There are many reasons why a newly built house can have defects or snags. For all newly built house owners, it is important to understand how and why they have happened. These problems nearly always start with the bottom line, either for the builder or the subcontractors they employ to build your new house.
Here are my reasons why newly built houses have snags starting with:
Profit
House Building Companies need to understand that people (customers) should come before profit, unfortunately, this will never happen as most PLC housebuilders are driven by profit to satisfy their shareholders and business requirements.
Production
Programmes and budgets drive the timescales site team must produce your new home, this can be anywhere between 14 and 24 weeks from start to completion.
Inferior materials
Costs dictate the quality of the materials used; subcontractors are encouraged to cut costs to win the contract. At some point, corners will be cut to enable the contractor to make a profit.
Poor trades
Trades are interested in making money and have little pride in what they produce, this lack of interest and ability leads to poor quality.
Many snags? Bad attitude
No one cares or bothers to think about what they are producing for the end-user, you the new home buyer.
Lack of attention to detail
The little details matter in the overall quality and finish of your new home, it is this attention to detail that separates the poorest builders from the better ones. These problems can easily be rectified if you hire a good professional snagger. Wondering where to find one? Read my blog on how to find the right snagger for you.
Insufficient knowledge and experience
The housebuilding industry is in desperate need of qualified managers and assistant site managers with the knowledge and experience necessary to produce a quality product. The reason why you may have so many snags is that the snagging professional wasn’t as trained as they told you. Sadly, this happens a lot because professional snaggers aren’t regulated.
Insufficient supervision
Subcontractors are notoriously bad at supervising their own work and taking responsibility for poor workmanship. This is due to a severe lack of trades within the industry. There has been little or no intake of apprentices over the last few years which is now starting to impact on the industry.
Poor management and control
Given all of the above, it is no surprise that the quality of newly built homes is in such a poor state, it is down to the site team to implement and insist on quality, put systems in place, and to monitor and improve them.
Your warranty providers such as the NHBC, LABC and Premier Guarantee are inspecting your new home at regular intervals throughout its construction.
However, they probably only inspect your new house during its construction for approximately one hour in total, covering the five key stage inspections which equate to approximately 10 minutes an inspection.
- Foundation
- Drainage (Only if doing Building Control)
- Superstructure
- First Fix
- Pre-Handover Inspection (CML)
If you’ve received your new build survey report and seen many snags, get in touch with Lively Professional Services today. With over 40 years of experience in the building industry, I have the expertise, knowledge and reputation to help rectify any snags in your new build. Get in contact today.
Check out some of the snags we have found on our YouTube channel.
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