Clear Creek Schools

The Problem

Halfway through construction, the general contractor dropped a bomb: $400,000 in missing copper and radiators. The GC claimed that Fransen Pittman's (FP) crews had "removed" valuable materials from the building before construction started.

It was a classic he-said-she-said situation. The GC wanted FP to eat the cost. Without proof of what the building actually contained before anyone touched it, FP was looking at a massive change order for something they didn't do.

The Solution

Before construction crews ever stepped foot in the building, Wet Dog Drones had documented every square foot of the interior. Using RTK-equipped drones, we mapped 84,000 square feet over 20 hours on site — every fixture, every radiator, every piece of copper, every pipe, every structural element.

The Result

The documentation was clear: the building was empty when FP arrived. There were no radiators to steal. No copper to remove. The GC had made an assumption that didn't match reality.

The Technology

This wasn't just photos. This was survey-grade point clouds with RTK accuracy, timestamped and georeferenced. Every point in the cloud has metadata attached — when it was captured, where it was located, and what equipment was used.

When the GC's team saw the data, they couldn't dispute it. The point cloud was too detailed, the timestamps too precise, the coverage too complete. This was proof that held up.

The Lesson

Interior documentation isn't optional on renovation projects. When you're working in a building that already exists, you need proof of what was there before you touched it. Thieves, miscommunication, and disputes happen. The only thing that matters is what you can prove.