Every new build has snags. Every single one. It’s not a question of whether your shiny new home has defects — it’s how many and how serious. A typical new build comes with 100–200 snagging items. Most are cosmetic (dodgy paintwork, a scuffed skirting board), but 5–10% can be more significant. Here’s how to find them all before it becomes your problem.
When to Snag
Ideally, before completion — the day you legally become the owner. Ask your developer for a pre-completion inspection. Most will agree, even if they umm and ahh about it. If you can’t get in before completion, do it on moving day or as soon as possible after. Your NHBC (or equivalent) warranty covers snagging items for 2 years, but the sooner you report things, the more likely the developer actually fixes them.
Room-by-Room Guide
Kitchen
- Worktops: Check for chips, scratches, and uneven joints. Run your hand along the underside of the front edge — should be smooth. Builders are surprisingly bad at this.
- Cabinets: Open and close every single door and drawer. Check alignment and soft-close mechanisms. Look inside for debris or damage.
- Appliances: Test everything. Run the dishwasher and washing machine through a full cycle. Check the oven heats evenly. Don’t just peek — actually use them.
- Plumbing: Run both taps. Check water pressure and how long the hot takes to come through. Get under the sink with a torch and look for leaks.
- Tiling: Look for cracks, dodgy alignment, and uneven grout. Tap the tiles gently — hollow-sounding ones aren’t properly bonded.
Bathrooms
- Sealant: Check silicone around the bath, shower tray, and basin. It should be smooth, continuous, and properly stuck to both surfaces. Bad sealant is the number one cause of water damage in new builds.
- Drainage: Fill the bath and basin, then pull the plug. Water should drain fast without gurgling or backing up.
- Tiles: Same as kitchen — check for cracks, chips, hollow sounds, and complete grouting.
- Toilet: Flush it several times. The cistern should fill quietly and the flush should be responsive.
- Extractor fan: Switch it on and hold a piece of tissue near it — it should be pulled towards the fan. If it just sits there, the fan isn’t working properly.
Living Areas and Bedrooms
- Walls: Here’s a trick: shine a torch along the walls at an angle. This shows up bumps, dips, cracking, and poor plaster. Hairline cracks at joints are normal (shrinkage), but anything wider than a 10p coin edge needs a closer look.
- Paintwork: Missed spots, roller marks, drips, and paint on the wrong surfaces. Emulsion on the woodwork or gloss on the walls is incredibly common.
- Floors: Walk across every room and listen for creaks or bouncy spots. Check carpet edges are tucked. For hard flooring, look for scratches, gaps, and uneven joints.
- Windows: Open and close every window. Check locks work, handles are tight, and seals are intact. Condensation between double-glazed units means the seal has failed — that’s a replacement job.
- Doors: Every internal door should swing freely without catching on carpet or frames, and the latch should click smoothly.
External
- Brickwork: Cracked, chipped, or stained bricks. Mortar joints should be consistent and properly pointed throughout.
- Guttering: Gaps at joints, sagging sections, and downpipes that aren’t connected to drains properly.
- Drainage: Pour water down all external drains. They should flow freely. Look for standing water on paths or driveways.
- Garden: Is the fencing secure? Turf laid properly? Any agreed landscaping actually done?
- Driveway: Cracks, uneven surfaces, drainage. Tarmac should be smooth and block paving level.
Common Serious Defects
Most snags are cosmetic, but keep your eyes open for: damp patches on walls or ceilings (possible plumbing leak or waterproofing failure), gaps around external doors and windows (draught and water ingress), uneven or bouncy floors (possible joist issues), and external cracks wider than 5mm (possible structural movement). These are the ones you really don’t want to miss.
NHBC Warranty
Most new builds come with a 10-year NHBC Buildmark warranty. Years 1–2 are the builder’s responsibility for all defects. Years 3–10 are NHBC-covered for structural defects only (foundations, load-bearing walls, roof structure). The builder’s obligation to fix cosmetic items ends after year 2. So report everything within the first two years. Everything.
Is a Professional Snagger Worth It?
In a word: yes. A professional snagging inspection costs £300–£600 and typically finds 2–3 times more items than a DIY inspection. They bring damp meters, thermal cameras, spirit levels, and years of experience knowing exactly where developers cut corners. If you’re spending £300,000+ on a property, £400 for a professional eye is a no-brainer.
Use our free Snagging List generator to create a customised checklist for your new build, tailored by property type and number of rooms.