Punch list and 1st homeowner

2 years ago

I would like thoughts on my punch list, pickiness, and what is just what it is This was not a tract house. We found a plan, found a builder, and modified the plan to our wants. We saw some of the builders spec and ”custom” homes. Looking back, there wasn’t much difference. Anyway, we made a lot of changes in finishings including buying our own plumbing fixtures, cabinet hardware, and locksets. We requeated specific hvac systems, water heaters, insulated siding, sourced and bought the windows. In my defense, this is a rural market and custom means the more expensive standard stocked builders grade item that isn’t carried locally, but our watehouse 200 miles away stocks it.

So that is some of the background. Probl Problems relarelated to punch list have been:

Missing air filter in an 18 seer $18000 system

Dummy levers missing on french doors and double doirs that were owner provided and are in the house

Smeared sealer on some of the granite counter top

Chipped, rough edge on countertop

Refrigerator not plugged in nor water line connected

Washing machine drain box punchout not, so drain hose would fit

Light paint overspray that has mostly been removed all perimeter of hardwood flooring

One place in the kitche was scrubbed to the point of removing hardwood floor finish about a 1 x 3 area

Light fixtures missing lightbulbs

Master showerhead not working

Mazter tub faucet loose

Guest bath faucets loose

A few drawer handles are loose

All the door hinge pins need to be tapped down

Garage door window inserts to be replaced

Garage door insulation kit to be installed since the insulated one the customer spec’d wasn’t ordered

Front door dentil shelf still hasn’t been installed or painted. It’s here

Waterfall glass inserts supposed to be swapped for the frosted glass present

Quite a bit of building debris in the weeds around the perimeter and on adjacent lot

Concrete dump in weeds behind the house

And the kicker that pushed my last button is footprints in the garage floor concrete that were not visible until all the dust of moving in

Many of these I’ve fixed already. ”Project manager” and trim helper are coming to go over some of the punch list items in the morning. There are a handful of things I want fixed and then I never want to see them again. Thank goodness for the building inspector having his items corrected before the CofO. This is a 2100 sqft $540,000 house, and it is a bea house. it feels like they rushed some things, didn’t supervisor well, and subs were not capable of working with items outside their comfort zone. Fyi, the builder asked if I’d do a review.

Thoughts on all of this? I apologize for grammar, spelling, etc, but I’m on my iPhone as we do not have wi-fi yet.

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Comments (7)

T T
2 years ago
Everything on your list is reasonable, though I might not expect them to clean up some of the outside exterior mess and that's okay to me. The interior items and things that need to be fixed, do need to be addressed. A good Builder would get some of their trays to come in and fix things if the trays did not do what they were supposed to do. But a lot of this seems like miscellaneous things that you'll probably have somebody from your Builder's team just address as a handyman task. Good luck, I would insist on these major things getting addressed as they are reasonable things that any one moving into a new house should expect to be addressed, even if this were a tract builder. For instance, a larger area of damaged wood flooring needs to be refinished
PRO
User
2 years ago
There is going to be a punchlist on every house, new build or not, high priced or not, first house or 100th. But these items all seem pretty reasonable things…except for the things you can do yourself, like plugging in the fridge (which is probably unplugged because the water isn’t connected) and buying light bulbs and filters. Did you just spend a ton of money? Yes. Aren’t these things they could easily do? Also yes. But I’d rather give the builder a list of things that really need their attention than giving them a list of annoyances.
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vinmarks
2 years ago
“There are a handful of things I want fixed and then I never want to see them again.” This is exactly how I felt at the end of our build.

That list is not even that bad. I had a really long list. Many things on there were more of a reminder for myself. I took off most of the smaller things that we could fix ourselves and gave the builder a list with the bigger issues. I think your list looks reasonable.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
2 years ago
From a builder's perspective, I don't see any item on your list that I would object to. Your HVAC system should have all new filters, your light fixtures should all have lamps that work, and your refrigerator should be fully operational at turnover. Any construction debris on the exterior should be cleaned up by the builder.
just_janni
2 years ago
Your list is reasonable. Some you should just do yourself (for example, the hinge pins - get a punch, and a small hammer - these are things you should have in your new homeowner toolbox anyway)

Be aware that stuff like filters and lightbulbs are likely going to be low end / generic. If you want a certain color temperature, or LEDs, or better HVAC filters - you also also better off doing that yourself too.

Take these kinds of things into consideration. Your builder, his punchlist guy, or whoever comes out - is NOT going to spec these things the way you would.

And yes - every house has a punchlist and if there was a scramble to get your CO and close, this isn't TERRIBLY long or major.

Move in, enjoy the house for a while, BREATHE, and then consider the review. The stress will fade and you'll have a much clearer picture of how happy you are with the build - and your review will be more balanced.
worthy
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
All except the lightbulbs seem like reasonable (if occasional picayune) requests. In a house I delivered thirty years ago, the buyer insisted I provide $500 worth of lightbulbs for their 120 recessed lights. It wasn't in the contract, I didn't provide them and the warranty programme sided with us. (FWIW, that was a $1.2m build.)
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
2 years ago
I can remember when light bulbs were free from the electric company.