A snagging inspection is carried out to identify problems with your newly built home and increasingly, it is being used to check work carried out by a builder, or contractor, to a house extension, conversion, or renovation

The need for an independent snagging inspection on newly built properties.

With a national housing shortage and increasing Government pressure on contractors to build more homes, coupled with a shortage of skilled trades people, lack of quality control from developers, complexity of build, a lack of warranty inspections and speeded up build times, all have contributed to the lowering of the quality of workmanship so often evident in newly built homes. Consequently, it is imperative that a snagging inspection is carried out when you purchase a new-build property as a buyer have the right to have any snags fixed by your builder for no extra cost.

What’s a Snagging inspection or Survey for?

A snagging inspection is carried out to highlight and report on problems and imperfections in your newly built home, extension, conversion, or renovation. It is a visual inspection to check the quality of workmanship against applicable standards.

Photographs are taken of defects which may be small and cosmetic, or significant and structural. The photographs and comments indicating the location and type of defect provide the homeowners with an extensive “correction” list for presentation to the builder to correct the defects and snag issues.

Progress inspections for interim payments to the builder and snagging lists for home extensions and alteration works.

It is normal for building works such as an extension, loft conversion or other work that will take several weeks to complete, for interim payments to be made to a builder. These payments may be requested at clearly defined stages or at regular intervals.

With each of these it is important to ensure that the payment you make reflects the value of the work carried out. Builders may have given you a quote as a lump sum without a cost breakdown for the different items of work which then make it difficult to determine the actual value of work completed at each stage.

To overcome this, it is desirable to have a schedule of work giving a description of each item of work against which a breakdown of the cost can be entered. This can then be used as a means of determining the value of work completed, when making an inspection to agree a contractor’s staged payments.

Construction

During construction JS Building Consultancy will make several inspections to coincide with pre-determined times, or agreed stages, when a builder puts in a request for a staged payment. During the inspection we will check that the work has been carried out in accordance with the drawings, the specification and to the quality required in accordance with your contract. We will advise you, if / when the builder has satisfactorily completed various stages of work and when interim payments are due.

Our involvement at this stage is especially useful to clients who have little experience of working with contractors on new builds, extensions, refurbishments, and conversions, or who have little technical knowledge and experience.

Final inspection and snagging list

Once the builder has finished the project JS Building Consultancy will carry out a snagging inspection and, where necessary produce a list for the builder to correct defects and snagging issues before you make your final payment.

The cost of a snagging inspection will cost you little compared to the high cost of putting right defects later!

Structural warranties and guarantees.

If a structural defects insurance or warranty is needed for the building, we may be able to refer you to a provider of the relevant type of insurance for your project.