Weathering and Exposure Observation Record Checklist

Note which face gets wet in driving rain while the others stay comparatively dry, and record how you know, such as a wet wall or a soaked door.

The face that wets in a storm is the one whose details matter most, and owners can usually name it immediately.

Establish which direction each elevation faces using a compass, and write it onto a sketch so every later note can refer to it.

Orientation turns a set of scattered observations into a pattern anybody can read.

Record what currently shelters the building, such as a neighbouring row, a bank, a wall, a hedge or mature trees, and on which side.

Shelter that is taken for granted can be removed by somebody else, and its loss changes how a building weathers.

Note whether the building sits on open ground, on a slope, on a ridge or in a hollow, and what lies immediately upwind of it.

Position within the local landform affects exposure as much as the region does, and it is easily described from the ground.

Record whether salt spray, blown sand or coastal air reach the property, and note where you see evidence of it on metalwork or glass.

How a coastal or otherwise aggressive position affects material choices is a matter for a suitably qualified professional to advise on.

Write down how long you have been observing the property, and be plain about anything you have not yet seen it go through.

The limits of your own observation are important context, particularly if you have not been there through a full range of conditions.

Note where green or black growth appears on walls, paving and roof surfaces, and which direction those areas face.

Growth follows moisture and shade, so its distribution is a readable map of where surfaces stay wet.

Record any streaking running down from a sill, a joint, a fixing, a hopper or a projecting feature, and photograph it straight on.

A streak points to whatever is directly above it, which is often more relevant than the streak itself.

Note where a surface stays noticeably cleaner, such as under an overhang, a canopy or a deep reveal, and how far that protection extends.

The clean area shows exactly how much shelter a projection actually gives, which is useful when overhangs are being discussed.

Write down whether one elevation consistently looks worse than the rest, and note whether the difference is growth, colour or surface breakdown.

A single face behaving differently is the clearest exposure evidence a building can offer.

Note where moss or growth gathers on roof slopes, in a valley or along a bottom edge, as seen from the ground or a window.

Roof slopes are for a suitably qualified professional with proper access to inspect, so keep your own looking to a window or the ground.

Photograph each elevation in similar light and note whether the surface was wet or dry, because both change the appearance completely.

Photographs taken in different conditions cannot be compared, which quietly wastes an otherwise good record.

Note where a gutter overflows, spills at a joint or runs over at a corner during heavy rain, and photograph it while it is happening.

Overflow points appear only under real rainfall and cannot be found by looking at a dry gutter later.

Record whether each downpipe runs freely, whether water spurts from a joint, and where the bottom of each one discharges.

Where water lands at the foot of a downpipe explains a great deal about the wall and ground beside it.

Note where water sheets down a wall face rather than being thrown clear, and which features it runs behind or around.

Sheeting water loads a wall far more heavily than rain alone, and it usually traces back to a single feature above.

Record where water stands after rain on a flat roof, a balcony, a step or paving, and note how long it appears to remain.

Standing water on a flat area should be looked at by a suitably qualified professional rather than interpreted from the ground.

Note any mark, drip or damp patch that appears inside during or after rain, and record which rooms and how quickly it shows.

The timing between rainfall and an internal mark is one of the most useful pieces of evidence you can collect.

Make these observations from indoors, from a window or from a sheltered doorway, and never during severe or windy conditions.

Do not go outside to observe in a storm, and leave anything that requires height or exposure to a suitably qualified professional.

Note where whistling, humming or rattling is heard in strong wind, and which opening, vent or fitting it seems to come from.

Noise locates a gap far more precisely than a search in calm conditions ever will.

Record any door or window that leaks water only in wind driven rain rather than in ordinary rainfall, and on which face it sits.

Wind driven leaks behave quite differently and are frequently reported as intermittent because nobody noted the conditions.

Note anything visibly moving in strong wind, such as a flashing, a panel, a gate, a fence or a piece of trim.

A component that shifts in wind is not a candidate for observation over time; tell a suitably qualified professional about it promptly.

