Interior design installation day checklist: two weeks out to handover

An install day is the one day of the project the client will remember in detail. Everything before it lives in emails and schedules; this is the day the room either comes together or does not. The difference is rarely made on the day itself. It is made in the fortnight before, when deliveries are checked, trades are booked in the right order and the awkward questions about parking and lifts are answered while there is still time to fix them.

This checklist runs from two weeks out to handover. It is written to be printed, pinned to the wall of the studio and ticked off.

Before the countdown starts

The checklist assumes the procurement work is already in hand. If you are still chasing orders three weeks before the install, the problem is upstream, and the fix is to plan each line back from the date it has to be on site. The arithmetic is set out in how to calculate an order-by date, and the schedule that holds it all in the FF&E schedule template.

Two weeks out, sort every line on the FF&E schedule into one of four states.

Anything blocked needs a conversation with the client now, not on the day. Managing supplier delays covers the options and how to present them.

T−14 days: deliveries confirmed, received and inspected

The aim of this week is simple: nothing should arrive at the client’s property that nobody has looked at. Wherever possible, deliveries go to a receiving warehouse or your own store first, where they can be unpacked, checked and repacked without the client watching.

• Confirm every outstanding delivery in writing. Date, time window, vehicle size and whether the driver delivers to the door, to the room of choice or kerbside only.
• Send each supplier the delivery address and access notes from the purchase order. If the address has changed since the PO, tell them in writing.
• Apply for any parking bay suspension. Councils set their own notice periods: Lewisham asks for applications at least five working days ahead, and Ipswich says a suspension normally takes ten working days to process. Check the client’s council and apply early.
• Book the lift and loading bay if the property is a flat or a managed building, and ask the managing agent whether they need insurance certificates or method statements from your trades.
• Agree the warehouse release date with your receiving warehouse or delivery team, so everything comes to site on one or two vehicles rather than dribbling in.

Inspecting deliveries

Inspect on arrival, not on the install day. Many suppliers set a short window for reporting damage or shortages, and it is set in their terms, not by you. Find that window in each supplier’s terms before the goods arrive, so you know whether you have days or hours.

• Count the packages against the delivery note before the driver leaves. If you cannot inspect inside the packaging there and then, note that on the delivery note.
• Unpack and check each item against the PO and the approved sample: finish, fabric, colourway, dimensions, handing, leg finish, quantity.
• Photograph any damage with the packaging and the label in shot.
• Report damage or wrong items to the supplier in writing within their window, quoting the PO number, and ask for a repair or replacement date.
• Update the item’s status on the schedule the same day. A damaged sofa that was OK yesterday is now at risk.
• Keep care labels, assembly fixings, spare buttons and warranty cards together in a labelled bag per item. They go into the handover pack later.

T−7 days: trades, sequence and access

A week out, the job moves from procurement to choreography. Most install-day friction comes from two trades needing the same room at the same moment, or from a fitter arriving before the thing they are fitting.

Write the sequence down, room by room, and send each trade only the part that concerns them. A typical order for a finishing install looks like this, though your project may differ:

• Send each trade their start time, room list, drawings and items. Electricians need the lighting layout and fitting list; the curtain fitter needs heights and returns. Nobody needs your prices.
• Measure the route. Front door, hallway turns, stairwell, lift car and door widths against the largest pieces. Re-check anything over about two metres, and any sofa that does not come apart.
• Plan the lifting. Heavy pieces need enough people and the right equipment. The HSE’s manual handling guidance asks employers to avoid hazardous lifting where reasonably practicable and to assess and reduce the risk where they cannot, so make sure each team you book has thought about it.
• Agree site rules with the client: working hours, where trades can park, which toilet they can use, pets, alarms and keys.
• Confirm protection: floor protection, door frame guards, dust sheets and a plan for removing packaging the same day.

We built the Techstyles contractor portal around this step: each trade sees its own drawings, files and items for the project, with no prices showing.

