# Method statement examples

> Finished method statement examples for electrical work, roofing, scaffolding and hot works. Read each one, download it in Word or PDF, or build your own.
> Web page: https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples

Finished method statements for common jobs: the steps in order, who does each, and the emergency arrangements. Read one, download it, or build your own.

[Build your own](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-builder?job=painting-and-decorating)

## Choose a job

- [**Electrical second fix and testing in a house refurbishment**Lived-in 1970s house, accessories and consumer unit fitted, one circuit dead at a time, tested dead then live before handover.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=electrical-second-fix-in-a-house-refurbishment#example)
- [**Hot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouse**Steel brackets cut out and replaced on a live bay, with a permit for each shift and a separate fire watcher.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=hot-works-in-an-occupied-warehouse#example)
- [**Erecting an independent tied scaffold on a two-storey house**Independent tube and fitting scaffold to a TG20 compliance sheet, family at home, rescue kit on the wagon.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=erecting-a-scaffold-on-a-house#example)
- [**Stripping and re-tiling a pitched roof from a scaffold**Lived-in house, tiles, battens and underlay off, one section made weathertight each day.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=stripping-and-re-roofing-a-tiled-house#example)
- [**Digging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drain**Beside a lived-in house, services located first, excavator then hand tools, trench sheets and props before anyone goes in.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=digging-strip-footings-and-a-drain-trench#example)
- [**Repainting occupied offices**Water-based paint from a podium, walls filled and sanded first, one bay screened off at a time while staff work on.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=repainting-occupied-offices#example)
- [**Bathroom first and second fix in a lived-in house**Only bathroom replaced, press-fit pipework under the floor and in a duct, tested before anyone closes it up, suite fitted after tiling.5 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=bathroom-first-and-second-fix-plumbing#example)
- [**Tarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly open**Old surface tested and planed off, private retail car park, laid bay block by bay block with shoppers around.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=tarmac-laying-on-a-car-park#example)
- [**Unloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loader**Packs of blocks and plasterboard landed on a small building site, on a standing lift plan reviewed for this site.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=unloading-plasterboard-with-a-lorry-loader#example)
- [**Cleaning the outside of a two-storey office with a water-fed pole**All from the ground, in an open office set back behind its own car park, on cold November mornings.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=cleaning-office-windows-with-a-water-fed-pole#example)
- [**MIG welding a pump frame in a plant room**MIG welding bare mild steel at floor level in a closed plant room, with on-torch extraction, while the retail park keeps trading.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=welding-a-pump-frame-in-a-plant-room#example)
- [**Stripping out a vacant single-storey workshop**Office ceiling, partitions, carpet and benches out by hand, building empty, every service including the fire alarm disconnected on a certificate, lit by roof lights and a 110 V string.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=stripping-out-a-vacant-single-storey-workshop#example)
- [**Skimming and patching walls in an occupied house**Ground floor living room of a 2006 house, family at home, plaster mixed in the room with the door shut, from a hop-up.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=skimming-and-patching-walls-in-an-occupied-house#example)
- [**Building a garden wall in blockwork and facing brick**A 5 m long, 1 m high wall, one brick thick, on a foundation already in, laid from the ground.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=building-a-garden-wall-in-blockwork-and-facing-brick#example)
- [**Core drilling a flue hole through a cavity blockwork wall**One 125 mm wet core, rig fixed to the inner leaf, through an external wall of a single-storey extension, with the core caught outside.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=core-drilling-a-flue-hole-through-a-blockwork-wall#example)
- [**Replacing damaged ceiling tiles and grid in an occupied office, out of hours**Like-for-like tiles and tees on the existing hangers, from a podium, with the offices empty and the fire alarm left live.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=replacing-damaged-ceiling-tiles-and-grid-in-an-occupied-office#example)
- [**Clearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladder**Eight ladder positions of under 15 minutes each, one hand on the ladder, with a stand-off keeping it clear of the gutter.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=clearing-gutters-on-a-bungalow-from-a-ladder#example)
- [**Laying a block paved patio in a lived-in garden**Dug out by hand to 250 mm, sub-base compacted, blocks laid on sand and cut wet, family at home.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=laying-a-block-paved-garden-patio#example)
- [**Hanging office doors in existing linings, out of hours in a working building**Six heavy non-fire meeting room doors, trimmed and routed on trestles after the staff have gone.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-examples?job=hanging-office-doors-in-existing-linings#example)

## Painting and decorating method statement example

Repainting occupied offices

Water-based paint from a podium, walls filled and sanded first, one bay screened off at a time while staff work on.

