10 Builder Mistakes We Commonly Find During 11-Month Inspections in Queen Creek
Introduction
New homes in Queen Creek are going up fast — and even reputable builders can miss things when schedules are tight and trades rotate in and out. Don’t let your builders warranty go to waste, you’ve already paid for it! A builder's warranty typically costs between 0.25% and 0.5% of the home's purchase price. And while that doesn’t seem like much (about $1600 - $3200 on a $650k purchase price), there are sometimes repairs that the builder has missed that are much more expensive than that. That’s why an 11-month warranty inspection is so valuable: it gives you a professional punch list before your 12-month builder warranty expires.
At Blue Canyon Home Inspections, we’ve completed over 2,500 inspections in Arizona and routinely perform 11-month inspections across the Southeast Valley. Here are the 10 mistakes we find most often in Queen Creek new builds — what they mean, why they matter, and how to address them.
1) Attic Insulation Gaps & Voids
What we find: Missing batts, uneven blown-in coverage, disconnected baffles, or the worst case scenario: missing attic insulation all together.
Why it matters: Hot rooms, higher energy bills (to the tune of $600+ during the hot months), and premature HVAC wear.
Fix: The builder will add or level insulation and restores ventilation baffles to maintain airflow from soffits to ridge.
2) Roofing Flashing & Sealant Misses
What we find: Unsealed roof penetrations, short/incomplete step flashing, cracked or displaced tiles, improperly installed or sometimes even missing drain stack flashing.
Why it matters: Water stains in the attic, leaks that appear after monsoons. If its a small leak and its getting soaked up by the insulation you may not even see it before your warranty expires.
Fix: Replace damaged tiles, reseal penetrations, correct flashing laps per manufacturer specs.
3) Pest Intrusion
What we find: Improperly installed weep screeds, active termite activity
Why it matters: Most new builds get treated first before the foundation is poured and then again around the foundation during the final phase of the home and provide a 3 year warranty on the home. This can create a false sense of security with the homeowner though, and oftentimes aren’t looking for or don’t know to look for termite tubes popping up in their home.
Fix: When caught early, termites are a minimal problem. They’ve got to be caught early though and we don’t want them chewing on the house for 3 years because its “under warranty”.
4) HVAC Airflow & Duct Issues
What we find: Kinked flex ducts, loose boots, missing mastic/tape, unbalanced supply/return, conditioned air leaks at the air handler.
Why it matters: Conditioned air leaks in the attic space are great when you’re inspecting an attic, but not great for anyone else. It means wasted energy, longer running systems, and less conditioned air getting into the home where it matters the most.
Fix: Re-hang and straighten duct runs, seal connections, balance dampers for correct airflow.
5) Plumbing
What we find: Plastic plumbing without a pressure regulator, water heaters installed without an expansion tank, drips at P-traps, loose angle stops, shower diverter leaks, slow drains.
Why it matters: Ruptured plumbing if there is an incoming surge of pressure from the supply, ruptured plumbing from the heated water not having anywhere to go in a closed loop system, cabinet damage, conditions conducive to mold growth, unnecessarily high water bills.
Fix: Install a pressure regulator at the main, install an expansion tank at the water heater, tighten/replace fittings, properly trap/vent fixtures, clear obstructions; verify no concealed moisture with a meter.
6) Electrical Safety Omissions
What we find: Missing/failed GFCI or AFCI protection, reversed polarity, open grounds, loose panel lugs.
Why it matters: SAFETY: Shock and fire hazards, GFCI and AFCI are safety devices designed to protect the occupants of the home from electrical shock; insurance/lender concerns.
Fix: Install/replace required protection, correct wiring, torque panel connections to spec.
7) Major HVAC Issues
What we find: Improperly/under sized HVAC system for the home, excessive vibrations at the compressor that can lead to premature failure, excessive mechanical noises at the compressor (its about 50/50 from what we’ve seen), undersized plenum for the system
Why it matters: No one wants to deal with premature failure of the HVAC system, this is a very expensive repair and one you don’t want to deal with on your 2 year old house. Catch it during the builders warranty inspection so they can deal with the manufacturer’s warranty.
