Go every day if possible to check on the progress and make sure nothing is amiss. If you have questions, ask about it then. Don't wait, don't think "Eh, they know what they're doing."

You're the one paying the tab. It's your house. If someone says, "It's not a big deal" or "It'll be OK," ask how and why. We did this with our house. Didn't catch anything that had to be redone, but got a few questions answered.

A relative building their house had just poured the driveway and told the builders to not drive on it for however many days. They put some string and ribbons around it. Went back two days later and there were tire tracks across it. The builder or whoever did it paid for the driveway to be re-poured.

Go check daily, if possible.

Also, if you want something extra or changes made, ask about it. We wanted extra electrical outlets in a couple of rooms. The sub said, "There are two on each wall, you don't need any more."

I almost lost my mind and let him know I wanted more, in specific locations, and the piddly amount of money it cost to add a few extras was coming out of my wallet and not his. They were installed. It made a difference, too.


When you do your walk-through, check everything -- turn on and off every light, take something to plug into every outlet (a nightlight is easy and works), turn on all the faucets and make sure the drains work, flush the toilets, the works. Check where the carpet is or should be tacked, like at the edge of a room. You don't want to get down the road and find out an outlet doesn't work.

If you have a garage, put up shelves, pegboard or anything else you might want before moving all your stuff in. Easier to do it with an empty garage.

Congrats on the house!