Pre-completion inspection checklist

A pre-completion inspection checklist, with the hold points marked.

Fifty-five checks across nine areas of a residential unit, four of them hold points, each phrased so Yes means it passes. Download it, copy it into a sheet, or read why the checks are the checks and where a paper checklist breaks. No form, no email.

↓ Excel (.xlsx)11 KB · 55 checks pre-filled, drop-downs for Result and Hold point, header frozen, a second sheet explaining the columns↓ CSV5 KB · the same checks and columns, opens in anything
55 CHECKS · 9 AREAS · 4 HOLD POINTS · NO GATE
AEntry
  1. Front door closes and latches without lifting or forcing
  2. Lockset and all keys operate; keys tagged to the unit
  3. Door stop fitted; door does not strike a wall or fitting
  4. Intercom or access control rings and releases
  5. Entry floor finish level, no lippage or cracked tiles
BLiving and dining
  1. Walls free of marks, patching shadows and nail pops
  2. Cornice continuous; no gaps or cracked joins
  3. Skirting fixed, gaps caulked and painted
  4. Windows open, close and lock; weep holes clear
  5. Window reveals and sills sealed; no daylight at frames
  6. Floor finish free of scratches, gaps and squeaks
  7. Every GPO and switch tested live
  8. TV and data points terminated and live
  9. Air conditioning runs on heat and cool; condensate drains
  10. Blinds or curtains fitted and operate
CKitchen
  1. Benchtop joins sealed and flush
  2. Cupboard doors aligned; handles fixed
  3. Drawers run to full extension and self-close
  4. Splashback silicone continuous at bench and wall
  5. Sink drains freely; no leak under bench after running
  6. Mixer operates; no drip at rest
  7. Dishwasher connected, cycles, no leak
  8. Rangehood runs and vents; filter fitted
  9. Cooktop and oven operate on every element
  10. GPOs above bench live and clear of the splashback edge
DBathroom and ensuite
  1. Waterproofing certificate sighted for this wet areaHOLD
  2. Tiles level, no cracks, no drummy tiles
  3. Grout complete and consistent; no missing runs
  4. Silicone continuous at wall-to-floor and wall-to-wall junctions
  5. Floor falls to waste; no ponding after water testHOLD
  6. Shower screen sealed; no leak outside the screen after test
  7. Vanity drains; no leak under after running
  8. Toilet flushes fully and stops; no running cistern
  9. Exhaust fan runs and vents
  10. Mirror, rails and accessories fixed and level
EBedrooms
  1. Door closes and latches; no rub on carpet
  2. Robe doors aligned and run freely
  3. Robe shelving and rail fixed and level
  4. Carpet seams tight; edges tucked
  5. Windows open, close and lock
FLaundry
  1. Taps operate; no drip at rest
  2. Tub drains freely; no leak under
  3. Washing machine and dryer points live
  4. Floor waste present and clear
  5. External door seals; no daylight at threshold
GBalcony and terrace
  1. Falls to drain; no ponding after water test
  2. Balustrade fixed and secure under loadHOLD
  3. Door threshold sealed; no water entry after test
  4. Tiles or decking sound; no drummy or loose units
HServices
  1. Smoke alarm tested and interconnectedHOLD
  2. Switchboard labelled; RCDs test and reset
  3. Hot water unit runs; temperature at the furthest outlet
  4. Water meter and isolation valve located and labelled
  5. Gas isolation located and labelled
  6. NBN or fibre termination fitted and live
IExternal and common
  1. Unit number fitted at door and letterbox
  2. Letterbox key operates
  3. Garage door remote and manual release operate
  4. Storage cage door locks; number fitted
The file carries every check pre-filled with the Result, Defect no., Photo, Checked by and Checked on columns empty, plus three worked rows so the shape is visible before you start.
The columns

What each column is for

A pre-completion checklist does two jobs: it finds what is not finished, and it proves what was checked. The first five columns do the finding; the last five do the proving, and they are the ones left blank on most sheets.

