Photographing work in progress for disputes

Your memory of Tuesday will be mush by next month. The camera roll won’t.

Shoot the house before they start, at the end of each day, and any time they open a wall. Include a piece of paper with the date if your phone clock is a mess.

This isn’t distrust. It’s how Houston claims and contractor fights get settled.

Do this now

1. Walk every room today and shoot wide, then details. Narrate a video if you can.
2. Photograph materials on site: fans, plastic, new board, the dumpster.
3. At the end of each workday, shoot what changed. Open the closets.
4. Back the photos up the same night to a shared drive, not just the wet phone.
5. If something looks wrong, shoot it before you argue, then say it out loud to the lead.

What to capture besides the pretty after shot

The water line before they wipe it. The serial plate before the appliance leaves. The cracked tile they blame on you later. The empty room they said they dried. A clock, a newspaper, or the phone’s date on a whiteboard in the frame. After Harvey, people who had progress photos could show a crew skipped a wing. People who didn’t were stuck with stories.

Keep a boring log

One note per day: who showed up, what they did, what they asked you to buy, what they said the carrier already approved. Names if you have them. It can be ugly. It needs a timestamp. When a dispute hits, that log plus photos beats a long paragraph written in anger.

Don’t edit yourself into trouble

Don’t delete the unflattering shots. Don’t add filters. Don’t stage damage that isn’t there. You’re building evidence, not a brand. If you share with the adjuster, send originals or full-size exports. A tiny compressed image of a wet outlet helps no one.

Do this next

1. Door-to-door after Harvey-style events: patterns to refuse
2. Checking licenses and references in Texas under pressure
3. Commercial providers hub

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