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One unique selling point when instructing our company to carry out a snagging survey on your new build house is that we use specialist equipment to inspect areas out of sight. Over the past few weeks we have found several properties with damaged ridge tiles which were not identified by the builder.
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Our snagging surveyor Joe today found a boiler giving off carbon monoxide reading.
This is a deadly gas that we check for as standard part of a snagging inspection. Whilst rare to find, it demonstrates that even a brand new boiler that has been installed and signed off by a gas safe engineer can be dangerous and had the potential to kill the occupants had we not gone into the premises pre-completion.
Tucking the insulation to the eaves is a very common shortfall we find and heat loss is evident as a result as shown by the thermal image. Similarly it is quite common for us to find the wrong insulation being used on party walls. This image below shows a party wall as seen from the loft which has been retro-fitted with no cavity socks; it should have acoustic insulation all the way down to prevent noise issues. 
As part of our standard snagging inspection we check sockets and lights have been correctly connected. It is surprising how many issues we find on a new build inspection: the following examples have been found by our snaggers Joe and Lee over just the past week alone.
 When buying a new-build property it is very common for the sales staff to put you off using a professional snagging company and explain that there is no need because the site and warranty inspector will have been inspected it and signed it off.
Unfortunately the biggest mistake that new-build purchasers make is they trust this and find out issues the hard way. The above photograph was taken by our snagging inspector Frazer today and it goes to show how serious issues can be missed by all those that go around before us. One of the worst houses we have inspected externally was actually very good inside and the customer walked around and almost cancelled the inspection with us! So if you are considering a snagging inspection, don't just base your decision on the quality internally when walking around as there will be many things only our inspectors will be able to identify using specialist equipment.
Let's take a few examples from Gareth's inspections this month: the pictures here show issues all falling out of building regulations, including breaches of fire safety regulations, joinery and heating. These are issues that you just wouldn't know to look for as a homeowner (or in most instances as a Site Manager) as you rely on trades doing their job properly.
As part of the snagging inspection, our snaggers will check the soil for topsoil consistency. The NHBC say that it should have 100mm topsoil which should not contain contaminants. Needless to say, we rarely find this and whenever we see turf failing to knit (a sign in this weather being it is yellowing) we like to see why... On an inspection this week our professional snagger identified a moisture patch on a ceiling in the dining room. We were concerned about the high moisture and so the Site Manager visited in concern the ceiling was in jeopardy. He was somewhat unhelpful and said the issue was sorted and we were trying to scare the customer. After a frank discussion, it was agreed to bore a hole in the ceiling...
There was a huge amount of collected water above the ceiling and it continued to drain like this for several hours; the below video shows it still draining after an access hole was cut through to investigate it's origin. It is a good example where the site managers do not often have the experience to identify underlying serious issues like this, which frankly was dangerous. This weekend we attended a property built by one of the largest (volume build) construction company's in the UK. One benefit of buying a property through a large company like this is that there should be no design flaws since it has been drawn up by a Technical team and had a proven track record through many hundred/thousand of houses built in the same way. This is not always the case however as demonstrated in this house we inspected. It is a good example how our snagging surveyors have a critical eye for detail and we draw upon our years of experience to know when something isn't right. On arrival we knew this house design should have been reversed (or "handed" as it is known as): The position of Master Bedroom window left little room for a bed and offered a 3ft view out onto the neighbours rendered wall. With such issues which is a clear design flaw, it is important to rectify because it may affect the future sale of the property.  |
A Snaggers BlogHomeSnag inspectors are experts at inspecting new-build houses. This blog shares real examples to demonstrate the importance of getting your new build house or apartment snagged professionally Archives
January 2019
"I always insist that there is specific provision for snagging," says Thomas Moran, partner at law firm Speechly Bircham. "Reputable developers do this anyway, but there are all sorts in the market, some big, some small, so you need a contractual promise than within, say, a year they will come back to remedy any minor defects in the finishing." read full article here
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