[Non-handyman]

We bought a brand new house about a month and a half ago. There are several issues that need to be taken care of. All the doors were worked on yesterday (sticking, popping, creaking). There were problems with two of the windows but they have been taken care of. There appears to be no cold air return vents in the basement, but we have been told that they will be able to put them in the two bedrooms located down there since this issue was pointed out.

I don't want to be complaining about everything and I'm not sure what I should be pointing out to the company that built this house. The bathroom's caulking looks like this:

...behind the toilet baseboard looks like water damage:

The one issue that I pointed out that I was told they could do nothing about was the molding going down the stairwell:

The obvious seam in the front we can live with, but the gap behind and under the molding is pretty obvious.

Please, if I am making too big of a deal out of things, by all means, let me know. I'm sure the bathroom issues will be dealt with but the molding issue they said, firmly, is the way it is and there is nothing they can or will do about it.

Any advice on this matter? Should I get a home inspection done now, after the fact? If they don't budge on the molding matter, what recourse do I have? I live in Canada, too.

 

[SPS-1]

Trim is normally caulked to the wall to make it look pretty (seamless). Its pretty common (probably more in a new house) that the wood framing dries, shrinks and you see some cracking in the caulking. But seeing that your place is brand new, and its such a simple fix, I would expect that the GC would not resist coming back to touch up the caulking. If its in a wet are (i.e shower) it absolutely needs to be addressed. (But if cracked caulking is your biggest problem, you got a pretty good builder)

I can't see what is happening at the stair trim, but no way would I accept that nothing can be done.

What province are you in ? In Ontario we have the Tarion warranty program. Your province must have something similar. Submit all problems !!! Don't say "I think he is about to fix it, so I won't submit this one." Put everything in writing using the proper process !
If you really do not have anything like Tarion, it is still a good source of what is considered unacceptable, and how the builder is supposed to address it. (The standards are buried somewhere in the Tarion website, but I'm not going to try to dig them up)

 

[Non-handyman]

Trim is normally caulked to the wall to make it look pretty (seamless). Its pretty common (probably more in a new house) that the wood framing dries, shrinks and you see some cracking in the caulking. But seeing that your place is brand new, and its such a simple fix, I would expect that the GC would not resist coming back to touch up the caulking. If its in a wet are (i.e shower) it absolutely needs to be addressed. (But if cracked caulking is your biggest problem, you got a pretty good builder)

I can't see what is happening at the stair trim, but no way would I accept that nothing can be done.

What province are you in ? In Ontario we have the Tarion warranty program. Your province must have something similar. Submit all problems !!! Don't say "I think he is about to fix it, so I won't submit this one." Put everything in writing using the proper process !
If you really do not have anything like Tarion, it is still a good source of what is considered unacceptable, and how the builder is supposed to address it. (The standards are buried somewhere in the Tarion website, but I'm not going to try to dig them up)

I'm in Manitoba.

Thank you for replying!

I'll take a few more pictures later to post the issue with the molding in the stairwell area to try and give you a better idea as to what is going on there.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

All the caulk is a little sloppy, could be better, not a big deal. I would force them to rework the trim, eliminate the gap. Their answer that there's noting they can do ... means there's nothing they want to do.

 

[MrBDiy]

Caulking you can easily fix yourself--and should. I wouldn't leave it as is. I would not worry about water damage there from a few wetting incidents.

That stair trim can and should be fixed. Whether they have the ability to do so or not it's unsightly.

If it makes you feel any better I bought a new house a couple years ago and although most of it was done fine there are always some contractors who are eager to get home and hit the bottle. My electrician was hilariously forgetful and on a few things just hopelessly careless (e.g. had no idea how to affix barn lights above our garage properly). The house I bought new prior to this in two of the bathrooms they used toothpaste or bread dough in lieu of thinset and we had massive cracking just out of warranty in those bathrooms, necessitating replacement eventually.

 

[Non-handyman]

All the caulk is a little sloppy, could be better, not a big deal. I would force them to rework the trim, eliminate the gap. Their answer that there's noting they can do ... means there's nothing they want to do.

Thank you for your response!

I don't want to make too many assumptions but I suspect the fix is a doozy.

 

[Non-handyman]

Caulking you can easily fix yourself--and should. I wouldn't leave it as is. I would not worry about water damage there from a few wetting incidents.

That stair trim can and should be fixed. Whether they have the ability to do so or not it's unsightly.

I am the Non-handyman, not very good at anything as far as fixing. I really want them to do the caulking work. I have re-caulked tubs and other things in the past but I am busy with the things I like to do at this stage of life. Tearing away caulk for someone like me would take a long time. I'm sure they will do that work at my urging.

I am definitely concerned about the molding issue. I think it is unreasonable to expect any new homeowner to accept it. I'm just wondering what my steps should be now given the fact that they put their foot down on not wanting to fix it. SPS-1's advice to look into a warranty program is probably the way to go for me.

 

[lenaitch]

Yes, Manitoba has a new home warrantee program and, as far as I can tell, it is mandatory for all builders to register. Check the link and figure out what you rights and obligations and those of the builder are. Obviously, the goal is for them to make things right. I would have though you would receive a package upon possession - perhaps it's 'in the mail'.

Don't be squeamish about exercising your rights - you dropped a lot of coin on your place. You likely wouldn't accept a new car with a bad paint job - it's no different except here you get to confront the folks directly responsible for the build.

Poor caulking could be all the result of one guy. Still, the general contractor should have caught this and other stuff on their walk-throughs. I don't see any evidence of water damage - maybe I'm missing it, and I certainly wouldn't accept that stairway trim as is.

New Home Warranty Protection | Consumer Protection Office (manitoba.ca)

 

[1865wingate]

from looking at it the railing looks like it has a large groove that is not deep enough, or, the drywall does not go all the way to the top the rail is nailed to.

 

[SPS-1]

Yes, Manitoba has a new home warrantee program and, as far as I can tell, it is mandatory for all builders to register. Check the link and figure out what you rights and obligations and those of the builder are. Obviously, the goal is for them to make things right. I would have though you would receive a package upon possession - perhaps it's 'in the mail'.

(emphasis mine)

Yeah.
Not a good sign that OP is unaware of it.
In Ontario, the Tarion process starts with your walk-through before you take possession.
The web site says they have 170 builders registered. Does not sound like many. Hopefully, OP's builder is on the list.

 

[SPS-1]

I would think page 166 of the Manitoba Warranty standards covers many of your issues.

I would read it that the gap of the railing is unacceptable.
But one could also say the caulking falls under "minor gaps due to shrinkage/drying".
Just the same, fixing the caulking is a nothingburger to the builder.

 

[Non-handyman]

I will look over our warranty info later this evening and I will, at some point, give an update.

Everyone, thank you so much for the great advice, I am very appreciative of it!

 

[rogerwh]

If this is the trim the contractor can't correct, yes you need an inspection and maybe an attorney.