Has anyone had one of these done on a purchase of a new build? Was it worth it?

The house in question has been built by an independent builder, not a big company like Persimmon’s/Kier etc. From looking around it seems to have all been done to a high quality so not sure if it’s worth spending the money.

I think, if you google, you can get suggested lists of areas to snag if you fancy doing it yourself. I’m pretty sure a mate did something similar after a major refurb on his house. Not a bad idea to get every little thing recorded.

The best snagging lists will be compiled by you as you use the property. Such as doors needing a tweak, drains not quite running correctly, kitchen cupboards realigning etc. Obvious snags such as crap plastering etc should easily be picked up by you or hopefully by the builder prior to any sale if he wants a smooth transaction. I’d always be more interested in completion certificates, what warranties are offered etc. Organising a years defects would also be a good idea. We tend to go back in and sort any settlement cracks in paintwork/woodwork etc as part of being right with the buyers. A utility room where a muddy dog has been living for 12 months would however not come under “defects”

‘Snagging’ is the building industry’s way of down-playing defects. A snag is a defect, plain and simple.

I think what level of inspection you decide to do depends on the certification that the building has already received: basic Building control approval, or has it got NHBC – or similar cover (insurance backed)?

If you, or a friend know what they are doing then it’s possible to download a checklist from the internet and do your own inspection. One of the most searching tests is to use your phone as a thermographic camera (download an app) and examine the walls and roof. This needs a decent temperature difference from inside to out, but will pick up any gaps in insulation, vapour barrier tears or mortar bridging of cavities. Similarly insulation defects on the roof, or poor sealing of eaves etc will be revealed.

Your builder will likely shit himself when you threaten this.

One of the most searching tests is to use your phone as a thermographic camera (download an app) and examine the walls and roof. This needs a decent temperature difference from inside to out, but will pick up any gaps in insulation, vapour barrier tears or mortar bridging of cavities. Similarly insulation defects on the roof, or poor sealing of eaves etc will be revealed.

Your builder will likely shit himself when you threaten this.

Nope. He’ll piss himself. Laughing*.

Mobile phone cameras are not really a suitable tool for thermography.

*This happens in our place every couple of weeks. We fit a LOT of insulation to peoples houses and have actual thermal imaging equipment to disprove the mobile phone “experts”

I’d suggest if it’s all already built then most of the significant snags are already safely hidden away in the plasterboard…

We decided against a snagging survey (or rather my wife did, she actually trusts the big new build developers for some insane reason, probably because her dad has shares in them or something).

As it turns out it’s been all good so far, although the effort they went to to address the snags we did identify has been comically bad so far, thankfully they’re only minor aesthetic things…

se your phone as a thermographic camera

It’s not April 1st any more is it? 😯

Nope. He’ll piss himself. Laughing*.

This. There is no way that a phone can determine thermal loss.

(Please can we have a ‘quick quote’ feature in the forum, rather than having to cut-and-paste? It’s so tedious. Although I accept that I’m opening a can of worms there as I could easily list a fair few more ‘would like to haves’)