Thread: Insulation/Drywall before Brick/Siding

Hi, there,

Our builder told us that they are going to put insulation and drywall for the house before brick/siding. In the summer time, there are always thunderstorms and big rains around here in Michigan, the insulation will absord moisture and has mold down the road.

What I found from other builders around is that they put brick first, then do the interior work (insulation, drywall). This is a logic process.

I want to get help from your expert for how to persuade the builder to put brick first. Any official rules to follow? Or whether city building dept. can check?

Thank you.

-Julia

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I would definitely check with the local code enforcement agency. I agree that this does not seem logical, specifically if you are dealing with the long term effects of water damage. This can present a significant hazard down the road. Your builder should be willing to do it the way you want it done. However, if you cannot get them to work with you, you might consult another builder.

Does anyone know a good Portland contractors?

Jullia,
If the house is weathered in with a house wrap and done correctly there will not be a problem (if done correctly). How will you know if the wrap is done correctly? Since you can not bring others onto the job site, find someone who will teach you all there is to know on the subject and then inspect for your self.

I do not think you will find anything that will aid you in changing your builders schedule.

Like I have stated before, take a lot of detailed pictures that you organize and describe so that you will be able to go back and pull if needed.

You may think about taking up drinking to ease your anxiety.

I'm going to agree with Garry on this. If things are done correctly, the house will be water tight before the brick and siding go on. Also, this "odd" approach makes sense. The wood framing will have some degree of shrinkage from drying once the house is closed up and especially if the HVAC is operating. Brick on the other hand will not shrink and sometimes what may start out as all nice and pretty can end up with gaps around doors and windows (particularly the second floor) when the framing shrinks and the brick does not. If your builder was really looking for perfection he'd wait about 6 months before putting up the brick but I wouldn't expect that from even the most anal builder.

As others have said, if the builder has done good work, the walls are dried in before the brick is installed. The only gotcha I have seen with his approach is the hammering during brick tie installation can cause cosmetic drywall texture cracking.

Darrel Hood
DILIGENT PROPERTY SERVICES

Garry/Darrel/Eric/Steve,

Many thanks to all of you for providing me advice and your thought! The builder did their way anyway although we strongly suggested them to do outside first.

Now I have questions about Inspection on new construction. The house will be finished in next 3-4 weeks. I was told that city or Township inspectors are going to inspect the house and if everything meet the codes, the township will then issue certificate of occuany to builder.

My question is that whether I should a professional inspector myself to inspect this new constructed house, to find any additional problems before closing. If needed, how do I find an inspector who is familiar with new construction inspection?

Thank you very much for your time and help.

-Julia

Unfortunately, the best time to have an independent eye on construction was *during" construction (for example, before the drywall went up), at this point finish materials could be covering a multitude of sins.

Once a house is finished, the inspection process is very similar for new and existing construction, though it might be helpful to have an inspector intimately familiar with the requirements of the local code authority.

In my experience, a competent inspection will *always* discover defects in new construction; there have been only 2-3 exceptions in my career, and all were in larger condos where there had been many previous inspections, and a really on-the-ball construction supervisor who methodically corrected a defect found in *any* unit in *all* subsequent units (one of these guys personally inspected each unit from a *16 page* checklist) - however you can't create a comprehensive list for on-off custom new construction of single family homes.

Originally Posted by Michael Thomas

Unfortunately, the best time to have an independent eye on construction was *during" construction (for example, before the drywall went up), at this point finish materials could be covering a multitude of sins.

Once a house is finished, the inspection process is very similar for new and existing construction, though it might be helpful to have an inspector intimately familiar with the requirements of the local code authority.

In my experience, a competent inspection will *always* discover defects in new construction; there have been only 2-3 exceptions in my career, and all were in larger condos where there had been many previous inspections, and a really on-the-ball construction supervisor who methodically corrected a defect found in *any* unit in *all* subsequent units (one of these guys personally inspected each unit from a *16 page* checklist) - however you can't create a comprehensive list for on-off custom new construction of single family homes.

Michael - Thank you very much for your advice. We were not allowed to hire inspector to check the house during the construction process per the builder's rule. If you think it is still helpful to get some inspector to check the house for us, I will contact a few inspectors by checking yellow pages.

Thank you again.

-Julia

Originally Posted by Julia Tang

Michael - Thank you very much for your advice. We were not allowed to hire inspector to check the house during the construction process per the builder's rule. If you think it is still helpful to get some inspector to check the house for us, I will contact a few inspectors by checking yellow pages.

Thank you again.

-Julia

Not allowed to have your own inspector to check the house? Sounds like the builder was paranoid or perhaps was afraid of his practices coming to light.
A lot of builders are like this though, so it isn't surprising. I have found that the builders who actually do a good job don't mind an inspection, well, for the most part...
You definitely should hire a local inspector to perform an inspection of the home. As has been stated in earlier posts a thorough inspection will normally turn up some issues, even in a home built by a very good builder. Also you should consider having a end of warranty inspection performed. Your builder should give you at least a one year warranty, have the home reinspected before the warranty period ends to identify any issues that may crop up during the first twelve months. You might be surprised at what will move, loosen up or start to bind over the first year.
Don't choose your inspector by price alone, talk to the inspector, ask questions, find out about experience, how long the inspection will take, and so on. I am sure that if you ask here you will get a number of questions to ask an inspector.

Originally Posted by Alton Darty

Not allowed to have your own inspector to check the house? Sounds like the builder was paranoid or perhaps was afraid of his practices coming to light.
A lot of builders are like this though, so it isn't surprising. I have found that the builders who actually do a good job don't mind an inspection, well, for the most part...
You definitely should hire a local inspector to perform an inspection of the home. As has been stated in earlier posts a thorough inspection will normally turn up some issues, even in a home built by a very good builder. Also you should consider having a end of warranty inspection performed. Your builder should give you at least a one year warranty, have the home reinspected before the warranty period ends to identify any issues that may crop up during the first twelve months. You might be surprised at what will move, loosen up or start to bind over the first year.
Don't choose your inspector by price alone, talk to the inspector, ask questions, find out about experience, how long the inspection will take, and so on. I am sure that if you ask here you will get a number of questions to ask an inspector.

Alton, Thank you very much for the direction. Your message let me think that it is better to hire someone to do the inspection to find potential issues before the closing.... I found you are far away from here. If you were in Metro Detroit area, I would like have you to inspect the house.

I will start to do some research and call around to talk to them as you suggested, and find an inspector I feel comfortable to work with.

Thank you very much and best wishes to you and your business (looks like you have a very good business website).

-Julia