When the final payment is due
| Before you make the final payment | Why it matters | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| The punch list is closed | Leverage ends with the last check; small items rarely get scheduled after it | Every line initialed or photographed as done |
| The final inspection passed | An open permit follows the house to a sale and can stop a refinance | The signed inspection card or the city portal showing final |
| Final lien waivers | A supplier or sub the contractor did not pay can put a lien on your house | Unconditional final waivers from the contractor and the big suppliers and subs |
| Warranties and manuals handed over | You need the model and serial numbers to claim anything | A folder or a shared drive: appliances, fixtures, windows, roofing |
| The change orders reconciled | The last invoice should equal the contract plus signed changes, minus credits | One page that adds up |
Read the payment clause in your contract first; it decides which of these are required. Many residential contracts say “final payment due on completion,” which is exactly why the punch list should be written and signed: it is what “complete” means. Some states also cap how much retainage can be held or set deadlines for releasing it, so a local rule can override the contract. How the contingency fits around those last dollars is in renovation contingency.
Hold back in proportion, not everything. If one item is waiting on a part, pay the rest and hold one and a half to two times what it would cost someone else to fix that item, in writing, with a date. Holding the whole final payment over a missing cabinet pull is how a cooperative contractor becomes a collections letter.
What belongs on the list, room by room
| Area | Check | Common misses |
|---|---|---|
| Paint | Walls and ceilings in daylight and at night with the lights on, at a low angle | Roller marks, missed cut lines, caulk gaps at trim, paint on hinges and outlets |
| Doors and drawers | Open and close every one; check reveals and soft-close | Rubbing doors, drawers out of square, a missing bumper, a pull short |
| Tile and grout | Run a hand across edges; look across the floor with a flashlight | Lippage, grout haze, missing grout in corners, caulk missing at the tub |
| Plumbing | Run every tap hot and cold, fill and drain every sink and tub, flush every toilet | A slow drain, a drip under the sink, a toilet that rocks, no hot water to one fixture |
| Electrical | Every switch, outlet, light and fan; trip and reset every GFCI | A switch that does nothing, a fan that does not vent outside, missing cover plates |
| Appliances | Run each one through a cycle; check the doors close square | Range not on its anti-tip bracket, dishwasher not secured, ice maker not connected |
| Flooring and trim | Walk every room; look at transitions and shoe molding | Gaps at transitions, nail holes not filled, a squeak, a scratch from the move-in |
| Outside and site | Walk the perimeter | Debris, a dumpster scar on the lawn, a gutter knocked loose, a missing screen |
Appliances get their own list on the day they arrive; the delivery-day checks are in the appliance delivery day checklist. Locks belong on the punch list too: every key works, and if a smart lock went in, the installer’s codes are deleted and the app is in your name (the install side is in smart locks before the trim goes on).
How to run the walkthrough
- Walk it once alone first. A day before the joint walkthrough, go room by room with blue painter’s tape and a phone. Tape the spot, photograph it, write one line.
- Walk it together, in one order. Top to bottom, left to right, every room. Read your list aloud; the contractor adds a date and who fixes it to each line.
- One list, one version. A shared document or a single email, numbered. Text messages with photos are how items get lost.
- Agree a finish date. One to two weeks is typical for a remodel punch list; items waiting on a part get their own date.
- Walk it again to close. Check each fix in person before you initial it. New damage from the fixes goes on the same list.
Punch list or warranty item?
| It is a punch list item if | It is a warranty item if |
|---|---|
| It is visible or testable at the walkthrough | It shows up after you live there: a crack as the house settles, a seal that fails in winter |
| It is unfinished or not as specified | It was finished and worked, then stopped |
| It is due before the final payment | It is covered by the contractor’s workmanship warranty (often one year) or the maker’s |
Write the warranty terms down before the last check: how long, who to call, and what counts. A one-year walkthrough on the calendar catches settling cracks, nail pops and caulk that shrank, while the warranty still runs.
What to collect before the crew leaves
- The paint list. Brand, color name, code and sheen for every room, plus the leftover cans, labeled.
- Attic stock. A box of the floor tile and a few planks of the flooring, from the same lot. A matching lot is impossible to buy in five years.
- Photos of the open walls. If you did not take them before the drywall, ask the crew for theirs.
- Every manual and serial number. Register the appliances while the boxes are still in the garage.
The punch list is the last 5 percent of the work and the last 5 percent of the money; it is also the step that most often stretches a remodel past its date, which is part of why how long a kitchen remodel takes always runs longer than the work. In a bathroom, the last fixtures in, like the toilet, are the first things to test. Write it down, walk it twice, get the waivers, then pay.