I’ve actually tried the photo log thing with my contractor, but I kept second-guessing what I was seeing. Like, is that gap in the drywall normal or not? Video walkthroughs helped a bit more, but sometimes it’s hard to get a sense of scale or detail unless you’re right there. Still, it did cut down on the “wait, that’s not finished?” surprises. Does anyone else find it tricky to trust photos, or am I just overthinking it?
- Totally get this. Photos always make me squint and wonder if I’m missing something obvious.
- With my old house, every “normal” gap turned out to be a not-so-normal surprise later... so yeah, I’m suspicious of photos too.
- Video helps, but unless someone’s holding a ruler up or narrating what’s what, it’s still a guessing game.
- Weekly meetings are more work, but at least you can point and ask “is that supposed to look like that?” right away.
Video helps, but unless someone’s holding a ruler up or narrating what’s what, it’s still a guessing game.
- 100% agree on the ruler thing—scale is everything. I’ve had clients panic over a “huge” gap that turned out to be 1/8 inch.
- Digital models are great for big-picture stuff, but you can’t beat being able to say “can you tilt the camera up a bit?” in real time.
- Weekly meetings do eat up time, but they catch weird details early. I’ve seen missed outlets and off-center lights get fixed just because someone spotted them live.
- If you go digital, at least make sure everyone’s annotating and labeling. Otherwise, it’s just another guessing game.
Had a project last year where we relied mostly on emailed photos and a shared 3D model. Looked fine until someone finally walked the site and realized the “window” in the model was actually a door—no one had labeled it, and the angle made it tough to tell. Weekly meetings can be a pain, but at least you can point stuff out right then and there. I still think nothing beats being able to say, “Wait, can you measure that real quick?” in the moment. Digital’s great, but only if everyone’s super detail-oriented, which… let’s be honest, isn’t always the case.
Honestly, I’d probably have called it a “window” too if I was just looking at a 3D model from my phone. I tried to skip meetings on my kitchen reno and ended up with the world’s tiniest pantry because nobody caught the measurement mix-up. Weekly meetings might be a pain, but at least you can catch those “wait, is that a door?” moments before it’s too late. Digital stuff’s cool, but only if everyone’s on the same page... which, in my experience, is rare.
