Glossary

Snag and snag list

A snag is a minor defect or unfinished detail found at or near completion, and a snag list is the list of them walked up before handover. Snagging is the act of walking the building to find them.

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT GLOSSARY·UPDATED OCTOBER 2026

Where the word is used

British and Irish, and common in Australia and New Zealand for the pre-handover list. The United States calls the same list a punch list. In contracts the items on it are still defects.

On site

Snagging happens in the last weeks: a room-by-room walk, a list of everything short of finished, each item issued to a trade and chased before the client walks the same rooms. The snag list fails when it lives on paper or in a group chat, because the photo, the room and the trade drift apart.

On the record

How IssuesId holds it

IssuesId runs snagging as a defect register with a short capture flow: photo, room from the location tree or a QR label, trade, due date. Snags are issued by email with a no-login link, marked complete only with a photo of the finished work, and closed by someone on your side. The Door Sheet report prints one page per room for the walk.

Asked alongside

Two questions people ask

What is a snag list?

The list of minor defects and unfinished details walked up at or near completion, usually room by room, so each one can be issued to a trade and fixed before handover. In the United States it is a punch list; in contracts the items are defects.

When does a snag list stop being enough?

When two people on site each have their own copy, when the photos live somewhere other than the list, and when a line marked done cannot tell you who checked it. Past that point the list needs to be a register with one copy, a photo on each row, and a name and time on every change.

Related terms

Definitions describe common usage and the usual shape of standard-form contracts. Your contract and your jurisdiction’s building law set the terms that apply to your job. The whole list is at the glossary.