SNAGGING: WHAT DOES IT MEAN ON A BUILD?

Your project is about to end — now is the time to get to grips with snagging for a quality finish, says master builder Andy Stevens

- Andy Stevens

As every trade will admit, this is the part of the job we least look forward to. Most of the time, the work has been done and we are looking forward to moving onto the next job. Over the years, I have had some small snagging lists — and some huge ones. The largest I had was 42 pages of A4 (the client put a picture on each page and hadn’t done a snagging list before so there was all sorts on there!).

This is often an area which can cause disagreements between contractor and client. I will therefore do my best to explain snagging for both sides.

Firstly, what is snagging? According to my dictionary, snagging is “the process of checking a new building for minor faults that need to be rectified”. True, but a little vague. All works have snagging, from decorating to major new builds. At the end of any type of works, snagging is when a list of minor blemishes is put together for the contractor to go through and put right. However, there has always been a grey area of what is snagging and what isn’t.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE SNAGGING STAGE

Snagging is just as important as any other stage of the job. This is what makes your home look stunning rather than average. This is also where a relationship between contractor and client finishes on the job, so it’s always best to agree this and finish on good terms. As a contractor, I also know that I have my final payment held back for snagging so I am as keen as the client to finish this.

Here are some examples of what you might expect to include on a snagging list:

● Touch up any damaged paintwork

● Plane any new doors that are binding