Procedure 04
Running a renovation punch list
A punch list is a register, not a walk. The walk produces observations, and the register turns each observation into priced work with a named owner and a dated deadline. A renovation of five rooms usually produces 80 to 120 entries, and every entry has to survive two months of argument.
01.When is a room ready for a punch list inspection?
A room is ready for a punch list inspection once three conditions hold: every trade has signed off its own work, the room is cleaned to final standard, and permanent lighting is switched on with the temporary festoon removed. An inspection run around trestles and dust sheets generates 40 entries that the trades were already closing that week.
A register padded with 40 items that close themselves within 7 days destroys the authority of the other 80 items, and the trades start treating the whole document as noise. Call the walk one working day after the room passes the three conditions, and record the date the conditions were met on the front sheet.
Agree the attendance list before the walk. A punch list walked by the supervisor alone produces entries that the trades dispute on wording two days later. A walk led by the client alone produces entries about taste rather than measured defects. The workable arrangement puts the supervisor and one representative per active trade in the room, with the client joining a second walk once every category A and category B item is closed. Everyone present signs the front sheet, and the front sheet then proves who stood in the room on that date.
02.What route should a punch list inspection follow through a room?
The inspection route runs four passes in the same order in every room: a first impression recorded from inside the door within 3 seconds, a clockwise pass at eye level, a second clockwise pass at knee level with a torch raking the wall, then the ceiling and the floor. Mechanical items get opened last.
The 3 second rule exists because the eye finds a leaning door frame immediately and stops noticing the same frame after 30 seconds in the room. Write the first impression down before measuring anything, then measure it: a frame leaning 5 mm over a 2 m height reads as a defect on a 600 mm level held against the jamb.
Open everything mechanical at the end of the room. Every door swings through its full arc and holds position, every drawer runs out and self closes, every tap runs hot and cold within 30 seconds, every switch controls the fitting shown on the drawing, and every socket accepts a plug without the faceplate flexing. Joinery gets a gauge rather than a glance, against the figures in the table below.
Table 1. Joinery and second fix gauge checks
| Element and dimension checked | Working limit (mm) | Instrument and reference length (mm) | Category if the limit is missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door leaf gap at the head and both stiles | 3, varying by no more than 1 around the leaf | Joint gauge, gap read at 5 points | B |
| Door leaf undercut at the floor, no threshold | 8 to 10 | Steel rule at 3 points across the opening | C |
| Door frame out of plumb | 3 over the frame height | Spirit level, 600, stepped up the jamb | B |
| Face alignment across a run of cabinet fronts | 2 | Straight edge across the run, 2000 | B |
| Gap consistency between cabinet doors along a run | 1 variation | Joint gauge at every gap in the run | C |
| Worktop butt joint, open width | 0.5 | Feeler gauge at 3 points along the joint | B |
| Skirting to floor gap | 1 over any 600 length | Feeler gauge under a straight edge, 600 | C |
| Skirting mitre at an external corner, open joint | 0.5 | Feeler gauge at the mitre | C |
| Socket or switch plate out of level | 1 across the plate width | Spirit level, 100, on the plate face | C |
| Lever handle height above finished floor level | 1000, plus or minus 10 | Steel tape from finished floor level | C |
Working limits used on fit out jobs and set here without reference to a standard clause. Copy the applicable rows into the room data sheet before the joiner starts second fix.
03.What does each punch list entry have to record?
A punch list entry records twelve fields: item number, date raised, room and zone, element, trade, description carrying a measurement, agreed limit, photo reference, severity category, target date, status, and the name and date of the person who verified the repair. An entry reading scratch on door carries none of the twelve fields.
The description field and the agreed limit field do the work that decides a payment argument. A description of 4 mm gap between skirting and floor over 600 mm next to an agreed limit of 1 mm tells a joiner the size of the fix, the material needed and the time required, all before the joiner leaves the yard.
