Snagging Lists Explained: A Room-by-Room Guide for London Refurbishments
Updated 12 June 2026|8 min read
A snagging list is the list of small defects and unfinished items you and your contractor agree must be put right before a refurbishment is signed off. Snags are the minor faults, an uneven paint finish, a door that catches, a gap in the silicone, a loose socket, that are normal on any job and entirely fixable. Inspect the property room by room in good daylight once work is substantially complete, record every issue, and the contractor returns to resolve them before final payment. A reputable contractor welcomes a thorough snagging list, because it is how a good job becomes a finished one.
What is snagging?
Snagging is the final quality-control stage of a refurbishment, the point where the work is essentially complete and you go through the property identifying anything that has not been finished to standard.
A 'snag' is a minor defect in workmanship or finish: a patch of wall where the paint is uneven, a tile with too much grout, a cupboard door that is not aligned, a missing bit of sealant. Snags are not signs of a bad contractor; they are an inevitable feature of any build involving many trades, materials and hundreds of small operations. What separates a good contractor from a poor one is not the absence of snags but how willingly and thoroughly they are put right.
The snagging list is the written record of those items, agreed between you and the contractor. It turns vague dissatisfaction ("it doesn't feel finished") into a specific, actionable list that can be worked through and signed off. On our projects, the snagging walk-through is a normal, expected step, not an admission that something went wrong, and we would far rather you raised ten small items than stayed quiet and felt short-changed.
Common snags to look for
Snags cluster around the finishing trades, because that is where human judgement and fine tolerances meet. Knowing the usual suspects makes your inspection far more effective.
Paint and decoration: uneven coverage, visible roller marks, missed patches, paint on skirting or glass, and crisp lines where two colours or wall and ceiling meet. Look across surfaces with light raking along them, not straight on.
Doors, windows and handles: doors that catch, stick or do not close flush, handles that are loose or misaligned, gaps around frames, and windows that do not seal.
Tiling and grout: lippage (tiles sitting proud of their neighbours), uneven grout lines, cracked or hollow-sounding tiles, and grout colour that varies.
Silicone and sealant: gaps, untidy beads, and missing sealant where worktops, baths, basins and showers meet walls, a common source of leaks if left.
Electrics and sockets: sockets and switches that are not level or flush, loose faceplates, and fittings that are not centred.
Flooring: gaps at skirtings, lifting edges, squeaks, uneven boards and mismatched thresholds. These categories cover the overwhelming majority of snags on any London refurbishment.
How to inspect room by room
A systematic, room-by-room walk-through finds far more than a casual look around. Take it one room at a time, in daylight, with a notepad or phone, and do not rush.
Work to a consistent pattern in each room: start at the door, move around the walls clockwise, then do the ceiling, the floor, and finally fittings and services. Open every door and window, operate every switch and socket, run every tap, and flush every WC. Look at surfaces with light raking across them, which reveals paint and plaster defects that vanish under direct light.
Number each snag, note its exact location ("main bedroom, wall left of window, paint run"), and photograph it. A list with locations and photos is unambiguous and saves disputes about what was meant. The checklist below gives you a room-by-room structure to work through.
Do the walk-through with your contractor where possible. Most snags are agreed on the spot, and seeing them together avoids the back-and-forth of a list emailed cold. Be reasonable, too: snagging is for genuine defects, not for changing your mind about choices you signed off earlier.
Room / area
Key snags to check
Kitchen
Cupboard alignment, worktop seams, silicone to splashback, appliance fit, sockets level, tap function
Bathroom
Tile lippage and grout, silicone to bath/shower/basin, sealant at floor, WC flush, extractor working, no leaks
Bedrooms
Paint finish, door operation, wardrobe alignment, sockets and switches, flooring gaps at skirting
Living room
Wall and ceiling finish, skirting and architrave, flooring, radiator fixings, media/sockets
Hall and stairs
Paint to high walls, handrail fixing, stair finish, threshold strips, light fittings
Throughout
Doors closing flush, gloss to woodwork, sealant lines, switch plates flush, no debris in fittings
Retention and the sign-off process
Snagging is tied to the final payment, and on well-run projects to a retention, a small percentage of the contract sum held back until snags are cleared.
