"We’ve always done it this way." 🛠️
Those six words are the most expensive words in home building.
Take a look at this brand-new construction build out in Bella Vista. From the street, everything looks flawless. But when you get up close on the composite siding, you notice a massive, invisible vulnerability: missing Z-flashing on the horizontal wall joints.
A lot of installers skip this step because "it's how they've always done it," or because they assume the house wrap is doing all the heavy lifting. But manufacturer standards exist for a reason. Z-flashing is specifically engineered to route water out and away from the home. Without it, you are relying entirely on caulk—which shrinks, cracks, and fails within a few years—inviting moisture, rot, and structural headaches right into the wall cavity.
So I have to ask you: If it was your hard-earned money on the line for a new build, which would you prefer?
1️⃣ A home built strictly to manufacturer standards, exactly how the engineers designed it to work?
2️⃣ A home built based on whatever the installer felt like doing that day?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. 👇
#BellaVistaAR #HomeInspector #NewConstruction #BuildingStandards #CompositeSiding
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