We are missing the point about snagging during construction - I don?t give a fig about the HSE implications going on site - I am not talking about Joe Public wandering around, if you go with your snagging list Mr & Mrs Smith and retired bricklayer, joiner or plumber who?s set himself up as Snaggers Inc it?s not going to work. The general snags that are visible a week before completion are top show, you don?t climb the roof to look at the flashing, crawl in the roof space and see if the flexibles are connected to the wall vents, you are looking at 1% of possible snags when you walk around on the one and only day the builder lets you on site. Why do you think they do it that way!
You are wasting your time, it?s got to be snagging as you build or forget it.
The program on TV provided evidence that major snags would not be discovered until sometime after completion, why the hell do you think that the NHBC spent millions on claims, these claims were not snags that were visible at completion or completion would have never taken place.
Let?s get real, only as you go will do for me, if you are going to change something make it better, like Honda!
If you can't snag as you go - then only a 5% retention fund will work in the buyers favour, the buyer has no rights at present, and NHBC is as funny as the M20 on a Monday and Tuesday etc etc.
Yosser,
You seem to be missing the point!
This site wont change methods within the building industry, nor will the developers build better home's because of this web site!
The NHBC isn't there for the customer, it's there for the banks that lend money! Mortgage's are quite hard to secure on a new build without NHBC warrenty!
If house purchaser's realised that they haven't one single person or association on there side throughout the process, before or after the contractual stage's, then safeguards could be put into place to protect them when the defects become visually evident!
As you so rightly said, MP's need to be lobbied and some sort of protection for the purchaser's need's to be implemented into the system!
It will take year's to benefit everybody but this site is a good place to start, if only the developer's themselves read these post's and realised how much stress & anxiety that the purchaser's suffer!
I for one back this site 100% & wish it every success!
You are spot on houses do need to be snagged as they are built. Unfortunately the industry inspectors/ site managers (NHBC )both have incentives to just get the houses built and sold. On my previos new build house I employed a Chartered Surveyor to carry out 5 no inspections during the build procees. Total waste of money. The reports were 100% standard industry waffle with comments like " the standard of construction to date would appear to be satisfactory". I took lots of build photos and showed them to civil engineering work mates who could not believe the lack of quality etc.. and pointed out all kinds of problems with the build. These were notified to the House Builder and partly rectified.
I think getting impartial accurate advice/construction reports during build is needed but who will do it? What will be the cost? Will the house builders suddenly change their construction methods/quality? NOT A CHANCE.
Only as you go snagging will do, not at the end! 
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