A common arrangement is to hold a retention of around 2.5–5% of the contract value at practical completion (the point where the work is usable and substantially finished). This sum is released once the snagging list has been worked through and you are satisfied. Retention aligns everyone's interests: it gives the contractor a clear incentive to return promptly and finish properly, and it gives you confidence that the last items will not be forgotten once the bulk of the money has changed hands.
The sequence is straightforward: practical completion is agreed, you carry out the snagging inspection (alone or together), the list is issued, the contractor returns to resolve each item, you re-inspect, and on sign-off the retention is released. Whether a formal retention is used depends on the contract; on smaller jobs a simple agreement to hold the final instalment until snags are cleared achieves the same thing. The principle that matters is that you should never release the final payment before the snagging list is genuinely complete.
Why a reputable contractor welcomes a snagging list
It can feel awkward to hand a contractor a list of faults, but a good one treats it as a normal and even welcome part of the job.
A thorough snagging list protects the contractor as much as the client. It draws a clear line under what is agreed to be outstanding, so once those items are done, the job is demonstrably finished and final payment is justified. Without a list, "it's not quite right" can drag on indefinitely with no clear endpoint, which serves nobody.
It is also a matter of professional pride. The trades who did the work want it to look its best, and a snagging walk-through is the chance to put right the small things that slipped through, while access and materials are still on hand. Resolving snags now, before scaffolding comes down and paint tins are taken away, is far cheaper and easier than returning months later.
The contractors to be wary of are the ones who resist a snagging inspection, dismiss reasonable items or vanish once the bulk of the money is paid. A willingness to walk the job with you and own the snaglist is one of the clearest signs you hired the right firm.
Defects-liability period and guarantees
Snagging deals with the visible faults at completion, but some defects only emerge once the property is lived in, and that is what the defects-liability period covers.
The defects-liability period (sometimes called a rectification or maintenance period) is a window after completion, commonly six to twelve months, during which the contractor remains responsible for putting right defects that arise from their workmanship or materials. Shrinkage cracks as plaster dries, a tile that works loose, a seal that fails, settling that opens a small gap: these are the typical defects that surface in the first months and fall to the contractor to fix.
Keep a note of anything that appears during this period and report it in good time rather than waiting until the window is about to close. A reputable contractor expects a small number of these and returns to deal with them as a matter of course.
Beyond the defects period, guarantees and warranties continue to protect you: manufacturer warranties on boilers, appliances and certain materials, installer guarantees on elements like waterproofing and roofing, and any workmanship guarantee the contractor offers. Keep the paperwork, completion certificate, building control sign-off, warranties and guarantees, together, because it is also exactly what a buyer's solicitor will ask for when you sell.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a snagging list in a refurbishment?
A snagging list is the agreed list of minor defects and unfinished items, things like uneven paint, misaligned doors, gaps in silicone or tiling faults, that must be put right before a refurbishment is signed off and the final payment released. It is produced from a room-by-room inspection once the work is substantially complete, and a reputable contractor returns to resolve every item on it.
When should snagging be done?
Carry out the snagging inspection at practical completion, the point where the work is substantially finished and the property is usable, and before you release the final payment. Inspect in good daylight, ideally with the contractor present so items can be agreed on the spot. Doing it before final payment, rather than after, is what gives the contractor the incentive to return and finish properly.
How much retention should I hold on a refurbishment?
A common arrangement is to hold a retention of around 2.5–5% of the contract value at practical completion, released once the snagging list is cleared and you are satisfied. On smaller jobs, simply holding the final instalment until snags are resolved achieves the same effect. The principle is that you should never release the last payment before the snagging list is genuinely complete.
What is the defects-liability period?
It is a window after completion, commonly six to twelve months, during which the contractor remains responsible for fixing defects arising from their workmanship or materials, such as shrinkage cracks, a loosened tile or a failed seal. Report any defects that appear within the period in good time, and keep your warranties, guarantees and building control certificate together for future reference and for selling the property.
Is it normal to have a snagging list after a refurbishment?
Yes, entirely. Snags are an inevitable feature of any build involving many trades and fine tolerances, and their presence is not a sign of a poor contractor. What matters is how willingly the contractor resolves them. A good firm welcomes a thorough snagging walk-through, because it gives the job a clear, demonstrable endpoint and lets the trades put right the small things while access and materials are still on site.
