Renovation Pre-Start Condition Records
A pre-start condition record documents what was visible before the agreed work began. Its value comes from clear locations, dates and scope, so later readers can compare the same area without assuming that every difference establishes responsibility.
By Blu Mint Digital. 3 minute read. Last reviewed .
Define the baseline visit
Record the property, date, person making the observations and the areas included. Note existing protection, furniture or access restrictions. If work has already started somewhere, state that rather than labelling every photograph as pre-start.
This is a practical photo-record workflow. It does not replace a required specialist survey or determine liability for later damage. Use the project's agreed requirements and competent advice when a formal condition assessment is needed.
Photograph locations that can be repeated
Take a context view of each relevant area and detail photos of existing observations. Use fixed viewpoints where possible. Record enough surrounding context to find the position again after furniture or temporary protection has moved.
- Identify the room, surface and exact position.
- State whether a mark or condition was directly observed.
- Caption detail photos with the corresponding location.
- Record inaccessible areas as limitations.
- Preserve the original images and the issued baseline PDF.
Do not rely only on an image's filename to establish when or where it was taken. Record the visit context explicitly and distinguish capture date from later import or report-generation dates.
Example of an existing finish observation
An illustrative record is: “Living room, wall beside courtyard door, lower section. Existing surface mark visible before the planned internal works. Photograph taken during baseline visit; furniture obscures the wall beyond the cabinet.” Add a context image and a detail.
The obscured area remains unrecorded. If a later photo shows a mark there, the baseline does not prove that the area was previously clear. Be precise about that evidence gap instead of filling it with an assumption.
Preserve the baseline before ongoing work
Generate and save the checked PDF before editing observations for subsequent visits. Keep the original baseline file identifiable through a project reference, date and issue label. If you add later photos to the working record, caption their dates and purposes clearly.
Site Audit supports captioned photos and on-device PDF generation. Pro adds unlimited projects for repeat client work and removes the app credit line. The app is not an immutable evidence archive, so preserve your issued files and backups separately. Use the photo date guide and damage observation template when recording subsequent conditions.