A home inspection is a detailed process that helps identify a house’s condition. Whether you’re a home inspector or a homeowner wanting to evaluate your property, a checklist is a helpful tool for ensuring everything is noticed. Building a home inspection checklist report in Google Sheets can streamline the process and make it easier to keep track of findings.
Why Should You Use a Home Inspection Checklist?
Using a home inspection checklist is essential for ensuring a thorough and organized evaluation of a property. It helps home inspectors stay focused on key areas of the home, ensuring nothing is overlooked.
A checklist provides a structured approach, making it easier to identify potential issues, track their severity, and document necessary repairs. For homeowners, it serves as a valuable tool to assess a property’s condition before making purchasing decisions.
Step 1. Set Up Your Google Sheets Document
Start by opening Google Sheets and creating a new document. You’ll need a fresh sheet where you can organize your checklist. To keep things clear, give it a simple name like “Home Inspection Checklist.”
Step 2. Create the Header Row
Your first rows should act as the header, where you can add the general information, such as:
- Property Address
- Owner’s Name
- Inspection Date
- Inspected By
Step 3. Organize the Categories
Next, list the major areas you want to inspect. Here are some common categories for a thorough home inspection:
- Exterior: Roof, siding, foundation, windows, doors.
- Interior: Walls, floors, ceilings, windows.
- Plumbing: Pipes, water heater, drains.
- Electrical: Wiring, outlets, light fixtures, panel.
- HVAC: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
- Appliances: Oven, refrigerator, washer/dryer, etc.
Make sure each of these categories has its section in the checklist. You can label each category in the first column and then break down the subcategories or components below each one.
Once your categories are all set, you’ll need to define the criteria for your inspection. Here are a few column ideas to include:
- Item/Area
- Condition (good, needs repair, poor).
- Severity: (minor, moderate, or severe)
- Action Required
This structure helps break down each part of the inspection and gives space for notes.
Step 4. Add Dropdown for Consistency
To make the checklist easier to use during the inspection, use data validation to create dropdown lists for certain columns like Condition or Severity. This keeps the entries consistent and avoids typing errors.
For Condition, you can set up a dropdown with options like “Good,” “Needs Repair,” or “Poor.”
For Severity, you can include options like “Minor,” “Moderate,” or “Severe.”
To set up dropdown lists, highlight the cells, click on the Insert menu, then Dropdown.
Step 5. Add Checkboxes for Action Items
Checkboxes allow you to easily mark whether the issue has been addressed or needs further attention. To add checkboxes, highlight the cells, click on the Insert menu, and select Checkbox.
You can also automate these checkboxes to highlight and strike all the completed tasks or inspections. To do that, select the columns you would like to strike through when done, then click Format > Conditional Formatting.
Under Format Cells If, select Custom Formula Is, then enter =$A12=TRUE. You may change A12 depending on which cell is the first checkbox in your template. Then, you may customize the colors and formatting depending on your preferences.
Step 6: Add a Summary Section
You may also add a summary section where you can use charts to visualize the number of items in certain conditions. To do that, select the column or range you would like to visualize, then click Insert > Chart. You may choose which chart type to use and customize the color and presentation to your liking.
Aside from charts, you can also use fields such as Total Good, Total Needs Repair, and Total Poor. Then, use the =COUNTIFS function to count the number of items in such conditions. For example, to find the Total Good, you can use:
=COUNTIFS(C21:C32, “Good”)+COUNTIFS(J21:J32, “Good”)+COUNTIFS(C37:C48, “Good”)+COUNTIFS(J37:J48, “Good”)+COUNTIFS(C53:C64, “Good”)+COUNTIFS(J53:J64, “Good”)
Step 7: Add a Comment Field
You may add a Comment field at the bottom of your main table, where you can give feedback or leave notes about the inspected items or areas.
Step 8: Add Images Using FileDrop
Adding images to your home Inspection checklist can make it more comprehensive and efficient. FileDrop, an add-on extension tool in Google Sheets, can make adding images from your computer and Drive much easier.
