An 11-month warranty inspection is a full home inspection done in the last weeks of your builder's one-year warranty. The goal is simple: find everything that has settled, cracked, leaked, or stopped working during your first year, put it in writing, and hand it to the builder while the repairs are still their responsibility.

After the warranty date passes, the same list becomes your expense. That is why the timing matters more than anything else about this inspection.

Insight Home Inspection Services has performed 5,000+ inspections across Tennessee since 2014, including new-construction and warranty inspections around Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Here is how the 11-month inspection works and how to get the most out of it.

How a Builder's Warranty Usually Works

Most new homes come with a written builder's warranty. The details vary by builder, so read your own closing documents, but many follow a similar pattern:

  • Year one covers workmanship and materials. This is the broad coverage: drywall, paint, trim, doors, windows, flooring, caulk, grading, and most of what you can see and touch.
  • Year two often covers the major systems only: plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling distribution.
  • Longer coverage, often up to ten years, is usually limited to major structural defects.

The first year is the one that covers the most. Once it ends, a long list of items that the builder would have fixed for free drops out of coverage. An inspection in month 11 is timed to catch everything before that happens.

Why Problems Show Up in the First Year

A new home goes through its first full cycle of Tennessee weather after you move in: a humid summer, heavy spring rain, and a winter of heating. Lumber dries and shrinks. Soil around the foundation settles. Systems that were tested for a few minutes at the final inspection have now run for months.

None of this means your builder did a poor job. It means a house needs a year of real use before some problems can be seen at all. The issues below were not visible on closing day. They are now.

What Inspectors Find at 11 Months

Roof and attic

  • Lifted, damaged, or missing shingles after a year of storms
  • Flashing that has pulled away around chimneys, walls, and vents
  • Attic insulation that is thin, uneven, or was disturbed by other trades
  • Bathroom and dryer vents that end inside the attic instead of outdoors

Grading and drainage

  • Backfilled soil that has settled and now slopes toward the foundation
  • Downspouts that empty at the footing
  • Standing water or moisture in the crawl space after rain

Foundation, framing, and drywall

  • Settlement cracks in the slab, foundation walls, or brick
  • Nail pops and drywall seam cracks
  • Doors that stick or will not latch as framing dries

Heating and cooling

  • Ducts that have come loose in the attic or crawl space
  • Rooms that never reach the same temperature as the rest of the house
  • Condensate drain lines that leak or are routed wrong

Plumbing

  • Slow leaks under sinks and behind toilets
  • Loose toilets and fixtures
  • Water heater safety components that are missing or installed wrong

Electrical

  • Outlets that do not work
  • Missing or failed GFCI and AFCI protection
  • Panel labels that do not match the circuits

Windows, doors, and exterior

  • Failed window seals (fogging between the panes)
  • Caulk that has separated at siding, trim, and windows
  • Weatherstripping gaps you can see daylight through

Many of these are small on their own. Together they add up, and several of them, like drainage toward the foundation or a disconnected duct, get more expensive every year they are left alone.

Why Not Just Make Your Own List?

You should make your own list. You live in the house and you know which door sticks and which room runs hot. Bring that list to the inspection.

But most of the expensive items are in places homeowners do not go: on the roof, in the attic, in the crawl space, and inside the electrical panel. An inspector goes to all of them and tests the systems end to end.

The report also changes the conversation with your builder. A dated, photo-documented report from a licensed third-party inspector is much harder to set aside than a handwritten list.

When to Schedule

Book the inspection for month 10 or 11, not the final week. You want time to:

1. Receive the report. Insight delivers it within 24 hours.

2. Submit the claim in writing before the warranty date, following the process in your warranty documents.

3. Keep proof of the date you submitted it.

Your warranty usually starts on your closing date, not the day you moved in. Check your documents for the exact date, then count back 30 to 60 days. That is your window.

Builders schedule warranty repairs on their own timeline, and that is fine. What matters is that your written claim is in before the deadline.

What the Inspection Covers

An 11-month warranty inspection is a complete home inspection, not a quick walkthrough. It covers the same 400+ items as a pre-purchase inspection: roof, attic, structure, exterior, grading, plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, insulation, windows, doors, and built-in appliances. You receive a photo-documented report within 24 hours, organized so you can send it straight to your builder.

If a pre-drywall inspection or a final inspection was done on the home, bring those reports. Your inspector can check whether earlier items were actually corrected.

What Does an 11-Month Inspection Cost?

An 11-month warranty inspection is priced the same as our standard home inspection, which is based on the square footage of the home. See our full guide to home inspection cost in Tennessee, or call for a quote on your home.

Missed the Deadline?

An inspection is still worth doing. Some builders cover major systems into the second year, and structural coverage usually runs much longer. Even where the warranty no longer applies, you will know what needs attention while the repairs are still small.

Where We Perform 11-Month Inspections

Our teams inspect new homes in the fastest-growing parts of the state:

Still building or about to close? Read why new construction homes need an inspection for the two inspections that come before this one.

FAQ

What is an 11-month warranty inspection?

It is a full home inspection performed shortly before a builder's one-year warranty expires. It documents every defect and unfinished item so the homeowner can submit a warranty claim while the builder is still responsible for repairs.

When should I schedule an 11-month inspection?

Schedule it in month 10 or 11 after closing. That leaves time to receive the report and submit your claim in writing before the warranty date. Most warranties start on the closing date, so check your documents for the exact deadline.

Will my builder accept a third-party inspection report?

Your warranty documents set the claim process, and the builder decides what is covered under its terms. A dated report with photos from a licensed inspector gives the builder clear documentation of each item and where it is.

Is an 11-month inspection the same as a regular home inspection?

Yes, it covers the same systems and the same 400+ items as a pre-purchase inspection. The difference is the purpose: the report is written to support a warranty claim instead of a purchase decision.

How much does an 11-month warranty inspection cost?

At Insight Home Inspection Services it is priced the same as a standard home inspection, based on the square footage of the home. Standard inspections range from $500 to $1,000+.

What if my one-year warranty has already expired?

An inspection is still useful. Many builder warranties cover major systems for a second year and structural defects for longer, and finding problems early keeps repairs smaller either way.

Do I need to be home for the inspection?

It helps. You know the house better than anyone, and walking the inspector through your own list makes sure nothing you have noticed is left out of the report.