New Construction Inspection in the Northwest Suburbs
Performed in-house by our own Illinois-licensed inspectors, from our base in Cary, IL.
The Short Answer
A new construction inspection from At Ease Inspections costs $550 and is performed before closing on a newly built home. Municipal inspections confirm code compliance, not workmanship or completeness, and we routinely find incomplete work, installation defects and safety issues on brand-new homes. Problems are far easier to resolve before the builder hands over the keys.
Why New Construction Matters
The most common thing we hear about new construction is that it does not need an inspection because the city already inspected it. That reasoning does not hold. A municipal inspection confirms the house meets code at specific checkpoints. It is not a review of workmanship, it is not a completeness check, and the inspector is not working for you.
We inspect new homes the same way we inspect hundred-year-old ones, and we find things on nearly all of them. Not because builders are careless, but because a house is assembled by dozens of trades under schedule pressure, and nobody has walked the finished product with your interests in mind.
What Our New Construction Covers
Full systems evaluation
Roof, structure, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, interior, exterior, attic and foundation, held to the same standard as any other inspection.
Incomplete work
Missing components, unfinished trim and finishes, items marked complete that are not.
Installation defects
Equipment installed incorrectly or contrary to manufacturer instructions, improper venting, poor flashing, drainage that will not perform.
Safety issues
Missing or incorrect GFCI and AFCI protection, combustion safety, railings and egress.
Thermal imaging
Included at no extra cost, and particularly valuable on new builds for finding missing insulation and air sealing gaps behind fresh drywall.
Documented for the builder
A clear photo report you can hand to the builder as a punch list, rather than a verbal list they can dispute later.
New Construction in the Northwest Suburbs
Huntley is the centre of gravity for this in our service area. The village grew from a small farm town into one of the fastest-growing communities in the region and it is still building, so there is a steady supply of homes going to closing every month.
Algonquin, Lake in the Hills and the western edges of Elgin and Crystal Lake continue to add subdivision construction as well, and Elgin’s 60124 area on the west side has seen sustained newer development.
One local detail worth knowing: Illinois residential construction permitted after the 2013 Radon Resistant Construction Act must include passive radon-resistant features such as a vapour barrier and vent piping. We verify those are actually present, because a required feature is not the same as an installed one.
New Construction Near You
We provide new construction inspection throughout the Northwest suburbs. These are the markets where it comes up most, and each page covers what we look for in that town specifically.
Also serving Cary, Barrington, McHenry, Woodstock and Schaumburg, plus surrounding communities across McHenry, Kane, Lake and Cook counties. See all service areas.
New Construction Questions
The city already inspected it. Why pay for another?
A municipal inspection verifies code compliance at specific checkpoints. It does not assess workmanship, does not check whether the house is actually finished, and is not performed on your behalf. Those are different questions, and they are the ones that cost you money later.
When should the inspection happen?
Before closing, so that anything found is the builder’s responsibility rather than yours. If you can also get a pre-drywall inspection earlier in the build, the two together cover far more than either alone.
What do you typically find on a new home?
Incomplete work, installation errors on HVAC and plumbing, missing or wrong GFCI and AFCI protection, flashing and drainage problems, and insulation gaps that thermal imaging picks up behind finished drywall.
Will the builder actually fix what you find?
Documented defects with photographs are much harder to dismiss than a verbal complaint. That is the practical value: you are handing over evidence, before you have signed for the house.
We're Here to Put You At Ease.
Book your inspection online or reach out with any questions, proudly serving the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.