Module 4 · Tools & Equipment
4.4 Visual Inspection Tools
6 min read
The best-equipped surveyor on site is not the one with the most expensive meter — it is the one who can see into the subfloor void, read the state of a gutter three storeys up, and measure the height of a tide mark accurately. This lesson covers the unglamorous kit that does most of the actual work.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Assemble a practical visual inspection kit.
- Use each item to answer a specific diagnostic question.
- Measure and record findings so they are verifiable later.
- Recognise where a visual tool replaces the need for an instrument entirely.
Key terms
- Inspection mirror
- A small angled mirror on a handle, for seeing behind and under things without dismantling them.
- Borescope
- A camera on a flexible probe, for looking inside cavities and voids through a small hole. Invasive, so consent is needed.
- Datum
- A fixed reference point that measurements are taken from — normally internal floor level.
- Scale reference
- An object of known size included in a photograph so extent can be judged afterwards.
Free — enrol to continue
Read the rest of Tools & Equipment
Module 1 is open to everyone. The remaining six modules — building science, each damp mechanism in depth, meters and thermal imaging, the full inspection method, and report writing — are free too. We just ask for an email so you can pick up where you left off, and so we can send your certificate when you finish.