Sixty plots and a marked-up site plan
You have the roofing package on a development. Each plot goes through stages: felt and batten, tiled, ridges and verges, leadwork, snagged and handed over. Gangs move between plots as the brickwork and scaffold allow. Progress is tracked on a printed site plan in the site cabin, marked up in pen.
At month end, your application lists the stages you think are complete. The site manager's list is different. Some stages are disputed, some snags were fixed but not signed off, and the valuation comes back lower than you expected.
Why plot progress is hard to prove
New-build roofing is repetitive work on many plots at once, with progress depending on other trades. The evidence of what is done is on the roofs and in people's memories, and site managers change, go on holiday or are simply busy.
- Progress is marked on paper plans that stay in the site cabin.
- Stage completion is not signed off at the time.
- Snags are listed by the site manager and fixed without a record.
- Applications are built from memory and the site plan.
- Plot order changes with little notice when other trades slip.
What disputed stages cost
Money held back until the next valuation, or indefinitely. Time spent arguing about which plot is at which stage. Gangs returning to fix snags already fixed. And poor cash flow on work that is otherwise steady and well organised.
Housebuilders also rate their subcontractors. A roofer whose applications match the site manager's view, and whose snags close with evidence, is easier to keep on the next phase than one whose paperwork causes an argument every month.
The plot tracking we build
- The site is set up with its plots, house types and your roofing stages, with the value of each stage from your contract.
- Gang leads mark stages complete on their phones, with photos, as they finish each one.
- The site manager receives a list of stages awaiting sign-off and approves or rejects them with a comment, from their phone or the housebuilder's email.
- Snags raised by the site manager are recorded per plot, sent to the gang, and closed with a photo when fixed.
- A site dashboard shows every plot's stage, colour coded, so everyone sees the same picture as the paper plan used to show.
- Monthly applications are produced from signed-off stages at contract values, in the housebuilder's required format, with photos available as evidence.
- Payment notices received are compared with the application, and differences are listed plot by plot.
| Stage | Evidence | Sign-off |
|---|---|---|
| Felt and batten | Photos per elevation | Site manager |
| Tiled | Photos | Site manager |
| Ridges, hips and verges | Photos | Site manager |
| Leadwork | Photos of each detail | Site manager |
| Snags closed | Photo of fix | Site manager |
Your contract with the housebuilder sets the stages and values. We track against them.
How a site runs with it
Everyone looks at the same picture of the site. Stages are signed off when they are done, not argued about later. Applications reflect agreed progress. Snags are closed with evidence. And differences in the valuation are clear, plot by plot, which makes them easier to resolve.
For gang leads, it replaces the walk to the site cabin to mark the plan with a tap on their phone, and they can see which of their stages are still waiting for sign-off before month end.
Is new-build work like this for you?
- Plot progress lives on a marked-up paper plan.
- Valuations regularly come back lower than your application.
- Snags are fixed but not signed off.
- Applications are built by hand each month.