Guides / How to do a snagging list that actually gets closed out

How to do a snagging list that actually gets closed out

Updated 1 November 2026

A snag is a defect or unfinished item: a chipped door, a missing socket cover, paint on the glass, a door that won't close. Each one is small. Two hundred of them at handover is how a job ends badly.

A good snagging list is clear enough that the person fixing it can find the snag, understand it and close it without phoning you. This guide covers how to write one.

When to snag

Don't leave it all to the end. Snag each area as the trades finish in it, while the right subcontractor is still on site and the scaffold or access is still up.

Then do a final snag before handover, and expect the client or their representative to do their own. Most building contracts also give a period after handover in which defects that show up must be put right, so keep the record going after you leave.

How to walk a building

Snagging goes faster and misses less when you do it the same way every time:

Go room by room, in the same order as the drawings, and name each room the way the drawings do
In each room, work in a fixed order: ceiling, walls, windows, doors, floor, then fixtures and services
Open and close every door and window, and try every tap, light, switch and socket
Look along walls and ceilings with a torch held flat to the surface, which shows up uneven finishes
Check outside too: brickwork, roof line, gutters, drainage, paving and landscaping
Take good light and a charged phone. Snagging in the dark misses half of it

What to record for each snag

Every item on the list should answer the questions the person fixing it will ask:

A number, so it can be talked about on the phone and ticked off
Exactly where it is: building, floor, room and which wall or item
What's wrong, in a few plain words
A photo, with the problem marked if it isn't obvious
Which trade or subcontractor needs to fix it
A date it needs to be done by
Whether it's done, and a photo of it fixed

Write it so it can't be misread

"Bedroom 2, wall behind the door: plaster cracked, about 300 mm, from the corner of the frame" gets fixed. "Crack in bedroom" gets a phone call, or gets missed.

One snag per item. If a door has a damaged frame and a missing handle, that's two items, because they may be two different trades.

Getting it closed out

Send each trade only their items, and agree a date. Go back and check every item yourself rather than taking "done" on trust, and photograph it fixed so the record shows the work was finished.

Keep the list open until every item is closed or agreed with the client. A snagging list that stops halfway is worse than none, because it looks like the job was finished.

Snagging in Sitro

With Sitro's Photo Reports, you snag with the phone's camera as you walk: each photo becomes a numbered item with its location and notes, and you can mark up the photo to show exactly what's wrong. Photos already in Files can be added too. Group reports by building, area or phase, then export a client-ready PDF with a cover and a sign-off, or a ZIP with the original photos.

Photo Reports: Numbered photo reports for snags, progress and inspections, exported as branded PDFs.
Files: A cloud drive for every project, with drawing and photo markup and folder ZIP export.
Tasks: A board for the job's to-dos, with your own columns, groups and reminders.
Sitro vs spreadsheets, group chats and paper: Move the job out of spreadsheets, group chats and notebooks into one app.

Start a 14-day free trial, no sales call.

Questions

What is the difference between a snag and a defect?

People use the words loosely. A snag usually means a small defect or unfinished item found before or at handover. A defect can be anything not built as it should be, found at any time.

Who does the snagging?

Usually the site manager or the contractor's own team first, then the client or their representative before or at handover. Each trade should check its own work before calling it finished.

Should every snag have a photo?

Yes, if you can. A photo makes the snag easy to find, settles arguments about what was there, and a second photo shows it was fixed.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.