Snag list & photo evidence

Snagging that actually gets closed out

Every housebuilder has a snag list. Far fewer have a snag list where each item is photographed, located precisely, allocated to the trade responsible and closed with evidence. The gap between those two things is where handover delays and warranty claims live.

Why GPS and timestamps matter

A photograph of a cracked plaster ceiling proves very little on its own. The same photograph with coordinates placing it on plot 01 and a timestamp placing it before handover is evidence. For Part L photographic requirements and BREL reporting the standard is higher still — the image must be tied to a specific dwelling and a specific build stage — which is why the coordinates are captured by the device rather than typed in afterwards.

Allocation and close-out permissions

Each snag carries a trade. Contractors get a link showing only their own items, and you choose what they can do with it: view only, mark items complete, or mark them complete only when they attach a photograph. That last setting is the one most sites end up using, because it removes the argument about whether something was actually done.

Worked example: the pre-completion walk

Plot 01 above had a pre-completion walk on 11 August that raised eleven items. Two are shown here. Each was captured on the phone during the walk rather than written on a clipboard and typed up later, allocated immediately, and sent out the same afternoon. The plot’s CML date holds because the close-out started that day instead of the following week.

Keeping the history after handover

Defects do not stop at handover. Because customer care issues sit on the same plot record as construction snags, a call about a door two years later opens onto the full history of that dwelling — what was raised, who fixed it, and the photographs taken at the time.