Keep the repair story together
A useful repair record explains what happened, what has been checked and what still needs a decision. It helps you compare quotations and avoids asking the next contractor to start from incomplete information. Use the checklist below for a leak, flood or storm repair, adapting it to the property.
This is an enquiry-planning aid, not an insurer’s claim form or proof of cover. Your insurer may ask for different evidence. Record only what you know, label uncertain causes and keep personal details out of documents intended for public sharing.
1. Capture the starting position
- Write a short chronology: when damage was first noticed, whether it is changing, and any relevant work or incident before it appeared.
- List the affected rooms and visible materials: ceilings, walls, floor coverings, skirting, fitted units or other finishes. Keep the leak source separate from the resulting damage.
- Take a wide room view and closer photographs where safe. Preserve original files. Do not enter unsafe areas or open up building materials to obtain photographs.
- Note whether someone has stopped or repaired the source. Keep their findings and invoice rather than assuming a stained surface proves the cause.
2. Keep findings and decisions separate
An observation such as “staining below the bathroom” is different from a confirmed diagnosis. Record who inspected the property, what they checked and what they concluded. If the cause remains uncertain, say so.
Where investigation, opening-up, drying or another specialist stage is needed, note who is responsible and which findings will be available to the reinstatement contractor. A photograph alone may not establish whether hidden materials are ready for replacement finishes.
3. Prepare a room-by-room scope
- For each room, identify the proposed removal, repair, replacement and decoration work.
- Record retained items, proposed materials and any matching requirements. Separate an elective upgrade from damage-related making good.
- Clarify access, protection, clearance and any work by other contractors.
- Keep the quotation version, exclusions and assumptions with the proposed scope. Identify provisional items requiring inspection or further information.
4. Record authority and payment
Keep the accepted quotation and written instruction together. Establish who is contracting for the work, who approves changes and who is paying. A claim reference does not by itself authorise a contractor or establish payment.
Record questions about VAT, any policy excess, uninsured items and optional improvements before work starts. If hidden damage changes the proposal, keep the revised scope and approval alongside the original rather than overwriting the history.
5. Plan completion information
Agree what you need at handover before the job begins: the completed scope, photographs where agreed, outstanding items, product information and any relevant certificates issued by the responsible trade. Keep snagging and follow-up arrangements with the completion record.
Professional clients can discuss reporting requirements through the professional enquiry route. Approved organisations can use the client portal for their job records.
Send a useful first enquiry
Start with the postcode, damage summary, affected rooms and any work already completed. Use the damage-report form for your contact details and safe photographs. Contact Premier to agree a suitable transfer route for schedules and other documents.
You can also use our repair scope planner to generate a short checklist without entering personal details.