Amid the frenetic pace of residential new home development, alarm bells are ringing. Professional snaggers such as Chris Greenwood are working to reveal truly alarming issues that the masses care not to notice. Greenwood’s specialty is pinpointing those issues that arise after construction. He’s chronicled some pretty harrowing findings, like an abundance of food scraps and filled bottles abandoned in the under-construction homes. His experience underscores a dangerous truth that many would-be homeowners down the line don’t know about the construction industry.
Greenwood’s art uncovers a pattern of hands-off malpractice in quality control after the building boom is long past. He makes the observation that it’s not unusual to find things like derivative sandwiches, kitchen scraps, and bottles consumed on route. This speaks to a huge issue in the lack of oversight and focus on construction details. “Finding things like sandwiches, food waste and bottles is, unfortunately, fairly common,” he stated.
More recently, Greenwood found that the patio doors have a defect. They had been poorly infilled, allowing cold air to penetrate the building. This discovery is a prime example, he says, of what he blames on shoddy work or low-quality materials used during the building process. “It’s embarrassing because no one has been up and looked at those items prior to completion,” he added. His inspections typically reveal a range of issues, from minor cosmetic flaws like bumpy plasterwork to more concerning problems such as socket plates that lack proper wiring.
The snagging industry is in a precarious position, especially with respect to pushback from developers. New-build house inspector Kelly Skidmore on what the lack of building quality standards means. All too often developers are afraid to put their work up to scrutiny from outsiders. This reluctance often results in major, untold problems not identified during the handover process. “They are often reluctant to have independent third-party professionals scrutinising their workmanship,” Skidmore noted.
To Rob Sanderson, senior contracts manager at Gelder Group, that’s just the nature of the construction sector’s workforce changing. Claude says that contrary to common wisdom, NFB is correct. After all, reputable builders don’t want to ruin their reputations by claiming a building is net-positive when it’s not. “They really do care about the builds they’re doing and recognise that people are making the biggest purchase of their life,” he said.
Rico Wojtulewic, head of policy at the NFB, a major concern. With so many hands in the pie when it comes to building even one property, mistakes frequently occur. “There is potential for human error with any house build,” he explained. This complexity can obscure even the most basic attempts to separate minor snags from deep structural issues. As a result, the reputations of house builders have taken a beating.
As residents like Kate Hatton continue to attest, it’s also essential to hire professional snaggers. Having now used Greenwood’s services on two occasions, she is adamant that getting expert advice makes all the difference in guaranteeing quality in new builds. “It’s a brand new house. It should be of a high standard at handover,” Greenwood reiterated.
The snagging process does a great job of pinpointing highly visible construction issues. It helps to restore confidence in the quality of the public’s construction. “If you were to buy a brand new car and it was full of dents, you would question why,” Greenwood remarked. “The developer needs to pick these items up, identify them and rectify them in a timely manner.”
Despite the challenges faced by snagging professionals and the resistance from developers, Greenwood remains committed to holding the industry accountable. He cautions that if the construction industry doesn’t start solving these problems soon, they may lose customer trust forever. “It doesn’t give the customer the confidence that other things have been checked if that’s the first thing I am putting on my report,” he stated.
