New construction issues!

1224 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by carpdad, Dec 31, 2012

BearBandy17

Discussion Starter · Dec 30, 2012

We just bought our house in August and since then, there has been a host of issues. One of the major ones is that the master bedroom closet that runs the entire exterior wall of our bedoom, is either freezing cold or hot depending on the weather outside. It has a heat/ac vent but no windows. There is literally a noticable draft though the door into our bedroom right now (weather outside is in 30's, inside is 65). The builder insists it's because there is "no window in that room" which seems crazy to me. I tried looking from the attic to see if there was insulation in that wall but there is blown in insulation up there so it is impossible. Does anybody have any idea how we can figure out what is going on with the temperature in there?

Another question I have is: In a window in our living room about a half inch away from where the window meets the drywall, there is a crack that is about 1/3 inches wide and 6 inches long and growing. I know some cracking is normal, but is this normal? With the apparent shoddy construction work that when into this house and the houses around us, I wouldn't be suprised that they did things wrong left and right.

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woodworkbykirk

· #2 · Dec 31, 2012

if its a slap bang mass builder thers a very good chance you have structural issues.. insulation missing. among other things

the temperarture issse is do to lack of insulation or improper insulation no vapour barrier.. also for the forced air is there a feed duct and a cold air return.. its common idiot builders only have a cold air return which causes this

call the builder make them do a complete walk through, if they dont respond within a couple weeks call your local home warrenty office or home builder association. their the ones that will deal with the issue

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BearBandy17

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 31, 2012

The builder has seen both of these issues and basically shakes it off. I'm thinking we need to hire someone else to come in and say: hey this isn't right, here's why, and this is what needs to be done to fix it. Should I be looking for a home inspector? A handyman? I have no idea who is qualified to come in and say this isn't right.

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joecaption

· #4 · Dec 31, 2012

A real building inspector, a real licenced General Contractor may do it for a fee.

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woodworkbykirk

· #5 · Dec 31, 2012

joes right, dont hire an inspector who does them for home sales. .those guys are useles.. most of them have no real world experience with builidng practices so the stuff they miss is scary.

a high end gc will pick up on things immediately, high end guys stake their reputation on quality so they know what to look for

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cleveman

· #6 · Dec 31, 2012

Do you have a window in the closet?

Does the closet really cover the entire exterior wall of the bedroom? Is there only one exterior wall, i.e. the room is not on a corner of the house?

Are you clever enough to open the heat register or a damper on the line?

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carpdad

· #7 · Dec 31, 2012

Contractor is bs'ing you because there is no plausible reason, except criminal building practices, but those are rare (legally speaking). There probably is insulation (cheap enough), although draft prevention may be lacking.
If you really have hvac register in the closet, have you confirmed that it is tied to any supply or return, trunk, pipe or tube? Is the connection secure and taped, and is the grill or the control valve closed?
Also, if you have solid closet doors, heat is prevented from warming the closets. At 65 degrees, the room is not warm enough anyway. My front entrance side coat closet is cold also, it faces 2 exterior walls and a basement that is under-heated.

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