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Pre-drywall inspection checklist
A pre-drywall inspection, called a pre-plaster inspection in the UK, for the last look inside the walls before boards go on. Go room by room: insulation fitted without gaps, the vapour control layer, fire stopping and cavity barriers, backing for cabinets and rails, service protection plates and outlet positions. Measure the insulation against the specified thickness, and photograph every wall and ceiling so the services and backing can be found later. The form counts what needs fixing before boarding.
For builders, site managers, homebuyers' inspectors and clerks of works checking the walls and ceilings before drywall or plaster goes on.
Written for any country: page 1 sets the building control regime, and the form shows the US code or England building control note to match.
- Nine checks per room, from insulation and vapour control to fire stopping, backing and outlets
- Insulation thickness measured against the specification, flagged if thinner
- Board type per room: standard, moisture-resistant, fire-rated, acoustic or tile backer
- A photo record of every wall and ceiling before it is closed up
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What is checked in a pre-drywall inspection?
A pre-drywall inspection is useful when it checks the things that will be hidden for good, insulation, vapour control, fire stopping, backing and service protection, room by room, and leaves a photo of every wall and ceiling. Measuring the insulation against the specified thickness turns "looks fine" into a record.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 27 October 2026 against International Residential Code section R109, types of inspections (as reproduced by Winnebago County, Illinois, building department) and Building Regulations 2010, regulation 16, notices in relation to building work.
How to do a pre-drywall inspection
Do it after the rough-in and frame have passed, with the insulation in, before any board goes up.
Check the earlier stages
Confirm the rough-in and frame inspections have passed, and whether building control needs to see the insulation before it is covered.
Go room by room
Add each room, choose the board to be fitted and work through the nine checks. Give a reason and photo for anything not right.
Measure the insulation
Enter the measured insulation thickness and the specified thickness. The form flags a room where it is thinner.
Photograph every wall
Take each wall and ceiling end to end before boarding: a record of where the services, backing and insulation are.
Actions and sign-off
Give each fix a priority, owner and date, choose the decision and sign. Board only once the cover-up actions are done.
What makes a pre-drywall inspection useful
Insulation thickness measured against the specification
Kitchen rear wall of a timber-framed extension: 100 mm insulation board as specified, but a gap of about 20 mm at the stud beside the window. Photo taken, action to fill and tape it. Side wall has no noggins for the wall cupboards on the kitchen layout.
Fictional example. Record the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job.
A common recording mistake
Letting the boarders start before backing for cupboards, rails and TVs is in, which means cutting out new board later.
What happens next
Fix the items, show building control the insulation if they asked to see it, then board.
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Every question in the pre-drywall inspection template
A pre-drywall (pre-plaster) inspection: insulation, vapour control, fire stopping, backing for fixtures, service protection and outlet positions checked room by room, with insulation thickness against the specification and a photo record of every wall and ceiling before it is closed up. 4 sections and 65 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site address: the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or owner: the project's customer
Inspection details
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or ownerShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Location (GPS)Short answer
- Plot, unit or buildingShort answer
- Inspection date*Date
- Inspected by*Short answer
- Inspecting asChoose one
- Site manager or superintendent
- Contractor quality check
- Clerk of works or owner's representative
- Engineer or architect
- Third-party inspector
- Other
- Contractor doing the workShort answer
- Building control regimeChoose one
Sets which notes you see. Local amendments and the building control body decide what is inspected and when.
- US: International Residential Code, as adopted locally
- US: other local code
- England: Building Regulations 2010
- Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
- Other country
- Permit or building control referenceShort answer
- Type of inspectionChoose one
- Before the building control inspection
- With the building control inspector
- Re-inspection after defects were fixed
- Quality audit
- Drawings and revisions inspected againstShort answer
For example S-101 rev C, A-201 rev B.
- Weather on siteAnswer
- CheckThis is a site inspection record for the stage before drywall or plaster goes on. It is not building control approval, an engineer's sign-off or a test certificate. Sizes, spacings, fixings and test values come from the drawings, the specification and the code your building department enforces.
Before boarding
- Rough-in inspections passed?Yes or No
- Frame inspection passed?Yes or No
- Does building control need to see the insulation before it is covered?Yes or No
Under the IRC the building official can require other inspections; in England, check the stages in your notice.
