Facade inspection software for annual condition reports
Facade inspections look for the defects that turn into falling-object risks: cracked or spalling concrete around corroding reinforcement, failed sealant joints, loose cladding fixings, cracked glass and corroding balustrade base plates. They are typically done elevation by elevation, by binoculars from the ground, from a swing stage or by rope access, and the building owner needs a report that says where each defect is, how urgent it is and whether anything needs making safe now.
Built for building owners running teams of roughly 3–50 inspectors.
Sample Facade condition report
An illustrative excerpt. The site, readings and findings are fictional; the layout is yours to set.
Facade condition report
North elevation — Levels 6 to 9, drop 3
- Building
- Fictional House, 8 Example Parade
- Access method
- Rope access, drops 1–5
- Inspected
- 19 February 2026
| Location | Defect | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| L8 slab edge, grid C | Spalling concrete, exposed corroded reinforcement 400 mm | Rating: Urgent |
| L7 window W7-03 | Perimeter sealant debonded on head and one jamb | Rating: Within 6 months |
| L6–L9 cladding panels | Fixings tight; no displacement observed | Rating: Pass |
| L9 balcony balustrade | Surface corrosion at two base plates | Rating: Within 12 months |
Fields captured on site
Your firm builds the form in-app, so these are a starting point rather than a fixed schema. Every field is captured on the device, with or without signal, and lands in the facade condition report where your template puts it.
Per elevation and drop
- Elevation
- Drop or bay number
- Levels covered
- Access method
- Weather at inspection
Per defect
- Grid reference and level
- Facade element (concrete, glazing, sealant, cladding, balustrade)
- Defect type
- Size or extent
- Urgency rating
- Made safe on the day (yes / no)
- Photos
Summary
- Urgent items count
- Areas not inspected and why
- Recommended next inspection
Standards the report works to
- AS 1288Glass in buildings — Selection and installation
- Referenced when a glazing finding concerns breakage risk or a pane that may not suit its location.
- AS 3600Concrete structures
- The design context for findings about cover, cracking and reinforcement corrosion in concrete elements.
Load the standards you hold into your reference library and the drafted prose is written against them rather than against a general model.
How the facade condition report gets built
Capture it once, offline
Your firm builds the annual facade inspection form in-app — 25 field types, nesting repeatable groups, compound AND/OR visibility rules, reusable modules and calculated fields. Field capture works with no signal: jobs, forms, photos, notes and audio all queue in an idempotent outbox that only clears once the server confirms receipt.
Link it to your buildings, levels and tenancies
Enter buildings, levels and tenancies once, as a register. Every one of your elements, defects and cost lines then points at a stored row rather than a name somebody typed — and the links survive a disconnected device.
Render your own template
The facade condition report renders into the Word template you already use — your letterhead, your section order, your clause library — with conditionals, loops over repeats, composable sub-templates and photo grids.
Reviewed before it leaves
You write the review framework: a checklist of what a facade condition report must contain, plus the prose standards you would mark a junior against. Link it to a report template and it runs every time that template renders. Each finding comes back graded info, minor or major, quoting the sentence at fault, and a person accepts or dismisses every one.
Because the structured submission behind the report is held too, the review is a comparison rather than a proofread: The narrative calls the roof "fair"; the element register grades it C with a twelve-month cost line against it.
Checks a commercial property framework usually carries
- Every graded defect carries a cost band and a priority
- The make-good schedule and the narrative describe the same condition
- Access and DDA non-compliances cite the clause they fail
- Every photo referenced in the text exists and is captioned
Questions
- Can rope access technicians capture defects mid-drop?
- Yes. Capture runs on an iPad or phone with no signal needed, so a technician can log the grid reference, defect and photos on the rope and the record syncs once they are back at ground level.
- Can the report show this year’s defects against last year’s?
- Defects are stored against the elevation and grid location, so a recurring annual inspection can bring forward last year’s open items and record whether each has been repaired.
- How are urgent make-safe items highlighted?
- Urgency is a field on each defect, so your template can lift every urgent item into a summary table at the front of the report.
What this is not
Worth knowing before you book a demo, so neither of us wastes the half hour.
- Not field-service dispatch. No timesheets, no parts, no inventory. Scheduling exists to get an inspector to a site.
- No signature capture. If your deliverable has to carry a signed sign-off on the artefact itself, this is not the tool yet.
- Field capture is what works offline — jobs, forms, photos, notes and audio. Reports, chat, scheduling and the inbox need a connection.
- No client portal. Reports go out as a file or a password-protected link.
Other commercial property work we cover
- Indoor air quality assessmentsIAQ report
- Legionella risk assessmentsLegionella risk report
- Lift registration inspectionsLift inspection report
- NABERS energy auditsEnergy rating evidence pack
- Replacement cost assessmentsInsurance valuation report
- Roof condition surveysRoof survey report
- Signage condition auditsSignage register
- Sinking fund forecast inspectionsMaintenance forecast report
Other disciplines
Rebuild your facade condition report in SurveyThanks
Bring the Word template you already send clients. If you are coming off another field-forms tool, a filled report can be uploaded, read field by field, and re-rendered into your template.