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| This weekend we'll be taking open-wall photos of all wiring, plumbing, etc. Do any of you have any suggestions as to how to go about this, or anything not to miss? We're going to try to get everything, then print them all out in a notebook. We didn't think of doing this in the previous house -- got the idea from GW and think it's brilliant. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by mightyanvil (My Page) on Wed, Oct 8, 08 at 7:20
| Take a photo of a sign with the room name on the north wall, then move clockwise around the room. |
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- Posted by charliedawg (My Page) on Wed, Oct 8, 08 at 7:43
| We did this and we have used them already. Be sure to take the photo with a measuring tape running across the wall so you know exactly where everything is. |
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| And if the walls are long, label the pics consecutively, so that later you will know exactly where the wiring etc is located. I made a foot-high cardboard ruler [marked in inches to 4') and tacked it to the studs so that I would know exactly where the wires ran down, because once the drywall goes up, they are invisible and not always in direct line with outlets. If you are going to take several series over the period of construction, use large sketching or construction paper and a thick marker for the signs. Print, don't write. If this is a once-off, a large white erasable board may be more convenient. I prefer the heavy paper, and for the first shot, take it 4' from the left corner of the north wall. As MA says, work to the right around the room, slightly overlapping views. In halls, I only photo where the wires are in relation to outlets and lights, but those pics also show the ruler. If your interior view is complicated with layers of studwork (such as looking through the living room and seeing hall and closet and bedroom studs), tack a white sheet behind the studs so that you see only one layer of studs/wiring. Don't forget to take pics of the ceiling, also to show where wires and ductwork may be. A friend was putting in hooks for hanging plants and hit a hot line *angled* across the ceiling from the light fixture. Not an amusing event. When you file, be as specific as possible in identifying location. Right now you will remember which window in a series is pictured, but 5 years from now, they will all look the same. Make two sets of prints. Digital photography is changing rapidly and what is available/usable now probably won't be in another few years. File one set of prints archive-style, keep the other set available for reference. |
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| I would also make sure to get one picture of the whole room for perspective and then take close ups of each element you are interested, making sure you have something in each picture that you can use to locate the small picture in the grand scheme of things. It is harder to make sense of those pictures than you would think, but they are invaluable. |
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- Posted by carolyn53562 (My Page) on Thu, Oct 9, 08 at 10:04
| We also took videos--the running commentary about what you are shooting helps when you go back to look at them. |
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| Don't let light from the windows confuse the cameras exposure settings. If it happens, the details in the wall will be too dark to make out. |
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- Posted by coffeehaus (My Page) on Sat, Oct 11, 08 at 22:03
| A timely question...we just had drywall hung this past week and thanks to the suggestions that I gleaned from this forum, I had taken photos of all of the walls before drywall. Today, I counted the receptacles, switches, telephone/AV boxes in the house and compared to my photos. Found they had covered up the telephone box in the kitchen, and a switch in the dining room. In hindsight, to make it easier, I would have tallied all of the elements for each room to make pre- and post-drywall comparisons easier. And once you document all of your wiring, receptacles, switches, etc., make sure that you label the photos SOON thereafter, or you WILL be confused! I am putting all of these photos on a CD for future reference, although the previous suggestion to print the pics is probably wise, as CD may become the 8-track tape of the future. |
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| Two more things: - Take the photos before the insulation is installed. This makes everything much easier to see and find. - Take photos of the framing around the windows and doors. In our case there are some steel braces (for earthquakes) which have gotten in the way of the 'usual' places for hanging drapery rods... |
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