Fix: Repair any loose hardware, but in many cases its a replacement of the system.
8) Exterior Stucco & Sealant Defects
What we find: Stucco cracks and gaps at the windows, missing stucco, settlement cracks not sealed, missing caulk at penetrations/light fixtures, weep screed buried.
Why it matters: Moisture intrusion behind cladding; termites love hidden moisture.
Fix: Repair any stucco cracks, window gaps, and missing stucco; maintain visible, clear weep screed.
9) Garage Door Safety & Fastening
What we find: Improper spring tension, misaligned safety sensors, missing required fasteners/struts, improperly adjusted/lubricated garage door hardware.
Why it matters: Injury risks; premature opener/garage door failure.
Fix: Adjust sensors/springs, install correct bracing and fasteners per door manufacturer.
10) Missing Small but Critical Details
What we find: Loose handrails, missing anti-tip bracket on oven/stove, under-sink escutcheons left open, attic hatches uninsulated, dryer vents lacking backdraft dampers.
Why it matters: Safety concerns, conditioned air loss, pest pathways.
Fix: Quick builder punch-items that make a big difference in safety and efficiency.
Why Queen Creek Sees These Issues (Regardless of the builder)
Rapid growth & tight timelines These crews are moving and moving fast, which builds an increased chance of trade overlap and missed QA.
Monsoon moisture + desert heat The heat and humidity causes expansion and contraction in the building materials, which can lead to cracks and quickly exposes weak air sealing, roofing, and drainage.
Expansive soils can affect grading and slab movement in the first year. We’ve seen concrete driveways that have sunken in or heaved and are no longer level with the garage flooring, and the brick paver style driveway/walkways are notorious for having settling or heaving bricks.
How an 11-Month Inspection Works
Schedule at month 10–11 either calling, texting, or scheduling online.
On-site inspection (2–3 hours). We will go over anything that you’ve seen or are concerned about in the last 10-11 months and then go through the home with our refined inspection process. You’re welcome to come along with us (for everything that does not involve a ladder) or we will go over all of the findings at the end of the inspection.
Photo-rich report. You’ll get two reports, our full inspection report of every item that we went over in the home as well as a separate summary PDF of all the discrepancies we found.
Submit to your builder. The separate summary PDF is a great tool to send straight to the builder as a ready-made punch list.
Follow-up support. We are always available for a call or revisit if you or the builder needs clarification.
FAQs
Will this affect my warranty?
No — it helps you use your warranty by documenting items before expiration. The builder encourages a third party inspection because they want to be known for doing a good job, and they anticipate findings (thats the whole reason they offer the warranty). The will do their warranty walkthrough with you but oftentimes they are dependent on the homeowner to bring any issues to their attention. Every single builders warranty inspection I’ve done has come with a list of items the homeowner says they “never would have found”.
What if I had a pre-close inspection?
Issues develop over the first year as the home settles. Many homeowners who had a final build inspection are told by the builder that any stucco issues will be fixed toward the end of the warranty because they anticipate these things happening. This also gives time for any weak roof tiles to crack and get replaced.
Do builders push back?
I have not yet had a call where a homeowner is upset because the builder said they aren’t going to fix items on the inspection report. It helps to have a clear and concise report to give them, one that is photo rich pointing out the areas that need to be repaired.
Conclusion & Call to Action
New homes aren’t immune to defects — I’ve done 2500+ home inspections and I’ve not done a single inspection that did not have something that needed to be fixed. Sometimes the repairs are minor, but you’ve already paid for the warranty so why not take advantage of it and get the minor repairs taken care of? An 11-month warranty inspection in Queen Creek gives you leverage and peace of mind while the builder is still responsible for fixes.
Ready to create your punch list before month 12?
Schedule your 11-Month Warranty Inspection with Blue Canyon Home Inspections today — veteran-owned, local, and trusted across Arizona.
