Construction Handover Checklist: What to Do Before the Client Walkthrough

The client walkthrough is not the time to discover problems. By then, your credibility is on the line and your subcontractors are already on the next job. The teams that consistently deliver clean handovers don't get lucky — they walk the project themselves, systematically, before the client does.

This is the pre-handover checklist used by experienced site managers and QA teams. Adapt it for your project type, but use the structure.

Step 1: Fix everything you already know about

Before you start a formal pre-handover inspection, clear your existing snag log. Every item your team flagged during construction that's still open — resolve it first. Walking a site for pre-handover snags while you already have 40 open items is a waste of everyone's time.

Step 2: Trade-by-trade walkthrough

Walk the project trade by trade, not room by room. Checking all joinery in sequence is faster and catches more than jumping between trades in each space. For each trade, you're checking:

• Completion — is the work actually done, or just mostly done?
• Quality — does it meet spec? Is the finish acceptable?
• Integration — does it interface correctly with adjacent trades? The skirting meeting the floor. The window seal against the plaster.
• Commissioning — for M&E, is the system tested and operational?

Step 3: What to physically inspect

Doors and ironmongery

• Every door opens, closes, and latches without force
• Door seals are present and compress correctly
• All handles, hinges, and closers are fitted and functioning
• Fire doors close fully and latch — check the certification plate
• No visible gaps at frame edges

Windows and glazing

• All windows open, tilt, and lock correctly
• No scratches or chips on glass — check at an angle with light behind
• Seals and weatherstripping present and seated
• Restrictors fitted where required
• Cills clean and undamaged

Walls, ceilings, and finishes

• Paint scuffs, missed areas, uneven coverage — use raking light
• Plasterwork cracks, especially at junctions and openings
• Cove, cornice, and coving joints filled and painted
• All outlets and switches fitted, covers on, no gaps to the wall
• Tiling — grout lines consistent, no cracked or hollow tiles (tap test)

Floors

• Screed or subfloor is dry before floor finish is assessed
• No hollow spots under tiles (tap each one near edges)
• Timber or LVT — no obvious squeaks, lipping between boards, or gaps
• Thresholds and transitions fitted correctly
• Skirting — seated flush to floor and wall, no gaps, mitre joints tight

Wet areas (bathrooms, kitchens)

• All silicone applied, neatly tooled, no gaps
• Sanitary ware firmly fixed, no movement
• Taps, showers, and waste fittings working and not leaking
• Extractor fans operating
• Waste pipes checked for slow drainage (fill and release test)

M&E

• All circuits tested and labelled on the consumer unit
• Sockets tested for live, neutral, earth
• Lighting circuits — every fitting working, correct lamp fitted
• Heating commissioned and operational
• Smoke and heat detectors installed, wired, and tested
• Commissioning certificates obtained for all relevant systems

Step 4: Document everything you find

Every defect you find gets logged immediately — not noted in your head, not in a voice memo, not in a WhatsApp message to yourself. Logged, with a photo, with a location, with an assigned responsible party. If you log 60 snags in a day and rely on memory to recall which photo corresponds to which item, you will lose track of some of them.

The discipline of logging on the spot is what separates a well-managed snag list from a mess. It takes an extra 30 seconds per item. It saves hours of administration later.

Step 5: Assign and set deadlines before you leave the site

Every item you've logged should have an owner and a due date before you walk off site. If you log 40 snags and then spend the next morning emailing 6 different subcontractors with descriptions they have to cross-reference to your list, half of them won't act until you follow up. If the snag lands in their inbox with a photo, a location pin, and a due date, you've removed every possible excuse for delay.

Step 6: The client walkthrough

By the time the client walks the project, you want to be in a position to hand them a report showing the snags you found, the snags that are resolved, and the handful still outstanding with estimated resolution dates. That's a contractor who has their project under control. That's the standard to aim for.