How to write a defect report for building work

What a defect report actually contains, how to photograph the problem so it is undeniable, and how to write it up so the tradie can act on it instead of arguing with it.

Every guide to dealing with bad workmanship tells you the same thing: put it in writing. Almost none of them tell you what to write. So people send an angry text, get a defensive reply, and the whole thing stalls before anyone has agreed what the actual problem is.

A defect report fixes that. It is not a legal weapon and it does not need to be. It is a calm, specific, dated record of what is wrong, with photos, in language a tradie can act on. Most disputes end the moment one exists, because the argument stops being about tone and starts being about a list.

Photograph it properly first

Photos do most of the work, but only if they answer the two questions the reader will have: what is wrong, and where is it? That means two shots per problem, not one.

Take a wide shot that shows where the issue sits — the wall, the room, the elevation — and then a close-up of the defect itself. A close-up on its own is oddly useless: a photo of a crack with no context could be anywhere in the house, and the person who did the work will say exactly that.

A wide shot showing where it is, then a close-up of the problem
Something for scale where it helps — a coin, a tape, a hand
Natural light if you can, and avoid the flash washing out a stain
One problem at a time, so each item can stand on its own

Describe only what the photos show

This is the discipline that makes a report credible. Write what is visible, not what you suspect happened, and never what you think of the person who did it. "The grout along the shower hob has cracked in two places and several tiles sit proud of their neighbours" is a sentence nobody can argue with. "They botched the tiling" invites an argument about whether they did.

Where you have a theory about the cause, mark it as a theory. "This may be related to movement below, though I cannot tell from the surface" is honest and costs you nothing. Stating a cause you cannot see is the fastest way to have the whole report dismissed.

Keep anything you have experienced but cannot photograph in its own line — a damp smell after every shower, a door that only sticks in wet weather. That is real evidence, it just is not visual evidence, and separating the two makes both stronger.

Anchor each item to what good looks like

The strongest defect reports do one more thing: they say what the work was meant to achieve. You do not need to be a building surveyor for this, and you should not pretend to be one, but pointing at the relevant standard changes the conversation from taste to specification.

Waterproofing of domestic wet areas is dealt with by AS 3740 and the ABCB Housing Provisions, which is where requirements like shower walls being waterproof to 1800 mm above the floor substrate, and floor falls to the waste between 1:80 and 1:50, come from. Ceramic tiling has its own installation guide in AS 3958.1. Barriers and stairs sit under the safe movement provisions of the National Construction Code. Finish issues like paint and plaster are usually judged against the guides to standards and tolerances that builders and inspectors already work to, which describe things like viewing a surface from a normal distance in normal light.

The right register is "this is commonly assessed against", not "this breaches". Whether something actually fails a standard is a judgement for a qualified inspector or a tribunal. Your job is to point at the yardstick, not to swing it.

Say what you want to happen, and by when

A report that lists problems without an ask is just a complaint. Finish with the outcome you want — come back and rectify, finish what was quoted, inspect and respond with a plan — and a reasonable date. A fortnight is common and hard to argue with.

Note whether you have raised it before, and when. A first notice and a third one are different documents, and the difference matters a great deal if the matter ever goes to a regulator.

Then send it, keep a copy, and stay polite. The tone that gets work fixed is the tone of someone who assumes it will be.

Let QuickQuote write it for you

QuickQuote's defect report tool does all of the above from your photos. You photograph each problem, it writes the item up in plain English, marks the photo where the issue is, and attaches the standards that may be relevant from a catalogue we maintain and check, rather than inventing clause numbers.

You get a PDF with a cover, an item schedule, the photos and a next-steps page. It is free, we do not store the report, and we do not send it for you — you download it and send it yourself, because it is your document and your relationship with the tradie.