Record where leaves and debris collect around the building, since that shows where wind slows down and drops what it is carrying.

Debris gathers in the same places water does, and those places are usually the ones that need clearing regularly.

Note any draught inside that appears only when the wind comes from a particular direction, and record which rooms are affected.

A direction dependent draught points at a specific face rather than at the building generally.

Note where a band of marking or staining sits low on a wall above paving, a path or a hard surface.

A low band usually reflects rain bouncing back off a hard surface, which is why it stops at a consistent height.

Record where soil, paving, decking or a raised bed sits high against the wall, and photograph each place with something for scale.

Ground raised against a wall raises moisture questions for a suitably qualified professional and should not be altered on assumption.

Note whether paths and paving appear to fall away from the building or back towards it, observed by watching where puddles form.

Watching where water collects is more reliable than judging a fall by eye when everything is dry.

Record where gullies, channels and drain covers sit around the building, and whether any of them stand full or blocked after rain.

A blocked gully quietly sends water back at the wall, and it is one of the easiest things for an owner to spot.

Note where planting, climbers or shrubs touch the wall, and how much of the surface they keep permanently shaded and damp.

Planting against a wall changes how it dries, and its removal is a decision with consequences worth discussing first.

Photograph the roof when snow lies on it, and note where it melts first, where it lingers and whether the pattern repeats each time.

A melting pattern on a roof is a genuinely useful observation, and the opportunity to photograph it is brief.

Note where frost stays longest on a wall, a paved area or a sill, and record which face those areas are on.

The last areas to clear are the coldest and dampest ones, which is worth knowing before any surface work is planned.

Record where ice forms at a gutter, an outlet or a downpipe, and photograph it from the ground rather than getting closer.

Ice at roof level and any resulting overflow should be reported to a suitably qualified professional rather than tackled yourself.

Note where a surface appears to be crumbling, flaking or shedding material, particularly at a low level or near a joint.

Whether surface breakdown matters, and why it is happening, must be established by a suitably qualified professional.

Record whether marks or damp patches appear inside during cold spells rather than during rain, since the pattern points elsewhere.

Separating cold weather symptoms from rain driven ones early stops an investigation heading in the wrong direction.

Note where paint, stain or a coating fails first, and record whether that face is the sunniest, the wettest or the most exposed to wind.

Which face fails first tells a professional what is driving the failure without anybody needing to guess.

Record how any external timber has weathered on each face, including colour change, splitting and the areas that have stayed sheltered.

Timber shows exposure differences plainly, and it gives a sense of what an unfinished material would do here.

Note where sealant at joints, around frames or at abutments has shrunk, split or come away, and on which elevations.

Joint materials tend to fail first where movement and sun are greatest, and the pattern is easy to photograph.

Record anything that appears to move, bind or become noisy in hot conditions, such as a door that sticks only in summer weather.

Seasonal behaviour is normal in many constructions, but it should still be recorded rather than lived around.

Note where colour has faded unevenly across a face or between elevations, and photograph a sheltered area alongside an exposed one.

A sheltered patch beside an exposed one shows how a material actually ages here, which is useful before any finish is chosen.

Choose a fixed position for each elevation photograph and use it every time, noting the spot so anyone else could stand there.

Comparable images taken from the same place are the difference between a record and a folder of pictures.

Record the date and the conditions with every observation, including whether the surface was wet, drying or dry at the time.

Without conditions, an apparent change is impossible to interpret and the record becomes misleading rather than useful.

Write down which faces and areas you have never been able to observe properly, and say so plainly when handing the record over.

An honest gap is far more useful than an implied completeness that nobody stated.

Keep every entry descriptive and resist writing a cause, however tempting it is once a pattern starts to appear.

Reading a cause into a weathering pattern is not something an owner can do reliably; leave the interpretation to a suitably qualified professional.

Hand the record over as a single set with the sketch, the dated notes and the photographs together, rather than as scattered messages.

A record that arrives in one piece gets read; one that arrives in fragments gets skimmed.