Construction disputes almost always come down to one question: what did you actually do, and when? The answer exists in the work itself — in the walls, under the floors, behind the sheathing. But once drywall goes up, the evidence is hidden. All that's left is documentation.
Builders who document consistently win disputes. Builders who don't often settle for less than they're owed, or pay for work they already did.
What Timestamped Photos Prove
A photo with embedded metadata proves three things: what the condition was, when the photo was taken, and where it was taken. That's powerful evidence for the most common construction disputes:
- Scope disputes: "We didn't ask for that" vs. photos showing the work requested and performed
- Defect claims: "You left it like this" vs. photos showing the condition at handoff
- Change order disputes: "That was included in the original scope" vs. photos showing the original condition and the changed condition
- Inspection failures: Photos of work before cover showing compliance with code requirements
The Minimum Viable Photo Workflow
You don't need to photograph everything. You need to photograph the things that can't be verified later. For a typical residential build, that's roughly:
- Site condition before work begins (grading, existing structures)
- Foundation footings and walls before backfill
- Rough-in plumbing, electrical, and HVAC before drywall
- Insulation before drywall
- Framing connections, especially engineered lumber and metal connectors
- Waterproofing and flashing before cladding
- Each phase at completion, before the next phase begins
That's 30–50 key photos for a typical residential build. They take maybe an hour total across the life of the project. The ROI if a dispute arises is enormous.
GPS Tags Matter More Than You Think
GPS-tagged photos place you at the location at the time the photo was taken. This matters in disputes where timing is contested — "you weren't on site that week" or "that photo could have been taken anywhere." GPS coordinates in the metadata, logged against the project address, are hard to argue with.
BLT captures GPS coordinates automatically when the PM takes a photo through the app (with the PM's permission, which is granted during setup). The coordinates are stored with the media record and visible in the photo detail view.
Making It Systematic
In BLT, phases can have required photo flags on tasks. If a task has a required photo, it can't be marked complete without at least one photo attached. This turns photo documentation from a best practice into an enforced workflow — the PM can't mark "Rough-in electrical" complete without photographic evidence. Not because they're being monitored, but because the system requires the evidence to exist before progress can be recorded.