Benefits of hiring a snagging company before moving into a new build in Scotland
How to do your own DIY Home Snagging
(and Free Pro Tips Download)
Here’s a question I hear a lot
“Surely my new home should be perfect, it’s new right ?” Read on…
Do I need a home snagging survey ?
Should I employ a Home Inspector ?
Should I just do the Inspection list myself ?
That’s the burning question many new homeowners find themselves with, when the developer request’s your initial list of defects knows as the “Snag List”.
If this is you then read on to find out if you should take it on yourself or look at getting a professional to help….
Why does my new house have faults when I move in ?
The answer is not so simple where homes are concerned, there are so many factors involved in getting your home built and handed over, with the repairs process being often a mysterious journey, overlooked, unfinished or poorly constructed elements can be common, but for what reasons.
What about other products like buying a car and driving, we all know how to drive, can identify some faults when they occur, however there are times we just need to take the car to the garage, even when we may know the issue being presented, we all call the garage without hesitation.
Houses are not built on a factory floor, with streamlined repeatable processes carried out every day in automated workstations, home building is sometime’s subject to local labour which can have a huge effect on the quality of building.
Fluctuations in available trades people with potentially reduced experience, high demand, the constant pressure of time constraints and many more factors contribute to the construction and handover of homes in a less than 100 % perfect condition.
When you visited your plot prior to being built, you may have seen the all too familiar banner ”bricklayers wanted, competitive rates of pay !” or similar plea for trades labour; a clear indication that labour is insufficient in the development, it’s a common practice across many areas in housebuilding which can be a leading contributor toward lower standards.
When it comes to your home, newly built, fresh out the wrapper, now time to move in.. you and your family are rightly excited, have waited months and months to get to the point of being in your new home, you have eager customer care teams showing off the brand new plush areas and the new appliances in your home amidst the smell of fresh paint and silicon.
Customer care may well be very gracious, present you with all you think you need, there may be some minor things crop up as your move in over the next 7-14 days or so, draw up a list and submit to the customer care team, and send your snag list to the site manager who will sort out any problems, which is fairly standard when moving in.
What next.. .. Can I do the Snagging Myself ?? …
It is of course true that most people will spot surface blemishes and obvious defects, which we would always encourage homebuyers to deal with without the need for professional involvement of a third party, however be aware of the 3 Key elements.
This is where it gets tricky, I would like to explain it like this, it is fair to say that the knowledge of what is contractually and correct to building standard, and the required know how to go about engaging with your developer would be limited to generally 3 KEY elements.
Trust that your developer has and is following building standard and legislation throughout (the areas you don’t see as much as that which you do).
Your own knowledge (what is to building standard)
Your own Standard’s (what you find acceptable)
How approachable and how driven is your customer care team and site manager. ?
The site team dynamics will no doubt determine your approach.
There is a noticeable growing gap between what is deemed acceptable to standard and what you may think is acceptable, this can cause some element of friction in the process of defects rectification in snagging.
How to have the best outcome in DIY Home Snagging.
Making a list of defects you can see, go through each room 1 at a time, note each location and take a picture of each one. (making it easier for your developer to find and assign trades and for your future records)
Make a record using your tablet / laptop phone or computer to be able to send the list formally to the customer care team.
Note each defect, whether it’s serious, moderate or cosmetic, to highlight to the developer how quickly each needs acted upon.
It’s important to note that the developer may not see your concerns as you do.
Stress that you are looking for the faults to be repaired within suitable timescales, typically 30 days from supply of the survey to acknowledge the repair, never use ASAP for completion date, as this means nothing to the developer.
Check off each item when they are complete and send the list again after each repair.
Consult with Free online resource such as our “Free Pro Snagging Tips” download link below.
Internet searches such as Google, forums and Facebook pages etc.. invariably throw up so many answers to your questions that you may be left wondering if any of them are actually even correct, in the main forums and facebook for example should be avoided, unless you are sure they are competent reliable sources, using Sources like BRE, Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbook Standards.
Snagging Lists and standards are available from NHBC and other credible sources online (although are limited in there use and level of complexity without advanced knowledge, experience or training)
Introduction of the NHQC Pre Completion has benefits of allowing works to be carried out in advance of legal completion, which is great, however is limited in the items which can be undertaken and submitted, for example, does not permit thermal imaging, the inspection criteria is often minimal as the form does not provide inspection criteria to assess against other than very basic cosmetic or simple wording for example ( i.e. does it function ) criteria.
The inspections carried out by us drill down into the various British Standards, of which warranty providers such as NHBC, Premier Guarantee and LABC codes and guides; which are essentially a trickle down regulation, and / or guidance derived primarily from the Scottish and British BSEN standards, together with associated bodies such as CIBSE, BRE, and much more applying good practice in surveying throughout the inspection of your new home.
