[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house when it comes to remodeling and renovating your home. There is a lot to know, but we got you covered. This is around the house. Welcome to the round the house show. The next generation of home improvement. I'm Eric G. Thanks for joining me today. This is our weekday update. This is the show that ends up in the middle of the week that maybe didn't make it into last week's show and the content that's not making it into this weekend's show.

[00:00:41] Eric Goranson: And, uh, we've got a great one here today by request. This one came in via email and it was a discussion that I think is really important because I know a couple people going through this right now. And maybe this is something that's more on the West coast, but I'm seeing this. Where people are building a house out [00:01:00] there and it's not in the state that they live in.

[00:01:01] Eric Goranson: They're like bailing out of the area. So I live in the Portland, Oregon area. We've got people in Seattle, California. They're like, I'm out of here. And we're going someplace else. And so this one came in. And if you want to put in a request for a topic, head over to around the house, online. com and you either give us a call or send us an email over there or messages.

[00:01:23] Eric Goranson: On the website. It's really easy to find around the house online. com. And there's some things to consider. And this is what I call a very dangerous subject. When you're having a house built that you can't go by and see how it's going. And maybe you're working with one of the larger builders out there.

[00:01:39] Eric Goranson: There's a lot, a lot of large builders out there that are building and track developments. And to me, these are. Very scary situations because a lot of times these builders that are larger like this big companies, they'll have their regional office. They'll have a development in there. There's managers and the people that own the company are nowhere to be seen.

[00:01:59] Eric Goranson: They [00:02:00] are, there's 8 layers of manage between them and what's going on in the field. And many time with these larger builders, these are the cheapest people they can find. And there's good ones and there's bad ones out there, but it's really depending on what the development is and who they hired for the project.

[00:02:15] Eric Goranson: And, uh, there's a lot to this, but the first thing here is that to remember is building code is not enough. Make sure that you hire a construction home inspection company to watch the major stages of the build. And what I mean by that is I want you to hire a company and it might cost you a little bit, but you know, something, it's going to be totally worth it because it's going to save you down the road and protect that investment.

[00:02:43] Eric Goranson: Here's why there are so many times that I see people posting up pictures. They'll go, Hey, brand new house built. I'm moving out to X, Y, or Z wherever they're headed to look it out here. We're getting, they're putting the forms down. They're getting ready to pour concrete. I'm like, yikes, you're pouring concrete on that mess.[00:03:00]

[00:03:00] Eric Goranson: And then the build is going sideways from there on out. And so these are things that I get worried about of, okay, who's watching this? And this isn't where you like want to want a buddy to pop by every once in a while. This is you want somebody that is a trained construction specialist to go check it out.

[00:03:18] Eric Goranson: Now this is a key. So here's the problem with building code. And this is a big issue. Building code protects your health, safety, and welfare. And you can have a horribly built house meets building code. It just looks like an eight year old build it. It has all the stuff to meet the safety guidelines. And so this is where you want to be very careful.

[00:03:39] Eric Goranson: And so just make sure you've got somebody paid professional managing this project that is not on the builder's team. You want to hire somebody in there that's going to come through that does construction inspections. So what you want to do is to go through and look at every major stage throughout this process.

[00:03:57] Eric Goranson: And here's the thing, the larger the builder, [00:04:00] the larger the problems can be. And I'll tell you about the problems that I've seen pictures of that have people that have sent me these pictures. Great example, um, major one of the top three home builders in Florida. I saw a block wall that was so out of bow that when they came in and built the inside of the house out, They built this house out of concrete block.

[00:04:23] Eric Goranson: It was in Florida, so they can meet their code. It was the bathroom wall was so curved. They couldn't hang a mirror on it and have the mirror set flat because it was that warp. They had so much of a curve in that wall and that's an unintended curve. Those kinds of things. I have seen so many things, broken water pipes, broken pipes below the slab.

[00:04:46] Eric Goranson: I have seen, heck, I saw a smart home community where they forgot to run in the fiber optic and the cable. So all the cables were running down the driveway and the sidewalks duct tape down until they could come back in and dig up [00:05:00] people's yards again. And the list goes on and on. I've seen videos of contractors pouring driveways and the concrete is hitting the.

[00:05:11] Eric Goranson: Dust sand because there's no prep underneath it that there's a cloud of dust from the concrete hitting it The wet concrete coming out of the truck and so a lot of things like that. No prep. No gravel. No moisture barrier No insulation all these things that happen let alone the absolute stunning framing mistakes that you see from broken trusses and To pipes, not capped correctly in a wall to clean outs, not capped all these different things that can go wrong.

