Illegal aliens have to work fast to make any money.

Horrible. I would actually worry if painters that left work like that would be capable of fixing it.

Look at it as an American style: a full-scale Putz House.

The perfect home for the elite who buy pre-distressed runners.

No. Not normal. In fact, that looks like many of those pictures show trim that has been badly DIYed and painted over several times.

Like cpartist wrote "With workmanship like that, I would hate to see the problems you can't see."

Looks good to me!

kidding, of course

I really hate seeing this kind of sloppy work. I don't know what has happened to good workmanship. Even if you are buying a production/tract home, the trades working on the house are supposed to be professionals and there is an expectation of professional work being done. The problem is you can try to get someone to fix all this, but the builder will make it a long, horrible, drawn-out process and it will probably end up just as bad. I just don't understand why things can't be done right the first time. My condolences.

I have been wondering where all the opioid users were working these days. Now I think I know: your new house.

I would ask if the builder is happy about the quality and what his or her plans are to address.

You have the right to be angry. This is what a house looks like after its been painted and caulked by multiple generations of DIY.

" I don't know what has happened to good workmanship."

Professionals cannot compete with illegal aliens. You're looking at the manifestation of not securing this nation's borders. Americans demand more and more square footage at lower and lower prices. Builders race to the lowest cost provider to be able to do so while still earning a profit. The marketplace is indifferent, but never lies. You are getting the exact level of workmanship you've demanded and that your government has allowed by not enforcing our laws.

"My other new construction homes by different builders didn’t have any issues, was I just lucky before?"

I think very unlucky this time mostly......................

This is what a house looks like after its been painted and caulked by multiple generations of DIY.

Exactly! It's a style. (Anyone who insists on precision and care is really anal.)

Who is the builder?

This is awful finish work. cpartist has a point: what is underneath this sloppy work?

What is really scary is the builder didn't even notice and is turning the house over to you in this condition.

Oh hey, I have some spots on my baseboard that look like that. Thing is, my house has been settling for over a hundred years so nothing quite lines up anymore, and then the previous owner hired the worst painters ever and generally kinda sucked. Brand new house with no previous owners to mess things up? No excuse. That's deplorable.

cheap materials + cheap labor = junk

Are you in a crazy booming area? Possible your GC/subs just can't find/hire anyone so a bunch of random guys from the street are doing all your finished work

No, no and no.

While the work looks sloppy, almost any project will have a few flaws that need to be fixed. Has your builder done a punch list? All the things you've shown should be corrected. A good builder will do so promptly. If they don't, they deserve to be named publicly.

I assume it is normal for that builder.

Blue tape it all and make them fix it before closing.

Thank you to all who replied with support and advice! The poor workmanship was done by people who should have been appropriately supervised and trained. If their work is poor (as is the case in my house and probably all other houses in the growing development), then it is the fault of the supervisors/inspectors/managers. It is not a cheap house, so I wasn’t expecting those in charge to sign off on such shoddy workmanship. I’m currently in a house is the same area as the new disaster house that I moved into brand spanking new 1.5 years ago, with Zero significant problems. Same area, but a different builder. And a much cheaper house. With so many problems to fix, I’m not moving into the new house until they’ve completed the work. The good news is that I itemized everything, marked with blue tape, sent them the list and they showed up the next day with a team of 4 people to address all of the issues. One of them was a finisher who got to work immediately. I was prepared for a fight, but they seemed amenable to fixing just about everything. They said my list was by far the longest they had ever received. It took 3 hours to go through. In addition to the interior problems, there were leaking gutter, broken roof tile, broken fence, unsecured downspouts and air conditioner hose, holes on the stucco.... And yes, again, this is brand new construction.

I did get a lot of “this is not a custom home,” “these are not custom cabinets,” and it turns out all of the trim is MDF (of course) and the method needed to get a good finish on nail holes isn’t something they’re willing to do. But I’ve been assured that the cracked tub, scratched stainless kitchen sink, scratched and marked master tub can all be patched/buffed to look perfect (look brand new? Lol) And they’re going to fix the carpets, fix the tile, fix the LVP...... holy S&!t there are so many things wrong with that house. And yes, I’m now *very* worried about what may be wrong with things that I can’t see behind the walls, but just have to move forward now.

