Should I Get A Building Inspection On A New Home?

The short answer is YES

There is a thousand things that go into building a new home and a building inspection will give you the piece of mind. All homes have a defects liability period and you should make sure you know what that covers and for how long. Usually as soon as you start using the space it is considered practical completion, in an ideal world you would get your building inspection before you move anything in, that way there isn't any issues around who caused it any damage that may other wise come under minor defects, scuffs dings and scratches or other minor things When it comes to larger defects you would likely have 3-12 months depending on your contract, if nothing is listed in the contract the builders work contractors act states the defects liability period will be 5 years so you have a bit longer for those items to get a building inspection. This would cover things like doors not closing properly, minor movement etc Structural warranty should usually cover 25 years and is hopefully not what you are finding as part of a building inspection but unfortunately it does happen. I have found missing bolts on structural steal, faulty tiling that was not siliconed, steel framing buried straight into the dirt, decks that weren't water proofed and much more. If you have a builder that doesn't want a building inspector to look at their work you have to question why so never hesitate to ask for a building inspection on your home. Do check if your building inspector is a licensed builder, if they aren't allowed to build it they probably shouldn't be inspecting it.