Sprinkler fitters: booking site surveys before installation

Make the site survey a bookable service with a slot length that matches the building, and ask at booking for what decides the design: the building's use, its size, the water supply and whether plans exist. Building owners and managers book a survey slot online, send plans by email beforehand, and you arrive knowing which areas to walk, where the incoming main is and who can open the plant room. A well-prepared survey gives you what you need to quote in one visit instead of two.

Survey requests come from owners of small commercial buildings, facility managers, architects or the contractor running a refurbishment. Independent fitters and small fire protection firms can offer the survey on their own booking page; on large projects designed by an engineering office, the process is set by the main contractor instead. The design and the standard to follow come from the regulations, the insurer and the project; your booking page only organises the visit.

The booking form takes the contact's first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email. Ask in the service description for:

Invite the contact to email plans, previous reports and any insurer letter after booking. Reading them first tells you which areas need the most time.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own, and say in the description whether the survey fee is deducted from the work if the quote is accepted. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service and sits within one day, with one place per slot.

Plan the survey to cover the incoming water supply and its capacity, the space for a tank or pump if needed, ceiling types and heights, voids, storage heights and anything that obstructs heads. Some checks, like a flow test, may need the water supplier or a second visit. Say in the description what the survey includes and what it doesn't, so clients don't expect a full design on the first visit.

Ask for a contact who stays with you or can be reached, keys to plant rooms and roof spaces, and a ladder or access equipment if ceilings are high. Occupied buildings may only be accessible outside opening hours; open some survey slots early in the morning or on a set evening for those. If you arrive and an area is locked, note it and book a short return visit rather than guessing in the quote.

Book the next step before you leave: a quote review meeting by phone or video once your quote is ready. Book it yourself from your calendar; first and last name are required, email and phone optional, and the contact receives a confirmation with a calendar file when you enter their email. Book doesn't send reminders, so a date in their calendar keeps the project moving. When the quote is accepted, plan installation days the same way, one slot per day.

Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and tell them yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.