Site diaries and records that win construction disputes

Why do records made at the time matter?

When a dispute reaches adjudication, the adjudicator was not on site. They rely on documents. Records made at the time carry far more weight than witness statements or schedules prepared later to support a claim, which are often treated with suspicion. Some contracts also require records to be kept as the work proceeds, and the Society of Construction Law’s Delay and Disruption Protocol (2nd edition, 2017) encourages parties to agree and keep contemporaneous records for this reason.

Good records prove your delay notices, your variations and your loss and expense, and defend you against contra charges and delay damages. Poor records turn a strong case into an argument about whose memory is better.

What should a site diary record?

• the date and the weather, and its effect on the work;
• your supervisors and labour on site, by area and activity;
• plant and access equipment, including any standing idle;
• the work done in each area, and progress against your programme;
• areas not available or work prevented, with the cause, who was responsible and the effect;
• other trades working in, or obstructing, your areas;
• instructions received, who gave them, and whether verbally or in writing;
• information awaited, with query numbers and the dates raised;
• variations and dayworks, with references, and whether the sheets were signed;
• deliveries that were late, short or damaged;
• damage to your work, and by whom if known;
• the progress of the building generally, including weathertightness;
• meetings, visitors and important conversations;
• health, safety and environmental events; and
• the photographs taken.

How to write a diary entry that stands up later

• Write it the same day.
• Write for a stranger reading it two years from now: name the trade, the area, the time and the effect.
• Answer who, what, where, when and why, and say what it means for time or cost.
• Say whether your work is on, ahead of or behind your programme, and why.
• Stick to facts and label any opinion as one. Leave out insults and jokes: diaries can be disclosed.

Photographs

• Photograph the conditions, not only your finished work: missing structure, obstructions, water, other trades in your area.
• Number every photograph and record the date, location and reason it was taken in a register.
• Take progress photographs from the same points each week, so that they can be compared.
• Back them up the same day.

Use the same codes everywhere

Give each area and main activity a short code, and use it in your diary, photographs, notices, technical queries and daywork sheets. When a dispute arises you can then pull together everything about one area in minutes rather than weeks.

Minutes and other people’s records

Meeting minutes and progress reports written by the contractor become records too. Check them the day they arrive, and correct anything inaccurate in writing, asking for the correction to be recorded at the next meeting. Minutes are not notices: give your notices under the contract as well.

Share important facts at the time

If a fact matters to your entitlement, tell the other side when it happens, by notice or email. Records shared as you go are hard to dispute. Records produced for the first time at the end of the job invite the question why nobody mentioned them before.

Emails and messages

Internal emails, texts and messaging groups can be disclosed if a dispute reaches court or arbitration. Keep them factual and professional. There is no such thing as an informal notice: a friendly email can be relied on by either side.

Keeping records safe

• Back up to your office system every day. Records kept only on a supervisor’s phone or laptop are easily lost.
• Have a manager read the records every week. Supervisors keep better records when someone reads them.
• Keep the diary going every day, including when the supervisor is away, until the last day on site.
• Once a month, set aside an hour to ask whether the job is still the one you priced and planned.

General guidance on the law of England and Wales, not legal advice. Last reviewed 2 November 2026.