Document a defect properly, then send it to someone who can act
For Homeowners and property owners. When something goes wrong with a house, the hard part is rarely noticing it. It is getting someone to take it seriously. A phone full of unlabelled close-ups does not tell a builder which window, on which wall, facing which way — so the first reply is usually a request for more information, and weeks go by.
The ReportAI Field App is free and is designed for exactly this: photograph the problem, mark where it is on a plan of your own home, annotate the photo, record what you noticed in your own words, and send the whole thing as one organised file. There is no photo limit and no daily limit.
How it works on site
1. Sketch your floor plan, or photograph an existing one
You do not need architectural drawings. Sketch the room or the elevation in the app, or take a photo of a plan you already have and upload it. This is what turns "a crack in the bedroom" into a location anyone can find.
2. Drop a numbered pin where the problem is
Each pin carries a number, a compass direction, a severity you choose, and its own notes and photos. The direction matters more than people expect — "the north-facing wall of bedroom 2" is the difference between a builder finding it and a builder guessing.
3. Take two photographs, not one
A wide shot that shows where you are standing, and a close-up of the defect itself. A close-up alone is the single most common reason a defect report gets a "which one?" reply. There is no limit on how many you take.
4. Annotate the photo so it explains itself
Draw an arrow to the crack, add a callout, and use the measurement tool to show how long or wide it is. Sixteen tools are included free, including scale, measure, angle and area. Your original photo is always kept alongside the annotated copy.
5. Say what you noticed, out loud
Record a voice note while you are standing in front of it — when it appeared, whether it has changed, what the weather was doing. On Android and desktop Chrome it comes back transcribed. Speaking captures detail that nobody types.
6. Export it and send it
Open the summary report and save it straight to PDF from the Print button, or export a ZIP that contains every photograph organised by finding. Attach it to an email to your builder, engineer, insurer or agent. Exports are unlimited on the free plan.
How to word it, so it is taken seriously
This is the part that decides whether you get a useful answer, and it is where most homeowner reports go wrong. Describe what you can see. Do not name a cause.
- Instead of “Foundation failure in the rear bedroom”, write “Stepped cracking approximately 1.2 m long above the right side of the rear bedroom window”
- Instead of “The slab is sinking”, write “Floor appears to fall towards the north-east corner; door binds against the frame”
- Instead of “Structural movement — needs underpinning”, write “Crack width measured at 4 mm, wider at the top than the bottom. Cause requires professional assessment.”
- Instead of “Water damage from a plumbing leak”, write “Staining and blistered paint on the ceiling below the upstairs bathroom, approximately 300 mm across”
Naming a cause you have not had confirmed gives whoever receives it an easy way to dismiss the whole report. Describing what you observed, with a measurement and a photograph, does not. Ask a question instead: "please inspect and advise whether this is structural or cosmetic, and propose a repair method."
What this costs
Free — everything above:
- Unlimited photographs, and unlimited annotation
- Sketch or upload a floor plan
- Numbered directional pins with severity
- Voice notes, transcribed on most devices
- Works with no signal
- Unlimited exports — PDF from the Print button, Word, or an organised ZIP
Pro, if you need it:
- More than one section in a single job — a whole house floor by floor
- Sending jobs to a reportai.au account instead of keeping them on the phone
- A free account is required, on the app and the website.
- A free job covers one section. For one problem area that is plenty; for a whole-house handover list, Pro adds a section per storey.
- Your work stays on your device on the free plan. Export it and keep a copy.
Questions
Is the ReportAI app really free for homeowners?
Yes. The field app's documentation tools are free and there is no photo limit and no daily limit — the app does not count either. A free account is required. The limits people sometimes quote, 3 reports a day and 5 photos per report, belong to AI report generation on the website, which is a different part of the product and not something a homeowner needs.
Do I need a floor plan of my house?
No. You can sketch the room or the elevation in the app with your finger, or photograph a plan you already have — a council drawing, a contract plan, even a hand sketch — and upload it. The point is only to give each finding a location anyone can find.
Can I send the report to my builder or insurer?
Yes. Save the summary report to PDF from its Print button, or export a ZIP containing every photograph organised by finding, and attach it to an email. Exports are unlimited.
Does ReportAI tell me what is wrong with my house?
No, and you should be careful of anything that claims to. ReportAI records what you observed and organises it. It does not inspect, assess or certify any building, and it cannot tell you whether a crack is structural. That judgement belongs to a qualified building inspector or engineer — this is the tool that gets them what they need to make it.
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reportai.au is a report documentation tool. It does not carry out inspections, does not assess or certify the condition of any building, and does not provide engineering services. Reports are AI-assisted drafts prepared for the inspecting engineer to check, correct, and sign off. All professional judgement remains yours.
Aiman Salem, trading as ReportAi.au · ABN 95 973 765 172 · admin@reportai.au · Prices in Australian dollars.