The pre-drywall walkthrough is an exciting phase of building a new construction home! It can also be a frustrating or stressful phase if you don’t know what to expect.
In this article, I will share some information we learned during building our custom home and give you some tips on how to prepare for your pre-drywall walkthrough. I’ll explain the difference between a pre-drywall walkthrough and a pre-drywall inspection, and discuss some things you can do to conduct your pre-drywall walkthrough with confidence. You can also watch our YouTube video if would like to see the issues we saw during our pre-drywall walkthrough.
Pre-Drywall Inspection or Pre-Drywall Walkthrough?
Although you may hear these terms used interchangeably, they are not the same.
Pre-Drywall Inspection
Not done by you. Done by a licensed inspector who is knowledgeable about building codes and regulatory requirements associated with your new construction building project. This could be one person, or it could be more than one person who inspects different elements of the construction project (e.g. framing, exterior, electrical, plumbing). In our new construction home building project, our builder hired more than one inspector that provided an inspection report. The builder rectifies the items identified in the report, and then the new construction project is re-inspected.
Pre-Drywall Walkthrough
Done by you. This is typically done with the customer and project manager at the new construction project site. During the pre-drywall walkthrough, you will walk the home, paying close attention to the placement of electrical elements (outlets, switches, light fixtures, low voltage, plumbing, HVAC, and framing). The project manager reviews these elements with the customer and explains their placement and function. This is your opportunity to ask questions and raise issues before insulation is put in and walls are put up.
How Do I Prepare for the Pre-Drywall Walkthrough?
1. Familiarize yourself with your home’s electrical, plumbing, low-voltage, plumbing, framing, and HVAC plans.
Also familiarize yourself with your contract, and any addendums or change orders. The more you are knowledgeable about the plans, the easier it will be for you to follow along, and know if anything is missing or needs correction before drywall.
2. Bring your home’s plans and a pencil or erasable pen and a tape measure with you .
You can make notes or mark up the plans if there are things you want to remember, or issues that need to be corrected. For instance, do switches control what you thought, do you have all the outlets you paid for, are fireplaces at the correct height on the wall, are pendant lights spaced the correct distance apart?
3. If you can visit the building site in advance with your plans, your contract, and any change orders in hand.
That way you can have more than one opportunity to ensure you get everything you paid for before the walls are closed up.
4. Take videos as you go along or afterward.
It might be challenging to take video while the walkthrough is happening, but make sure you get video (and pics if you want) so you know where everything is before the walls are closed up.
5. Ask for another meeting if you want reassurance before insulation and drywall are done.
In our situation, there were issues identified by the inspector, and there were issues we identified during our pre-drywall walkthrough. We let the builder know we would like a second pre-drywall walkthrough after all identified issues have been addressed.
6. Don’t be afraid to speak up if there is anything that you are not comfortable with or do not fully understand.
You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed with information at times during the building process. There is no shame in making sure you understand what you are being told. Remember, it is your home and your money.
7. Finally, don’t forget to relax, enjoy the progress and celebrate!
The pre-drywall walkthrough signals that some meat is about to be put on those bones of a house! If you made it this far in the process, the pre-drywall walkthrough means you will soon enter the homestretch!
