There is a short window in every new build when the framing, wiring, plumbing and ductwork are all in place and nothing is covering them yet. Once the insulation and drywall go on, everything behind them is finished work — still there, still holding the house up, just no longer possible to look at without cutting.
New construction
A pre-drywall inspection is an independent set of eyes in that window, carried out to the InterNACHI Standards of Practice.
Most of what a finished home inspection can tell you is inferred. An inspector sees a wall, not the studs inside it; a ceiling, not the joist hangers above it. Before the drywall goes on, none of that inference is necessary — the structure is simply visible.
That window is short. On a typical Michigan build the house is dried in, mechanical rough-ins pass, insulation is scheduled, and drywall follows within days. Booking after insulation is booked too late, because the wall cavities are already full.
These are four findings from our own pre-drywall inspections, not a generic list. None of them is dramatic on the day. All of them are permanent once the wall closes.
A joist hanger missing almost all of its nails. A hanger is only as good as the fasteners through it. The bracket looks right from any distance; the empty holes are the finding.
Nails that missed the stud. A fastener driven past the framing member holds nothing at all, and it is invisible the moment the board goes up.
House wrap not lapped at the window head. Wrap sheds water only if each course laps over the one below. Reversed at a window head, it directs water behind the wrap instead of over it.
An anchor bolt broken out through the side of the sill plate. That bolt is what ties the wall to the foundation. Sitting in the centre of the plate it does its job; broken out through the edge, it is holding nothing.
We inspect to the InterNACHI Standards of Practice, the same standard we use on a resale home, adapted to what is visible at this stage: foundation and anchorage, framing and fasteners, roof structure and sheathing, the weather barrier and flashing, and the rough-ins for plumbing, electrical and HVAC.
What it is not is a code inspection. Your municipality inspects for code compliance and your builder has its own checks. This is an independent report written for you, the person who will own the house.
A pre-drywall inspection is the first of three sensible looks at a new build. The second is a full inspection before you close, when the house is finished and every system can be run. The third is an 11-month builder’s warranty inspection near the end of the first year, while the warranty still obliges the builder to act on what is found.
Each one sees something the others cannot. Skipping the first is the only one of the three that cannot be made up later.
Once the framing, roof, windows, and the plumbing, electrical and HVAC rough-ins are in, and before insulation is installed. Your builder or site supervisor can usually tell you the drywall date a week or two ahead; book as soon as you have it.
No. They look at different things. The pre-drywall inspection sees the structure while it is open; the pre-closing inspection sees the finished house with every system connected and able to be run. Most buyers of new construction have both.
A municipal inspection checks compliance with code on behalf of the municipality. A pre-drywall inspection is independent, is carried out on your behalf, and produces a written, photographed report you own. The two are not substitutes for each other.
You get a photo-rich digital report, normally within 24 hours, describing each item plainly enough that somebody who was not there can find it. What happens next is between you and your builder; we do not do the repairs, which is exactly why our read on the house is worth having.
A pre-drywall inspection is not a second opinion on your builder. It is the only opportunity anyone gets to look at the bones of your house before they are covered for the next fifty years — and it lasts about a week.
Scheduling is easy, and we are here to help.
