As your home dries out after construction, the materials naturally shrink and settle. This is completely normal and can result in small cracks appearing in plaster, particularly where plaster meets timber, such as around door frames.

Every new home may experience some degree of shrinkage. To help minimise its effects, we recommend:

-Keeping your home well ventilated.

-Avoiding overheating your home during the first 12-18 months.

-Allowing the property to dry out gradually rather than too quickly.

Your walls and ceilings have been painted with a breathable emulsion, allowing moisture to escape as your home dries out. While this paint is ideal for the drying process, it may be more prone to scuffs and marks than standard paint finishes.

Small hairline cracks are a normal part of your home’s settling process and are considered routine homeowner maintenance.

If shrinkage cracks are more than 2mm wide, or 4mm on staircases, please contact our Customer Care team, as these may be covered under your warranty.

You may also notice small, raised bumps or circular marks on walls or ceilings, often known as nail pops. These are another normal result of the natural drying and settling process and are not a cause for concern. Nail pops can easily be filled and decorated as part of your routine home maintenance or when you decorate.

During the first six months to two years, your home is more likely to experience condensation while it dries out. If left unmanaged, condensation can lead to staining and mould growth.

You can help reduce condensation by:

• Keeping windows and trickle vents open all year round, including during winter.
• Opening windows regularly to improve ventilation.
• Using extractor fans whenever you're cooking, showering or bathing.
• Wiping away condensation from windows and other surfaces as it appears.
• Avoid drying clothes or towels indoors or on radiators.

Good ventilation is the best way to manage moisture and help your home dry out naturally.

For more advice, please see the NHBC guides on NHBC - Moisture levels in your home.pdf and NHBC - Your guide to condensation in your home.pdf

To help you keep your bathroom looking it’s best:

• Wipe down your tiles after each bath or shower to remove excess moisture and help prevent dirt and limescale build-up.
• If mildew does appear. Clean it promptly using a suitable household cleaning product.

Check the grout and sealant regularly and repair or replace it if it becomes damaged or starts to deteriorate as part of routine home maintenance.

Blockages inside your home

A blocked drain can often be cleared with a few simple checks before calling a plumber. The first thing to establish is whether the blockage is affecting one drain or several.

If more than one drain is affected

• If more than one fitting, like a sink and a bath, is blocked or draining slowly, and they’re in different rooms, the issue could be with the main sewage outflow from your home. If this is the case, please see the guidance below on outside drains.
• If multiple fittings in the same room are affected, they are likely connected to the same waste pipe. You can try using a suitable drain unblocker, making sure you follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully, as some products can damage certain finishes.
• If the blockage doesn't clear, you'll need to arrange for a qualified plumber or drainage specialist to investigate.

If only one drain is affected

If it’s just one fitting, like a sink or shower, that’s not draining properly, the blockage is probably in or near to that specific plughole.

You may be able to clear it by:

• For sinks, showers and baths the trap (the top part of the plughole) can usually be removed to clean.
• If this doesn’t solve the issue, use a plunger to loosen the blockage. For best results, leave a small amount of water in the basin or tray and cover any overflow while plunging.
• If a plunger doesn’t solve the issue, try using a suitable liquid drain unblocker, ensuring you follow the manufacturer's guidance.
• If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to contact a professional drain or plumbing specialist.

If the blocked drain is outside your home, you will need to do one of two things:

• If building work is still taking place on your development, please contact our Customer Care team.
• If the development is complete, you will need to arrange for a drain specialist to inspect and clear the blockage. Please ask the contractor to keep any material has that been removed from the drain or provide photographs of the blockage, as this may be useful if further investigation is needed.

• In the kitchen - avoid pouring any fats, oils or grease down the sink, and don’t wash food scraps or coffee grounds into the waste.
• In the bathroom – Hair is one of the common causes of blockages. As part of your regular home maintenance, remove the hair trap at regular intervals and dispose of the hair in a bin.
• In the toilet - never try to flush anything other than toilet tissue. Items such as nappies, sanitary products, and wet wipes should always be disposed of in a bin, even if they are labelled as flushable.
• Act quickly – if you notice water draining more slowly than usual, dealing with the problem early using a suitable drain cleaner may help prevent a more serious blockage developing.

If you have arranged for your own turf to be laid, please contact your supplier or contractor directly if you have any questions or concerns.

Newly laid turf needs time to establish and develop into a healthy lawn. This process can take up to two years, so we recommend the following:

• Keep off newly laid turf for at least four to six weeks, especially if it was laid in wet conditions or in winter.
• Water your lawn regularly during dry weather, ideally in the morning or evening to avoid it drying out in the sun.
• Wait until the turf has rooted properly before mowing. When you do mow for the first time, avoid cutting the grass too short.
• Feed your lawn each spring (after the last frost) and throughout the summer to encourage healthy growth.
• Aerate your turf in autumn using a garden fork, or other proprietary tool. This helps improve drainage, encourages strong root growth and can help prevent leatherjackets (crane fly larvae), which feed on grass roots and stem bases.
• It’s normal to see small gaps appear where sections of turf joins as it settles. Following the care advice above will help minimise this.

We provide a minimum thickness of topsoil, as part of the ground preparation, any building debris within 300mm of the ground surface will have been removed. Over time, the ground and topsoil will naturally compact, so we recommend aerating your lawn as part of your regular garden maintenance.

Our developments include drainage systems designed to remove surface water from roads and pavements. However, during periods of prolonged or heavy rain, it is normal for some areas of your garden to be become temporarily waterlogged. This isn’t a construction defect and so isn’t covered by your warranty.

• Temporary waterlogging is not considered a construction defect and isn’t covered by your warranty.
• Allow time for standing water to drain away naturally. After prolonged period of heavy rain, this may take longer than usual.
• If the water remains within three metres of your home and doesn’t drain away within a reasonable time, and especially if you experience prolonged flooding in that area near to your home, please contact us to discuss the matter.
• Water pooling more than three metres from your home is not covered by your warranty.

Please also be aware that adding patios, block paving and other impermeable surfaces can reduce natural drainage and increase the likelihood of waterlogging in your garden.