01Ref
An area letter and an item number, the same on every unit, so a defect can quote “D3” and everyone knows it is the grout in the shower niche without opening the sheet.
02Area
The room or system the check belongs to. The walk goes area by area, so the sheet does too.
03Check
One observable thing, phrased so that Yes means it passes. “Silicone continuous at wall-to-floor junction” can be answered standing in the room; “bathroom finished to a good standard” cannot.
04Result
Pass, Fail or N/A. A Fail is a defect, and the defect gets raised on the register with a photo at the moment of the Fail, not typed up that evening from the sheet.
05Hold point
Yes for the four checks a unit cannot be signed off without: the waterproofing certificate, falls to waste, the balustrade and the smoke alarm. A hold point is not a severity; it is a rule that the walk does not finish with it open.
06Defect no.
The number of the defect raised for a Fail, on your register. This column is what joins the inspection to the list the trades work from; without it the two drift apart by Thursday.
07Photo
The filename of the photo taken at the check. Take one for every Fail and every hold point, even the passes, because the hold point is the one someone will ask about later.
08Checked by
Who answered it. A check answered by the site manager and one answered by the apprentice are both valid; the reader needs to know which.
09Checked on
The date answered. Not the date the sheet was tidied up.
10Notes
Anything else: a measurement, what was tested and for how long, what the trade said. Never a substitute for the Result column.
Filling it in

Three rows from one ensuite

D3, grout missing. Fail. A photo taken standing in the shower, a defect raised on the register as ABC-214 at the moment of the Fail, the number written back into the Defect no. column. The note says where and how much: left return of the niche, 300 mm run. The tiler can find it from the note alone.

D5, falls to waste. Pass, and a hold point, so it gets a photo anyway and the note records the test: ten minutes of water, drained in forty seconds. In month seven, when the owner says the floor ponded from day one, this row is the answer.

H1, smoke alarm. Pass, hold point, photo, note that both alarms sounded and the interconnect was confirmed. Nobody signs this unit off without it, and the sheet shows who confirmed it and when.

The limit

Where a paper checklist breaks

A checklist on paper, or in an app that only produces a PDF, works for one inspector on a handful of units. It fails in three predictable ways, none of them about how carefully it was filled in.

Thursday night
The crosses never become defects
Thirty-one Fails on level 9, on paper or in a checklist app that produces a PDF. The site manager types them into the register that night, gets to twenty-six, the phone rings, two never make it. One of the two is the shower screen in 9.07 that is disputed at handover, and the record shows the inspector flagged it and nobody raised it.
The week before PC
The hold point got waved through
D1, the waterproofing certificate, is answered Pass on every unit on the level because the certificate “is coming”. The sheet cannot stop the walk; a hold point on paper is a suggestion. At PC the certifier asks for the certificates and three wet areas have none, and the sheet says they were checked.
Month seven
Fifty-five answers, no names
The owner of 4.02 says the balcony ponded from day one. The sheet says G1 Pass. Who answered it, on what date, after what test, and is there a photo? A tick in a box on a photocopied sheet has none of that. The argument is now about the inspector’s memory, which is the argument the sheet existed to prevent.
Asked alongside the download

Questions about the checklist

What is a pre-completion inspection?
The walk through a finished unit or building, shortly before practical completion, to find everything short of finished or not to standard so it can be fixed before the client walks the same rooms. Each check is answered Pass, Fail or N/A; each Fail becomes a defect on the register; and a handful of checks are hold points the unit cannot be signed off without.
What should a pre-completion inspection checklist include?
One observable check per line, grouped by area, phrased so Yes means it passes: doors latch, taps do not drip, falls run to waste after a water test, the smoke alarm sounds and interconnects, the waterproofing certificate is sighted. Plus the columns that prove it: the result, the defect number raised for a Fail, the photo, who checked it and when. This template has fifty-five checks across nine areas with four hold points.
What is a hold point on a pre-completion checklist?
A check the unit cannot be signed off with open, whatever else passes. On this template they are the waterproofing certificate for each wet area, falls to waste, the balustrade fixing and the smoke alarm. In IssuesId a checklist question can be marked as a hold point, and every open hold point shows on the organisation-wide checklists list until it is released.
Is the checklist free, and in what format?
Yes. An Excel workbook with every check pre-filled, drop-downs for Result and Hold point, the header row frozen and a second sheet explaining the columns, or a CSV with the same rows. Three worked rows show the shape. No form, no email.
What to do about it

Make the Fail raise the defect, and make the hold point hold.

The two breaks that matter are the gap between the Fail and the register, and a hold point that nothing enforces. Whatever runs your checklist should close both: a Fail raises the defect, with the photo, linked to the check, so there is nothing to type up; and a hold point left open shows on every list until it is released.

That is how IssuesId runs it. Build this list once as a checklist template, mark D1, D5, G2 and H1 as hold points, and run it on every unit. A No raises the defect linked to the question and flips back to Yes when the defect closes; the organisation-wide checklists list flags every open hold point; and the handover walk prints from the Door Sheet, one page per room. The wider pre-handover list is at snagging software, and the terms are in the glossary under practical completion and hold point. If the sheet is working, keep it; the checks above are the part that matters.

IssuesId