munro filled up the tub to make sure all the jets were working properly.

“I was somewhere else in the house waiting for the tub to fill, and then I hear a loud crack,” Munro says. “The next thing I know the hot tub is in the basement two floors below. There were giant holes in two floors.”

Architectural drawings showed there was enough framing to support the weight of a full tub, but during construction, workers hadn’t installed the requisite lumber.

So when someone asks Munro if they really need to get a new residence inspected, his answer is “Absolutely.”

“Those are the ones that need the inspections the most,” Munro says. “I’m not as worried about homes that have been here for 35, 40 years.

“A lot of people think new is better, but not necessarily,” he adds. “It’s all about getting this house in here for cheapest amount of money. It’s always about building cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. Forty years ago, they weren’t thinking cheaper; they were thinking structure.”

All too often people assume that they’re safe, and an inspection unnecessary, because of new home warranties.

However, inspectors caution that many problems won’t show up until after warranty period has expired. (New home warranty terms vary from province to province.) Munro has seen cases where developers aren’t putting on the requisite second coat of paint on the siding of condominium or townhouse buildings. (The manufacturer puts on the first coat.) That saves the developer a lot of money, and when it comes times for a new coat of paint—sooner than it would have with two coats—the cost falls on the strata owners.

A home inspection should include an analysis of the roof, structure, exterior, electrical system, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing system, insulation and vapour barriers, interior, and mechanical and natural ventilation systems, according to Sal Folino, an inspector with Toronto’s Carson Dunlop, a consulting engineering firm specializing in home inspections. With a new home, it also includes things like workmanship and finishes.

“An inspection is about having two sets of eyes,” says Folino, who’s seen things like insufficient ventilation in a new basement and the wrong type of door being installed on a cold cellar. “Just because something is new doesn’t mean it’s right.”

For those looking to buy a new home, the ideal situation is to have it inspected throughout the construction period, Munro says.

“The best thing you can do is have it inspected while it’s being built from the ground up,” he says. “Make sure each individual component is being done properly according to code, so you know what’s under the tile, what’s beneath your bath tub, and what’s behind your walls.”

Even when a new home passes all the tests, Folino says inspections have other value to homebuyers.

“Part of the inspection process is education,” he says. “It gives home buyers the chance to learn things like where main water shut-off is and how the air-conditioning system works. Sometimes new-home owners or first-time buyers don’t have that knowledge.” -