In the past years, over 1.2 million new family homes were built and sold in the U.S alone. These are built by thousands of big and small contractors. The number one complaint is the quality of work produced was less than satisfactory.

Everyone has a story to tell when you bring up the word ‘contractor’. Most of these new homeowners think that the local building inspector is the one taking care of that. In case you do not know, only to some extent they make sure the house is built right such as the building code standpoint.

Keep in mind that the building codes are just minimum standards that your builder must follow. Take for example the code that says a bathroom exhaust fan must provide a certain number of air changes per hour for a given size of the bathroom. The code does not care if the exhaust fan is noisy or not.

The code also cover design criteria that intend to keep your house from failing in a structural point of view. These codes also emphasize on life safety issues to protect you if you are not aware of them.

What the building inspector does not inspect is your primary concern. It is very seldom that they climb onto your roof to see if the roofing shingles are installed properly or to see if the tile around your shower has a moisture barrier to prevent mold problems later on.

Your builder must take on the responsibility for the other 10,000 opportunities to build things right if the building inspector is not watching your house construction. Most big builders in the country have their own internal inspection team to ensure their homes are built correctly but some do not have this system. However, many builders use third-party inspection system to check the structural items that the code inspector does not check.

If in cases where your new house was not inspected to the point where you will be satisfied, what can you do? First solution is to educate yourself and do not be afraid to ask questions if things looks like something is not right. Try to get copies of the installation instructions from the manufacturer of the products being installed on your house. Most of them are available on the internet at the manufacturer’s website.

You can also protect your investment by hiring an independent inspector to periodically check the work in progress. This can be a little expensive but can do good in the long run. Check on the inspector’s qualifications. Some home inspectors are knowledgeable about new construction but lack experience to do a thorough examination.

Most people hire inspectors after the house has been built right before they close the sale. Keep in mind that houses must be inspected as they are built. Sometimes inspectors are hired later on when mos of the important things are covered up or are already difficult to fix.

Do not always assume that your home is being built in a right manner. Take full control of the outcome by educating yourself about the construction process and practices and make sure your new home gets the quality focus that you paid for.