New construction - paint before move in or wait a year? (flooring, vinyl)

[tamcim72]

Make sure your drywall warranty (seams, nail heads etc) is not voided by painting. neighbors found this out the hard way. We didn't paint areas with drywall issues that needed to be fixed until after 1yr.

[Scrubbybear]

I say paint now, before you move your stuff in. I did that when my house was brand new (also stick built) and I have no regrets.

[frogandtoad]

I would do it before moving in but not for the reasons stated. Most paints give off environmental toxins and I would prefer to have as many as possible of those toxins disperse before I move in. Same with carpeting and for that matter, and most of the rest of the building products. Open the windows and let it air out for as long as possible before moving in. Most toxins/chemicals are given off in the first few years after a home is built, so it's a long-term problem but at least don't suck those paint fumes in on the day they are put up on the walls. And keep windows open as much as you can in a new build once moved in--you're getting fumes those in older homes don't have.

[Cosmic]

This thread started out saying the house was settling. But K'ledgeBldr is probably right it ain't settling but some might be (along with other sins). He called it shrinking. Yep, probably is. Do you really know how bad it is. Chuckle......

So they claim nail pops, screw misfunctions, cracks, etc. What is really happening? I never thought about this much as I never would in a million years buy one of those Plastic Palaces. I can remember when a new house was a pretty good thing. Never heard of that idea of a one year walk thru and it was "Expected" to have failed. Say what!

But if you think about it, ain't a big mystery. You are getting lumber that is so abnormal it would be a blessing if it didn't all happen. I bought some of that "Modern Lumber" a while back to make various stuff out of. Set in the garage for a few weeks. Some of the stuff was so twisted as it dried out a bit, any old dog's leg would have been straighter. I ain't talking a bit bowed, talking warped in every possible direction.

That crap, ain't settling, it ain't shrinking, it is trying to twist itself crazy inside them walls. Hey, stop and think about it, stuff is from a "Tree Farm" and must be an ancient 7 years old. Plus they claim it is kiln dried, bull pucky.

I used a tad of it to build a box out for some plumbing in the kitchen. Didn't go to any great effort to make it all extra strudy. But it was put in straight and shipshape, as much as it could be in any old house. Hopefully plumb.

Year goes by and I got to put this shelf in a corner of that box out. Darn, things have changed, wall got a bow in it. Hey, don't see no screw pops but something is happening. Yep, that sucker is twisting itself wild in there.

They ain't selling houses, them is illusions. Would I be worrying about painting. Naw, if it is anything like what I experienced, I would be wondering about how many knots that sucker is going to tie itself into.

What will it be like in 50 years. It is a wonder the windows don't start blowing out.

[southreno]

Originally Posted by tamcim72

Make sure your drywall warranty (seams, nail heads etc) is not voided by painting. neighbors found this out the hard way. We didn't paint areas with drywall issues that needed to be fixed until after 1yr.

Thanks for pointing this out; it made me re-read my warranty. It says if we repaint with a custom color, the builder will repair the nail pop but we have to repaint the area affected ourselves.

But that only applies to nail pops; everything else (cracks, wavy walls, crowning, out of level, etc.), the builder has to repair and repaint.

I think I'll only paint the bedrooms and places where the majority of the furniture & belongings will be in the house.

[HEATHER72]

I don't think anyone has mentioned that most likely you'll have some booboos when the furniture is moved in. If it were me, let the builder paint it. Call that a good primer coat. Then live in it for awhile. Then paint with the color and paint you really want.

[vtowntom]

before moving into our newly built house, we hired the contractor that painted the white walls for the builder. Satin finish throughout and not a white wall in the house now. All before move in. Yeah, a couple of dings from moving furniture into the house, but we have buckets of paint left over in the garage from the painting contractor. I do not regret it at all, especially with 3 kids. Last house had white walls and when we put it on the market to sell, the agent wanted us to paint all the walls to cover fingerprints from kids. What a pain.

[7th Direction]

Does your builder do a 9 month walk through? This is the time when the house has settled and the builder goes through and fixes any nail pops or fixes anything that is guarunteed.

A lot of people in my neighborhood painted before they moved in and now they have big white patches everywhere where the builder went in a fixed the drywall. One neighbor, trying to repaint one of the patches, wound up messing up one of the walls in the process of fixing it.

It may be a lot of work moving everything, but it may be worth it.

[southreno]

Yes, that is the issue with walkthroughs. Nailpops they will fix but we'll repaint the area. Everything else like cracks, etc. we will keep a quart of paint on hand for them to repaint after they repair.

So we are in the process of painting only the bedrooms.

All the other interior walls and ceilings in hallways, bathrooms, living areas and kitchen we are keeping in the builder's white until the last walkthrough. I think this is a good compromise.

[crash330]

I waited 9 months in my new construction. I couldn't stand it! I didn't end up having any cracks in the drywall. It wasn't that big of a deal to move furniture and paint around it.