Snagging is the inspection of a newly built or newly refurbished property to find the defects, the "snags", that the builder needs to put right: the scratched worktop, the door that doesn't latch, the extractor that isn't wired, the mastic that's already lifting. A snagging inspection produces a snagging list, and that list is the evidence you use to hold the developer to the standard they sold.
This guide covers when to snag, what to look at, how to record what you find, and what happens after the list is handed over.
When should a snagging inspection happen?
Three moments matter:
- Before completion, if the developer allows access. Snags found now are fixed before you own the problem. Many developers only allow access after legal completion, so ask for it in writing.
- In the first week after handover. The home is empty, the light is good, and nothing is hidden behind furniture. This is the most common point for a professional snagging survey.
- Before the defects period ends. Most new homes in the UK carry a two-year builder's defects period under the warranty scheme (NHBC, LABC, Premier Guarantee and others). A second inspection a month or two before it ends catches what has appeared since: shrinkage cracks, settled floors, failed seals.
What to check, room by room
A good snagging inspection is systematic. Walk every room in the same order and check the same things, so nothing depends on memory. This is the structure used by the New-build snagging inspection template in the Saundy Inspect standard library, and it works just as well as a paper checklist:
- General: doors open, close and latch; windows open, lock and seal; sockets and switches work and sit flush; radiators heat evenly; smoke and heat alarms test; loft hatch fitted and insulation in place.
- Kitchen: worktop joints and edges, unit doors aligned, drawers run true, appliances wired and vented, sealant continuous, tap pressure, waste drains freely.
- Bathrooms: tiling flat and grouted, silicone unbroken, shower screen sealed, toilet fixed and flushing, extractor runs, no weeping joints under the basin.
- Walls, floors and doors: paint finish checked in raking light, filler not showing through, skirting gaps, floors level and squeak-free, door furniture tight, architraves mitred cleanly.
- Outside: brickwork pointing, weep holes clear, rainwater goods connected, paths falling away from the house, garden drainage, fencing plumb, meter boxes closed. The standard template covers the interior; add an exterior section with the template builder if your work includes it.
Look at the property the way a client will live in it. Run the taps, open every window, turn every light on, flush every toilet. Do it in daylight and again with the lights on: a lot of plasterwork only shows under a lamp.
How to record a snag so it gets fixed
The snag you can't prove is the snag that doesn't get fixed. For each item record:
- Where it is, to the room and the surface. "Kitchen, worktop, left of hob" is useful. "Kitchen" is not.
- What's wrong, in one plain sentence a site manager can act on.
- A photo, close enough to show the defect and wide enough to show where it is. Two photos beat one.
- How serious it is. A severity grade (cosmetic, functional, safety) lets the developer prioritise and shows you at a glance which items are blocking handover.
- Who raised it and when. Dated evidence matters if a dispute goes to the warranty provider.
Paper and a camera roll can do this, but matching photos to items after the fact is where lists fall apart. A snagging app records all of it per item as you walk. In Saundy Inspect, flagging a severity on any answer raises a defect automatically, with the photo and the answer attached, so the snagging list writes itself as you go.
What happens after handover
The list is the beginning, not the end. Issue it to the developer in writing, keep a copy, and track each item through to being fixed and verified. Three things make the follow-up work:
- One list, not many. Every snag lives in one register, so you can see what is open, what is closed, and what was reopened because the fix didn't hold.
- Verification on site. A snag is closed when someone has looked at the fix, not when the builder says it's done. Sign it off where it is, with a photo of the finished result.
- Reports as versions. When you re-inspect and submit again, the new report sits alongside the old one. The first list is still exactly what you sent on day one.
That is how the defects register in Saundy Inspect works: flagged answers become snags, each snag carries its evidence, sign-off happens on the mobile app even with no signal, and every event stays on the audit trail.
A snagging checklist in your pocket
If you are a surveyor or a snagging company, start a free 14-day trial, open the New-build snagging inspection template from the standard library, and take it round a plot. No card required, and every report during the trial is included.