Water Damage Inspection: How to Document a Three-Level Property with LiDAR
Restauration
3 min read
The short answer: To document a multi-level water loss, create one project with a separate floor plan for each level. Scan one room at a time, connect photos and notes to the exact location where damage was found, follow the suspected water path above and below the source, and correct scan errors before leaving.
A three-level water damage inspection can get complicated quickly. The ground floor may have a large open-plan room. The suspected source may be in an upstairs bathroom. The basement below may be dark and show damage at the ceiling.
Meanwhile, the estimator needs dimensions, the project manager needs the loss story, and the rebuild team may eventually need pre-demolition details. If that information is split across a hand sketch, a camera roll, and someone’s memory, the office has to reconstruct the inspection later. That leads to questions, estimating delays, and avoidable drive-backs.
This guide turns a three-part field tutorial into a practical workflow for documenting water damage with magicplan and a LiDAR-equipped device.
Terminology note: The tutorial covers a basement, ground floor, and the floor above it. This guide calls the floor above ground the upper floor.
What should a multi-level water damage inspection include?
A useful inspection record should include:
A floor plan for every accessible level
Correct rooms, openings, doors, windows, and stairs
The suspected source and visible path of water migration
Photos attached to the location where they were taken
Notes explaining what an image cannot show
Moisture readings and affected areas required by your process
A final review before the technician leaves
A shareable report for estimating, mitigation, claims, and reconstruction
A floor plan provides context that isolated photos lack. It shows how an upstairs bathroom relates to ceiling damage below. That is why a digital restoration sketch can become the backbone of a water damage assessment report.
Why multi-level losses are difficult to document
The challenge is not simply scanning three floors. It is preserving the story of the loss across them.
Open spaces can confuse room detection. An open door may allow a scan to drift into another room. Furniture may not register if the device is too close or moving too quickly. Low-light basements can slow capture. Stairs, walls, or doors may also need correction.
A room-by-room workflow solves many of these problems. The technician captures the layout and damage while standing in front of it. The estimator receives a usable record instead of mystery photos. The owner gets greater consistency without checking every job personally.
Before you scan
Follow your company’s electrical, structural, contamination, and PPE procedures. A mobile scan does not replace professional moisture, electrical, or structural assessment.
Before starting:
Confirm which rooms are safe to enter.
Identify the reported source or first visible damage.
Use consistent floor and room names.
Check device compatibility and clean the camera and sensor.
Carry a flashlight for dark areas or interrupted power.
Keep your moisture meter and required forms ready.
On supported iOS devices, LiDAR Auto-Scan can detect multiple rooms, dimensions, furniture, and structural objects.
Step 1: Scan the open-plan ground floor in sections
The first video begins in an open kitchen and living area. Instead of scanning the entire space at once, the technician divides it into manageable sections.
Start in a corner with a broad view. Scan the kitchen perimeter, including walls, doors, windows, and important fixed objects. Avoid focusing through the large opening into the living room. Stop when the kitchen is complete and review the preview.
Then scan the living room separately and add or correct the opening afterward. A clean partial scan is easier to assemble than one confused scan of overlapping spaces.
When possible, close doors to rooms you are not scanning. This prevents the scan from continuing into an adjacent space and creating duplicate geometry. Capture bedrooms, closets, and narrow bathrooms as separate rooms.
Step 2: Review the ground floor before moving upstairs
Before adding another floor, compare the sketch with the property. In the tutorial, the technician adjusts the stairs and a nearby wall while the real conditions are still easy to verify.
Check that:
The room arrangement matches the building.
Openings appear in the correct walls.
Stairs have the right location and orientation.
No space was duplicated through an open door.
Important doors, windows, fixtures, and objects are present.
magicplan lets users edit staircase dimensions after placement.
Step 3: Scan the upper floor room by room
Add the upper floor to the same project and begin in a room with a clear perimeter. Capture the walls first, then allow time for the scan to identify doors, windows, and furniture.
If furniture does not register, step back to widen the view and keep moving at a controlled pace. Being too close or moving too quickly can make the space harder to capture.
End each scan before entering the next bedroom, closet, or bathroom. In rooms with large openings, follow the current room’s perimeter and avoid scanning deeply into a room already captured.
Step 4: Record damage where you find it
In the upper-floor bathroom, the technician discovers water damage high on a wall. This is the moment to document it, not something to recreate at the end of the day.
