Interior handover and snag-list checks in Kerala
Deep clean first, then the snag walk - dust hides defects. Then warranties, care instructions and the as-installed record, collected while the final payment is still yours to release.
The checks at this stage (3)
- Deep clean done before the snag walk
Dust and adhesive residue hide scratches, chips and finish flaws. The deep clean comes before the inspection, not after it - the sequence is the whole point. A snag walk on a dusty site approves defects it never saw.
- Snag list closed, unit by unit
Every shutter's alignment and soft-close action, every drawer under load, laminate edges, counter seams, every point and fitting - each defect photographed, classed, and either fixed or knowingly accepted. Re-inspection with before-and-after pairs closes it.
- Warranty and care pack collected
Hardware warranties are the manufacturer's; workmanship warranty is the vendor's - the agreement made both explicit, and both now arrive in writing, with appliance invoices and care instructions per finish. Unproducible warranties do not exist.
What good work looks like
Snagging interiors, unit by unit
The interior snag walk is mechanical: every shutter's reveal and soft-close action, every drawer under load, laminate edges and corners, counter seams and sealant, every point and fitting - after the deep clean, against a written list, each defect photographed, classed, and rechecked after the fix.
- The deep clean done before the walk, not after
- Every unit's action tested, not admired
- Defects photographed and classed, then rechecked
- Snagging a dusty site that hides its flaws
- A walkthrough with verbal promises
- Fixed items never actually re-inspected
Two warranties, both in writing
Hardware carries the manufacturer's warranty; workmanship carries the vendor's - they fail differently and are claimed differently. Both were named in the agreement; both now arrive as documents, with appliance invoices attached, because a warranty you cannot produce does not exist.
- The maker's hardware warranty documents in hand
- The vendor's workmanship warranty in writing
- Appliance invoices filed with their warranties
- One vague warranty covering everything and nothing
- Warranties that exist as lines in the old quote
- Papers still with the vendor after the last payment
Care instructions and the as-installed record
Each finish has its own care rules - what cleans laminate scratches acrylic - and the as-installed record ties everything together: final drawings, the factory and fixing photos, the test records. Stored in two places, this is the manual the house hands to whoever owns it next.
- Care instructions per finish, in writing
- The full photo and test archive assembled
- Everything backed up beyond one phone
- Care knowledge living with the departed vendor
- The archive scattered across chats and phones
- A record that leaves when the vendor does
Red flags and money traps
Warranties, care instructions, test records and open snags all collect easily while the final payment is still yours - and remarkably slowly after. The last payment is a checklist with a rupee value, not a date.
Before release: Snags closed, both warranties in hand, records filed. Then the money.