What should I put on my 11-month warranty list?

The deadline is the whole point

A one-year builder warranty means the list has to be with the builder inside the year, in writing, with dates. Submitting in month twelve leaves no time for anyone to inspect and argue, and a verbal report to a superintendent is not a submission.

Diarise month ten. Walk the house over a couple of evenings, photograph everything with a date visible in the file, and send one consolidated list.

What genuinely turns up at eleven months

• Drywall cracks at door and window corners, and nail pops across ceilings.
• Doors that no longer latch because the frame has settled.
• Grout and caulk failures at the tub and shower.
• Exterior caulk failing at penetrations.
• Garage slab cracks beyond hairline.
• Grading that has settled and now slopes towards the house.
• HVAC that will not balance between floors.
• Any window or slider that leaks in driving rain.

Pay for an independent inspection

A warranty inspection costs a few hundred dollars and finds what you cannot see: attic work, duct connections, flashing details, plumbing under the house. It is the best money spent in the first year of a new house, and it gives your list the authority of a third party.

How to submit it so it gets done

1. 1One document, numbered items, one photograph per item.
2. 2Location described the way a trade would find it: room, wall, height.
3. 3Send by email so there is a timestamp, and ask for written acknowledgement.
4. 4Keep the original list and tick items off as they are completed rather than starting a new one.

I do these walks for buyers. The written-before-eleven-months part is what people miss, not the finding. If you are still choosing a builder, read whether you need your own agent for new construction, and for the cracks themselves, why they come back at door corners.

What is usually not covered

Normal wear, anything you or another contractor altered, landscaping after a stated period, and cosmetic items outside the window written into the warranty document. Read that document once at closing and once at month ten; it defines the deadlines you are working to.

Structural coverage usually runs far longer than one year and is handled separately, which is worth knowing before you write off a crack because the first year has passed.