Why talk instead of type
On a walk-round your hands are full: torch, camera, drawings, ladder. Typing notes on a phone slows you down and the notes come out short. Talking is faster and captures more of what you saw. The work is then turning the recording into a list that a report can be written from, which is where a method helps.
A method that works
- Walk in a fixed order. Roof down, outside then inside, or level by level and room by room. The same order every time makes the report easier to write and check.
- Say the location first. "Level 2, east wing, corridor by riser R2."
- Then the item. "Item 4. Fire stopping collar missing on the 110 pipe through the riser wall."
- Photograph it as you say it. One wide shot to show where, one close shot to show what.
- Say the size or extent, and whether it is measured or estimated.
- Say what is not inspected, and why: locked room, no access, covered by stored materials. A limitation said on site is a limitation that reaches the report.
Photos that keep their place
A photo is most useful when it is tied to the item and to where it was taken. Phones can store the location with each photo when location services are allowed for the camera; Apple's guidance explains how to control which apps can use location. Some firms prefer not to store location for privacy reasons; decide which you want before the walk.
Sizes: estimated until checked
Phone measuring is quick and good enough to describe extent, but a report that prices work or sets a quantity needs a checked figure. Mark every size as estimated until someone has checked it with a tape or laser.
Doing it in Note Metric
Survey mode is built for this. Say "next item", "item 4" or "snag three" and the item is counted and flagged on the recording with what you said. Each survey photo keeps its moment in the recording and, when you allow location, where it was taken, with how close the reading was. Measure (beta) sizes lengths, walls, floors and volumes with the camera, and each size stays Estimated until you mark it Checked. Step out of Survey mode or lock the phone and the survey pauses, so it never records for hours by mistake. Stop, and the draft is written for you.
New homes: the pre-completion inspection
For new homes built by developers registered with the New Homes Quality Board, the New Homes Quality Code gives buyers a pre-completion inspection, with the board's own pre-completion inspection checklists for houses and apartments. If you inspect for buyers, use that checklist and record against it.
Questions
How many photos should each item have?
Enough to show where and what: usually one wide and one close. More only where the defect needs it.
Should I record the client or contractor walking with me?
Only if they know and agree it is being recorded. Say so at the start, and keep the recording for the purpose you gave.
What if the recording is hard to hear on site?
Hold the phone closer when you name each item, and say the item number again if a machine starts nearby. In Note Metric, words the engine was least sure of are underlined, and a line from a hard to hear part is marked Unclear audio so you can play it back.
Sources
- New Homes Quality Board, The New Homes Quality Code: the code and its pre-completion inspection checklists for houses and apartments
- Apple Support, Control the location information you share on iPhone: location services and which apps, including the camera, can use location
- RICS, Building surveying standards and guidance: the professional standards that apply to building surveying work
Our summaries of these documents are not their wording: read the source before relying on it. This guide is general information, not legal advice for a particular case. Note Metric and AI Metric Ltd are not affiliated with or endorsed by any body named here.