So you’ve been in that brand-spanking-new house for six months, and the other day you noticed that a nail had popped out of the drywall.
It makes you angry, doesn’t it? Here you’ve spent $600,000 on the house of your dreams, and a half year in, it’s already falling apart.
Before you call the builder, take a deep breath and consider the following:
Drywall is installed over wood, which is an organic material and subject to expansion and contraction.
If you don’t believe it, go to the home center, and lift some supposedly “kiln-dried” 2-by-4 framing studs. Some of the studs will be heavier than others. The extra weight is moisture.
The shrinking and swelling can cause nail pops and cracks as your house dries out. Neither you nor the builder can really do anything about it until these materials dry out completely– it takes about a year or more.
These kinds of glitches, while natural and often easily explained, tend to create ill will between builders and buyers that often grows out of proportion to the problems that are being addressed.
Communication between builder and buyer is the key.
Kira McCarron, vice president of marketing at Toll Bros., suggests that fewer problems would arise if buyers and builders understood each other’s position at the beginning of the home-buying process.
“Meeting and managing a customer’s expectations is the biggest determinant in buyer satisfaction,” McCarron said. “If a buyer of any product has unreasonable expectations, then they’ll be dissatisfied.”
If a customer is dissatisfied, he or she is not likely to return to the same builder for the next house. Nor is the customer much in the mood to recommend the builder to friends.
As a result, business suffers. In a highly competitive market such as suburban Philadelphia, where the supply of buildable land is dwindling and more than 300 builders are jockeying for what’s left, customer service can mean the difference between success and failure.
A number of residential builders have published customer-care manuals similar to those found in the glove compartments of new automobiles. These manuals are a road map to the often-complicated process of buying a new home.
Too often, buyers of new houses believe that, just because the house is new, all they have to do is move in, close the front door, turn on the TV, and sign the checks for the mortgage each month.
Although most new houses don’t require the kind of maintenance older houses need, new houses do need care. And without a road map, many buyers neglect tasks that often lead to unnecessary problems.
According to Jim McAleer, vice president of Kevin Scarborough Homes, “a homeowner needs to drain the outdoor faucet and disconnect the hose before freezing weather sets in, even if he or she shuts the water off.”
If that procedure isn’t followed, and the faucet is damaged or freezes, it’s the homeowner’s problem, even if the faucet is billed as frost-free.
“Frost-free doesn’t mean maintenance-free,” McAleer said.
This is not to absolve builders of the problems for which they have to answer, or that are covered under warranty, or that are the result of poor work or faulty materials. These are simply things that any homeowner should know and know how to do.
Most builders will readily acknowledge that shrinkage of materials is more prevalent than it was 40 years ago because building procedures have changed drastically.
Thanks to vapor barriers, tighter sheathing, insulation, weather stripping and caulking, today’s house is almost airtight. That means shrinkage, and the cracks and problems such as uneven flooring that result, is more intense.
What you need to do is try to reduce that intensity. One way is to buy a humidifier, which introduces some moisture to a dry, tight house.
Don’t overheat the house in the winter, which will dry out a tight house even more. Open the windows periodically, even on cold days.
Winter heating can even change the moisture content of the wood, temporarily warping interior slab and bifold doors. Wax the tracks of the bifolds to stop the doors from sticking. Use graphite on door locks, not oil that can gum up the works.
Raised-panel wood doors can shrink or expand at times, revealing unfinished surfaces. It’s a maintenance, rather than a warranty, issue.
Areas of painted walls often vary in color and texture, which is the result of touching up in the finishing process of the house. This is acceptable under warranty, as is color variation of stains on woodwork.
Resilient (vinyl) floors in high-moisture areas such as bathrooms sometimes show raised nail heads because of joist movement, and although builders use adhesives to keep nails to a minimum, it doesn’t always work.
You can re-drive the nails using a block of wood and a hammer.
Ridges often appear where a vinyl floor meets the edge of a toilet or bathroom. This is caused by water seeping into adhesive through a seam after installation.
These areas should be periodically caulked with an acrylic designed for use in bathrooms.
Other problems:
– Ceramic, marble, slate and quarry tile floors can be damaged by heavy objects. Cracks can develop in the grout, and can be repaired with premixed grout from a home center, which typically come in colors that match.
– Joints can shrink where the ceramic tile meets the bathtub or shower area. Periodic caulking is required.
– Carpeting can come loose because of an increase in humidity. Professional cleaning is recommended, and conventional shampooing is preferred over steam cleaning, because there is always a chance of permanent damage to the pile.
– When closing faucets, don’t twist them as far as they can go. Simply close them enough to stop the flow of water. Closing them too forcefully can cut the washer, resulting in a drip or leak. The homeowner then has to replace the washer.
– Water heaters have a pressure-relief valve to compensate for high water temperature. This looks like a leak. In addition, dirt and scale often collect in the bottom of the tank, and should be flushed every six months using the hose connection at the bottom of the tank.
– If the furnace isn’t working, check the electric switch on or near the furnace. If heat distribution is inadequate, make sure all room registers and dampers are open. Clean the furnace filters monthly, and replace them at the beginning of each heating season.
– Settling and temperature changes cause cracks in foundation walls, basements and garage floors. These can be easily repaired with caulk or grout.
– Grass should be watered regularly.
– Settlement of graded areas around the foundation, sidewalk and other yard areas is normal, and the homeowner should fill or re-grade those areas if necessary.
– Water standing or ponding for less than 48 hours is considered normal. Drainage swales and sump-pump discharge may remain wetter longer. If there is a drainage problem, the builder isn’t usually able to determine that with snow still on the ground, and won’t make any repairs while the ground is frozen or saturated.
– New shrubs and trees start out small, but they do get bigger, so make sure you don’t plant them too close to the foundation or patio. Tree roots can easily break concrete and asphalt.
– Remember, the permit the builder obtained to construct your house doesn’t extend past the day you took possession of it. Any project your undertake, whether finishing the basement or building a deck, may need a permit, so check with the local building department before you start.
Otherwise, the fines could end up costing you more than the project you planned to tackle.