Table 2. Fields in the defect register
| Field | Example entry | Format or unit | Why the field exists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item number | 042 | Three digits, never reused | Single reference used in photos, emails and payment notices |
| Date raised | 2026-03-11 | Date, YYYY-MM-DD | Starts the response clock counted in days |
| Room and zone | Bedroom 2, wall C | Room number plus wall letter | Sends the trade to the right place without a phone call |
| Element | Skirting | One word from a fixed list | Groups the list so one trade closes many items in one visit |
| Trade | Joiner | One name from the subcontract list | Names the single owner of the repair |
| Description with measurement | 4 mm gap between skirting and floor over 600 mm | Value in mm or percent, plus the reference length | Turns an opinion into a priced instruction |
| Agreed limit | 1 mm | Value in mm or percent | Shows the standard the work missed and by how much |
| Photo reference | IMG_2211 | Camera filename plus marker card number | Proves the condition on the date raised |
| Severity | B | One letter: A, B or C | Sets the target date through Table 3 |
| Target date | 2026-03-18 | Date, YYYY-MM-DD | Makes lateness measurable in days |
| Status | Open | Three values only: open, fixed, verified | Stops a trade closing an item by opinion |
| Verified by and date | Supervisor, 2026-03-19 | Name plus date, YYYY-MM-DD | Closes the item, and nobody else can close it |
The trade marks an item fixed. Only the supervisor marks an item verified, and verification needs a second photograph taken after the repair.
04.How do severity categories set the repair deadline?
Three severity categories set three deadlines: category A closes before handover with no exception, category B closes within 7 days of the date raised, and category C closes within 28 days or during the defects liability period. Re inspection follows within 48 hours of a trade reporting any item fixed.
A flat list of 110 items sharing one deadline guarantees that the 90 cheap items get done and the 20 difficult items stay open until handover week. Sorting by category forces the difficult work forward, because a category A item stops the certificate and a category C item does not.
Table 3. Severity categories and response times
| Category | Definition | Maximum time from raised to fixed (days) | Re inspection window after a fix is reported (hours) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Unsafe, not watertight, or blocks use of the room | 0, closed before handover with no exception | 24 | Exposed live conductor, leaking waste pipe, door that cannot lock |
| B | Visible defect measured outside the agreed tolerance | 7 | 48 | 7 mm plaster gap under a 2 m edge, 2 mm tile lippage on a 4 mm joint, cabinet fronts 5 mm out of alignment |
| C | Minor cosmetic item with no functional effect | 28, or within the defects liability period | 48 | Paint speck on a socket plate, 1 mm caulk shrinkage, scuff under 20 mm long |
Count the three categories at the end of every walk and write the three totals on the front sheet. A room holding 2 category A items and 30 category C items is nearly finished. A room holding 9 category A items is not ready for a punch list, and the honest response is to stop the walk, record the reason, and return in 7 days.
Inspection discipline
- Print the register with every room number filled in before the walk starts
- Photograph each entry at the moment of raising, never from memory that evening
- Place a numbered marker card in every photograph, running from 001 upward
- Measure anything described with a number, and record the instrument next to the value
- Keep one register for the whole job, never one spreadsheet per trade
- Re inspect within 48 hours of a trade reporting an item fixed
- Reopen a failed repair under the original item number and raise the attempt count by 1
- Issue the updated register to every trade within 12 hours of the walk
- Count open items by category every Friday and send the three totals to the client
05.How do retention and sign off depend on the punch list?
Retention holds 5 percent of each valuation during the works, falls to 2.5 percent at practical completion, and releases in full at the making good certificate. The register decides both releases: zero open category A items with every category B item verified at the first gate, and every item verified at the second gate.
Read the retention clause of the contract before the first valuation rather than at handover, because the percentages and the period length are contract figures rather than site figures. A defects liability period runs 6 or 12 months on most renovation contracts, and the making good certificate follows a final inspection booked 14 days before that period ends.
Table 4. Payment gates, register condition and retention
| Gate | Register condition required | Retention held after the gate (percent of contract sum) | Timing (days or months) | Documents exchanged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical completion | Zero open category A items, every category B item verified | 2.5, down from 5 | Day 0 of the defects liability period | Certificate, keys, commissioning records, warranties |
| Defects liability period | Category C items tracked, new defects logged under fresh numbers | 2.5 | 6 or 12 months | Register issued to the client every month |
| Making good certificate | Every item verified and closed, attempt counts recorded | 0 | Final inspection 14 days before the period ends | Final register, signed and dated by both parties |
Percentages and period lengths in the table are the arrangement used most often on renovation contracts. The signed contract governs both figures on any specific job.
Sign off happens once, in writing, with the final register attached. Walk the client through the closed items using the same route described in section 02, log any new observation as a fresh item number rather than reopening a closed number, and write down the date the defects liability period starts. The measured checks that feed the register are set out on the plaster page, the screed page and the tiling page.