Table of contents:
- What belongs in a construction diary?
- Construction diary software
- Building diary apps
- Building diary blogs
- The advantages of the digital construction diary
- Involve experts
Video: Construction diary: apps and template for builders
A building diary can become an important piece of evidence in the case of construction defects when building a house. While architects are forced to keep a building diary, the building owner can also pick up a pencil himself and document the construction process. Here's how to do it best.
Table of contents Table of contents Construction diary for builders: Important preservation of evidence for construction defects
- What belongs in a construction diary?
- Construction diary software
- Building diary apps
- Building diary blogs
- The advantages of the digital construction diary
- Involve experts
Table of contents Table of contents Construction diary for builders: Important preservation of evidence for construction defects
- What belongs in a construction diary?
- Construction diary software
- Building diary apps
- Building diary blogs
- The advantages of the digital construction diary
- Involve experts
In one The building diary usually records the entire construction process. In addition, damage and construction defects as well as the companies involved are documented in order to be able to better understand later which defects occurred at which point and by which causer. In the event of a disagreement between the builder and the building company, this can become an important piece of evidence that can even stand up in court.
What belongs in a construction diary?
The construction diary should be kept every day if possible - otherwise at least every time you visit the construction site. This is the only way to fully document the construction process. If you as the builder decide to keep your own building diary, the following things should definitely be recorded:
- Date and time of the entry
- Details of the building object (e.g. single-family house, address, parcel number)
- Weather information (especially if it affects construction)
- Information on the daily construction progress
- Information about the companies that are active (including the employees)
- Which materials and devices are used
- What was delivered when
- Documentation of defects or wrong deliveries
- Results of meetings (with the names and signatures of the participants)
- Photos, as evidence (especially from trades that can no longer be seen later, for example: electrical installation)
- Operating instructions for the installed elements
Here you can download our building diary template for builders as a PDF and a building diary template as an Exel table
Construction diary software
In times of the digital world there are also various construction diary software solutions with which the construction process can be digitally recorded quickly and easily. Anyone looking for a digital version of their construction diary as a builder first stumbles across a large number of professional software solutions for architects, site managers and experts. This construction diary software is very extensive, detailed and costly - as a builder you do not need all functions and can therefore confidently fall back on a restricted version of a construction diary software. However, make sure that the program can save data such as weather conditions, construction progress, progress, photos and date, as well as the time. Such basic versions are interrupted by advertising, but are sufficient for builders.
Building diary apps
There are many apps in the Google Play Store for keeping a digital construction diary. Professional solutions for architects and site managers can also be found here. Somewhat more limited, but nevertheless equipped with the necessary functions for builders, the apps "Building diary mobile" from Weise Software GmbH, "Building diary by voice input" from IdeeGo and "Building diary" from Increations Zukunftsmanufaktur. We have taken a closer look at the functions of these three apps for you.
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Building diary blogs
If you want to tell others about your experience in building a house, you can turn the construction diary into a construction blog. So you can regularly report on progress or annoyances, give advice and thus be of great help to other builders. The Verband Privater Bauherren eV provides a template for a construction blog with detailed instructions.
The great response to private construction blogs led to the fact that entire websites, such as www.bautagebuch-liste.de or www.bautagebuch-sammlung.de, can be used to find entire collections of construction diary blogs, organized by developer or house provider. Looking around there can be informative and an exciting private pastime for home builders - however, this form of the digital construction diary has no legal evidence.
The advantages of the digital construction diary
The digital construction diary has several advantages. While a written building diary is usually reserved for the person who keeps it, a digital building diary can easily be sent as a document by email. This way, everyone involved receives a copy and has an insight into the previous documentation. In addition, the software is often a great help for laypersons who keep their first construction diary. It enables a clear design, already gives suggestions for entries and stores the corresponding photos in the right place.
An expert can be of great help when building a house, since he recognizes defects much faster than the layperson. He also keeps a construction diary.
/ Phovoir
Involve experts
Clever builders can get advice from the beginning by an independent building expert. Regular quality control takes place during the construction phase and defects are identified more quickly. When the shell is finished, there are often partial approvals for heating, electricity and sanitary installations. Here you are particularly dependent on the specialist. For example, leaks, cold or poorly insulated areas can only be made visible with thermography using a thermal imaging camera or with the so-called blower door test.
If the building inspection is getting closer, it is important to draw up a so-called acceptance report. This lists all the deficiencies found and sets deadlines for rectification. Since the burden of proof is reversed after the acceptance, so the builder must prove that the work was defective before the acceptance, you should not sign prematurely, but rather examine it intensively. Anything that seems wrong to you should be recorded in the log. You can only sign as a builder if the expert has checked intensively whether all defects have been remedied. After that, all dangers and risks pass to you.
Good to know: While the client is not forced to keep his own construction diary, the site management is even obliged to do so. Because keeping a construction diary is a basic HOAI service. The HOAI is the fee schedule for architects and engineers, on the basis of which the architect works for the client. In this way, the developer can even reduce the architect's fee in the absence of a construction log.
