Generate a Snagging List Template
Create a detailed room-by-room snagging checklist tailored to a specific building type for systematic defect identification at practical completion.
Editor: Owen HaggerLast updated
Overview
This workflow helps Site Managers prepare comprehensive snagging checklists before carrying out pre-completion inspections. It generates a structured, room-by-room template covering all typical defect categories for the specific building type.
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Prompt
You are an experienced UK Site Manager preparing for a pre-completion snagging inspection. Generate a detailed snagging checklist for the following: Building Details: - Project: [PROJECT NAME] - Building Type: [TYPE, e.g., 2-bedroom apartment / Hotel room / Office floor plate / Primary school classroom wing] - Number of Units/Rooms to Inspect: [NUMBER, e.g., 12 apartments] - Construction Type: [TYPE, e.g., RC frame, brick/block cavity walls, drylining internally] - Fit-Out Level: [LEVEL, e.g., Full fit-out including kitchen and bathroom / Cat A office / Shell and core] - Key Specification Items: [LIST, e.g., Engineered oak flooring, porcelain wall tiles to bathrooms, spray-painted MDF kitchens, MVHR system] Generate a snagging checklist structured as follows: For each room/area type (e.g., Entrance Hall, Living Room, Kitchen, Bedroom 1, Bedroom 2, Bathroom, En-suite, Storage Cupboard, Communal Corridor, External): Create a checklist table with columns: - Item Number - Location (room/area) - Element (e.g., Walls, Ceiling, Floor, Door, Window, Ironmongery, Joinery, Sanitaryware, Electrical, Mechanical) - Check Point (specific item to inspect) - Status (blank, to be filled: Pass / Snag / N/A) - Snag Description (blank, to be filled on site) - Priority (blank, to be filled: 1-Critical / 2-Major / 3-Minor / 4-Cosmetic) - Photo Ref (blank, to be filled) - Responsible Trade (blank, to be filled) - Target Date (blank, to be filled) - Date Closed (blank, to be filled) Include check points for: - Surface finish quality (walls, ceilings, floors: flatness, decoration, damage) - Doors (operation, ironmongery, fire door signage and intumescent strips where applicable) - Windows (operation, seals, locks, trickle vents, cleaning) - M&E (switches, sockets, lights: operation and alignment, extract fans, radiators/UFH) - Sanitaryware (taps, basins, WCs, baths/showers: operation, sealing, leaks) - Joinery (kitchens, wardrobes: doors aligned, drawers operating, worktop joints) - Fire safety (detection heads, signage, compartmentation seals visible) - Building Regulations compliance items (safety glazing manifestation, Part M items, ventilation) - External (brickwork pointing, DPC, drainage, paths, landscaping) Add a summary section at the end for: - Total snags by priority - Open and closed snags by responsible trade - Sign-off for re-inspection - Date of inspection and inspector name Reference the NHBC Standards where applicable for residential projects.
Typical result
~1hby hand~20mwith AI
A cautious typical estimate, including the time to gather the inputs and check the output. It varies with the job.
What it replaces: Writing a room-by-room snagging template.
What you still check
- Rooms and finishes match the building
- Snags are worded so the trade knows what to fix
- Photos and locations are attached
Use Case
Use 2-4 weeks before planned practical completion to prepare your snagging templates. Customise the checklist to your specific building type and specification, then print or use digitally during the inspection walkthrough.
When not to use it
Don't use it as the inspection. It gives you a checklist to walk the building with; the snags come from what you find. Whether a defect is acceptable is the site manager's call against the specification, and completion is for the certifier.
It's not the right tool for fire safety or building regulations sign-off either. Fire stopping, compartmentation and fire doors need checking by competent people, and higher-risk buildings have their own completion process under the Building Safety Act. A template can remind you to look. It can't sign anything off.
Common mistakes
- Leaving all the snagging to one inspection at the end. Get each trade to snag its own work as areas finish, so your inspection finds less.
- Raising snags with no responsible trade against them, so they sit on the list while each subcontractor blames the next.
- Inspecting before the clean or in poor light, so marks get missed.
- Not agreeing the standard first. Settle the benchmarks, such as sample panels or the NHBC Standards on new homes, before the walk round, not during the argument.
- Forgetting the areas nobody lives in: risers, plant rooms, the roof and the external works.
Frequently asked questions
- What is snagging in construction?
- Checking finished work for defects, incomplete items and damage, and getting them put right before handover. It usually happens in the run-up to practical completion. Defects that show up later are dealt with under the contract's defects arrangements.
- What's the difference between snags and defects?
- Snags are usually minor items picked up before or at handover, such as damaged paintwork or a sticking door. Defects is the wider contractual term for work that doesn't meet the contract, and they can appear after completion: under JCT they're dealt with in the rectification period, and under NEC4 up to the defects date. Check your contract and take advice.
- Can practical completion be certified with snags outstanding?
- Often, if the items are minor and don't stop the building being used as intended, but it depends on the contract and the facts. JCT doesn't define practical completion, while NEC4 defines Completion by reference to the Scope. The decision sits with the certifier the contract names, not the contractor and not an AI tool. Check your contract and take advice.
- Who should carry out a snagging inspection?
- The contractor's site manager should snag first, with each trade signing off its own work. The client's side, often an employer's agent or clerk of works, then carries out its own inspection. On new homes, buyers sometimes bring in an independent snagging inspector as well.
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