Snagging - New Build

BYTEr

BYTEr

BYTEr

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2 Oct 2004
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Hi all,

Due to complete the exchange of our new build on Monday 30th October, not moving in until the 8th November as we're having the flooring installed on the 6th & 7th November.

Initially I wanted to get a professional snagger in between the dates to do a complete audit, mostly because you hear horror stories about new builds and it's £400 on a purchase of £200,000.

However, I've now got family and friends stating it's a complete waste of money, most issues will be hidden, you can easily do your own snagging list, you have NHBC warranty etc.

Now, at this stage, we could really do with the £400, so I don't want to waste it on a snagger if it's really not needed and I am happy to attempt to do my own snagging list (I've noticed a few small things already) if it's possible for someone with no experience to do a thorough one.

So, what are peoples opinions on this?

Thanks in advance.
 
Just use some common sense - check all fittings, sockets, taps (hot / cold water), toilets, showers, baths, windows, locks, carpets, tiles, grouting/sealants, heating, alignment of doors/handles, catching of doors on frames/carpets, trim around windows, white goods, roof tiles, floor for creaks/uneven. Just take your time room by room and note them down. Make a list of these on an A4 sheet, print one off for every room and tick it off as you go through.

Really not sure what a 'professional snagger' does beyond this, unless they're going to come in with a tape measure, protractor and endoscope. The only thing they're going to do is prepare a list for you to hand to your builder.

Most (all?) builders give you a two-year warranty. I believe you can hand them a snagging list up to the two-year mark and I don't know if they then have a timeframe in which they have to fix them. Prepare for a fight as almost all the stories I read before buying our new build was that it would be a nightmare to get them to actually fix things. Our story is vastly different.

We've been very lucky in that we've been here a year and a half and I can count on two-hands the amount of snags we've had, and they've been out usually within the hour to fix them or kept us updated if something had to be ordered or someone sent out to fix it. I think it's helped that we were one of the first in the build to move in - I can see there being issues if you're buying towards the end of the site build stage. It's not all horror stories but they're the only ones you read about. It differs greatly depending on the builder and depending on the development itself.
 
Thanks Dynix,

Well the home snagger I was looking at apparently does fancy things like measure the moisture content of walls/bricks, thermographic and borescope testing etc, so not just the obvious things that I can pick up on.

What you've suggested sounds good, like I said, we have almost a week before the flooring guys turn up so plenty of time to give everything a good seeing over.
 
I did it myself when I bought a new build last year. There are a few lists on the net you can use as a starting point. I have a decent developer and they have happily fixed everything, even when I spotted it 6 months after moving in. Also have a 2 year warranty too. Some things you won't even spot straight away, for example any issues due to settling.

If you trust your developer and they have a good reputation, save yourself £400.
 
Previous new build we used a ‘pro snagger’ who wowed is with near-useless figures and not a lot of helpful info further than what I spotted myself during our ‘home preview’.

This time around I did it myself and got the developer to fix everything I found before completion.

A lot of problems you’ll only really notice once you’ve lived in the house for a while, decent builder will sort all that for you. Just get hold of the site manager’s number if they’re still building and you’re golden.

Save the £400.
 
Ditto above. Although what I would say is that NHBC will sign off houses but they will miss things, they look at the structural aspect of the house rather than the finish.
Just look round and see what you find but you will never ever get everything.
Get a copy of the builders spec and their latest drawings and see that they have done things to those standards - they won’t be anything special but it’s a good starting point. Who is the builder?

Good things to know are gas and NECEIC standards to check things like boiler access (if an engineer can’t take the front off they when it comes to servicing they will likely condemn it and it will need to be replaced in the correct position).
If there is a consumer unit near the boiler it should be minimum 450mm from it.
Boiler flues shouldn’t be closer then 150mm from a rainwater down pipe or window. Windows on first or second floors should have restrictors to prevent opening over 100mm. Stuff like this gets missed and become a problem (not the windows).
That being said there is a high chance none of that stuff will appear.
It is as people have said common sense a lot of the time.
Turn all the lights on and off, check they’re not loose on the wall.
Check the loft to see there are no tears in the roof felt and the insulation is even and that the there is a circulation of air.
If the waste pipe goes in the loft check check there is a durgo and it is uncovered.
Check the gas pipe by the gas meter box is sleeved and is sealed (between the sleeve and the wall) with either mastic or mortar.
Mortar joints should be full (obvious but it does get missed by sloppy brickys).
Check the windows and door locks aren't stiff. Check they catch in the strike plates properly.
Check for scratches on the kitchen worktop and on the windows.
Ventilation bricks should be unobscured.
If it has zoned heating check the zone valves are labelled (helps with servicing).
Adequate shelving in the airing cupboard.

