What to ask on a foundation or waterproofing inspection form
A homeowner can tell you a basement corner gets wet after rain. They may have no idea where the water enters. That first observation is enough for your office to start a useful conversation. Build the form around what the homeowner can see and what the scheduler needs next.
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Use last week’s callbacks to decide what belongs on the form
Ask the person who books inspections to pull up five recent inquiries. Which missing detail actually held up a callback? A ZIP code may decide whether you cover the property. A wall crack versus water on a basement floor may decide who calls back. A guess about the footing depth probably changes neither decision. Save technical questions for the person doing the inspection.
A short field list you can adapt
Give the first screen a plain heading such as “Request an inspection.” Say who will review it and what happens next. The following is an illustrative field set for a contractor who screens by service area and confirms appointments by phone or email.
- “What ZIP code is the property in?”
- Use a text field with a numeric keyboard and postal-code autofill. Keep leading zeroes. Request a full street address when the office needs it to confirm a visit. If parts of a ZIP code fall outside your area, let the office check the boundary.
- “What have you noticed?”
- Offer “Water or dampness,” “A crack or uneven surface,” “More than one concern” and “Something else or unsure.” Give the office enough to route the request. Avoid making the customer choose between named repair systems.
- “Where do you see it?”
- Offer basement, crawl space, inside the home, outside, or unsure. An optional short note can ask “When do you tend to see it?” A homeowner can report an observation like “after a heavy rain” without estimating pressure or movement.
- “Who should we contact, and how?”
- Ask for a name and one working contact method. If the homeowner chooses phone, reveal the phone field. If they choose email, reveal email. Mark any callback-window question optional and use times your office can actually honor.
An existing contractor form shows the tradeoff. Pro-Tech lists the counties it serves and asks for an address, city, ZIP code and service category. On your own form, decide which of those details your scheduler uses before the first call. See Pro-Tech’s contact form.
Make photos easy to skip
Offer “Add a photo you already have (optional)” after the essential questions. Accept a request without an upload. If you accept photos, state the file types and size limit your system supports before the picker opens. Show the filename and an easy remove button. When an upload fails, keep the typed answers and offer “Continue without photo.”
Use pictures to help the office understand the location of a concern. Ask only for images the homeowner already has or can take from an ordinary, safe spot. There’s no need to enter a crawl space, climb, move belongings or measure a crack to submit a request. Keep photos and addresses with the private inquiry.
Give a clear receipt and a usable office note
Illustrative confirmation. “We received your inspection request. Our office will use your selected contact method to check the details and arrange a time.” Add your actual staffed callback hours if you publish them. Reserve appointment confirmations for the point when both sides have agreed on a slot.
Illustrative office handoff. “In-area ZIP. Basement. Water by the back wall after heavy rain. No photo. Prefers an afternoon call.” Route it to the waterproofing scheduler, preserve the customer’s wording, and give one person the callback. “Unsure” or overlapping concerns go to general intake. The person following up can establish what the visit should cover.
Run a five-minute phone test with the scheduler
- Open the form at a narrow phone width. Tap each visible label and check that the right field receives focus. Leave an optional field empty.
- Choose email, enter an incomplete address, and try to continue. The error should identify the email field and explain the correction. Changing the address should preserve the ZIP code and observation.
- Switch the preferred contact method to phone. The hidden email field should stop being required. Try uploading an unsupported photo, then continue without it.
- Use a test environment to submit twice on a slow connection. Check that dispatch receives one usable request and the customer sees one clear receipt. Have the scheduler read the note back and say what they would do next.
Give every input a persistent label and check validation again on the server. For a custom error message, place it by the affected field and associate it with that input. W3C form labels · Input validation · Error notifications.
After launch, have the office tally which new inquiries needed an extra call just to locate the property or understand the concern. If one question keeps coming up, change the wording and review another batch. That gives you a reason to add, simplify or remove a field.
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