[00:05:42] Eric Goranson: So I want to make sure that you have somebody come through there and inspect before the concrete is poured at framing at the rough end before drywall. So I want to see people coming in there usually right as they're doing the rough and electrical and plumbing, getting all that [00:06:00] stuff in maybe one more time at insulation.

[00:06:02] Eric Goranson: Before drywall. And then of course at final, and if you want to do it at a cabinetry before countertops come in, it wouldn't be bad doing that as well. Now here's a key for you as well. If the builder won't let you hire someone to inspect, I would find another home builder because here's the thing you will get.

[00:06:25] Eric Goranson: Large pushback from many of these builders. If you hire somebody to come in there and look, and they will give you as many excuses as they can. Now there are some great builders out there that are like, yeah, bring it on. We want to catch it now. It's cheaper to catch it. Now there are also these major builders that are going to look at it and go, no, we won't let them on the job site.

[00:06:45] Eric Goranson: They're going to quote liability issues. They're going to quote all these different things. Oh, if he goes on the roof or she goes in the roof, it could void the warranty. You're going to hear every excuse known to [00:07:00] mankind by the builders that don't want them on their job site. And why? Cause that usually costs them money.

[00:07:05] Eric Goranson: They're trying to get away with stuff. And you know something, they don't when these people are on site. So I have seen these people go through and here's the thing. You can have this conversation with them, with the inspector. Do you want them looking for little cosmetic stuff, or do you want them looking at the major systems like framing, electrical, plumbing, insulation, concrete work?

[00:07:32] Eric Goranson: Cabinetry, any of those mistakes or do you want them going around showing defects in drywall? And that's up to you. Now, all of those defects like that, you really can't do much until the end of the process as far as like drywall nicks and scratches and things like that, because of course that builder's gonna probably do their punch list as they go through the project, and that usually gets taken care of at the end.

[00:07:56] Eric Goranson: But I want that roofer. Or that inspector to go up and follow [00:08:00] up on the roofer to see what they did. I want to make sure the shingles are good. The roofing's fine. The flashing's correct. The gutters are put on correctly. Things got painted, sealed up all that. And this is what's really going to save you money because here's what happens once that warranty is over on the house.

[00:08:15] Eric Goranson: You're going to be stuck with something. You're going to be stuck with the project that you have. And second, and here's the big one, you could get stuck with their construction defects. Now, in the state that you're having built, they could have some laws that give you some extended benefits on construction defects, but that's going to be very expensive with lawyers to get that dialed in.

[00:08:35] Eric Goranson: And so that can be very frustrating and expensive as a homeowner. And especially if you spent a thousand or two on somebody to come through and do all these inspections in the scheme of things, you're going to be much better protected and make sure you're going to be okay. So first off, make sure that you understand that building code doesn't cover many of these things.

[00:08:57] Eric Goranson: And that's why you want that home inspection company, [00:09:00] larger the builder, the larger, the potential problems inspect before concrete framing, rough in drywall ended final. Those are the minimums in my mind. And then, Hey, guys, if the builder won't let it do it, just walk away. Just make sure that you understand all these things.

[00:09:15] Eric Goranson: And of course, building code does not protect quality of workmanship, only life safety and welfare. And if you go follow those things and have some help that'll help make you Give you these arguments because here's what happens is when you go to close on this project, you could have your list and go, Hey, here's the 45 things that need to be resolved before we take possession of the house.

[00:09:36] Eric Goranson: And then you're going to be in a much better spot now. And I can't say this enough. There are a lot of private home builders and even some larger ones out there. That do a stellar job that say, Hey, bring them on, bring that person on to give us that extra look. That's okay. Then there's the other one. So I just want to make sure that you're protected because this is probably your biggest investment.

[00:09:56] Eric Goranson: All right, guys, that wraps up our [00:10:00] weekday special here this weekend. We have got a great show. It's going to be a replay because I am taking some much needed R and R. I hurt my knee a few weeks back. I've got an MRI here in an hour or two. I'm going to take some. Take a little bit of a break and rest it up a little bit this week and try to get this thing dialed in and then this is going to be a great show this weekend, though, even though it's the best of this isn't something you heard a couple weeks ago, this is something you probably missed that you've never heard before, and it is two absolutely great stellar episodes coming up this weekend on the radio show and the podcast that you don't want to miss.

[00:10:35] Eric Goranson: They're great episodes, and there's a lot of great nuggets in there for you and your home, and maybe some of those outside projects. So you won't want to miss it. I'm Eric G., and thanks for tuning in, guys. You've been listening to Around the House. We'll see you for Saturday's episodes.