What is House Settlement?
During the first year, your home undergoes a natural settling process as it acclimates to ground and weather conditions. This can lead to minor shifts in the structure which can result in some minor aesthetic inconveniences you may find within the first year living in your home.
What Should Homeowners Look For?
Our friends at Dweller Home Services have put together a list of some common issues related to settlement they note with homeowners during milestone inspections:
- Drywall Pops & Cracks
- Floor Squeaks
- Grout Cracking & Loose Flooring Tiles
- Cabinetry Door Misalignment
- Interior Doors Creaking
- Window Trim & Baseboard Separation
- Loose Siding & Fascia
- Cracking or Separation at Baseboards in Stairwells
- Hairline Cracks in Concrete
- Gaps in Caulking in Showers, Sinks and Backsplashes
- Exterior Door Adjustments (daylight visible between the weather stripping and door slab.)
What should you do if you find these pop up?
All of these are items that can be reported to the builder during your milestone appointments. Depending on the severity of these items, they may or may not be excessive enough to be a warrantable defect, but a cosmetic deficiency that can be repaired as part of homeowner maintenance.
Often a deficiency is related to normal shrinkage and drying of the home and humidity changes, or in the case of binding doors and drywall cracks, likely related to normal settlement of the home. Monitor these changes in the home and if you suspect something more is occurring, contact your warranty provider for advise.
How do homeowner fixes impact warranty?
Homeowner maintenance itself will not void your new home warranty, but there are a few things to keep in mind: If something is repaired by you, the homeowner, and alters what the builder originally constructed, your work will likely be excluded from warranty. For example. Repairing a hole or cut in the basement poly with the proper sealant tape will not affect your Building Envelope warranty, but removing and replacing it to develop your basement will affect your warranty.
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