New-build homes in Calgary: small deficiencies and fixes after possession

You have the keys to a brand-new home. A few months later, little things start to show: small round bumps on the ceiling, a hairline crack above the bedroom door, a gap opening where the tub meets the tile, a door that will not latch. In Calgary's newest communities, from Seton, Legacy, Walden and Mahogany in the southeast to Savanna in the northeast, these are some of the most common questions new homeowners ask.

Most of these are normal for a new house in this climate, and most are fixable. Some should go to your builder under your new home warranty first. This guide explains what is happening, which items are usually warranty items, and what a handyman can take care of.

Why new homes develop deficiencies

The framing is drying out

New homes are framed with lumber that still holds moisture. Once the house is closed in and the furnace runs through a Calgary winter, that lumber dries and shrinks. Calgary's very dry winter air speeds it up. As the framing shrinks:

• Drywall screws and nails push out, causing nail pops
• Seams and corners crack, especially above doors and windows
• Doors shift in their frames and start to rub or stop latching
• Trim pulls away from walls and gaps open at mitred corners

Truss uplift

In some homes, the roof trusses move slightly with temperature and humidity changes between the cold attic and the warm house. That can lift the ceiling a little at interior walls in winter, opening a crack where the top-floor ceiling meets a wall. It often closes again in summer. It is cosmetic, but it is good to know it is seasonal before repairing it.

Settling

Every new house settles as it carries its own weight and the soil beneath it compacts. Small amounts of movement are normal in the first years.

Caulking shrinks

Caulk at tubs, showers, backsplashes and trim often shrinks or pulls away in the first year as the house moves.

Your new home warranty in Alberta

In Alberta, new homes are covered by mandatory new home warranty coverage under the provincial New Home Buyer Protection Act. The standard minimum coverage is:

• 1 year for defects in labour and materials
• 2 years for defects in delivery and distribution systems, like plumbing, electrical and heating
• 5 years for the building envelope
• 10 years for major structural components

Your builder or warranty provider will have its own process, forms and timelines for reporting deficiencies. Many builders ask for a list at set points, often near the end of the first year. Read your warranty documents and report items to the builder before having anyone else repair them, since repairing something yourself may affect coverage for that item.

A handyman is useful for:

• Items the builder does not cover or has declined
• Items after the warranty period for that category
• Cosmetic touch-ups you would rather not wait for
• Everything that is not a deficiency at all, like move-in jobs

Common new-build fixes

Nail pops and screw pops

The classic first-winter issue. The fix is to drive a new screw beside the popped fastener to pull the board back to the stud, reset or remove the old one, fill, sand and paint. It is often best done after the first full winter, once most shrinkage has happened. See drywall repair in Calgary.

Drywall cracks

Hairline cracks at corners of doors, windows and seams are common. Taping and refinishing after the first year or two usually holds.

Doors that rub or will not latch

Adjusting hinges, moving strike plates and, in some cases, planing the door. Builders often handle the first round; later adjustments are handyman work.

Caulking gaps

Tubs, showers, backsplashes, countertops and trim. Removing failed caulk and running a fresh bead after the house has moved for a winter tends to last.

Cabinet doors and drawers

New cabinets often need hinge adjustment after the house settles and the doors get used daily.

Trim gaps

Baseboard and casing that has pulled away from the wall or opened at corners can be re-nailed, filled, caulked and touched up.

Grout cracks

Small cracks in grout lines, especially at changes of plane like where tile meets the tub, are often movement-related and are usually better caulked than grouted.

Move-in jobs that are not deficiencies

Beyond fixing deficiencies, most new homeowners have a list:

• Furniture assembly and wall anchoring. See furniture assembly in Calgary.
• Curtain rods, blinds and shelves
• TV mounting
• Swapping builder light fixtures for ones you chose, on existing boxes
• Hanging mirrors and art
• Garage shelving and hooks
• Fences and decks, if the builder did not include them and your community allows them

Many new Calgary communities have architectural guidelines for fences, decks and exterior colours, especially in the first years. Check your community guidelines before adding or changing anything visible from the street.

Community notes

• Seton, built around the South Health Campus, and Legacy, on the city's southern edge, have many homes in their first decade. See handyman in SE Calgary.
• Walden, next to Legacy, and Mahogany, with its lake, are similar, with plenty of first-winter nail pops and caulking gaps.
• Savanna, in the northeast near Saddle Ridge, is one of the newer northeast communities. See handyman in NE Calgary.

Wind on the open edges of newer communities, where trees are still small, also puts extra load on fences and gates in the first years.

Keep a deficiency log

The simplest way to manage a new home's first year is a running log. Each time you spot something, take a photo, note the room and the date, and add a line to a shared note. When the time comes to submit your list to the builder, it is ready. When builder repairs are done, the same log shows what is left, and the same photos can be sent for a handyman quote.

Timing your repairs

1. First weeks: report anything significant to the builder. Do move-in jobs.
2. First winter: note nail pops, cracks and door issues as they appear. Take photos.
3. Late in year one: submit your list to the builder within the warranty process.
4. After builder repairs: a handyman for anything left over, declined or cosmetic.

Send photos of each item, grouped by room, with your community name, and you will get one price before anything is booked. See the services list.

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