The Studio by Nandita Manwani

The Essential Bangalore Home Buyer Handover Checklist – Things to check on before you take possession of your apartment/ villa from the builder – Version II

DH%2BThe%2Babsolute%2Bchecklist

The regular readers of this blog would have come across, in one of the earlier posts, this list of things to check on before taking full and final possession of one’s home from the builder .

I was updating this checklist sometime back for my own use and felt that this is something that all of Bangalore’s home buyers can make use of. With that thought I bounced this off with folks at Deccan Herald and lo and behold I see it published on the front page of DH Homes & Interiors today :).

The DH team has done a great job of putting pictures and formatting the list around different sections to make it easier and fun to read.

Do take time to go through. The unedited free text of the article is below
———————————————————————————————

Villa / Apartment Interior Readiness and Handover Checklist: Things to check on BEFORE you take the formal handover of your dream home from the builder.

———————————————————————————————————————– 
In interactions with home buyers one of the topic that frequently comes up is things that one needs to check before taking handover of the house from the builder
A thorough check before housewarming helps avoid the Tom & Jerry show of tracking and chasing down the shadowy builder later. Even if you succeed in catching Jerry the mess that the rectification creates is enough to drown the “high” of the new home.
What you will find below is a comprehensive but simple checklist of things that you need to tick off before you say that conclusive “I do” to your builder and keep your spirits flying high
Let’s start with the doors, here goes :-

 

DOORS

  • Check for gaps between door frame and wall. Push the frame to see it is anchored firmly
  • Check for hinge fitting, ensure there are screws in each of the screw ports.
  • Check door catcher/ stopper for proper functioning
  • Check door knobs & locks for smooth closure & functioning.

ALUMINUM/ UPVC DOORS and WINDOWS

  • Check Lack of alignment if any. Ensure that the doors open and close easily.
  • Check rubber beading for hardening, cracks
  • Check if the grills are properly painted
  • Ensure that the door/ window frame has drain holes
  • Check that the shutters lock properly
  • Ensure that the glass is fixed properly and the beading is intact and not coming off.

WALLS AND CEILING

  • Check plastering quality, there should be no uneven-ness. Ensue that there are no cracks
  • Check for excessive dampness in the wall (if any)
  • Check false ceiling in bathrooms (if there), ensure that it is properly fixed with no cracks.
  • Check tiling even-ness & grouting. There should be no cement marks on the tiles

FLOORING

  • Check for any cracks or scratches
  • For Bathrooms, Utility and Balcony check the floor tilt to ensure correct water flow into the drain and that there is zero water accumulation anywhere.
  • Ensure that there is no hollowness in the floor. Tap each tile or bounce a ball on each tile to check for the hollow sound. A hollow sound indicates that the tile is not set properly & needs to be replaced.
  • Check for proper grouting of the tiles/ stone slabs especially in bathrooms

ELECTRICALS

  • Check for working of light points/switches (carry a zero watt bulb & tester if possible). Especially check the AC points, builders sometimes leave the AC points dummy (with no wiring)
  • Check each point has cover plates & there are no cracks.
  • Check availability of light, telephone and cable TV points as per plan.
  • Check that all the plates are horizontal and not tilted
  • Plates should be clean and free of paint marks.
  • Check every circuit breaker. Switch off : Should switch off with a slight touch, Switch on: should not switch off while switching on.
  • Check each switch for correct contact and springiness. Click should be clearly audible and not muted when switched on and off.
  • Insist on getting the wiring diagram pasted on the inside of DB door Also check that the wiring of the home matches with the circuit diagram on the box.
  • Check that the smoke sensors work. An agarbatti will help to awaken the sensor 🙂

SANITARYWARE/ PLUMBING

  • Check the sanitaryware (Wash basins, Sink, WC) for any scratches or cracks
  • Ensure Kitchen Sink is grouted properly and that there is no leakage.
  • Check the chrome fittings – ensure that there is no corrosion.
  • Check whether the towel holders, faucets, toilet paper holders are provided as per plan.
  • Check pipes for any leakages
  • Ensure there is no blockage in any of the drains – I have personally struggled with flooding of the apartment due to this
  • Ensure that the flush works properly
That should cover it. Hopefully your builder passed with a distinction, if not, then he is back to his job of perfecting your new home.
Nandita Manwani is an Interior Designer and founder of The Studio Bengalooru

6 thoughts on “The Essential Bangalore Home Buyer Handover Checklist – Things to check on before you take possession of your apartment/ villa from the builder – Version II”

  1. Hi Nandita! you are doing a great job by writing these blogs. Reading your blogs I feel as if you can read my mind. all the questions are answered here.
    I am in the process of designing my home and still have one question. an interior designer friend from another city told me to look for a carpenter who can do the PVC Sunmica on ply very well. And she suggested I go for it if I get a good carpenter, because this sunmica bends at 90 degrees ad so does not leave any edges. But she said that if the carpenter is not skilled then the sunmica can develop cracks. But my carpenter says it is a low grade material….the PVC sunmica, as it will definitely get a crack in some time. whom do I believe? should I consider the PVC sunmica for my wardrobes? Is it really lower grade than the laminate I would be otherwise using?

