Project briefs. Make the request easy to assess.

Give the brief one job.

The brief should tell an assessor what you want to discuss at this property. It is not a contract, a technical design or an instruction to reproduce another house. Start with a sentence naming the main area and desired result, such as replacing a particular wall finish while retaining the brick, or discussing a cover for a defined seating area. Add optional work in a separate list. If the request combines services, identify which result matters most. This lets the assessment explore the connected work without turning every possible improvement into an assumed inclusion. Keep the brief short enough to read alongside the photos and detailed enough to locate the actual request.

Home Improvement Services →

Use names that stay with each location.

Label the front, driveway side, rear patio and individual openings in a way that everyone can follow. If a sketch uses W1 for a window, use W1 in its photo caption and question. Do not alternate between left and right without saying where you are standing. Include a broad view that locates each detail, then a close view where useful. The same labels can later appear in a proposal or a decision record, but the first purpose is orientation. Consistent names reduce the chance that a preference for one elevation or opening is accidentally applied to the whole house.

Read the supporting public guidance →

Separate four kinds of information.

For each location, distinguish the condition you observe, the outcome you want, the selection you prefer and the question you need answered. A stained trim area is an observation; a coordinated roofline is a goal; a white finish is a preference; whether the underlying edge needs work is an assessment question. Those statements should not be collapsed into an instruction to cover the trim. This distinction makes the brief useful even when the cause is unknown. Add earlier repair information without treating it as a current diagnosis. The proposal should resolve the actual included work after the relevant conditions and options are considered.

List what you want to keep.

Retained parts often shape the project as much as replacements. Identify brick, roof coverings, windows, gutters, patio floors, doors and decorative features that you hope will remain. Explain whether keeping an item is a firm household priority or simply an assumption to discuss. Ask how the proposed work meets those retained edges and whether any adjoining removal or finishing is needed. If retaining a part depends on assessment, mark that dependence clearly. A useful brief can show the desired boundary without claiming that every existing connection is suitable or that an early price includes every concealed condition.

Choose the supporting brief for the service.

For siding, organize elevations, retained brick and trim relationships. For windows, use an opening inventory rather than one unexplained whole-house total. For gutters, name the affected runs, visible concerns and proposed boundary through the downspouts. For roofing, identify the roof areas and known repair history before comparing coverings. For patios or enclosures, describe use, floor, doorway and house connection. The linked guides develop those different decisions. Bring their answers into the common brief rather than copying the same broad wish list into every service request. The resulting record should make a combined assessment easier while preserving the distinct work areas.

State priorities without preselecting the solution.

Choose a small number of outcomes that would make the project successful. Rank them where a tradeoff may arise: keeping a garden view, reducing an upkeep task, preserving a doorway route or coordinating the street-facing finish. Add product preferences with their source, such as a physical sample identifier or a marked inspiration photo. Explain what you like about the example. A reference may communicate color or rhythm while its structure and dimensions are unsuitable for your home. Keep optional alternatives identifiable so a proposal can distinguish the base work from choices that change the scope, appearance or sequence.

How the Home Improvement Process Works →

Keep timing and household constraints visible.

Record important household dates, access limitations and other work already arranged. Distinguish a preferred completion period from an appointment that has actually been confirmed. Identify the person who can make selections and the contact who can arrange entry; they may be different people. Share sensitive access details only through the agreed private route, not in a public photo caption. Ask what dependencies must be resolved before dates or measurements are finalized. The project process guide explains the stages, while the communication guide helps track later answers. This brief supplies the starting facts without promising a construction schedule or a particular response time.

Check the brief against the written scope.

When a proposal is available, compare it with the current brief by location. Which requested items are included, excluded, offered as alternatives or still unanswered? Confirm the selected materials and retained interfaces rather than assuming the original wish list was accepted in full. General FTC guidance recommends written estimates describing the work, materials, timing and price. Use your property's agreed proposal for the specific terms, and keep the brief as supporting history. Date any revised version and mark superseded ideas so they are not treated as instructions. A clear starting record is valuable only when the final decisions are kept equally clear.

Choose the next useful planning guide.

Choose the brief that fits the next assessment.

Use the siding replacement project brief for wall-by-wall facts, the patio cover project brief for the existing outdoor area and intended use, or the screened porch project brief for a screened house-to-yard connection. Each records homeowner inputs while leaving the offered installation scope to the assessment.

Match the brief to the work you want discussed.

Define the runs and outlets in a gutter installation brief, connect rooms and retained finishes in a window replacement brief or organize areas and earlier records in a roofing brief. A combined exterior brief preserves the boundaries between related services. Use the reference-photo review brief to name the appearance features you like and the details outside your request.