Last house I had built by a developer I cruised passed it every night on the way home from work. Talked to foreman a few times and mention I was in Construction. It definitely helped in terms of "attentiveness" to my particular home and making sure no corners were cut. Seeing you there regularly inspecting inspecting work won't hurt.
That's kind of what I figured I'd do. It'll have an inspection, so I'm not concerned too much. But I figured going by every couple days would be good just for the simple fact that I would know where all the plumbing/drain lines are, and electrical lines, and if things like insulation look like shit.
#1 thing I found that I paid dividends was drywall getting some mildew on it after a long as period of rain. I promise you every other house they just painted over that shit. I told him to replace those drywall panels or I call my lawyer and the TV stations. I got new drywall sections.
Not sure what you mean by this, a well already dug? Or just likely to have a successful well?
If I were building a new house today, I would hire one of the expert witnesses I use in construction cases (mech engineer/architect specializes in construction litigation) to supervise, have them stop by once a week for inspections and punch lists at every phase. It'd probably cost $5-10k in the end for the inspections/reports but it'd be worth it depending on the cost of the house and your sensitivity to errors. Most houses are going to be "fine" but really depends how badly you want it to be "perfect" and how much fuck-ups are going to bother you.
Take pictures of everything before the walls are up. Also you can add your own wiring (ethernet, speakers, whatever) before the walls are up and it takes like 20 minutes. I went and ran 5 redundant cat 6 cables from each room to the computer closet in my in-laws new house in no time, if you get house wiring people to do it costs thousands. When you can just zip tie them to the studs it's a joke that any idiot can do.
That's if they will let you. And sometimes they rip that stuff out and you are out $ since it wasnt builder approved. Just make sure you buy your construction manager beer!
I guess that's where I don't really know what the worry is. The worst I can imagine is curvy corners of drywall (happened in our last house). But am I incorrect in assuming they do an inspection on the drain lines for leaks, and a four point inspection on the other major systems? Seems like that's going to cover anything major.
Foundation, framing, roofing, MEP... a good expert can make sure the illegal alien crews that do work for big builders are doing things right.
The builder I used told me to walk through the house before the drywall was up and take pictures of every room so I'd know where everything was located. Take pictures of the electrical panel and plumbing manifold.
my previous home i had at least 3 cat5e to each room, this new house i'll have the same (master bedroom will have more cuz we spend more time there) but i'll go for cat6 now, right now i just have wires draped all over my ceiling and on the sides of the wall hoping i don't trip over me, heh.
