The construction log

What the construction log is

The official, electronic record of the construction. It records the course of the work, the participants, the materials installed, the checks, the instructions and any exceptional events.

Its legal basis is the construction code, government decree 191/2009 (IX. 15.).

Why it is not a formality

Because the life of a building is long and the questions come later: what was installed, who did it, when, what verifies it. The log is what answers them.

That is especially true of light gauge steel technology, where the structural substance is behind the lining.

What has to be recorded before covering

These cannot be checked later without opening up:

• the presence and detail of the bracing,
• the screw fixing: type, spacing, quality of driving,
• the anchorage and the fixing of the bottom track,
• the fire stopping and the cavity barriers,
• the continuity of the vapour control membrane, the laps and the taping,
• the material and thickness of the insulation installed,
• the concealed service routes.

Good practice: a photograph, with the location identifiable, tied to the log entry.

What the log proves

Conformity

For a site-erected light gauge steel frame, part of demonstrating fire compliance is the responsible technical manager’s entry stating that the work was carried out in accordance with the design.

The products installed

Declarations of performance make sense tied to the place of installation. If the log shows when and where the material went in, the declaration finds its place too.

Instructions and deviations

If a departure from the design was necessary, there has to be a trace of it — whose decision it was, on what grounds, with what approval from the designer.

The most common fault

The log written up afterwards, in a batch. It formally exists and proves nothing, because it was not created at the time of the work. In a dispute that is immediately apparent.

Whose interest it is

Primarily the client’s. It also protects the contractor if kept properly, but it is the owner of the building who lives with the consequence for decades — and who will pull it out at a sale, an alteration or an insurance claim.

The point

Whatever gets covered has to be documented first. That sentence alone prevents more disputes than any contract clause.