Inspection process
Back-check
A back-check is the second look: the walk that verifies a flagged item was genuinely fixed, not just marked done by the trade. After a punch item or a deficiency is worked, the party who wrote it up returns, confirms the correction meets the criteria, and only then closes it. The item stays open until someone other than the person who did the work signs it off.
Run it with the Photo Gate
Punch list template
15 items · 21 photos required
Why it matters
"Ready for back-check" from a trade is a claim, not proof. The back-check is what keeps a punch list from closing on optimism. It separates work that was reported complete from work that was actually verified, which is the difference that matters at turnover.
What proves it
The record shows the item, who verified the fix, when, and the corrected condition. In RTI the closeout needs its own after photo attached to the original item, so a closed punch item carries both the defect and its correction side by side instead of a bare checkmark.
Checklists that put back-check to work
Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.
Related terms
- Punch walkA walk-through of completed work where the team tags every remaining defect and incomplete item onto the punch list.
- Punch listThe running list of incomplete or defective work a contractor has to fix before an area is accepted and closed out.
- Re-inspectionA repeat of an inspection after a failed result, run once the flagged work has been corrected and is ready to be checked again.
- Corrective actionThe step taken to fix a nonconformance and stop it happening again: both the repair and the change that prevents a repeat.
- ReworkTearing out and redoing work that failed inspection so it meets the spec: the costly disposition everyone is trying to avoid.
- SignoffA named party's recorded approval that a step, inspection, or feature meets its criteria and the work is released to proceed.
Knowing the term is step one. Proving it is the job.
RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.
30-day trial · No card required