This checklist supports safe documentation and triage; it is not a repair authorization. Create repeatable width, direction and location records and identify movement patterns that should stop cosmetic treatment. Work from immediate safety to evidence preservation, then to the smallest reversible action.
Secure the situation
- Check for alarms, smoke, active electrical exposure, sewage, unstable materials or rapidly spreading water.
- Keep people and animals away from an uncertain area.
- Isolate a clearly identified source only when the control is safely accessible.
- Do not enter confined, flooded, unsupported or contaminated spaces.
Capture evidence before it changes
Photograph the overview, the first visible edge and a reference object for scale. Record date, time, weather, occupancy, equipment state and recent work. Preserve original files and avoid filters or annotations on the only copy. Note comparable areas that remain normal.
Run bounded checks
Use sight, sound, touch only where safe, and simple comparative readings rather than absolute conclusions. Document the instrument, location, units and conditions. Do not drill, cut, remove regulated layers or defeat equipment safeguards to obtain a reading.
Decide the next handoff
Stop and use qualified help when the checklist reaches energized water, combustion danger, sewage, unstable materials, unsafe access, rapidly worsening damage or acute symptoms. Assign an owner, a review time and one verification condition before the checklist is considered complete. Summarize what changed, what did not change and which question remains unresolved. A useful checklist ends with an owner, timing and verification point—not merely a list of completed tasks.
Primary references for this topic family
These references ground the general building-science or safety context. They do not diagnose a specific house, replace local requirements or certify a repair.
