If you bought a new construction home in Novi, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Orion, Macomb Township, Washington Township, or anywhere else along the Oakland-Macomb new-build corridor in the last year, your builder's one-year workmanship warranty is approaching its expiration date. The 11-month warranty inspection is the single most important inspection you'll get on your home short of the original purchase inspection. This guide walks you through exactly what to inspect, what to claim, and how to maximize your remaining leverage with the builder before the window closes.
Most production builders in Michigan — Pulte, Toll Brothers, Robertson, Lombardo, Moceri, Singh — offer some version of a tiered warranty:
The 1-year workmanship warranty is by far the broadest and most useful coverage you'll have. Once it expires, the vast majority of items that we typically find at month 11 are no longer the builder's problem. That's the entire reason this inspection exists.
You schedule the inspection at month 11 (not 12) for one practical reason: builders need time to receive your claim list, send their warranty crew, and complete the work before the warranty expires. Submitting a claim list on day 365 is too late — the builder will tell you the warranty has expired before they can address it.
Schedule the inspection 3–4 weeks before your closing anniversary. Submit your claim list to the builder within a week of the inspection.
Through hundreds of 11-month inspections in Novi, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Orion, Macomb Township, and surrounding new-construction subdivisions, the same problems show up over and over.
Settlement cracks at door corners, ceiling-to-wall joints, and stairwells. The first year is when most of the home's settling happens. Builders will repair cracks reported within the warranty year; the same cracks reported at year 14 months are on you.
Drywall nails working loose as framing dries and shrinks. Visible as small round bumps under the paint. Document every one — they get repaired in batches by the builder's drywall crew.
This is the single most expensive 11-month finding category in Oakland and Macomb new construction. Builders consistently leave subdivisions with negative grading toward the foundation, missing or undersized swales, downspout extensions removed by landscapers, and sump discharge lines that dump water 4 feet from the foundation. After one Michigan winter, you can see exactly where the water goes.
Rooms that are 8°F warmer or cooler than the rest of the house. Insufficient supply registers in upstairs bedrooms. Return air shortages. We use thermal imaging and supply temperature measurements to document HVAC failures the builder must address.
Builders are required to install insulation to a specific R-value (typically R-49 in Michigan attics). We routinely find R-30 or less, missing insulation over recessed light cans, no insulation against attic hatches, and air leaks from the conditioned space into the attic. Use thermal imaging in winter to make these obvious.
Lifted shingles, exposed nails, missing or improperly sealed flashing at chimneys, plumbing vents, and skylights. Manufacturer warranties on shingles are voided by improper installation — your inspection is the time to catch builder-side errors covered by the workmanship warranty.
Slow drips from compression fittings, washer supply line leaks, leaks at the dishwasher water inlet. We pull access panels and run water at every fixture.
Sticking sliders, doors that no longer latch, window seals fogging up. The builder's manufacturer warranty is usually 10+ years on the windows themselves but the workmanship warranty covers installation issues like out-of-square jambs and missing flashing tape.
Hairline cracks in concrete are normal and not a defect. Wide cracks (over ¼ inch), spalling, scaling, and lifting at expansion joints are warranty items. Document the width and length of every crack.
Items from your final walkthrough that the builder marked "will complete" but never did. Bring your original walkthrough list to the 11-month inspection.
Builders have specific warranty claim processes — usually an online portal or a designated warranty department email. Submit:
Get everything in writing. Builder warranty conversations conducted entirely by phone tend to disappear when it's time to schedule the actual repairs.
Common builder pushbacks and how to handle them:
The 1-year workmanship warranty has expired, but you may still have time on the 2-year systems warranty (HVAC, electrical, plumbing) and the 10-year structural warranty. We still recommend an inspection — the findings won't all be covered, but they'll tell you what needs to be addressed and what's structurally sound.
We perform 11-month warranty inspections throughout Oakland and Macomb new construction subdivisions — Novi, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Orion, Oxford, Brighton, Macomb Township, Washington Township, and surrounding areas. Same-day report delivery so you have time to submit your claim list before the deadline. Call (734) 359-7993 to book.