- GuidanceUS. Under the International Residential Code (sections R109.1.2 and R109.1.4, as adopted locally), rough-in and frame inspections come before concealment. Where fire-resistance-rated construction is needed between dwelling units or because of the location on the lot, it is inspected after the wallboard is in place but before joints and fasteners are taped and finished (R109.1.5.1).Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- GuidanceEngland. Building control can require you to tell them when set stages are reached and can set a period during which the work must not be covered up (Building Regulations 2010, regulation 16(3)). Check the stages in your notice before covering anything.Shown when “Building control regime” is “England: Building Regulations 2010”
- CheckBoard only once the earlier stages have passed.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Room by room
- RoomsRepeat for each room. Each one asks:
- Room or area*Short answer
- Board to be fittedChoose one
- Standard board
- Moisture-resistant board
- Fire-rated board
- Acoustic board
- Cement or tile backer
- Plaster on lath or masonry
- Other
- Insulation fitted to the specified type and thickness, no gaps, voids or compressionChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Vapour control or airtightness layer continuous, laps taped, penetrations sealedChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Fire stopping and cavity barriers in place where requiredChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Backing, noggins or blocking for fixtures (cabinets, rails, TVs, grab bars)Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Services protected where boards will be fixed (plates, sleeves)Choose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Boxes and outlets set to finish lineChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Studs and joists straight and true for boardingChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- No signs of leaks, damp or mouldChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Acoustic insulation or resilient bars where specifiedChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
- What needs doing, or why not checkedNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Insulation thickness measured (mm)Number
- Specified thickness (mm)Number
- p_thinWorked out by the form
- CheckThinner than specified.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- p_issuesWorked out by the form
- p_not_checkedWorked out by the form
- Photos of every wall and ceiling before boardingPhotos
A record of where the services, backing and insulation are, for later fixings and repairs.
- Items needing actionWorked out by the form
- Not checkedWorked out by the form
- Rooms with something to fixWorked out by the form
Result, actions and sign-off
- Items needing actionWorked out by the form
- ResultWorked out by the form
- WarningDo not cover up or move on to the next stage until the actions marked "Urgent" or "Before cover-up" are done and re-inspected.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- ActionsRepeat for each action. Each one asks:
- Action*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Urgent: stop work
- Before cover-up
- Before the next stage
- Before handover
- Who will do it*Short answer
- Due byDate
- Status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Done, re-inspected
- Photo when donePhotosShown when “Status” is “Done, re-inspected”
- Actions still openWorked out by the form
- Decision*Choose one
- Ready to proceed
- Proceed once the listed actions are done
- Not ready: re-inspect
- Re-inspection dateDateShown when “Decision” is “Not ready: re-inspect”
- Building control or code inspection booked?Yes or No
- Date booked forDateShown when “Building control or code inspection booked?” is Yes
- Building control or code inspection result, if knownShort answer
- Summary for the clientNotes
- Inspector nameShort answer
- Inspector signature*Signature
- Contractor representativeShort answer
- Contractor signatureSignature
- CheckSigning records what was seen on the day. It does not certify compliance or replace the building control inspection.
See it filled in
A completed pre-drywall inspection report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Pre-drywall inspection FAQs
When should a pre-drywall inspection be done?
After the rough-in and frame inspections have passed and the insulation is in, before any board goes up. Under the International Residential Code (section R109, as adopted locally), the rough inspection of services is made before covering or concealment, and the frame inspection after fire stopping, draft stopping and bracing are in place. The building official can also require other inspections, so check whether yours wants to see the insulation before it is covered.
Is a pre-drywall inspection worth doing on a new home?
Yes. It is the only time the insulation, fire stopping, backing and services can be seen. Faults found now are a quick fix; found after decorating, they mean cutting open finished walls. Builders use it as a quality check before the boarders arrive, and owners or their representatives use it to see what they are paying for.
What about fire-rated walls between homes?
Under the International Residential Code, where fire-resistance-rated construction is needed between dwelling units or because of the building's location on the lot, it is inspected after the wallboard is in place, before the joints and fasteners are taped and finished (section R109.1.5.1). So the pre-drywall check covers the fire stopping behind it, and the rated board is checked again once it is up.
How is the insulation thickness checked?
Measure it in each room with a rule, or from a photo with the form's measure tool as an estimate, and enter the thickness from your specification or drawings. The form flags any room where it is thinner. It does not set a thickness of its own; that comes from your design and the energy rules where you build.
Can building control stop me covering up work in England?
Yes. After you give notice that work is starting, the building control body can require you to tell it when set stages are reached, and can set a period during which that work must not be covered up (Building Regulations 2010, regulation 16(3)). It may only name a stage it intends to inspect. Check the stages in the notice you were given before you cover anything, and keep the dated photos in the form as your record.
Source: Building Regulations 2010, regulation 16, notices in relation to building work.
Does this form replace the building inspector?
No. It is your own record of the walls and ceilings before boarding: what was checked, what was found, the photos and who fixed what. The building department or building control body still makes its own inspection and decides whether the work passes. Use the form before they come, so the visit is a formality, and record their result on the last page.
Related
Related templates
Templates that go with the pre-drywall inspection form
A rough-in (first fix) inspection of plumbing, drainage, electrical, HVAC, gas and data before walls and ceilings are closed: positions, supports, falls, protection plates, fire-rated penetrations, room by room photos of every wall, and a test log with readings, with actions and sign-off.
Record building insulation locations, product references, specified and observed thickness, gaps and evidence before work is covered.
A fire stopping installation record: certification scheme, drawings, each penetration seal with its label, element, fire rating, services, product and tested detail, before and after photos, and sign-off.
Snag by snag record with room, element, photo and priority, checks with no snag, totals and re-inspection.
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