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I would appreciate any recommendations for a home inspector/engineer. I posted previously asking if I should have an engineer go in to inspect a new home construction and I am taking the advice given and having this done. Although the house will be brand new, I think its worth the few hundred dollars to have the "new" home inspected. I also would need a recommendation for Radon Testing. Do the home inspectors/engineers perform this test as well? Do I need a separate person for a Radon test? If anyone could shed some light on this, it would be appreciated. I really do not want to pick just anyone out of the phone book or use anyone associated with the builder. I am building in Knightdale, but I am sure home inspectors will travel pretty much in all areas around Raleigh.
Bill Delamar or Pete Pruitt, both good and can do the Radon test for you as well. I use Bill alot http://www.residentialconsulting.com/ Actually will see him again this week and next at a home inspection. He is so thorough, and doesn't miss a thing.
I had a home inspector suggest that instead of having the new house inspected before moving in, have it inspected at your 10 month anniversary. That way, when the builder comes back at 12 months, you'll have a list of items that need to be repaired, courtesy of your home inspector.
I agree and disagree with the previous post who said you should not have an inspection prior to moving in.
You should do an inspection prior to the drywall going up. Once it goes up, it is alot more difficult to find and fix issues.
I do agree with the 10 month inspection. We had one, and they found a few issues, mostly cosmetic.
I will do that, makes sense considering all the framing, rough plumbing, electrical, and insualtion would be exposed before the drywall stage. I will have to coordinate something soon...I am used to resales, where you hire a home inspector to check everything, no guarantees, but they know what to look for, check foundation, attic, test plumbing, electrical, and so on, with new construction, just thought you could go with the builder and the inspection by the town/county, but I am learning that it's best to hire an independent person to look over everything...
thanks for your feedback!
Last edited by nynraleigh; 04-11-2007 at 04:11 PM..
Reason: spelling error
You can also conduct your own radon test -- there are kits at the hardware store. You just set out 2 canisters in the basement or lower level and leave them for a few days (with no windows or doors left open). Then you mail them in and get your results in the mail. We just did it and it was very easy to do. If you're level is high, then you'll need to hire a professional to recheck the levels and remediate if needed.
We waived radon testing in our contract b/c it's so easy to do and we didn't want to risk losing the house over something that would cost us $2000 max (but we bought in a very rough sellers market).
Regarding RADON - For basements I'd agree it's a necessary test. And for slab houses as well I'm assuming. But what about crawl space houses? You theoretically already have a ventilated buffer zone between the foundation/earth and your living space. I'd assume that would be adequate to prevent radon from entering the living space.
Regarding RADON - For basements I'd agree it's a necessary test. And for slab houses as well I'm assuming. But what about crawl space houses? You theoretically already have a ventilated buffer zone between the foundation/earth and your living space. I'd assume that would be adequate to prevent radon from entering the living space.
Not neccessarily, we have a crawl space. The 1st couple of tests came back high. So the builded installed a ventallation fan in the crawl space, and that took care of the problem. We have a sealed crawl space, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.
We waived radon testing in our contract b/c it's so easy to do and we didn't want to risk losing the house over something that would cost us $2000 max (but we bought in a very rough sellers market).
Hopefully you've since done the test? Have you visited EPA's website regarding radon?
My home inspector told me that he had heard some homes were testing positive in the N Raleigh development I wanted to move to. I told Pulte that I needed the test as part of my home inspection and Pulte refused. The waiver in the contract was ridiculous. Essentially it said that they'd pay me $2000 for a fan to mitigate the problem. However, it was only a problem if 4.0 or higher (which EPA's website was comparable to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or something). Even though any level of radon carries risk, I would receive no compensation for a reading of 3.9 (or less).
What's worse is you must disclose the radon results when you sell your home. So Pulte hands me $2k cash but my house goes down how much in resale value? $10k or more?
Pulte obviously knew I might have a undesireable radon reading so they preferred to lose a sale than roll the dice. (I think they'd have to disclose the results to the next potential buyer). Those wonderful lobbyists in Washington have been able to get several of these type of disclosure exceptions made for new home builders. It's buyer beware!
Yes, we performed the test... It was near 3, I think, so we're probably going to remediate but I need to find more info. I know that over 4 they definitely recommend it. But we're not messing around -- $2k for improving the air quality in our home is nothing. I'll check out the EPA site for more info. on levels under 4.
Why do you think that this would impact the value of your home if you remediate? At least here in VA, there is radon all over the place. I'd actually be more comfortable buying a home that had radon remidiation (with follow-up tests) than one that never addressed the issue b/c they came in a little under 4.
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