Top 7 Reasons for New Home Construction Delays
New home construction delays are an inevitable part of new home construction. There are several factors that can cause delays. For the past few years, new home construction delays were blamed on COVID and supply chain issues. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is largely behind us, and “supply chain issues” have eased up, what’s the hold up now?
We contracted for our new construction home in April 2022, and as of the date of this article, our house is still not completed. I am going to share some things we observed that can cause delays in building your new construction home. Check out our YouTube video to see these things identified in our new construction home!
Here are our Top 7 Reasons for New Construction Home Delays (in no particular order)
1. Absent Contractor/Trade Delays
Scheduling Contractors (also known as trades) for new home construction looks a lot like our Project Manager is herding cats. It is very difficult to pin down which trade is going to show up on any given day. During our new home construction, our project manager would sometimes call a particular trade for days in a row to get an answer about when the trade was going to show up. Then, even if they promise to show up, they still may not show up on the agreed-upon day. Or they may show up late and drag out the completion of that part of your new home construction project. Thus, delaying other parts of the building process that come next.
2. Unfinished Work Delays
Sometimes, even when the trades do show up to work, they don’t complete the job. We have seen this happen several times where the trades leave a job partially done and then take their sweet time coming back. The project manager must hunt them down again to get them to return and finish what they started. I speculate that some trades are accepting jobs that they don’t have the resources to complete. Thus, they spend a few days in one place and do partial work, and move on to the next customer. Then they circle back to complete the work on their own schedule. Sometimes, the builder needs to hire different trades to complete the unfinished work.
3. Re-work Delays
Rework delays happen when the trades do work in the new construction home that isn’t correct or complete for one reason or another. It could be because the work was not done according to instructions or according to building codes and standards (the ceiling was supposed to be 14 feet but it is 10 feet). Another reason for re-work is the use of the wrong materials (e.g. installed the wrong tile or bath fixtures). At our house, the framing in the ceiling in one room was incorrect. To fix it, part of our ceiling needed to be taken apart after insulation and drywall were already done. In addition, a doorway where a barn door was to be installed was framed up for a French door. Thus, the framing and drywall needed to be corrected.
If you can, and it is allowed by your builder, go visit your new construction home as often as you can. Spend time inspecting and measuring what was done by the trades. Your project manager may catch some things, but you can also be the eyes and ears of what is going on at your new construction home. The earlier mistakes are caught, the earlier they can be addressed.
4. Incorrect Ordering Delays
New home construction delays caused by incorrect ordering or incorrect order fulfillment really get on my nerves. These kinds of delays irritate me because they are little things that can cause big delays in your new construction home. The wrong cabinets, bath fixtures, tile, flooring, or appliances can be a huge inconvenience because of the time lost in re-ordering. Depending on the stage of your new construction home, you may need to push closing dates or accept substitute items to keep things rolling. Sometimes, incorrect items are installed and need to be removed.
I advise that you keep a log of everything you selected for your home including the serial or item number and a picture of the item (some substitute items can look like what you selected). Check each installed item against your records. It is a bonus if you have a meticulous project manager who checks every item before installation.
5. Out of Sequence Building Delays
The new home construction process involves a sequence of events that are carefully orchestrated by your project manager. While some things can be done out of order with little risk of delay, other things done out of sequence can cause cascading delays.
For example, at our new construction home, the countertop installation has been delayed and re-delayed. A few months ago, the framer forgot to frame up 2 walls in the kitchen. By the time the error was discovered and the framing was corrected, it was time for the kitchen countertops to be installed. While the framing was done, the trade did not return to do the drywall on the newly framed wall. So, the countertop installation crew could not finish the installation. They had to leave the job partially done and return a week later. However, the countertop installation crew is going to need to come back again because the shower seats in the bathroom were not done, and the tops of the seats are made out of the same granite as the bathroom vanity countertop.
6. Change Orders
Change Orders can cause significant delays in new home construction. A Change Order is made whenever there are changes to the previously agreed-upon elements of the contract (structural or interior design, or design selections). They can be initiated by the client or by the builder. Most builders charge an administrative fee for change orders as well as attribute a certain amount of time for delays on the project. The earlier the change orders are made the less chances for delays upon the new construction home building schedule. However, there are times when a change order can come at a stage in the building process that can cause a delay. In addition, repetitive change orders can also cause delays with rippling effects. We were determined not to make any change orders after the framing was underway on our new construction home.
7. Theft of New Home Construction Materials
Theft is often a cause of new home construction delays and can happen more easily than you think. The builder may or may not have a security system. Supplies and materials are sometimes dropped off and left outside leaving them susceptible to theft. Even when the materials are brought inside of the house, trades are in and out and are not diligent in closing and locking doors and windows when they leave. In fact, the doors and windows of our new construction home have been left wide open. This drives us crazy! We are blessed that nothing has been stolen.
One of the home builders in my community installed a fence to surround the house and the building site. That looks to be the best protection. We installed cameras outside of our build site, and we visit our build site often. We have watched people come and go, and sometimes the trades come and pick up excess materials. Our new neighbors also keep an eye out and let us know what is going on. As it gets closer to the home’s completion, we have started to visit the home in the evenings to close doors and windows. Our neighbors have also helped us out with this as well.