T−1: the day before

• Confirm every trade and the delivery vehicle by phone, not only by email.
• Check the parking suspension signs are up, if you applied for one.
• Walk the site, or ask someone there to, and confirm the rooms are clear, clean and protected.
• Print the room-by-room placement plan, one copy per room, with each item’s position marked.
• Print the install-day contact sheet: every trade, the warehouse, the managing agent, the client and the key supplier contacts.
• Pack the install kit: tape measure, spirit level, drill and bits, wall plugs and fixings, felt pads, cleaning cloths and glass cleaner, a steamer for curtains and upholstery, scissors and a craft knife, bin bags, touch-up pens, camera or phone with battery pack.
• Tell the client what time to expect you, what will be finished by the end of the day and when you would like them to see it.

Install day

One person runs the day. Everyone else does a job. If that person is also hanging art, nobody is watching the vehicle being unloaded.

• Check every item off as it comes through the door, against the delivery list.
• Unwrap in a single staging area, not in the finished rooms, and keep packaging moving out of the building.
• Place large furniture first, then step back and check sightlines before anything is fixed to the wall.
• Photograph each room once it is placed and before styling, so you have a record of the as-installed position.
• Keep a running snag list on paper or your phone as you go. Do not try to remember.
• Clean as you finish each room: glass, surfaces, floors, fingerprints on paintwork.

Snagging

Snagging is easier when it starts before the client arrives. Walk every room slowly with fresh eyes, ideally a second person who was not involved in placing things, and record each snag with the room, item, problem, who will fix it and by when.

• Marks, chips or scratches on furniture, walls and floors.
• Doors and drawers that stick or sit out of line.
• Light fittings that flicker, sit off-centre or have the wrong lamp colour.
• Curtains that do not hang straight or puddle unevenly.
• Missing items, wrong finishes or parts awaiting replacement.

Sort the list into two groups: what you fix before the client walks through, and what needs a return visit. For anything in the second group, book the date before you leave site.

The client walkthrough

Show the client the space when it is finished and clean, not halfway through. If something is outstanding, tell them before they walk in rather than letting them find it.

• Walk the rooms in a planned order, so the reveal makes sense.
• Point out the outstanding snags yourself, with the date each will be fixed.
• Show them how things work: dimmers, blinds, extending tables, sofa beds.
• Agree in writing what remains open and when the project is complete.

The handover pack

A good handover pack is what the client opens two years from now when a chair leg wobbles. Build it as you go, not the night before.

• An item list by room: product, supplier, finish, fabric and colour references.
• Care and cleaning guides for each fabric, finish and surface.
• Warranty cards and documents, with the dates they start.
• Assembly instructions and spare fixings for anything that comes apart.
• Paint colours and wallpaper references with batch numbers, for touch-ups.
• Contact details for the trades who fitted things, in case of later questions.
• The agreed list of open snags and their return dates.

For blank schedules and purchase orders, see the templates page. Finally, close the job on paper: final invoice raised, outstanding supplier balances settled, and the FF&E schedule marked as installed so the record is complete.

The printable version

1. T−14: status every line; confirm deliveries in writing; apply for parking suspension; book lift and loading bay; inspect deliveries on arrival and report damage within the supplier’s window.
2. T−7: write the trades sequence; send each trade their room list, drawings and items; measure routes; plan lifting; agree site rules and protection.
3. T−1: confirm by phone; check signs and site; print placement plans and contact sheet; pack the kit; tell the client the plan.
4. Install day: one person in charge; check items in; stage and clear packaging; place, then fix, then style; photograph; snag as you go; clean.
5. Snagging: second-person walk; record room, item, problem, owner, date; fix now or book the return.
6. Walkthrough: finished and clean; flag snags first; show how things work; agree what is open in writing.
7. Handover: item list, care guides, warranties, spares, paint references, contacts, open snags; final invoice; schedule marked installed.

If you would rather see which items are at risk of missing the install before the fortnight starts, Techstyles scores every FF&E line against its install date; see how procurement works.