Using a Third Party Framing Inspector with America's Home Place

With our first build, we choose not to use a third party inspector and we were fine with that decision.  Due to the things that have happened with America's Home Place, we have chosen this time around to use a home inspector.

It was the right decision.

Aside from window installation issues and foundation draining issues that we caught and are being addressed, our home inspection revealed things we would not have known or thought of.

Here are some examples of what our home inspection (framing inspection) brought up.

1. The bow of a metal plate beside the fireplace will cause a curved drywall corner and potential issue for the remainder of the life of the house.    That would be incredibly annoying so we are glad this was caught.

2. PEX piping not properly lifted and hung above the metal within the rafters.  The pipes will vibrate when used and have the potential to cut through the piping over time.

3. Approximately 10 ceiling/foot joists for the second floor were missing the joist hangers which compromises the structural integrity of the home/flooring.

There were other items found as well and we are told they will be addressed.

Although we still have a long way to go, our hope is that the home will be better because of our diligence and insistence with America's Home Place on some issues.

One thing they told us is that they will "shave down" the drywall where the metal plate is bowed.  I have no idea if this will be ok or not but I will find out. 

In addition, there is still a drainage issue with the foundation and it simply drive me nuts at this point because it is perhaps the easiest thing to fix. They literally have to dig a trench and put a pipe from the foundation out to daylight.....  Basically...put a pipe in the ground that drains from the house and bury it with gravel and dirt...both readily available on the property. I would do it in a day but what am I paying them for?  So it continues to be "scheduled" to be done.

One thing that I noticed today was that one of our load bearing walls has plumbing in it and according to codes, it is supposed to be a 2x6 wall.   The project manager tried to tell me it wasn't load bearing despite the fact that ceiling joists actually end and lay on top of it. I made a comment about physics and perhaps I need to go to engineering school.  He then checked his drawings and found that indeed I was right.  It was load bearing.   What I hate is that this project manager tries to talk his way through things when he doesn't really know it.  I knew it was load bearing but I don't like to argue such things with people who begin to spew nonsense. He began to tell me how the floor joists go all the way through the house while I'm looking at them and the ones I was talking about clearly did not. I try not to be insulted by this but sometimes it is hard. It's smoke and mirrors. He does acknowledge his mistakes when he finds them and is clearly caught, which is nice, but I do wonder how many people take him for his word.  He's a good talker is the best way to describe my project manager at this point.  I do like his optimistic personality and he is entertaining but I feel he would do better with thinking before he speaks.  I'd like to believe he does not intentionally lie about things and he would make a phenomenal project manager with a few tweaks of authenticity and a little more honesty. Ah but I am not here to train someone on how to be incredible.  I am here to make sure my house is built the best it can possibly be under the circumstances.

So back to the 2x6 wall thing.  Because it is load bearing, any wall with plumbing is suppose to be load bearing.  Now we have a 2x4 wall with plumbing and now electrical in it that potentially has to be redone because of this oversight.  It just seems so silly to continue to back track on these things.  How can it not cost his company money?  How was this overlooked?

Then, he just told me he is responsible for putting asphalt down over the road where the water and sewer company came in to put in their piping.  This was inquired about before we signed our contract and we were told that we DID NOT have to pay for this and that it was taken care of with the city.  I truly hope they don't try to put this cost on us because quite frankly, we can not afford it.   We almost didn't sign the contract because of this issue when we thought we might have to pay for it. We were told that we did not have to do it.    Our first project manager told us it was not our responsibility so now I'm wondering what will happen.  It's a bit nerve wrecking.

Deep breathes. 

The house looks like it is coming along and seems beautiful so far.....so I'm going to try to fixate on that and think about the final product rather than this debacle it seems to be at times.