Free Construction Daily Log Template
A daily log is the boring document that wins arguments a year later. Weather, who was on site, what got done, what stopped. Nobody wants to fill one in and everybody wants one when a delay claim lands.
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What belongs on a construction daily log
- The date and the day number on the job
- Weather and temperature, which is the entry that pays for the whole habit
- Every crew and sub on site, with their start and stop times and headcount
- What was actually built today, in enough detail to be checkable
- Deliveries that arrived, and equipment that was on site burning rental
- Any delay, with the reason, written on the day it happened
- Inspections, visitors and any instruction given to you verbally
Write the weather even when it is fine
Weather delay clauses are in almost every construction contract, including the one on this site. They extend the completion date by the length of the delay. Proving the delay is your job.
A log that only records weather on bad days is worth less than one that records it every day, because the first looks assembled after the fact and the second looks like a record.
A delay is only a delay if it was written down on the day
"We lost four days waiting for the inspector" said in month five is a claim. The same sentence written in the log on each of those four days is evidence.
Record the reason and who you told. Verbal instructions from an owner or an architect belong here too, because they have a habit of being remembered differently.
Hours on the log should match hours on the time cards
If the log says six crew for eight hours and the time cards say seven crew for nine, one of them is wrong, and whichever one a lawyer finds first is the one that gets believed.
Filling both in at the end of the day from the same memory takes two minutes. Reconciling them later takes an afternoon.
Questions people ask
Is a daily log legally required?
Not usually by law, but it is frequently required by the contract on commercial and public work. On residential work it is optional and still the cheapest insurance available against a delay or defect claim.
Who fills in the daily log?
Whoever is running the site that day, normally the foreman or the lead. It should be written on the day, not reconstructed at the end of the week.
How long should I keep daily logs?
At least as long as your state's statute of limitations for construction defect claims, which in many states runs for years after completion. Scan them and keep the file.
What is the difference between a daily log and a daily report?
Nothing consistent. Some firms use "report" for the version sent to the owner and "log" for the internal one. The content is the same.