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What is a punch list? Using it before the final payment
A punch list is the written list of small things still unfinished or wrong when a job is nearly done: a paint touch-up, a gap in the caulk, a door that rubs. You walk the job with the contractor, write down each item, and make the last payment when the list is done. If the open items would cost $240 to finish, one published method holds back $360 until they are.
When do you make a punch list?
When the contractor says the work is finished and before the last payment. Walk every room together in daylight, with the contract or quote in hand, and write each item with where it is and what's wrong. Take a photo of each one.
In construction contracts this point is called substantial completion; a remodeler's clause published in Pro Remodeler defines it as the moment the punch list is compiled. Try to catch everything on one walk: open every door and drawer, run every faucet and fan, and look where new work meets old.
What counts as a punch list item?
Work that's in the contract but unfinished, damaged or short of what was agreed: a missing outlet cover, grout haze on the tile, a toilet that rocks. Something new you want, like a second towel bar, is a change. It gets its own price in writing before anyone does it.
California's contractor board requires changes to a home-improvement contract to be in writing. Putting new requests on a change order keeps the final payment tied to finishing the job you already agreed to.
How much of the final payment should you hold back?
Agree on the holdback in the contract before work starts. One method comes from a remodeler's contract clauses published in Pro Remodeler: the homeowner may hold the final 5% of the price until the punch list is written, then holds 150% of the estimated cost of each open item and pays the rest. The contractor is paid for finished work, and you hold enough to get the open items done.
On a $14,000 bathroom remodel, the final 5% is $700. The punch list has eight items the contractor puts at $240 of work, so you hold $360, pay $340 at the walk-through, and pay the last $360 when the list is signed off.
What should be done before you make the final payment?
The FTC's sign-off checklist: the work meets the standards in the contract, you have written warranties for materials and workmanship, you have proof the subcontractors and suppliers were paid, the site is cleaned up, and you've inspected and approved the work. Indiana's attorney general gives the reason for the proof: unpaid suppliers and subcontractors can file a mechanic's lien against your home.
Ask the contractor, each subcontractor and each supplier for a lien release, also called a lien waiver. If the job had a permit, add the final inspection to the list.
Filled punch list: hall bathroom remodel
Punch list, hall bath remodel, 8 Birch Ct. Walked Friday, October 30, with the contractor. Holding $360 until sign-off.
1. Wall left of the mirror: touch up paint over the patched light box.
2. Floor by the tub: grout haze on three tiles.
3. Tub, back corner: gap in the caulk where the tub meets the tile.
4. Toilet rocks: reset, shim and caulk the base.
5. Door rubs the new floor: trim the bottom and seal the cut edge.
6. Exhaust fan grille missing (on order).
7. Garage: haul away leftover tile boxes and thinset bags.
8. Hand over the warranty papers for the fan and the faucet.
Signed off: [homeowner] and [contractor], [date]. $360 paid on sign-off.
Frequently asked questions
Who writes the punch list, the homeowner or the contractor?
Both of you, on one walk. Write a single list, each keep a signed copy, and treat anything added later as a new request.
What if the contractor won't come back to finish the punch list?
Send the list again in writing with a finish date, and keep a copy and the held amount. If the date passes, your state attorney general's consumer office is the next call.
Is a punch list the same as a warranty claim?
No. The punch list covers what you find at the end, before the last payment. Something that fails later, like a leak a month after, falls under the workmanship warranty, so get that warranty in writing before you pay.
Sources
- Pro Remodeler: How to snag that final payment · Published · Checked
A remodeler's contract clauses: the client may hold the final 5% until the punch list is compiled, then withhold 150% of the estimated cost of each open item.
- Federal Trade Commission: Hiring a Contractor (booklet) · Checked
Sign-off checklist before the final payment; ask the contractor, subcontractors and suppliers for lien releases.
- Indiana Attorney General: Watch out for home improvement scammers · Published · Checked
Tie payments to completed work; make the final payment after suppliers and subcontractors are paid, with lien releases.
- Contractors State License Board (California): What should I look for in a contract? · Checked
Changes to a home-improvement contract must be in writing, legible and easy to understand.
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