You only need to download FileDrop from Google Workspace and install it on Google Sheets. Once installed, click Extension > FileDrop. There are 3 ways you can upload an image using FileDrop.
You can choose from Upload, Library, and Drive tabs. Then, go to the Settings tab and click the option that you need.
Upload Tab
To upload images from your computer, click the Upload tab and select “Choose Files.”
Then, choose the images you would like to upload.
Library Tab
In the library tab, you can get the recently added images you recently used. Simply select the image or folder to upload the image to the spreadsheet.
Drive Tab
FileDrop allows you to easily import images from your Google Drive folders without opening a new browser. Once you click the Drive tab, you will see the recent folders you used in your Google Drive account.
To upload an image, simply select the folder and choose the file you would like to add in your spreadsheet.
You will have two options for inserting the images: adding them as links and adding images in cells. Due to restrictions when adding many images to a sheet, the image over cells option can be done only one at a time.
How to Add Images
Add as Links
Go to the Upload tab and choose your files. Select a few and upload them. The images are now uploaded directly to Google Drive, and the names will appear in the selected cell.
This is how it looks like if you choose “Don’t add image, add as link”:
Insert Images in Cells
Here you can also set the cell size and adjust the width and height of the image to fit your needs.
Image Kit
Another way to easily upload bulk images in your spreadsheet is through FileDrop’s Image Kit function. You can access it by clicking Extension > FileDrop > Image Kit.
In the Image Kit sidebar, you can mass upload images and list their filenames, links, and images.
Embed Images in Cells
When saving a Google Sheet as a PDF, images often show up in the preview but not in the downloaded file because they aren’t embedded within the cells. Embedding images directly in the Sheet ensures they appear correctly in both the preview and the final exported file.
FileDrop offers Embed Images in Cells features to help you with that. Go to Extensions > FileDrop, and once the sidebar shows up, click on the Settings icon or use the Image Kit sidebar. Here, press the Embed Images button, and the process will start.
Depending on the number of images in the sheet, the process may take a few minutes to 30 minutes.
If there are many files, the process may time out and need to be restarted. Once the process is complete, a confirmation email will be sent.
Once the checklist is set up, you can easily share the document with others involved in the inspection, such as team members or clients. Use the Share button at the top right of the Google Sheets page to send the checklist via email or share a link.
Get the Free Home Inspection Checklist Report
Get a copy of the free Home Inspection Checklist Report. I’ve populated some cells as examples, but you can customize them as needed.
Final Thoughts
When it comes down to it, a home inspection checklist is more than just a tool—it’s a way to approach the process with a clear mindset and confidence.
Whether you’re inspecting a home for the first time or the hundredth, having a checklist makes the job easier, and more efficient and ensures that nothing slips through the cracks. It’s a small investment of time that can save you from costly surprises later on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use formulas in Google Sheets for my home inspection checklist?
Yes, Google Sheets allows you to use a variety of formulas to enhance your checklist. For example, you can use SUM or AVERAGE formulas to calculate the overall severity of issues or total costs for repairs based on your data. Additionally, you can apply IF statements to create conditional alerts based on severity levels (e.g., if the severity is “Severe,” it can trigger a warning in the report).
How can I automatically generate a total cost estimate for repairs in Google Sheets?
You can use SUMIF or SUMPRODUCT formulas to calculate the total repair costs automatically based on your data. For instance, if you have a column for the estimated cost of repairs, you can use SUMIF to sum the costs for items that need repair, filtering by their condition or severity.
How can I prevent errors or inconsistencies in the checklist data?
You can minimize errors by setting up data validation for specific columns, such as the “Condition” and “Severity” fields, ensuring only valid options can be selected. For instance, you can use a drop-down menu for these fields, as mentioned earlier. Additionally, using protected ranges (under Data > Protect ranges) can prevent accidental changes to important parts of the checklist.
