Why Kitchen Snagging Is Essential
The kitchen is typically the most expensive room in a new build home, with the average developer-fitted kitchen valued at £5,000 to £12,000 depending on the property type and specification level. It’s also the room that gets the heaviest daily use, which means any defects in the fit-out will quickly become apparent — and increasingly frustrating — once you move in. Kitchen snagging defects range from cosmetic issues like scratched worktops and misaligned doors through to functional problems such as leaking plumbing connections, faulty appliances, and poorly sealed worktop joints that allow water to penetrate and cause swelling.
According to industry data, the average new build kitchen has between 12 and 18 snagging items, making it one of the most defect-dense rooms in the property. Many of these are quick fixes that any competent fitter can resolve in minutes, but some — particularly plumbing issues and appliance defects — can be costly and disruptive if not caught early. The key is to inspect every component systematically, testing everything that opens, closes, slides, turns on, or connects to water or electricity.
This guide walks you through every aspect of kitchen snagging, from the moment you open the first cupboard door to testing the last electrical socket. Whether you’re inspecting yourself or preparing for a professional snagging visit, this checklist ensures nothing gets missed in the room that matters most to daily life.
Unit Door Alignment and Gaps
Start your kitchen inspection by looking at the overall appearance of the cabinets. Stand at one end of the kitchen and look along the line of the unit doors. They should all be perfectly aligned, with consistent gaps between each door and drawer front. The standard gap between adjacent doors is 2–3mm, and this should be uniform across the entire run. Doors that are visibly higher or lower than their neighbours, or that have wider gaps on one side than the other, indicate poor fitting or a unit that isn’t level.
Open every single door and check for smooth operation. Hinges should allow the door to swing freely without catching on adjacent doors, worktops, or the carcase of the unit. Most modern kitchens use concealed cup hinges that can be adjusted in three directions (height, depth, and lateral) using a screwdriver or Allen key. If any doors are misaligned, they should be adjustable — but this is the developer’s responsibility, not yours.
Check the interior of each cupboard too. Look for loose shelves, missing shelf supports, damaged edges on melamine linings, and any signs of water damage (particularly under the sink). The carcase back panels should be firmly secured with no bowing, and the unit legs should be adjusted so the units are perfectly level. If the kitchen has plinth boards along the base, these should be neatly clipped in with no gaps at the corners or where they meet the floor.
Soft-Close Mechanisms and Drawer Runners
Soft-close hinges and drawer runners are standard on most new build kitchens, and they should work perfectly from day one. Test every door and drawer for soft-close action. When you push a door to within about 30mm of closed, the soft-close mechanism should engage and pull the door silently into the fully closed position. If a door bangs shut, the mechanism is either faulty, incorrectly adjusted, or the wrong type has been fitted.
Drawers require even more careful testing. Pull each drawer out to its full extension — most modern drawer systems use full-extension runners that allow the drawer to come out completely for easy access to the back. Push the drawer closed and check that the soft-close engages smoothly. Also test with weight in the drawer: place a bag of sugar or similar in each drawer and operate it. Cheap or poorly installed runners can work fine when empty but fail under load.
Check for any drawers that stick, judder, or run off-track. The drawer front should remain level throughout its travel and should sit flush and aligned with adjacent drawers when closed. If any drawers feel loose or wobbly, the mounting screws may need tightening or the runner system may be defective. Under the NHBC Standards Chapter 8.1, all kitchen fittings must operate correctly and be fit for purpose at the point of handover.
Worktop Joints and Seals
Worktop joints are one of the most critical areas to check because failed joints allow water penetration, which causes laminate worktops to swell and delaminate — a problem that’s ugly, unhygienic, and expensive to fix. Every joint between worktop sections should be tight, flush, and properly sealed.
Run your fingertip across each joint. You should barely feel the transition between the two pieces. If you can feel a step or ridge, or if you can see a visible gap, the joint has been poorly made. On laminate worktops, the mason’s mitre joint (the standard L-shaped corner joint) should be bonded with colour-matched sealant and pulled tight with worktop bolts underneath. Check under the worktop at each joint to confirm the bolts are tight.
The seal between the worktop and the wall (where the splashback meets the worktop) must be a continuous bead of silicone sealant with no gaps, cracks, or areas where it has peeled away. This seal prevents water from running behind the worktop and down the back of the units, which can cause extensive damage to both the units and the wall behind them. Similarly, the seal around the sink cutout must be watertight — check by wiping water around the edge and looking underneath for any drips.
On stone and composite worktops (increasingly common in premium new builds), check for chips along the edges, particularly around cutouts for sinks and hobs. Also look for any cracks radiating from cutout corners, which can indicate that the cutout was not properly stress-relieved during manufacture. These worktops are expensive to replace, so any damage should be reported immediately.
Splashback Fitting and Sink Installation
The splashback — whether tiled, glass, or acrylic — should be firmly fixed to the wall with no gaps behind it and a neat silicone seal along the bottom edge where it meets the worktop. For tiled splashbacks, check that the tiles are level, evenly spaced, and that the grout lines are consistent. Look for any cracked, chipped, or poorly cut tiles, particularly around electrical sockets and window openings. The grout should be smooth, complete, and free from pinholes or gaps.
The sink should be firmly fixed with no movement when you press down on the edges. For undermount sinks, check the seal between the sink rim and the underside of the worktop — it should be continuous and firmly bonded. For top-mount sinks, the rim should sit flat on the worktop with an even seal of silicone all round. Fill the sink with water and then release the plug, watching for any leaks at the waste fitting, trap, and pipe connections underneath.
