---
id: KB-CN-029
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/construction/the-one-who-installs-what-the-street-sees
idioma: en
categoria: sector-construccion
subcategoria: fachadas
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CN-019, KB-CN-025]
citadoPor: [KB-CN-030, KB-CN-031]
---

# The one who installs what the street sees

_Your work is judged from the pavement, without a ladder and without context. A defect of yours is not discovered: it is seen._

**Responde a:** claims over visible facade defects · how to document the condition at completion · blamed for something that was already like that · shade variation between material batches

Yours does not need looking for: it is on the street, in plain view, every day. **A defect in your work does not appear in a review, it appears in a photo somebody sends round a group chat** — and that completely changes the kind of argument you will have, because nobody argues whether it exists, they argue whose it is.

## The three arguments that always arrive

| The argument | What it depends on | What closes it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| «This is badly fitted» | The execution | The record of how it was executed |
| «This is not the same shade» | **The material, not you** | The consignment and its documentation |
| «This is damaged» | Who came through afterwards | The condition at completion, dated |
| **«This is not what I asked for»** | **The design** | **What was approved, and by whom** |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Two of the four arguments are not about your work, and you have them anyway.** Shade variation between consignments belongs to the material and you have known since it arrived; later damage was done by another trade or by use. The only thing separating «a problem we answer for» from «a problem attributed to us» is having recorded the consignment on arrival and the condition at completion. Both cost minutes and neither happens unless decided beforehand.

## The three moments to record

1. **Receipt of the material, by consignment** — Especially where there are shades, batches or runs: it is the commonest argument.
2. **What was approved before executing** — Samples, colours, setting-out: with who approved and when.
3. **The condition when your work finishes** — It is your boundary with everything that happens afterwards.
4. **And what you found of the substrate** — If what is underneath was not right, say so before covering it.

> [!WARNING]
> The completion photo is the most profitable of all and almost nobody takes it: **the day you finish, your work is in its best condition and from then on it can only get worse through causes not yours**. Other trades come through, there is a move-in, a year passes. When the claim arrives, the only way to separate yours from what came later is a dated photo from that day. Without it, any mark is arguable — and arguable ones end up repaired.

> [!NOTE]
> What warranties cover each element, what counts as a defect and what tolerances are acceptable **is determined by the design, the applicable rules and the contract, and settled by your adviser or the supervising team**. Here we cover the organisational part: how to evidence the consignment, the approval and the condition at completion.

**Is shade variation a defect?**

It depends on the material and what was agreed. What protects you is having the consignment on record.

**Must I photograph the whole facade?**

Enough to locate each area. It does not need to be a photo shoot.

**What if another trade caused the damage?**

With the completion photo it is a ten-minute conversation; without it, it is not.

## Ejemplos

**Damage appears and is pinned on whoever worked there last.**

- Keeps the condition recorded at completion, dated

→ The boundary with what came later is demonstrable.

**A shade difference between areas is disputed.**

- Keeps documentation for each consignment received

→ The origin is located without arguing over workmanship.

**Nobody remembers which sample was approved or by whom.**

- Records what was approved with author and date

→ The agreed expectation is fixed.

**The completion photos stay on the team leader's phone.**

- Stores captures in the project file

→ The record outlives the people.

**The substrate arrived poor and work went on over it in silence.**

- Records what was found before executing

→ Another trade's defect is not inherited by silence.

**The claim arrives two years after completion.**

- Keeps the file beyond the end of the project

→ The warranty period is faced with the record from then.