11-month Van Metre Walk Thru Inspection

I'm coming up on my 11-month inspection with Van Metre. Asides from minor cosmetic stuff such as pain touch-ups and caulking, what other things should i look out for? Is it worth it to hire a home inspector? Any input would be great

Also, I have the Spruce model and there is a bit of a cold draft coming from the fireplace, any of you guys experience the same thing? Should Van Metre fix this?
Thanks!

 

Cricket:

If you have not used a Home Inspector yet for your home (either at pre-drywall, or purchase walk-thru) then now would be a good time.

Ours found way too many things to list here, but some major ones were : Attic Insulation Depth, Leaking Furnace flue thru roof, support beams/poles in basement not welded or bolted...

 

You're buying an expensive entity. Spend another $200 and get a home inspector. They ARE worth the money.

-Teak

 

Thanks for your replies.

I have been in the house for 11 months, and this is just an 11 month inspection before my 1-year warranty expires. I did not hire a home inspector before I moved in, does it still make sense to hire one at this point in time?

 

We had our 11 month inspection this past week and we also hired a home owner inspector prior to the inspection. While we were pleased with the detail and quality of the home owner inspector Van Metre's reaction to the report that we received from the inspector was "less than enthusiastic." There were not many major issues that the inspector recommended to be changed but it was still disconcerting to find VM's attitude less than forthcoming. One thing we discovered is that during the 30 day inspection we were told on many of the items we pointed out for repair to hold off until the 11 month inspection as we'd likely have even more items for the list by that time. We did just that and VM when presented with our list commented that we should have had many of the items addressed at earlier inspections. It was like a catch-22. To my chagrin I discovered that some of the items VM agreed to repair verbally were not documented in writing in the VM workorder. VM is to do the follow-up work on our home next week so I can let you know what results we have. My advise overall would be to utilize a home owner inspector if you are a new home owner and ensure that no significant issues have been overlooked on your investment and also be firm with VM and ensure that all issues raised are fully documented. Good luck!

 

What we are looking for is a specialist of some sort that would have the equipment to test the insulation in the walls (our bedroom is very, very cold compared to rest of the house) and draft coming in the widows -- so window seals. Also someone that can take a look at our pipes and explain why the water is piping hot coming into the kitchen but lukewarm at best coming into our showers upstairs. My knowledge of home inspectors thus far has been they have a broad range of knowledge in many areas -- we had one, he was pretty good but feel we need someone specific in these areas.

Anyone know who we can call - or if we are talking about two areas of expertise and therefore would need two skilled specialist? My husband thinks an hvac person for the pipes and insulation -- comments?

 

Speckhard

We have the same issues -- cold master bedroom and less-than-hot water in the upstairs shower.

At least in our house, I think there are two culprits with the cold bedroom: (1) a portion of the master bedroom hangs over the garage, which isn't insulated. (2) Probably the biggest has to do with the cathedral ceiling in the master bedroom. On the other side of the ceiling drywall is a layer of insulation. Then, on the other side of the insulation is the roof. There is no attic, which (I believe) would help with keeping cold air out. In addition, heat rises to the top of the ceiling, which is considerably taller than the ceiling in rest of the second floor. Granted, these are just my theories. But personally I have trouble questioning whether the insulation was done properly. Prior to the drywall installation in our house, I combed over the entire property and checked the insulation. It was actually done well in our house. They stuck proper insulation (R-13) everywhere, including very tight areas (as they are supposed to).

Regarding the upstairs shower situation, I'm at a loss. I have no idea what is going on.

 

You could turn the hot water heater up a notch (Bam! to quote Emmeril). That may help the hot water get up there.

 

Speckhard and Wick-
I have your answer. Inside the handle mechanism of your showers, there is an adjustment that can be made that will allow hotter water to come out. The government, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that the average person is too stupid to not walk into a scalding hot shower. They therefore require these doohickies be installed so that the water can't get too hot. If you're somewhat knowledgable about plumbing fixtures, you can probably adjust it yourself. If not, a plumber can do it in about 5 minutes.
Cliff

 

Carol - Thanks for your tip! Can I have the contact information of your home inspector? Also, what were some of the items that he pointed out?