Attach photos and notes to the relevant room, wall, or object. magicplan’s Photos & Notes workflow keeps visual evidence connected to its location.
A useful damage note should cover:
Location: room, wall, and height
Condition: visible staining, swelling, or deterioration
Relationship: proximity to the reported source, if known
Downstream check: adjoining rooms, floor assembly, and area below
Next action: moisture test or further investigation required by your SOP
Separate observations from conclusions. “Soft drywall and staining near the ceiling” is an observation. “Roof leak” is an unverified conclusion unless supported by evidence.
Step 5: Follow the water path into the basement
Add the basement as another floor in the same project. Use the layout to locate the area below the damage found upstairs.
How do you scan a basement in low light?
Use a flashlight or device torch where conditions and safety procedures allow. Move more slowly and verify the results carefully. magicplan also provides Torch Mode for photos.
In the tutorial, the technician finds evidence at the basement ceiling. Capture a wide photo for room context, a mid-range view for location, and a close photo for the condition. Add a note explaining what was found and what needs further investigation.
This vertical check turns three separate floor plans into one connected account of the loss.
Step 6: Correct scan errors before leaving
Automated detection speeds up capture, but it still requires review. In the tutorial, the technician replaces an incorrectly detected door with a garage door and adjusts the stairs.
Before generating the project, verify:
Floor and room names
Walls, openings, and room connections
Door and window types
Stair dimensions and placement
Missing or misidentified objects
Duplicate geometry near open doors
Critical measurements
Photos and notes attached to the correct locations
For restoration teams that need transferable files, magicplan Sketch supports formats including ESX, FML, PDF, DXF, and PNG.
A no-drive-back inspection checklist
Before leaving the property, confirm that:
Capture every required level and accessible room using consistent names.
Clearly connect levels with stairs and define open-plan spaces with clean boundaries.
Verify doors, windows, openings, fixed objects, and critical dimensions.
Document the suspected source and all affected areas.
Check relevant areas above, below, and beside the damage.
Take photos showing context, location, and condition.
Complete all required moisture readings, forms, and notes, including next steps.
Ensure the estimator can understand the entire job without contacting the technician.
From one site visit to one usable record
This workflow supports every person downstream:
The technician avoids recreating notes after the visit.
The estimator gets dimensions and photo context without rebuilding the inspection.
The project manager can see what needs follow-up.
The owner gains a repeatable documentation standard.
The rebuild team retains the context captured during mitigation.
When the inspection is complete, magicplan Reports can turn the same project data into full documentation, photo reports, moisture reports, daily snapshots, or summaries.
The goal is not more paperwork. It is proof that is already in the file when someone needs it.
Frequently asked questions
How do you document water damage in a multi-story house?
Create one project with a separate floor for each level. Scan room by room, connect the floors with correctly placed stairs, and attach photos and notes to the location where damage appears. Inspect relevant spaces above, below, and beside the suspected source.
What is the best way to scan an open-plan room?
Capture the space in smaller sections. Scan one area cleanly, scan the adjoining area separately, and add or correct the opening afterward.
Why should adjacent doors stay closed during a scan?
An open door can let the scan continue into another room and create blended or duplicate geometry. Closing it gives the current room a clearer boundary.
Can you use LiDAR in a dark basement?
You can continue if the area is safe and the device maintains tracking, but capture may take longer. Use a flashlight or torch where permitted, move deliberately, and review the result before leaving.
What should a water damage photo show?
Capture a wide image for context, a mid-range image for location, and a close image for condition. Add a note identifying the room, surface, observed damage, and next action.
What should be corrected after a LiDAR scan?
Review room boundaries, walls, openings, doors, windows, stairs, important objects, and critical dimensions. Fix obvious errors while you can still compare the plan with the property.
One loss, one record
A good water damage inspection is not a race to collect the most photos. It is a structured account of what happened, where it happened, and what the next person needs to do.
On a three-level property, that means controlling the scan in open rooms, stopping at room boundaries, documenting damage at its source, checking the levels below, and correcting mistakes before leaving. When the sketch, evidence, notes, and readings stay together, the field becomes the source of truth and the office can act sooner.
Explore how magicplan supports restoration teams and keeps job photos and videos organized by room.
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Silvia Corvi
Community Manager