Just saw this thread, and despite problems I've had with my builder, yours takes the cake. Detail everything, document everything. You probably won't get real satisfaction from this guy, since it is overall so dang sloppy and it is relevant he don't care. Get someone in there who actually has building experience, even if they weren't involved on this, who can really truly document for you. Even if this *** won't fix it, you need to note exactly when and where these things went WRONG. And, yes, get in a GOOD house inspector for the things none of us can see from photos.

Seriously, I wish I could help you better. I'd like to fly in there overnight and fix things even though I know I don't have the skill set. I definitely have some major unkind words for this sorry excuse of a human being.

I had the same thought as artemis - in addition to what you've already done, I would hire the best inspector you can find and ask him/her to go over the house with a fine tooth comb for hidden problems. While it's not a guarantee there aren't hidden problems, it's better than nothing.

Its not the MDF, its the lack of touch up paint, sanding, filler, etc. Painter has paint on the switch plates. One painter < one day could get this handled. The models should be an example of quality that will be delivered if this is a production home, aside from noted extras.

To add to what Jeffrey said, MDF is honestly great to work with and looks as good as any wood when properly filled, sanded, primed, and painted. It's just that the builders didn't finish it right.

My home inspector found a lot of the problems, and said it was one of the worst, if not the worst, new construction builds he’s ever seen. I did have to push for some things, like basic minimum standard work on the baseboards. They gave me the thing about how it’s not considered to be a defect if you can’t see it when standing 6 feet away. Total BS, which everyone’s feedback on this forum helped me to cut through. They’ll work on the trim, take care of the paint on the switch plates (or so they say).

The builder said no to a pre-closing inspection - I know, I know, a huge red flag, they said if I had a problem with it they would release me from the contract, keep my deposit and sell the house to somebody else. Totally insufficient time on the rushed pre-closing walkthrough to find all of the problems. Most of the problems that I was able to find were fixed poorly or made worse. I’m kicking myself for chickening out and not just saying “fine,” cutting my losses and looking for a different home. Lesson LEARNED. I’ve learned more from this bad experience, which still isn’t over, than I did from the good experiences with the other two decent builders.

I’m fortunate in that I didn’t have to move in immediately after closing, and can wait until the considerable repairs are completed. I imagine other buyers move in immediately, and may just not want the hassle of having workers occupying their house and tearing up the floors etc. And yes, this builder is definitely one that knows some of the problems but waits for the new homeowner to point them out. If I buy another new construction home in the future I’ll do things very differently, including talking to any people in the development who’ve already moved into their home. And I want to warn other buyers and make sure they get their own private home inspections. Even if they’re idiots like me and do it after closing. The sales person told me that very few people get inspections. My inspector flagged the tubs for being slow draining. The team of 4 that went over my list of repairs found a wad of paper and plastic in the drain. Wish I had taken a picture of it. Despicable.

Uh, is there any way you can still cut and run? I'm worried for you...

My painter took all the electrical switchplates off. He said it was faster than taping them all. The good news is that he put them all back correctly.

Usually that’s how it’s done by a painter

Are you able to cancel contract or did that ship sale?

But guys it's even faster and easier just to leave them there and paint around them. Tape is for schlubs anyway.

I have a new house and the builder still has some deficiencies to rectify but nothing like this. I knew they were closing a lot of houses at the same time so I asked (offered) to extend my closing because I did not want them rushing my hardwood floor installation or my finish carpentry. I had issues with the painting, but not like yours. How can they split cabinet doors and paint light fixtures and think that's finished?

Crap construction! Who installs switch plate covers before painting? And what painter would not take the thirty seconds to remove it if some builder was dumb enough to do so?? That baseboard corner looks like it was cut with a hatchet and painted with a rag...

As others have said, if this is the builders' finish work, I'd hate to know what lurks behind the walls...

"The builder said no to a pre-closing inspection" - Big Red Flag

Run fast, even if it means losing some deposit!!