A home inspection is an integral part of the construction process. A high-quality structure should have a thorough inspection before the crew hangs the drywall. That’s to make confident everything is up to a point and greets the developer’s standards. Here are details of What to Look for In a Pre Drywall Inspection.
Drywall can conceal many shortcomings in the beams, insulation, and other foundational components of the home. This earlier assessment makes sure you have the choice to revise these problems early. This is an introductory “checklist” of what you might expect to look at before the walls go up – but don’t think twice to evaluate everything.
- The Structures
The structure is the basics of the procedure containing the core, floor, roof, and walls. The examiner will look at the walls, foundation slabs, floor beams, and other house parts. Other problems might accommodate extra material where the building needs more support, joists, and insulation.
- The Functionality
These are the networks that will maintain the home up and operating to code. The specialist will examine the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. That will accommodate a run-through to make it safe the pipes are in the perfect place, there are sufficient electrical outlets in each room, and air ducts are in the right location.
- The Exterior
The exterior layers are also necessary. The inspector will review the flashing around windows and doors to ensure a genuine seal to deter leaks. They will also evaluate waterproofing in different areas. The inspection will also look at the roof for ample protection and locate any issues with frames or fix them.
- Plan the Drywall Process
At the time of this assessment, your build crew should also create a detailed plan to hang the drywall. Experts should observe areas that need moisture-resistant drywall. The project should enclose materials, scheduling, and coordinate with other build boards. That guarantees that everyone has the extent and capacity they require to function, and there are no holdups in getting the task done.
The completed house will require a second pre-sale home inspection before a sale is perfect for evaluating the entire project. The pre-drywall examination provides the purchaser an added safety sense that they won’t strike into structural issues months or years down the road.
What to Do During the Pre-Drywall Inspection
Your pre drywall inspection is just what you expect—the assessment before all of your drywall goes in. You’ll be roaming through the building at its framed phase—complete with wall joists, roof, electrical, and plumbing. You’ll have a lot to work out and look at during this phase, so here’s what you can do to equip!
- Confirm Spacing, Placement, Measurements, And Selections
As you roam through the house with your plan manager, they’ll tell you where all of your electrical is placed—ceiling faucets, fan blocking, light switches, ducts, everything. I found it beneficial to reference my electrical diagram as we stepped through the building and check off each aspect as it was presented. We put in a few extra pendants, fora, and sconces in some spots, so keeping my options sheet during the walkthrough provided me peace of mind that nothing was skipped or forgotten.
In addition to reviewing electrical, make sure any additional structural and additional selections you composed are accounted for as well. Did you add a bump-out to your garage? Speak pre-wire? Raised ceiling height? (ugh, I wish!) Be sure that anything you paid for—this involves the selections that came standard! —are exact.
Measure your windows, assess the door height, and ask queries if something doesn’t seem the way you wanted! Your builder is most probable working on many homes simultaneously, so occasionally, minor details get skipped. It’s much better to bring up any concerns you have now instead of letting it become a hard-to-fix issue later.
- Take Pictures of Your Walls and Roofs
Since you can look through all of your walls at this stage, it’s significant to take snapshots for direction. Begin from the front of the home, get on a room by room, taking pictures of wall and roof. These will come in helpful later when you like to hang a rack or introduce a light fixture later and need to observe where the joists are.
It’s also great to know where the plumbing and electrical wires run inside the fences so that you don’t unknowingly drill into them later! Save the pictures to your computer and rename them (i.e., Guest Bedroom – Left Wall) to make the pictures simple to reference.
- Measure for Furniture
Now that the walls are (kind of) in and the house is bare, take measures if you want to! Many builders don’t give room measurements for any of their floor projects, so you have to learn a way around that. I described in this post how to use the virtual walkthrough on the website to get precise room measures, but if that’s not a choice for you, pick a measuring tape!
Some significant dimensions to understand besides the rooms’ size are the widths of the doors, corridors, and stairs. You don’t expect to get caught attempting to get your brand-new sofa in the house because it won’t work out through the front door!
What Questions Should You Ask Your Builder?
Just like during your pre-construction inspection, you should consult for any and everything that arises in mind. Some of the concerns people should ask during pre-construction inspection didn’t have replies yet—like the type of wall we would receive or which side of the room the AC unit would be on—because the neighborhood was still so fresh. Follow up with your project manager during the pre-drywall assessment to get more up-to-date knowledge.
Your project manager should inspect the schedule for your house build with you, but if not, be vain to consult for the latest projected timeline. Relying on how stuff has gone up to this degree, your finale date may be shortly or later than initially expected. For instance, your black windows can be delayed by your closing date a week because they had to be custom ordered and took longer than anticipated to reach.
But on the other side, your neighbor across the lane can get at a given anticipated close date in early December when he approves and will possibly close in September! So much can alter throughout the build procedure, so be sure to keep up on top of how stuff is looking and your home’s progress.
Conclusion
After your pre drywall inspection, your home will need to go through a cycle of more reviews to be clear it’s ready for the next stage. This part can feel very sluggish because you can’t physically observe any modifications happening in your house. But, the function behind the scenes will be more than worth it moving forward.
After your home finishes the inspections, the insulation will go in, fences go up, and you’ll get to catch a glimpse of your design preferences come to life! Remember those home schemes you used during the inspection? Keep those usable over the following few months to use as a source as things inside your building start getting installed. It’s much simpler to make any necessary adjustments if shortcomings are caught early on, so having your designations sheet on hand will be super beneficial.