Always look to credible online sources such as Scottish Building Standards, or consult NHBC in the relevant areas, although you would typically expect to spend some considerable time deciphering what’s relevant to you and applicable under the standards where information is readily available.
Home inspectors and building construction professional’s are equipped with training and many years of real world experience that you may not, some provide a basic service with general wording and no citing of source references which can later be relied upon, providing a report of a visual inspection only with limited detail and a photo which may cite for example.. “ Location: Hall - Description: Front door - reveal to head of door - not level” with no further supporting detail, nor category of severity . it is fair to say that not all reports are equal, you should ensure that you are best represented by a good quality report which can be relied upon. !
Where do you go as a new homeowner when the developer comes back with questions or states that the defect raised is ok when there’s only limited one line information in the report for example. ?
( We provide references and standards, with tolerances explained where applicable, equipping you with the knowledge to respectfully challenge where appropriate)
We also provide support with specific defects and snags raised as part of the purchased service.
Standard reports produced by a New Build Snagging Company should meet the requirements of RPSA / RICS or associated regulatory bodies, although a homeowner is permitted to undertake an inspection, it is fair to say the local knowledge, surveyors experience and the time taken to conduct the survey at the property and the time taken to Write the report all are significant factors ensuring the best outcome is achieved.
What Do Snapshot Property Inspection reports typically include…
Thorough inspection of your home, typically taking 3-5 hours dependant on the property type
We undertake only 1 survey per day, ensuring our focus is on your property.
Snapshot Property Inspection Report
Visual inspection to building inside and out to relevant Scottish Building standards, applicable Warranty provider such as NHBC / LABC / Premier Guarantee record and report (Standard snag report) we normally work from the top to the bottom of the property starting in the roof space)
Roof Space Survey (Insulation, moisture condition, rafters, ladder beams, trusses, roof membrane, ventilation paths, mechanical services within the loft space, duct routing and much more..
Roof Survey (Drone as Standard) dependant on weather conditions, otherwise visual inspection via binoculars from ground level. roof coverings, Tiles, Ridges, Valleys, Ridge Roll, Clips / Caps, Flashing, Leadwork and much more..
External building inspections (so long as part of the new building as designed and sold with standard report) including render, masonry, weep vents, expansion joints, DPC, Windows and Doors, rainwater goods.
Landscaping and Drives, Paths Including perimeter fences, walls, fencing, monoblock, paving, driveways and drainage.
Thermal imaging to your home internal perimeter, Roof Ceiling interface, Internal windows, Walls, Doors (NHQC Prohibit use and is Excluded fromPre Completion Inspection ) included in standard Post Completion survey.
Damp Testing Spot Checks to expected locations.(As Standard)
Legionella Temperature testing ( Sentinel Outlet ) (As Standard)
Fire safety system testing ( CO, Smoke Detectors, Manual test as manufacturer (As Standard)
Electrical Socket testing (As Standard)
Damp tracing and potential for mould growth testing using Specialist Thermographic equipment. (Homehealth)
Fire Safety system - Using proprietary Dedicated Synthetic Smoke and Heat Ramp testing Equipment, Synthetic CO (HomeHealth)
Air quality testing (AQI) (HomeHealth)
Testing for VOC’s and gasses (HomeHealth)
Microwave emissions testing (HomeHealth)
(Additional services such as Engineering flatness surveys, drainage investigation, soil testing, radon testing and more..)
Homeowners can still carry out visual and dimensional checks, check against standards and lists provided, however for completeness it is best to get a trained professional to undertake a thorough investiagtion in your home
Make sure that your list is updated each time the developer completes a snag from your list.
Consult with your Snagging specialist for further advice and guidance where appropriate, most will be willing to assist even at a late stage should you be having difficulty in getting the right results.
It is clear that we are all aware of search engines such as Google, searching “Google forums / Facebook pages etc..” invariably throw up so many answers and (random statements “ from so called “experts” to your questions that you may be left wondering if any of them are actually even correct, be aware and use on trustworthy sources.
Where any of the 3 Key elements break down or are lacking, that is where there is a real need to engage with a professional service.
Should you feel that you well are equipped to undertake a home snag survey please follow and download our Free Guides as the below link or check out our FAQ page , should you need further assistance please check out our Booking page
Most people who uptake professional services are really happy that they did so, many people have an understanding or knowledge of some areas in the construction build although often need some more assistance with the overall snagging and reporting process, standards or acceptability together with the peace of mind that comes with the professional service .
Our experience tells us that many new homeowners successfully carry out a low level survey, completing through to fault repair with the developer, although where the stumbling block often occurs is in the identification of defects not known which may be of a severity and magnitude to cause performance reduction in the long term.
A particular customers journey in a long term builder dispute noted some serious structural defects identified that needed rectification following the uptake of professional services.
Our customer was unaware that the defect was serious, when we asked about the construction defect’s which stood out to us, the customer had stated “ its just the way it was built, we didn’t think anything about it”.