Collecting the keys is the easy part. The real work starts when you walk into an empty unit with a tapping rod in one hand and a phone in the other, unsure whether that dull thud under your feet is normal or something worth flagging. A professional defect inspection turns that uncertainty into a written record — a documented list that a developer, HDB or a main contractor can actually act on. The quality of that record depends less on what the inspector notices and more on how precisely it is captured. What follows is a practical look at how tiles, doors, windows and wet areas are typically recorded during a flat inspection in Singapore, and what a well-documented defect entry should contain.
Tiles: Tapping, Marking and Mapping Every Surface
Tile inspection is the most time-consuming part of any flat inspection, and it is also where sloppy recording causes the most disputes. An inspector works surface by surface, usually starting with the walls in each room before moving down to the floors, tapping across the grid with a rod or the handle of a screwdriver. A hollow tile produces a distinctly flat sound compared with the sharper tap of a well-bonded one. When a hollow spot turns up, it is not enough to write “hollow tile in living room.” The entry needs a location a tiler can walk to without calling you — which wall, which row, and which tile relative to a landmark such as a window, a door frame or the corner of the room.
Marking follows the same discipline. Inspectors typically tag each flagged tile with a numbered sticker or a strip of masking tape, then photograph it twice: a wide shot that shows the sticker in context, and a close-up that shows the defect itself. That photo pair is what makes a defect list defensible when a contractor questions whether the tile was genuinely hollow or whether the marking was added later.
What actually gets written down for each tile
The list is longer than most homeowners expect. It covers hollow areas, lippage (the step between adjacent tiles, sometimes checked with a coin or straightedge and described with a measured difference), chips and cracks, uneven tone or staining, scratches, grouting that is incomplete or uneven, and, on floors, edge pointing and alignment. Floor tiles around a floor trap get extra scrutiny because the fall of the tile bed decides whether water runs off or sits. Terms like hollow and lippage appear in almost every Singapore defect report, and both need an extent attached — “one tile” versus “a patch spanning four tiles” changes how the work gets prioritised.
Other floor finishes
Vinyl and engineered-wood flooring is recorded differently because there is no tapping involved. Inspectors look for cracked or scratched planks, uneven joints and gaps, and loose pieces that are not sitting flush — often a sign that self-levelling underlay was skipped. Each item is photographed at an angle that shows the gap or lip, with the room and the distance from a fixed reference noted, since floor defects are notoriously hard to identify once furniture is in.
Doors and Windows: Recording Movement, Alignment and Seals
Doors and windows are moving parts, so the record has to describe behaviour, not just appearance. An inspector opens and closes every leaf slowly, listening and feeling for resistance, then notes whether the door rubs the frame at the top or bottom, whether the latch catches without lifting the leaf, and whether the door swings open or drifts closed on its own — a useful indicator that the frame is out of plumb. Gaps between the leaf and frame are photographed with a scale reference so the entry is not just “gap at door.” Screws that are loose, missing or over-driven into the hinge are recorded individually, along with dents and scratches on both faces and edges, varnish runs or bare patches, glass panels with chipped edges, and any rust on exposed metal.
Windows follow a similar routine but with more emphasis on seals. The inspector opens and closes each casement or slider, listens for sound or stiffness, checks the tightness of the handle, tests the casement stay that holds the window open, and runs a hand along the edges for sharp burrs. Hinges and bolts are checked for rust, and the rubber gasket is examined along its full run — corners and the bottom edge are the usual failure points. Each finding is written with enough precision to locate it, for example noting a gasket gap of roughly 20 mm at the lower corner of the right casement in the second bedroom. Glass is checked for scratches, cracks, stains and chips.
Water seepage around window openings deserves its own entry type. Where staining or bubbling paint is visible near a window reveal, the inspector takes a moisture meter reading at the affected point and photographs the meter display in frame alongside the patch. That pairing of reading and image is far stronger evidence than a photo of a damp-looking wall. Reports are then numbered item by item so a contractor can work through them systematically; firms such as Defect Check Singapore prepare these lists in a format that can be submitted to a developer or HDB, with each defect tied to a location, description and photo reference rather than a vague room name.
Wet Areas: Documenting Water Behaviour, Not Just Stains
Bathrooms, kitchens and service yards are where recording gets physical. The centrepiece is the water ponding test. The inspector pours water at the furthest end of the bathroom floor and watches how it travels to the floor trap, photographing or filming the flow, then noting any area where water pools instead of draining. A good entry states the approximate location and size of the puddle and whether it clears on its own or needs to be pushed. Testing the floor trap and washing-machine outlet for chokage follows the same principle: run water, observe, record.
Silicone and sealant are recorded separately from the tiles because they fail differently. The inspector checks the line around the basin, the shower screen frame, the WC base, the kitchen sink and any bathroom window frame, noting gaps, discontinuities, uneven application or discolouration. A missing bead along a shower screen is a small item with large consequences, so it is photographed close-up with the run length described. Sanitary fittings — WC, basin and shower tray — are checked for chips and cracks, leaks at joints and trap connections, consistent water flow, gurgling or odour, and whether the fixture is firmly secured to the wall or floor.
Moisture readings anchor the whole wet-area section. Meters are applied to walls adjoining bathrooms, to ceilings beneath upper-floor units and around pipe penetrations, and any elevated reading is logged with its value and location. The service yard gets its own pass: the overhead hanger mechanism is lowered and raised, external metal checked for rust, pipe paint and leaks examined, and ceiling and edge stains noted. Bifold doors are opened and closed, with lock function, smoothness, rubber gasket condition and any scratches, chips, cracks or rust recorded alongside the yard tap’s pressure and cap tightness. Each item ends up in the report as a fixture, a defect, the test used and the evidence attached — which is exactly what a homeowner needs when the rectification conversation begins.
