The ultimate home snag list you’ve been meaning to complete
I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say my home’s snag list is longer than my arm. No actually, my entire body. And yet, the list lies in the deepest recess of my brain, being ignored for as long as possible until something breaks and it ultimately needs to be fixed.
You might be thinking about the oven door that needs a good shove to close, or the hoover that sounds like it’s going to take off and just spits dust out rather than sucking it up. These things aren’t really urgent enough to deal with, but they can chip away at your patience every single day.
This is why I thought, I’ll help every person in the UK right now and create the ultimate snag list. In my guide, you’ll find the list as well as how you can tackle it without spending too much or sending items to landfill unnecessarily. Lots of the faults and issues mentioned here are small and cheap fixes that are super easy to DIY.
My ultimate home snag list
Here’s my list to get you started. You can walk round the house with a pen, tick off each thing that applies and then circle the ones that annoy you the most. The most annoying ones are your priority tasks. You can also create your own list by walking through each room and writing down the things that need doing.
Doors and cupboards
- Doors that rub or stick
- Doors that don’t latch
- Doors that swing open or closed on their own (not a ghost)
- Squeaky hinges
- Drooping kitchen cupboards, or ones that don’t shut
Taps, sinks and toilets
- Dripping taps
- Low water flow that’s caused by limescale
- A slow-draining sink
- A toilet that keeps refilling
- Mouldy sealant around the bath or shower
Lights, switches and alarms
- Flickering bulbs
- A beeping smoke alarm
- Loose light switches
Heating and windows
- Cold radiators (or at least cold at the top)
- Draughty windows or doors
- Stiff window handles or hinges
Appliances and machines
- A washing machine that won’t drain
- A hoover with no suction
- An oven door that won’t seal
- An appliance that won’t work at all
The little things
- Wobbly chairs or table legs
- Loose fixtures, like a towel rail or curtain pole
- Nail holes and scuffs on the wall
Things to leave to a professional
- Any gas-related, including messing about with your boiler or gas hob
- Electrical faults beyond simply changing a bulb or replacing a plug fuse
- Leaks that you can’t trace to a tap or fitting
- Anything to do with your consumer unit.
If you want to make the whole job easier, I’ve shared some of my favourite DIY hacks too.
You have the list, what do you do next?
Now I’ve given you some ideas as to what could be on your snag list, where on earth do you start? There are a few ways you can approach the list.
You can start with the things that annoy you the most.
You can work room by room so the list is a bit more manageable.
You can start with the quickest and easiest tasks.
You can start with the hardest tasks to get them out of the way.
Wherever you choose to start, here’s how I’d start to get through the list.
Know how to turn off water and electrics
Everyone should know where the stopcock is and how to turn off the electrics at your fuse box. It’s good general safety knowledge but also very handy in an emergency.
Do some basic fault-finding
A surprising number of ‘faults’ aren’t actually faults at all, and there are always a number of basic checks you can do first before reaching the conclusion that it’s all broken and all needs to go in the bin, including:
- Does it just need tightening?
- Does it just need cleaning?
- Does it just need a new fuse?
- Did you turn it off and on again (kidding, though this actually might work sometimes)?
Loose hinge screws, or screws in general, can really make it seem like something is properly broken when all it needs is a tighten up. Tightening can fix doors, hinges and wobbly furniture.
Dirt can cause all kinds of problems, like how limescale build-up affects water pressure, hair in a drain makes the water drain slowly, dust in a hoover filter means it can’t pick stuff up. Basically, a lot of things can be fixed with a good clean.
An appliance that you think is dead might actually just need a new 3A, 5A or 13A fuse. You should always match the replacement to the rating on the label.
Buy the right parts
It’s not usually as simple as that. Sometimes, it can be really difficult to know exactly what replacement you need, like the right kind of hinge or screw length, etc. But snag lists can go wrong when you just guess what you need and you only end up wasting time and money. Before you buy anything, you should try to identify exactly what you have.
Most, or all, appliances will have a model number somewhere. It can be hidden well, like inside a door frame, on a side wall, along an inside edge, or behind the detergent drawer of a washing machine. Once you find the label, take a picture so you always have it.
Taps and tap fittings should have a make and model on the body or in the original paperwork. If you can’t see one, you can always take the parts you need to replace to a hardware store, like B&Q or Wickes, and they should be able to help you find what you need.
Hinges, handles and fixings should be photographed and measured before you take them off so you can go to a hardware store to find a replacement.
To make things even more complicated, different versions of the same product often use slightly different components, so a part that looks identical in a photo might not fit. For appliance spares such as door seals, filters, belts and shelves, sites like fixpart let you match parts to your exact model. It’s also worth knowing that since 2021, UK rules have required manufacturers to make spare parts available for many larger appliances, and some simple parts, such as door seals and shelves, can now be bought by the public (yay!).
My top tip: Keep a ‘snag’ folder on your phone with labels, model numbers and measurements in. You never know when it will come in handy!
What do you need in your snag kit?
You definitely don’t need an entire workshop, or a garage full of tools, to complete your snag list. There are a few basic items that will let you complete your entire list. These include:
- Phillips and flathead screwdrivers
- Torx screwdriver bits
- Pliers
- Adjustable spanner
- Head torch
- Radiator key
- Spare plug fuses
- A small bowl or container for screws.
I’m hoping this guide gives you everything you need to create and complete the snag list of your home. It could take you a few hours but suddenly your home feels much more complete, and a bit less annoying!