Thanks again!

 

That might explain why the sink in the bathroom gets scalding hot water, and not the (2) showers or baths. I should say my jacuzzi tub gets hot water. The tub in the other bathroom to include the shower is luke warm. I am going to look tonight.

 

We used Greg Petersen from "On the Level Home Inspections." (703 327 1760. He is a good and thorough professional but does like to talk alot!

The most major deficiency which he uncovered is that we have a mold/mildew condition under the main level rear bump out under our house. He said that if we do not determine the cause for the mold and mildew and get it repaired we can have some significant problems later. Interestingly this is one of the areas where VM advised there was no liability to repair and "maybe" it could be repainted as it is unsightly.

The inspector also identified areas in our siding where there were bulges or manufacturer's defects. VM agreed to repair the siding issues cited as mfg defect but not the area where there is a bulge.

Our front walk was not installed either square to the house or to the driveway.

He also identified a few various items inside the house and of course various drywall deficiencies.

It really was not a lot of issues; overall we are very pleased with the quality of our home. Our biggest issue is our driveway! As we closed in December with all the snow on the ground, we were not aware at the time that our driveway is so narrow with such an extreme turning radius we cannot get our cars into the garage!

Please let me know how your inspection goes.

Regards,
Carol

 

Carol,

Boy, are you ever right about Greg Petersen liking to talk alot! I also used him about 2 years ago for our final inspection. You definitely get your money's worth with explanations from him and I was satisfied with his inspection. He didn't find anything major but it was still worth the $275 for peace of mind.

All major defects, including strutural defects, were found by a different inspector during the pre-drywall inspection. To me, that's the most important inspection, because that's when the inspector gets to view the structure before it's covered with drywall and brick and/or siding.

 

Thereis thread on one of these forums about Home Inspector referral. Check it out in Homeowners Corner forum.

 

Yes, we wish we had used a homeowner inspector before we closed on our home! Greg did comment that among the various homes he has inspected in the area overall he had found fewer defects and problems with Van Metre than most other builders.

 

As for the shower issue - don't waste your time on a plumber. It took me all of 3 minutes and one tool to do it myself and I'm just a little blonde lady with no plumbing background. I can't recall wht my husband called to the tool (he knows that name, just don't ask him to use it - I'm the handy one!) but it's a tiny little metal thing that I think they left behind when we bought the place.

If you don't have it or can't figure it out, e-mail me. It really isn't worth the cost of a plumber.

 

The tool is called a hex wrench or allen wrench.

They are six-sided (hence the hex name) lengths of metal bent in an "L" shape.

 

Where is the fix in the shower? Do you take the knob off and not the plate that surrounds the knob and is caulked to the shower?

What about in the shower/bath tub? Not certain of location.

 

Speckhard,

We have a cooler Master Bedroom as well. I agree with Wick on the reasons for this. Consider also that the Executives MBR is adjacent to a heated part of the house only on one (bathroom/hallway) side. Compared to the other bedrooms which share 2 of 4 or 3 of 4 walls. All three other walls have unheated exteriors. Add to that the loss of a insulating attic with a cathedral ceiling and you have all of the elements required for a cooler room. Also keep in mind that the thermostat is in the hallway measuring the temperature of warm air that has risen from downstairs too. We plan on installing a cathedral ceiling fan to force down some of the warm air and are considering installing a gas fireplace. We had a home inspection at predrywall and @ 60 day and he did not find insufficent insulation. Despite this we are also considering adding more insulation to the attic area above the garage.

 

Speckhard,

Not sure what brand your builder used, but in our VM it's Delta, and here's a link to get to of their Maintenance and Install sheets that shows where/how to adjust the temp - (page 4 of the pdf doc). http://www.deltafaucet.com/servlet/...&crit2=8&model=&offset=0&page=thumb&base=1303