New Construction Inspections in Northeast Florida

Because a municipal inspection verifies minimum code compliance on specific items, often in a matter of minutes, and it does not evaluate workmanship, installation quality, or whether the system will actually perform. New homes routinely have missing insulation, disconnected or crushed ducts, improper flashing, uncorrected framing cuts and drainage that slopes the wrong way. None of that fails a code inspection.

Typically $300 to $675 per phase visit in Northeast Florida, driven mostly by square footage. Booking pre-drywall and pre-closing together is priced better than two separate calls. Ask about the package when you call 904-806-7679.

After framing, roof dry-in, and rough electrical, plumbing and mechanical are complete, but before insulation goes in. That window is often only a few days long. Ask your superintendent for the drywall date the week framing finishes, and call as soon as you have it.

Some builders push back or require you to be present, and a few restrict site access for liability reasons during active construction. Most in Northeast Florida will accommodate a scheduled inspection. Read your purchase agreement early — if there is a restriction, you want to know in month one, not the week drywall goes up.

Most builder warranties on workmanship run one year from closing. Inspecting in month 10 or 11 gives you time to write up findings and submit a claim before the warranty expires. Inspect at month 12 and you have documentation for a warranty you no longer have.

Settlement cracks in drywall and at slab corners, nail pops, doors that no longer latch, grout and caulk failure at wet areas, HVAC performance and duct issues that only appear under a full summer load, grading that has settled toward the foundation, roof flashing and vent boot problems, and irrigation heads spraying the wall or windows.

Yes, and it's usually the best money you'll spend. New construction built to current Florida Building Code typically qualifies for strong wind mitigation credits — hip roof, code-compliant deck attachment, engineered roof-to-wall connections, and impact-rated or shuttered openings. Those credits are only applied if a completed OIR-B1-1802 form is on file with your insurer.

It happens after framing, roof dry-in, and the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-ins are complete and the municipal rough inspections have been approved, but before insulation and drywall go up. That window is often only a few days, so ask the superintendent to text you when rough-in approval clears rather than waiting for a schedule update. If you miss it, some value remains: an inspector can still observe framing and connectors from the attic, examine what is visible in mechanical chases, and evaluate the exterior weather-resistive barrier and window flashing if the cladding is not yet on. But the plumbing and electrical rough-ins and most of the framing are gone for good. Nothing later in the process substitutes for it, which is why it is worth scheduling around.

Because the two inspections are asking different questions. A municipal building inspector verifies compliance with the adopted building code on a defined set of checkpoints, on a schedule, across many houses in a day. That is a life-safety and minimum-standard review, and it is not a workmanship review. Code does not require your ducts to be balanced, your bath fan to be quiet, your grading to shed water away from the slab after landscaping, your shower pan to be built the way you would want, or your attic insulation to actually reach the eaves. A private inspection looks at how well the house was assembled and how it will perform for you, in as much time as it takes, reporting to you rather than to the jurisdiction. Both have value; neither replaces the other.

Read your specific document, because coverage is contractual and varies. The common structure is one year on workmanship and materials, two years on electrical, plumbing, and HVAC distribution systems, and ten years on major structural defects, with the structural portion often defined narrowly as damage that makes the home unsafe or unlivable. Typical exclusions are normal wear, homeowner maintenance items, cosmetic drywall cracking beyond a stated tolerance, appliance and equipment items covered by manufacturer warranties instead, landscaping and grading changes made after closing, and damage from failure to maintain. Many warranties also impose strict procedural requirements: written claims, specific forms, and a deadline. An inspection report with dated photographs and clear descriptions makes a claim much harder to dismiss as a maintenance item.

Almost never. New homes shed a large amount of moisture from framing lumber, concrete, and finishes during the first year, and the framing shrinks as it dries. That movement shows up as hairline cracking at the corners of doors and windows, seams at ceiling-wall junctions, and nail pops. It is expected, it is usually covered as a one-time repair under the workmanship warranty, and it is worth claiming for that reason. What is not routine is diagonal cracking wider than roughly an eighth of an inch, cracks that continue to grow after the first year, doors and windows that progressively bind, cracking accompanied by visible slab movement or separation at the exterior, or cracking concentrated in one area of the house. Those get a closer look at the foundation and the soil conditions.