  2. Hi, thanks.
    It is an unproven material, however if you are an "early adopter" type then you may use it – but remember that it has a certain amount of risk

    Rgds
    NM

  3. Hi Nandita! Please suggest can we use pvc board instead of BWR ply. Are there any drawbacks for using pvc board. Though we are on 4th floor still planning to buy some termite free material

  4. PVC is yet not a proven material, it is also not recommended for panels above 4 feet. Some of the readers of this blog have used it for kitchen cabinets and have reported that they have found it to be ok. I have personally not used PVC hence cannot comment.

    Rgds
    NM

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Top Women Interior Designers in Bangalore

Featured among the top interior designers in Bangalore

Featured among the top Women Interior Designers in Bangalore by Nearfox Magazine :). The original article can be found at

Interior Design Theme, Themes in Interior Design

Dark Theme For Interiors – the lure of BLACK

The recent fetish for Dark as well as the younger generation’s desire to try out new and different concepts for
furniture build or buy, Furniture in Bangalore, Interior Designers in Bangalore, role of interior designer

Organised furniture retail and the changing role of the Interior Designer

My article on whether to build furniture or to buy it from the market and how organised furniture retail will

Lacquered Glass finish

Lacquered Glass finish shutters for Home Interiors

The interest in Lacquered glass shutters for home interiors seems to have picked up lately in Bangalore. I’ve had a

rattan shutter partition

The Return of Rattan: Why Your Wardrobe (and Your Home) Wants Cane Back

Rattan shutters aren’t just a style statement—they’re a cultural return. A small rebellion against flat-pack, modular fatigue. A reminder that
MinimAtion,Interior Design Trends

Move Over Extravagance, Welcome MinimAtion

MinimAtion – Minimalism + Automation in Interior Design – The Latest Trend that is making Interior Designers go back to
Elder Friendly Home Design, Newspapers

Is your home Elder Friendly? Home Design makeovers to make your home safe for the elderly

News of senior citizens tripping, falling and injuring themselves at home is nowadays something that one hears of quite often.

Interior design, Interior Design Theme

Residential Interior Design Themes – Simplified

Designing a home based on a theme aligns the space to what the theme fundamentally represents – things such as

Art for the home, Murals Bangalore, Newspapers, Partitions Bangalore, texture painting, Wall decoration Bangalore, Wall Paintings

Objects of Art for the Home

My article above was published in Deccan Herald today. You may read it here http://www.deccanherald.com/content/535128/art-homes-sake/ However…..since, as readers of this

Interior Designers in Bangalore

New Q&A Module for you to ask your questions

This blog today hosts over 3500 Q&A on home interiors under different posts. For some of the more popular posts

Interior Designers in Bangalore, Woodwork in Bangalore

Types of Wood & Wood Specifications for Home Interiors

Over the course of the last few years the maximum number of queries I’ve received from my readers has been

An interior Designers perspective, home interior best practices, Interior design best practices in Bangalore, Interior Design Masterclass, Interior Design Trends

Interior Design and the Pandemic

The Pandemic has brought profound changes to the way people live – be it the requirement of constant sanitization, the

Woodwork in Bangalore

HDHMR – The New Material for Woodwork in Bangalore.

I recently had a vendor hand over a sample of HDHMR, the new magic material for woodwork that is expected

Interior design advise

The Best Interior Design Advise That You Can Get

Perhaps the most valuable part of this blog lies in the conversations happening under each post. With over a thousand
Best Interior Design Companies in Bangalore, Best Interior Designers in Bangalore, Interior design best practices in Bangalore

Symmetry and Balance – Why Some Interior Designs Seem Better Than the Rest

The best-looking designs - and this is irrespective of the finish, colour selection or the money spent – are the
Interior Design,Interior Costs in Bangalore,Interior Decorators in Bangalore,Interior design best practices in Bangalore

The 5 Most Googled Questions on Interior Design

Google sends us a monthly report on what posts on this blog get the most attention and readership. Over the

Home Interior Photographs, Home Interior Photographs Bangalore, Interior Design Photographs, Interior Designers in JP Nagar, Modular Kitchen Photographs

More Photographs – Elita JP Nagar & Brigade Gateway Malleswaram

Some project photos of our Interior Design work way back in 2010
Interior design, Sliding Door Wardrobe, Sliding Wardrobe Design, Sliding Wardrobes, Sliding Wardrobes Bangalore

Sliding Wardrobes – “Do it right the first time”

Sliding door wardrobes seem to be the in thing nowadays especially because they help save valuable space in small rooms
Interior Design Best Practices, Interior Design Theme, Interior designer value, role of an interior designer

Exploring the Interplay: Furniture Design versus Space Design versus Interior Design

“Design Furniture – You create Convenience, Design a Space – You create Comfort, Design a Home – You create Culture.”

Related Articles

Scroll to Top
Thank you icon

Thanks for your Interest

We will get back to you on this shortly