Fancy title. This is a list of everything I can think of to check in a new house.
It is now also a list of everything David O'Loughlin can think of as well. See Page 2: By David O'Loughlin to find out what I mean.
If you go through this list and write down everything you can see that's wrong, you should have a pretty good snag list even before your engineer or surveyor gets going.
This was motivated by my own recent experiences and the fact that surveyors and engineers are more concerned with structural things than with nitty gritty items like electric sockets working.
I hope this is some use to you. I will try and constantly improve it so that it is comprehensive. THIS IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR HAVING YOUR HOUSE PROPERLY INSPECTED BY A PROFESSIONAL. We did not have one but that was our decision and I am an engineer (though not a civil engineer).
| Area | Description |
|---|---|
| Attic | Is it insulated ? |
| Attic | access door and surround on landing needs repainting |
| Bathroom | floor near base of toilet uneven and rough |
| Bathroom | Bath surround not properly attached |
| Bed 2 | gaps between skirting sections and between skirting and wall |
| Bed 2 | Skirting patched rather than finished properly |
| Bed 3 | architrave damaged |
| Bed 3 | gap between window sill and window frame |
| Bed 4 | wall destroyed around light switch |
| Bed 4 | hole in wall near window sill |
| Bed 4 | gap between window sill and window frame |
| Bed 4 | Damage to landing door architrave and adjoining walls |
| Cloak Room | Damage to skirting board |
| Cloak Room | Repainting required on ceiling and skirting |
| Doors | Master bed door does not close properly |
| Doors | 3rd bed door does not lock |
| Doors | handles are very stiff |
| Doors | Open holes in the hall/living room door around glass panel. |
| Doors | Need keys to check they lock |
| Doors | 25mm clearance required under hall to living room door and living room double doors. There is not enough clearance at present. |
| Ensuite | earth wiring obvious on radiator (Withdrawn) |
| Ensuite | sealing around shower incomplete |
| Ensuite | gaps around shower control knobs |
| Ensuite | temperature knob on shower will not go beyond setting 6 |
| Ensuite | architrave damaged |
| Floors | All downstairs floors seem to vary in height - additional levelling seems to have been added recently - Downstairs floor must be level. |
| Floors | upstairs floors have a number of knot holes - can these be filled or replaced |
| Floors | bedroom 1 + 4 and bathroom - splintering and excessive holes around radiator piping |
| Hall | bottom riser now meets floor - used to be an inch above it - is this a problem for installation of wooden floor |
| Hall | damaged architrave around cloakroom door |
| Hall | garage step very rough |
| Hall | plaster or concrete stuck to surround on right hand side of front door |
| Hall | plaster or concrete stuck to glass panel of living-room door |
| Hall | wiring inside front door for phone etc untidy and unsightly |
| Hall | Bannister end posts need to be refinished or replaced very rough |
| Hotpress | Immersion not wired |
| Kitchen | breakfast bar too short not as per showhouse plan and agreement |
| Kitchen | bubbling on breakfast bar cabinet door |
| Kitchen | cooker hood door too large a gap on either side |
| Kitchen | end panel of corner to right of utility door does not match other panels |
| Kitchen | hob not installed knobs to be on right |
| Kitchen | Tiling at edge of kitchen units around sink does not match well with kick board |
| Kitchen | wall tiling not done |
| Kitchen | gap between window sill and window frame |
| Hall | Nail on first step sticking out |
| Hall | Door needs extra screw at bottom |
| Kitchen | plaster or concrete attached to floor tiles |
| Kitchen | cooker extractor fan not connected |
| Kitchen | Curved edges of corner unit doors unfinished and unsightly |
| Kitchen | Sink draining board dented or bent |
| Kitchen | grout attached to wall over breakfast bar |
| Landing | no handle on door to hotpress |
| Landing | extra laths requested in hot press |
| Landing | Smoke alarm as per electric spec not installed Urgent |
| Living Room | hall door glass panel does not match adjoining fixed panel |
| Kitchen | kitchen floor to be protected from any repainting spills. |
| Living Room | gap under side panel for wooden floor ? Withdrawn |
| Living Room | gap between window sill and window frame |
