Brad Leland Professional Home Inspection Services
Texas Real Estate Inspector License #5229
Inspections in the Greater Houston Area


Office 281-794-9102
Inspectors Mobile 832-671-2258

New Home Construction Inspection Services
Including Foundation Inspection, Framing Phase Inspection, Final Inspection and On-Site Consultation Services

"I inspect the home you are buying or building like it was going to be my own. I only do two inspections a day so as to have the time for a complete and detailed inspection. I encourage you to attend the inspection and do not mind answering any questions you have during the inspection."


Information on New Home Construction Inspection Services

My builder told me that the home has already been inspected and approved by the city.

The municipal inspectors are so overwhelmed that it would be impossible for them to conduct a thorough inspection of each home currently under construction. On average, each municipal inspector in my area must conduct approximately 22 inspections per day. As a professional independent inspector, I know for a fact that it is not possible to do more then 3 thorough inspections in one day. To be honest, 3 home inspections in one day is pushing it! Many inspectors will not do more then 2 inspections in one day. If the home is over 5,000 square feet or an older pier and beam type home, we will only do one per day. In all fairness, the municipal inspectors are not inspecting the entire home all at once as we are. However, it is still not possible to be thorough with such a heavy work load.

Once a home has received a green tag, doesn't that mean that everything is proper and safe?

No! I have personally followed up a number of municipal inspections that overlooked numerous items. As an example, I found one home that had a green tag stamped directly on the panel box at the exterior of home. The municipal inspector passed the installation while I was in the process of inspecting the home. After he left, I inspected the installation and found that the electrical system's ground wire was disconnected from the ground rod. The ground rod was installed directly below the panel in plain sight.

Should I have the home inspected during construction?

Absolutely! Often times many problems that would otherwise be difficult to repair can easily be corrected during construction.

When is the best time to contact an inspector?

Ideally, you will want to start communication with your inspector as soon as you sign a contract with your builder. It is important to let your builder know up front that you intend to have the work inspected by an independent third party construction expert. This may help to set a tone with the builder and let him know that you expect things to be done properly. When possible, we recommend that have a structural engineer inspect the foundation prior to the pour. A follow up inspection should be conducted after the foundation has set up. At this time you will want the engineer to map elevations of the home. These elevations can serve as a baseline to compare with any future movement that may take place. We can help you choose a responsible structural engineer.

Many inspectors conduct the pre-drywall inspection. These inspections are important because they allow us to catch problems that will not be apparent once the drywall is installed. If other problems, such as electrical or mechanical issues are discovered, they can be corrected prior to the drywall being installed as well. This will benefit you because if the drywall is cut at a later time to correct issues, it can be very difficult to match the texture and you may end up with an unsightly spot on the wall of your new home. The final inspection should be conducted after all utilities are turned on and the appliances are installed. The builder should be provided with at least one weeks notice of each inspection. If you are purchasing a home that is already near completion, the final inspection is still a good investment that can pay for itself over and over again.

It seems that you are asking me to go overboard with all of these inspections.
Isn't the builder responsible to build a quality home?

We are only looking out for your best interest. It would be impossible for me to describe all the potential hassles and problems related to skipping the inspection process. We view ourselves as consumer advocates. We are there to protect your best interest. If you were expecting to purchase a home with problems, you would not be going through all the time consuming hard work and aggravation of the construction process in the first place. As a consumer advocate, you can be guaranteed that we will do everything we can to see that you end up with a quality home.

No. The builder is not responsible to build you a quality home. The builder is responsible to meet minimal standards at best. In the years that we have been inspecting, we have found that most builders seem to be more concerned with quantity of turnover vs. quality of construction. It is not difficult to build a home that will be somewhat free of problems during the time of the builder warrantee. It is an entirely different process to build a home that will be in good condition, assuming proper maintenance, 35 years after construction. Of course we realize that you may not be in that home 35 years down the road. However, you will probably be in the home after the warrantee has expired. When you go to resale in the future, chances are good that the purchaser will hire an independent inspector. It would be a shame for you to be put in the position of having to pay for builder mistakes at that time.

Other added benefits of the inspection process include:

1) Saving money, time and aggravation - The builder should arrange for repairs if problems are found after you move into the home. Every time you have to stay home from work to meet with a repair person, it will cost you money one way or the other. Not only that, but the aggravation factor of dealing with these issues is not something that you are going to want to go through.

2) Peace of mind - Assuming that things are found to be in good order or the builder repairs items found during the inspection, you will have peace of mind and confidence that you have purchased the home you deserve.

3) Education - The inspection process can be very educational. You will likely walk away from the inspection with knowledge of your home that you would not have otherwise received. We go out of our way to provide as much information as possible about not only the construction of your home but tips on how to maintain it.





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