New Construction Inspection in Union

Even new homes carry defects — flashing, grading and rushed finish work are common. Catch them before you close.

Before your final walkthrough, so the items land on the builder's punch list.

That it holds water. Union is in Hardin County, on the transitional ground where the long, low-relief Iowan Surface meets the younger Des Moines Lobe till to the northwest — flat country, and till like that drains slowly. In practice that means grading, downspout discharge and sump performance carry more weight in the report than they would on a sloping southern-Iowa lot, because there is nowhere for the water to go except down against the wall. We read the basement or crawlspace for staining, efflorescence and rust lines that record past water, and we check the sump has a working pump and a discharge that carries water away from the house rather than back into the footing drain. Footings on newer work should sit below the frost depth the local building department requires.