| Living Room | corner at right side of fireplace is a long way from square |
| Living Room | corner at left side of window is not square |
| Living Room | paint splashed on fireplace |
| Living Room | Double doors- handle is stiff. |
| Living Room | Double doors- upper fixing hole unfinished |
| Living Room | Double doors- rebate needs to be repaired rough and splintered |
| Living Room | Double doors- top of door very rough |
| Living Room | TV point is single rather than double |
| Living Room | gas pipe extremely obvious |
| Master Bed | Landing door does not close properly |
| Master Bed | Landing door architrave needs to be repainted |
| Master Bed | TV point is single rather than double |
| Master Bed | phone point not finished |
| Master Bed | missing wardrobe door above vanity cabinet |
| Master Bed | socket under vanity unit should be closer to front as per discussions with electrician |
| Master Bed | clothes rail to left of vanity is too low. should be about 4 inches higher and adjust shelf |
| Master Bed | Left window extremely stiff |
| Outside | Brick missing to the right of front door |
| Outside | fascia damaged above front door |
| Outside | No Downpipes |
| Outside | Downpipe shores missing covers |
| Outside | missing covers on sewerage pipes plus pipes full of rubbish |
| Outside | Vent on outside of 4th bedroom upside-down |
| Outside | concrete edge of patio protrudes under soil. very little soil covering this concrete |
| Outside | Garden walls incomplete |
| Outside | front gate pillars heights need to be adjusted |
| Outside | Front (right) garden not level |
| Outside | large amount of debris included in soil to the left of driveway |
| Outside | Loose concrete attached to walkway on the left side of the house |
| Outside | earthing point exposed outside rear door |
| Outside | cooker extractor fan outlet not properly sealed |
| Outside | when will it be seeded |
| Landing | Bannister posts very rough |
| Outside | Front pillars to be evened up. |
| Living Room | hall door handle stiff |
| Outside | Broken slate in front of house above front door. |
| Outside | copper pipe protruding from side wall above gas boiler vent - not sealed around hole in wall |
| Outside | Drive not sanded |
| Outside | Extra topsoil required in corners and along back wall |
| Outside | Wooden fencing not installed. gates on both sides required. |
| Skirting | will need to be attached properly after installation of wooden floor |
| Skirting | all unpainted skirting not flush with wall |
| Outside | Provided crow guard to be installed |
| Painting | skirting - architraves - kitchen and other areas are badly marked or unpainted - retouching will be needed. Do not retouch the master bedroom or bedroom 2 please |
| keys | I understand that the keys have gone missing again we regard the security of the house to be irrevocably compromised and require the locks to be changed before we take possession. |
| checked | electric sockets |
| checked | electric lights |
| checked | showers |
| checked | water pressure |
| checked | gas |
| checked | radiator thermostats |
| checked | gas fire connection |
| checked | toilet flush |
| checked | attic electric socket and other attic issues |
| checked | electric shower |
| Utility | Skirting needs to be flush with floor |
| Utility | casing next to boiler unpainted and unfinished |
| Utility | all voids and cavities around pipes need to be sealed |
| Utility | hole in wall near window sill |
| Utility | plaster or concrete stuck to back door |
| Utility | kitchen / utility door does not shut properly |
| Utility | Gas Boiler and casing next to it not square |
| Skirting | not attached properly in under stairs cupboard |
| Utility | Bottom of back door uneven and a large gap between it and the floor |
| Throughout | Internal vent covers not attached at all 4 corners |
| Windows | they don't stay open. |
| Windows | Need keys to check they lock |
| Water | Water comes up through bath plug hole when water is drained from sink in main bathroom. Also very noisy gurgling during draining |
| Ensuite | Light fitting not connecting properly to lightbulb |
| Utility | water pipes for washing machine colour coded incorrectly |
| Water | Water Pressure in shower in main batroom unacceptably low - falls to dribble if you take the shower head off the wall. Urgent |
Well that's it. Hope our experiences were some help. Add an entry to the guestbook if you have any comments.