Test the taps thoroughly. Both hot and cold should turn on and off smoothly, with no drips from the spout or base when off. Hot water should reach the kitchen tap within approximately 30 seconds. Check water pressure by running the kitchen tap at the same time as another tap elsewhere in the property — there should be no significant drop in flow. If you have a boiling water tap or filtered water tap, test these separately and check the filter housing underneath for leaks.
Appliance Testing
Every appliance supplied by the developer must be tested during your snagging inspection. This includes the oven, hob, extractor hood or fan, dishwasher, fridge-freezer, and any other integrated appliances specified in your purchase contract. Don’t assume that because an appliance is new it works correctly — approximately 28% of snagging reports identify at least one appliance issue.
For the oven, turn it on to its maximum temperature and leave it running for at least 15 minutes. Check that it heats evenly (you can feel this by holding your hand near different areas of the door), that the door seal is intact, and that the interior light and fan work. For the hob, test every ring or burner individually. Gas burners should ignite quickly from the built-in ignition and produce an even blue flame. Electric or induction hobs should heat up within the expected timeframe. Check that all control knobs or touch controls respond correctly.
If your kitchen includes an integrated fridge-freezer, check that both the fridge and freezer compartments are reaching their correct temperatures (typically 3–5°C for the fridge and minus 18°C for the freezer). Listen for any unusual rattling, buzzing, or clicking sounds from the compressor, and check that the door seals are intact by closing the door on a sheet of paper — you should feel resistance when pulling the paper out. For integrated dishwashers, run a full cycle on the hottest setting and check for leaks at all connection points during and after the cycle. Verify that the door panel is properly aligned with the adjacent cupboard doors and that the kick plate sits correctly.
The extractor fan or cooker hood must be tested for function and noise level. Turn it on to each speed setting and verify that you can feel air being drawn from the hob area. Hold a sheet of paper near the filter — it should be visibly drawn toward the intake. Check that the ducting is properly connected by looking in the cupboard above (if a recirculating type) or checking the external vent outlet (if ducted). Under Building Regulations Approved Document F, the kitchen extract must achieve a minimum flow rate of 30 litres per second for intermittent extraction or 13 litres per second for continuous.
Extractor Fan and Electrical Points
Beyond the basic function test, check the extractor for excessive vibration or noise, a grease filter that is properly seated, working lighting (most hoods include a light for the hob area), and that the fan actually vents to the outside if it’s a ducted system. A surprisingly common defect in new builds is an extractor hood that’s been installed but never connected to its duct — it appears to work because the fan spins, but the air simply recirculates without being filtered or expelled.
For the electrical sockets, use a plug-in socket tester (available for £10–£15 from any electrical supplier) to check every kitchen socket. This simple device plugs in and uses indicator lights to show whether the socket is correctly wired and properly earthed. Pay attention to the positioning of sockets — they should match the kitchen plan and must be at least 300mm from the edge of the sink under BS 7671 wiring regulations.
Check that there are enough sockets for your needs. The minimum provision for a new build kitchen is typically four double sockets for appliances and worktop use, plus dedicated connections for the oven, hob, and dishwasher. Each major appliance should be on its own dedicated circuit, which you can verify by checking the labelling on your consumer unit (fuse board). If any circuits are unlabelled, this is itself a defect under BS 7671 that should be added to your snagging list.
Plumbing Connections
Kitchen plumbing defects can cause serious water damage if not caught early. Check every visible plumbing connection under the sink, behind the dishwasher, and at any other water-connected appliance. Connections should be tight, properly supported, and show no signs of moisture.
Run the kitchen tap on full for at least two minutes while watching the connections underneath. Use a sheet of kitchen paper or tissue pressed against each joint — this will show even the smallest drip that might not be visible by eye. Check the dishwasher connections by running a full cycle and inspecting both the water supply hose and the waste hose connection during and after the cycle.
Confirm that isolation valves are fitted on both the hot and cold supply pipes to the kitchen and that they are accessible and operational. You should be able to turn off the water to the kitchen without shutting off the supply to the entire house. The waste trap under the sink should be a bottle trap or tubular trap with a minimum water seal of 75mm, and it must be accessible for cleaning without tools. If the kitchen has a waste disposal unit, test it for correct operation, vibration, and drainage speed.
Check for any signs of water damage or damp under the sink unit. Swollen chipboard, water staining, or a musty smell all indicate that there has been a leak at some point — possibly during the plumbing installation itself. If the kitchen backs onto an external wall, check the cold water pipe run for proper insulation. Uninsulated pipes in external wall voids can freeze in winter, causing burst pipes and significant water damage. This is a common oversight on new builds and is a defect under the NHBC Standards Chapter 8.1, which requires all plumbing installations to be protected against frost damage.
Where your kitchen waste connects to the soil pipe or main drain, check that the connection is properly sealed with a rubber push-fit connector. Loose or poorly connected waste pipes are a frequent source of foul odours in new build kitchens, particularly when the dishwasher pumps its waste water through the system. The dishwasher waste hose should be routed in a high loop or through an air gap to prevent backflow from the sink entering the dishwasher.
If your kitchen has underfloor heating, check that the thermostat controls are working and that the floor heats evenly across the entire kitchen area. Cold spots can indicate a damaged pipe run or an airlock in the system. The heating should reach its set temperature within a reasonable timeframe — allow at least two hours for a full test cycle. For a broader look at all the snagging checks to carry out, see our common defects guide and our handover preparation checklist.