Nail pops (home builders, inspection, closing) - Charlotte - North Carolina (NC) - City-Data Forum

FLtoNC · 05-02-2007, 02:56 PM

We have been in our new home for a month, although we closed on it 3 months ago. The builder is taking care of our punchlist now. We have a TON of nail pops - probably more than 200! Is this normal? I have never encountered this, and this isn't the 1st house I have built. I hope this is normal and not something I need to be conerned about. The builder is fixing them now.

Charlottean · 05-02-2007, 03:00 PM

They are normal but that amount is pretty extreme.

If the home was sitting without air/heat through our funky hot then cold weather we just had that might have contributed heavily to the problem.

CharlotteAgent · 05-02-2007, 03:04 PM

200 does sound like alot.

Gregory P · 05-02-2007, 03:38 PM

not to repeat exactly what's already been said...but wow. That's a ton.

Our house is a year+ and we've had maybe 10 total (although it will probably still occur for a while longer)

Are they all in the same area/rooms of your home? Walls? Ceilings? Both?

I would make sure the builder knows you're concerned although most likely you'll be told that it's normal. I don't think it's a real problem for you but worth bringing up to their attention.

Won't hurt to send a letter to the builder for the record, too. That way if it continues beyond normal you can at least get them in to take care of it.

Greg

TerryMcDonald · 05-02-2007, 04:10 PM

I'm guessing they are in the ceiling... you should request more screws with this high number... typically they put in 4 screws per sheet, and nail the rest. Guessing they forgot the screws in your case. In any event, whether they forgot them or not, tell them you don't want nails just pounded and patched, you want the nail removed and replaced with screws because of the quantity--see what they say. Who is he builder so we realtor types are aware?

stmaarten · 05-02-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLtoNC

We have been in our new home for a month, although we closed on it 3 months ago. The builder is taking care of our punchlist now. We have a TON of nail pops - probably more than 200! Is this normal? I have never encountered this, and this isn't the 1st house I have built. I hope this is normal and not something I need to be conerned about. The builder is fixing them now.

200 nail pops is EXTREMELY excessive! How old is your home? About 4 months or so? You should expect to get even more, since the house is still settling. In fact, it's always a good idea to negotiate a contract, wherein nail pops are inspected six months after completion of a house, since the structure takes time to settle, especially those with basements, which is not too common here in NC. Or better yet, ask the builder to use only screws. This will cost a lot more, but is worth it in the end. Usually custom builders are the only ones willing to go for that, unfortunately. That's why it's always important to use quality home builders.....learned my lesson the hard way.

Although I agree with a previous poster, who stated that extreme changes in temperatures may have had something to do with it, the builder still has an obligation to fix them. You paid good money for that house. It should be as you expect it to be. Without large settling cracks and mimimal nail pops!
Good Luck to you. Stand your ground!

sheena · 05-02-2007, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLtoNC

We have been in our new home for a month, although we closed on it 3 months ago. The builder is taking care of our punchlist now. We have a TON of nail pops - probably more than 200! Is this normal? I have never encountered this, and this isn't the 1st house I have built. I hope this is normal and not something I need to be conerned about. The builder is fixing them now.

Sounds like your house is having settling problems maybe.

FLtoNC · 05-02-2007, 06:30 PM

The house is 3 months old, but we have only been in it a month. I was speaking with the drywall guys today & asked them if this was excessive. They said they had seen other homes with just as many. I believe there were screws put in initially, because they exposed all of them & tightened them. My floor is also making noises under my carpet & the wood floor downstairs creaks & moves a lot. I am not unhappy with the builder. They have taken care of everything I have asked them to. We did have the air/heat running while we were away. Hopefully I won't see anymore, but I do not get the impression that the builder won't take care of it if more arise. They do a 10 month inspection too. I was more concerned that structurally this could indicate a problem. About 40 - 50% of the nail pops were in the finished attic. It is warmer in that part of the house, and actually we had problems with the a/c up there today.

Anigirli · 05-02-2007, 06:42 PM

May I ask who the builder was?

Charlottean · 05-02-2007, 07:05 PM

You know why in the heck can't they just use screws? I mean they have to know that at some point early after closing they are going to come back anyway and fix them.

I just don't get some of these people building homes these days. I mean we are talking about screws versus nails and a one time install versus two or more trips to fix the problem.