Somewhere in the paperwork stack from closing is the builder's warranty booklet, and somewhere in it is a section on grading and drainage. Most homeowners read it for the first time while standing over a trench in their mulch, wondering who to call. Here's the plain-English version of what those sections generally say — read your own, because terms vary, and we're gutter installers, not lawyers.
The typical structure
Builder warranties around here commonly work in tiers: a short-term warranty on workmanship, a longer one on major structural elements, and specific performance standards for everything in between. Drainage usually appears as a workmanship item with a narrow promise: the lot was graded to drain properly as delivered. If water ponds against the foundation in the early period because the grading itself was wrong, that's typically a valid claim — document it and make it promptly, because that clock is short.
The handoff clause
Then comes the part that matters for the rest of your ownership: maintaining drainage after closing is typically the homeowner's responsibility. Altered grading, settled soil, landscaping changes — and the effects of roof water concentrating along the eaves — generally fall on you. Notice what that means alongside the builder's other choice: most production homes ship with gutters on the front only, and the warranty makes whatever that roof water does to the sides and back your problem from day one. The two decisions fit together neatly. Neither one favors you.
What to actually do
First, find the booklet and read the grading section — know your claim window and what counts. Second, walk the house after a hard rain and look for the overflow evidence: ponding, trenching, splash. Third, if the grading itself is off early, claim it in writing while the window is open. And fourth, handle the roof water — because on expansive Central Texas clay, what one rainy season does compounds yearly, and gutters sized to the roof are the fix the builder priced out. The estimate for that part is free.