The term home inspector has always been fundamentally inaccurate. A home is what people create after they move in—their furniture, their routines, their smells, their memories. None of that determines whether the house was built correctly.
What must be evaluated is the house itself: its structure, systems, materials, load paths, drainage plane, building envelope, mechanical layout, electrical safety, plumbing configuration, energy performance, and—most importantly—its compliance with the International Residential Code, International Energy Conservation Code, National Electrical Code, and the numerous referenced standards adopted in Texas.
That is construction inspection, not “home inspection.” The difference is structural, not semantic. Traditional home inspection was designed for older resale houses where nearly everything is hidden and only symptoms are visible. It was never designed for new construction and cannot meaningfully evaluate workmanship, sequencing, code compliance, or the technical reasons why a house will—or will not—perform as intended.
New construction inspection is fundamentally different.
My work begins before concrete placement and continues through every structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, envelope, and energy phase. The objective is simple and non-negotiable:
determine whether the house is being built in accordance with the adopted building, energy, and electrical codes, and with the mandatory manufacturer installation requirements those codes reference.
This requires real building-science knowledge—foundation engineering, framing mechanics, load-transfer analysis, shear-wall behavior, moisture management, roof assemblies, flashing integration, air-barrier continuity, insulation design, HVAC installation, electrical protection methods, plumbing system layout, and mastery of the ASTM, ANSI, ACI, APA, PTI, AAMA/FGIA, and a plethora of other standards woven into residential construction.
A flashlight walk-through does not accomplish that.
A construction inspection does.
And this is where the analogy fits perfectly:
As the resale market has slowed, many inspectors accustomed to resale checklists have drifted into new construction. They approach the site like they’re on safari—wandering around with a flashlight, poking at random things, hoping a “wild defect” jumps out of the tall grass. It’s flashlight tourism, not construction oversight.
They bring drones, thermal gadgets, sewer cameras, and every shiny device from a Temu clearance aisle or a Harbor Freight bargain bin, as if equipment can substitute for the ability to interpret plans or understand load paths. These devices create spectacle, not accuracy. They cannot identify missing structural elements, improper flashing, incomplete weather barriers, misaligned framing, or any of the subtleties that matter when the house is still open.
Builders don’t object. In fact, they benefit from superficial oversight. Professional construction oversight is what introduces accountability. My clients hire me because they want the opposite of superficial.
I do not perform generic “home inspections.” I evaluate construction. I inspect foundation preparation, reinforcement placement, beam support, framing layout, shear components, waterproofing and flashing, weather-resistive barriers, roof assemblies, insulation strategy, HVAC installation, electrical safety measures, plumbing routing, and energy-code compliance.
I am not there to determine whether an outlet cover “appears serviceable.”
I am there to determine whether the house was built correctly.
That distinction is not academic. It affects structural performance, safety, durability, energy efficiency, maintenance costs, and—above all—your ability to hold the builder accountable for meeting the standards they are legally obligated to meet in Texas. “Home inspector” is a marketing term coined by real estate brokers and their agents.
Construction inspector is a technical role.
One observes.
The other evaluates.
I do not inspect homes.
I inspect houses, construction, workmanship, and compliance.
And that is exactly why my clients hire me.