I could go on and on to be honest. It is mostly finishing stuff really i can check but just check things are a good standard. As I say the NHBC won't get everything and it's only structural stuff they look at which unfortunately is what causes the biggest problems but when you come to look at it its all covered up.
 
There are some great lists online to help. You will find yourself missing bits. Draft a list using evernote or whatever and then track when you sent them and when they are being fixed. Copy and paste the list outstanding whenever you talk to customer services and chase them every week until all of it is done. Here is one I used (I customised it for my house).

Look under things you would normally look at from above, look above things you look at from below. Pull out areas you don't see (e.g. under kitchen cupboards). Check the relevant pipes have correct labels. Shut and open all of the doors, look for excessive gaps and make sure doors close. Sit on the toilet and look around. Give anything screwed down a shake (e.g. taps - do they move, toilet - does it move?). Do all of the sockets work? We found the HDMI cable was plastered into the wall. I was the only house on a 100 home estate to tell them to come back and do it properly with piping to ensure I could remove the cable as required.
 
You have 2 years to snag, don't worry about it.

Just have a walk around the house once you have the keys and without the developer with you so you don't feel rushed. Note down anything your not happy with and start from there.

Some snags won't become apparent until you start living in the house anyway...creaking floors & staircases for example and even screws popping from the plasterboard.
 
Never get the snagging down straight away. As others have said, you have up to 2-years to get it done. When we first moved into a new build we did what many have and took a list to the developer the Monday after we moved in. They took a look at the list, advised they would address the one or two things which were urgent and told us to keep the list, add to it and they would come back in a month or two to rectify what was on the new list, which they did.

Many problems won't show themselves until you've lived there a little while anyway. There will be movement in the first few months of you living there as things adjust to the changes within the property from where it was previously empty.

A decent developer will expect you to come back to them after a few months.
 
The only thing I would add to the fairly complete lists people have suggested above is to check the outside as well.

Gutter flow/leaks/drips and drain pipes. Check the mortar between the brickwork is sound and doesn't just rub out with your finger. Paving for patios and driveways should obviously be level and not have any wobble in any of the slabs. Check the interface between the ground and the house itself, generally just making sure vents are clear and that there's no obvious place for ingress of water.

Again, a lot of these things will take time to develop to become visible. Paying someone to visit your house once and expecting them to find everything just seems a little crazy to me when it's possible half of the problems won't have actually manifested themselves.
 
I have never used a snagger before, but on the latest house I bought I wish I had, so many issues, you stop caring about the smaller ones when trying to keep on top of it all.
Nearly all completed now, we moved in December 2015.
 
NHBC will be worthless for the snagging stuff. That's there for the serious stuff like structural problems. Not "wonky architraves" or "chipped tiles" or "badly fitted doo-dah".

So much of snagging is judgemental. You'll be much better off making the list yourself, and owning the problem of getting them to rectify if yourself. Do not expect your house builder to project manage your snagging list though or even care much about completing it. They'd much rather build new houses and sell those than fix ones they already have the money for.
 
Just to update, we were handed the keys on Monday 30th October, and although I haven't yet done a really thorough check of everything, both me and my wife are pleasantly surprised at the standard of finish, we've really only noticed the odd tiny rough bit on a wall, and a slight chip to the french door handles, of course we haven't lived in the place yet, but considering some of the horror stories I've read about new builds, we've been really happy with the whole process.

All in all, very happy so far, and at least for us, Persimmon have been very good.
 
The key is taking your time, documenting it properly and being realistic with what is a snag.

I intend to spend most of a day snagging my new build, going room by room using site audit Pro, checking everything and capturing any snags. It should then significantly reduce the snags you find over the following weeks / months.

I've generally found that the horror stories are just that and the standard I've seen so far on my previous new build and the current developer to be very good. I did the pre plaster tour last week and the attention to detail was great.
 
BYTEr said:
Just to update, we were handed the keys on Monday 30th October, and although I haven't yet done a really thorough check of everything, both me and my wife are pleasantly surprised at the standard of finish, we've really only noticed the odd tiny rough bit on a wall, and a slight chip to the french door handles, of course we haven't lived in the place yet, but considering some of the horror stories I've read about new builds, we've been really happy with the whole process.

All in all, very happy so far, and at least for us, Persimmon have been very good.
Click to expand...

I think it all depends on the site manager...we had no end of issues with our Persimmon home, yet Taylor Wimpey have been great. Yes we have had issues but it is the customer service side which have been very good at sorting.

Congrats on the new home!
 
Congratulations, just remember to not let up if you do find anything.
One thing I would be weary of is fire stopping in the cavity and rips in the breather membrane (Persimmon build timber frame houses) but neither of those two things are visible without ripping a lot of stuff out/down, unless you fancy taking bricks out around the window and boiler flue to check.
 
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