The Pre-Existing Damage You Need to Flag

Why this matters

You walk into a job, do your work, and leave. A week later the customer calls: the wall by where you worked is cracked, the floor is stained, the cabinet door is broken, and they are sure you did it. If you never noted that the damage was there before you arrived, it is your word against theirs, and a customer who believes you broke something often wins the argument or files a chargeback. The fix is a two-minute habit: flag and photograph pre-existing damage near your work area before you touch anything. Cheap insurance against a claim you cannot disprove later.

What counts as pre-existing damage

You are not documenting the whole house. You are documenting anything already broken, stained, cracked, or worn in or near your work zone that a customer might later blame on you.

• Cracked tile, drywall, or plaster near where you will work.
• Stains on floors, ceilings, or walls (water rings, rust, mildew).
• Dented or scratched cabinets, appliances, trim, or fixtures.
• Existing leaks, corrosion, or prior amateur repairs you are working around.
• Damaged landscaping, driveways, or siding on the access path if you are bringing in equipment.

The test is simple: if it is already broken and it is within reach of where you will be working, it is worth thirty seconds to record.

Flag it before you start, not after

Timing is everything. Damage you photograph before you begin is clearly pre-existing. Damage you photograph after is just damage. Make the walkthrough part of your setup.

1. Walk the work area first with the customer if they are present.
2. Point it out verbally: "I see this tile is already cracked, just want to note it before I start." This does two things: it puts them on notice, and it often gets a verbal acknowledgment.
3. Photograph it then, before any tools come out.

A customer who hears you flag the cracked tile up front almost never circles back to blame you for it.

How to photograph it so it holds up

A blurry, contextless photo of a crack proves nothing. Make the photo do its job.

• Wide then close. A wide shot shows where in the room it is. A close shot shows the detail. The pair together proves both location and condition.
• Get a reference for time. Most phones embed a timestamp; confirm yours does. If not, note the date in writing alongside the photo.
• Include something that anchors it to this visit when you can, the work area, the appliance you are servicing, so it is clearly this job and this property.
• Keep them with the job record, not lost in a camera roll. A photo you cannot find is a photo you do not have.

Note it in writing too

Photos are strong, but a written note tied to them is stronger, especially for damage a photo does not capture well (a sticking door, a soft spot in a floor, a faint smell).

A short line in the job record does it: "Pre-existing: cracked tile left of vanity, water stain on ceiling near access panel, scratched cabinet face. Photographed before start." Customer-present acknowledgment is worth adding: "Noted to homeowner before beginning."

When the customer is not home

No-contact jobs and lockbox access raise the risk because nobody is there to acknowledge the condition. Your documentation has to carry the whole load.

• Photograph more, not less. Without a witness, your photos are your only defense.
• Send a quick note after, if you have their number: "Wrapped up. For your records, I noticed the cracked tile and water stain were already there when I arrived, photos in your file." A timestamped message creates a record they received before any dispute.
• Photograph the access path if you used equipment that could mark a driveway or siding.

The mental model

Treat every job like the customer might one day accuse you of breaking something, because occasionally one will. You are not being paranoid; you are creating the record that makes the accusation go away in one reply instead of one lawsuit. The shops that get burned are the ones who trusted that "they seemed nice." The habit costs two minutes. The missing record costs a job, a review, and sometimes a check.

References

• Trade-standard practice for job-site condition documentation
• Your general liability insurer's guidance on disputed-damage claims (confirm specifics with your agent)
• See related: The Property Damage You Might Have Caused (decision tree); The Job File: What Belongs In It; The Record That Wins the Chargeback