Inspection Service · Lexington & Columbia, SC
An independent report on your new build, in writing, while the builder is still contractually on the hook to fix what we find.
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A new construction inspection in Lexington SC is an independent, buyer-paid inspection of a home that is being built or was recently finished — done at pre-drywall, right before closing, or both. It is separate from the municipal code inspections the builder schedules, and it is not the builder's own quality-control walk. You hire us, we report to you, and nothing on the report gets softened because the builder is a repeat business relationship for someone else.
At pre-drywall we can see framing, wiring runs, plumbing supply and drain lines, and ductwork before insulation and sheetrock cover them for good. At the pre-closing stage we run the full home inspection: every system, the attic, the crawlspace, and a punch list of trim, paint, and finish items the builder's own walkthrough often rushes past.
Lexington County is one of the fastest-growing counties in South Carolina, and that pace shows up on job sites — framing crews, HVAC subs, and electricians rotating through multiple houses a week, supervisors covering several subdivisions at once. A county code inspector may spend twenty minutes on a visit checking minimum code, not workmanship, and not whether your particular house got the same care as the model home you toured.
The defects we find across new builds in Lexington, Chapin, and the Highway 6 and 378 corridors are rarely dramatic: missing step flashing where a roof meets a wall, ductwork that popped loose in the attic, crawlspace form boards and construction debris left to trap moisture, grading that slopes toward the foundation instead of away from it. Every one of those is inexpensive for a builder to correct before closing and expensive for a homeowner to discover in year three. Builder purchase agreements typically set a narrow pre-closing walkthrough window, and a documented, photo-backed report carries far more weight with a warranty department than items scribbled on a clipboard during a 45-minute orientation. Pairing it with radon testing in Lexington SC is common, since new tight building envelopes don't guarantee low radon.
Deliverable
You get a phase-specific report — pre-drywall, pre-closing, or both — organized so your builder's warranty department can route each item to the right trade without back-and-forth.
Local specifics
In the newer subdivisions off Highway 6, Two Notch, and 378, the recurring pre-drywall finding is HVAC and plumbing trades working past each other: a duct boot crushed by a truss brace, a supply line stapled too tight, a bath vent that terminates in the attic instead of through the roof. Caught before drywall goes up, these are a five-minute fix; caught after closing, they mean cutting into a finished ceiling.
At the pre-closing stage across Lexington and Chapin builds, the pattern is grading and crawlspace debris — form boards, scrap PVC, and pine straw mulch stacked against the foundation, plus irrigation heads that spray siding every night before the sod has even rooted. None of it is dramatic, but it is exactly the kind of conducive condition that turns into moisture and pest problems within a year or two. We coordinate the CL-100 termite inspection many lenders require alongside the closing walkthrough so it's one trip instead of two.
Many of these same buyers come back at month eleven for an 11-month warranty inspection, and we handle both for clients working with a home inspector in Lexington, SC, in Columbia, and in West Columbia.
If you can still schedule a pre-drywall visit, do both; it's the only chance to see inside the walls. If the house is already finished, the pre-closing inspection alone still catches the majority of issues and gives you a documented list before the builder's obligation to fix things for free winds down.
Most Lexington-area builders respond well to a clear, photo-documented list submitted before closing — it's far less friction than a warranty claim filed after move-in. We write reports so a superintendent can act on them, not so they read as an argument.
Questions
Yes, and it's one of the most valuable inspections you can order precisely because the house feels finished and problem-free. New construction inspections in Lexington SC and Columbia catch the framing, HVAC, and finish issues that a quick builder walkthrough misses. Schedule at pre-drywall, before closing, or both — call 803-365-5890 to line it up with your build schedule.
It's a visit made while framing, wiring, plumbing, and ductwork are still exposed, before insulation and sheetrock cover them permanently. It's the only point in the build where we can verify those systems directly instead of inferring their condition later. Not every buyer's contract allows site access at this stage, but if yours does, it's worth scheduling.
Most reputable builders in the Lexington and Columbia area allow buyer-ordered inspections, especially at the pre-closing walkthrough stage; pre-drywall access sometimes needs to be requested in your purchase agreement up front. If a builder refuses any independent inspection, that itself is worth discussing with your agent before you sign.
No. A municipal inspector is confirming minimum code compliance in a short visit, not workmanship or whether your specific house was finished carefully. We routinely find issues — loose ductwork, missing flashing, drainage sloped the wrong way — on homes that passed every required code inspection. The two serve different purposes.
Pricing depends on square footage and whether you're booking one phase or both pre-drywall and pre-closing visits; it's comparable to a standard full home inspection per visit. Call 803-365-5890 with the address and build stage and we'll quote an exact number.
Areas we serve
South Carolina
From 1970s ranches to the new-construction corridors off Highway 6 and 378.
Home inspector in LexingtonSouth Carolina
Shandon bungalows, Forest Acres brick, Northeast suburbs and downtown builds.
Home inspector in ColumbiaSouth Carolina
Mill-era cottages, post-war brick, and new riverfront townhomes.
Home inspector in West Columbia