With many versions of free defects checklist & tips readily available for download online, one of the most common mistake made by home owner when checking for defects is using these kind of white masking tape. You may be asking why not? This is convenient to use, easy to tear, writable surface and sticks well onto the walls and floor, and most importantly it is AFFORDABLE! Who doesn't likes that?
No doubt, you are correct! However, there are some other facts as well to it as well.
These tapes can bring you the horror of peeling off the paint work, below is an image reference.
Alright, we know it is over-exaggerating, but you get our point. Tapes like these stick have bad adhesive properties and over a period of time will cause the paint to be peeled along when removing. In addition they even leave behind melted adhesive stains marks if left long enough due to our tropical country famous for bringing heat to almost every corner.
At Advance Inspection, our main goal is to help home owners identify defects and obtain their rights from the developers, not creating defects while identifying them. With all the common mistakes made by others in process of identifying the defects, we tried & test many sort of tapes ranging from $2 Daiso Tapes to $30+ Gorilla Tapes, and after filtering them and limiting our choices, we eventually got our findings:
We tested the final three contestants and stick them onto a standard painted surface and left it outdoor to bake under the hot-sun for a few weeks.
Pink Washi Tape (Made with Japanese rice paper)
3M Painter's Tape (Blue)
3M Post-it
THE VERDICT:
Pink Washi Tape - Leaves absolutely no stains, mark or glue BUT it doesn't stick that well to surfaces like wall or even flooring, imaging you using this to identify the defects but when you get to meet the developer, everything got blew off the area and onto the floor, nightmare yea. It's even costlier than 3M tapes but it wasn't meant for this application and so it's best to leave them sticking on your documents instead.
And so.... WINNER GOES TO.......DRUM ROLL...... 3M products!
It's may feel kind of expensive to buy the 3M Painter Tape & 3M Post-it (usually 6-7 times more expensive than other competitor products), but it sticks well to almost any surfaces, and leaves no adhesive stains behind, making it the most ideal & appropriate identifying kit to use.
***DISCLAIMER***
We are not in anyway sponsored by 3M to do this post and we've spent hundreds of dollars just to buy almost all kind of tapes for our testing. We did this post so that you won't have to spend money to buy another lesson.
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