[See the risk assessment](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-examples?job=repainting-occupied-offices) [Download PDF](https://complyonsite.com/method/examples/repainting-occupied-offices.pdf) [Download Word](https://complyonsite.com/method/examples/repainting-occupied-offices.docx)

### What to change

- Company, people, site and dates
- Occupied hours or out of hours
- Paint and its safety data sheet
- Age of the building and old paint
- Ventilation
- Escape routes, especially in a single-stair building
- Emergency arrangements

### Sources

- [HSE: paint, frequently asked questions](https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/faq-paint.htm)
- [HSE: lead in construction](https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/hazardous-substances/lead.htm)
- [HSE HSG168: fire safety in construction](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg168.pdf)
- [HSE: work at height](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/faqs.htm)

Checked 2 November 2026

### The same sheet as text

Worked example of a method statement. Change it to fit your job before you use it.

### Repainting occupied offices

#### Job details

1. **Company** Hollins & Reed Decorating Ltd
2. **Site and work area** Second floor offices, 14 Mill Street, Stockport
3. **Planned dates** 12 to 14 October 2026
4. **Customer** Thornley Vale Estates Ltd
5. **In charge on site** Dan Hollins
6. **Team** Two decorators: Dan Hollins leads and agrees each room with the office manager; Priya Shah works with him.
7. **Work** Repainting occupied offices
8. **Risk assessment** Repainting occupied offices: worked example RAMS, a separate document

#### Work and boundaries

1. **Prepare surfaces, paint by brush or roller. Areas: Meeting rooms 1 and 2; Open-plan office; Corridor**

#### Working arrangement

1. **Access: a podium.**
2. **Working height: rooms about 2.7 m.**
3. **Ground or floor: level, carpeted.**
4. **Sanding dust: On-tool extraction.**
5. **Paint: water-based matt emulsion, data sheet with the office manager.**
6. **Other people will use parts of the area at times.**
7. **Offices stay in use; each bay is screened off and released to us by the office manager, one at a time, and desks are moved only with staff agreement. Fire doors are never wedged; corridors and stairs stay clear. Only the day’s paint comes to the work, lids on; tins and wash water go by the agreed waste route. The older paint was tested with a lead test kit: no lead found. The asbestos survey covers the textured ceilings: none found. A detector head goes off only with the building manager’s agreement: the second decorator checks that area while it is off, and it is back on before we leave.**

#### Emergency arrangements

1. **Fire bell: stop, close the tins and leave by Stair B. Do not use the lifts. Muster at Car Park C and report to the floor marshal. Fall from the podium: stop, do not move someone with a back or neck injury unless they are in danger. Spill or anyone unwell from the paint: open up, move staff away, stop using the product and bring the data sheet; tell the building manager at once. First aid: Reception, ext 200. Priya Shah rings 999; Reception meets the crew at the Mill Street door.**

#### Planned method

1. **1. Set up the work area** Confirm the work area and scope before starting. Keep other people outside the active work area. Keep entrances and escape routes clear.
2. **2. Keep people clear of the work** Agree how people get past or around the work while it is going on. Put barriers or signs where a route crosses the work. Do not leave open work unattended.
3. **3. Check the paint information** Read each label and safety data sheet before opening or mixing paint. Keep the product names with the RAMS.
4. **4. Check preparation products** Read labels and safety data sheets for cleaners, fillers and strippers. Set skin, eye and ventilation controls before use.
5. **5. Check the surface as you go** Compare the surface with the agreed description before scraping, filling or stripping. Stop if the material, coating or damage is different.
6. **6. Check for asbestos before you disturb anything** Check the asbestos survey covers exactly what you will disturb, to the full depth. Register only, or nothing: get a refurbishment survey or a sample first. Read what it says about old paint, textured coatings, boards and walls. No survey, or a material you do not recognise: stop and get it checked.
7. **7. Set up access equipment** Use access equipment suited to the task and work area. Check the equipment before use. Keep the area below the work controlled.
8. **8. Set fresh air before painting** Open doors and windows where the site allows it. Use the ventilation named by the product assessment.
9. **9. Keep paint tins closed** Close tins and containers when they are not being used. Clean spills with the agreed waste method.
10. **10. Control sanding dust** Use the sanding dust method named in this document, and stop if it fails. Wear an APF 20 mask (FFP3 or P3) for dusty sanding: fit tested and clean-shaven.
11. **11. Apply the specified paint** Use the specified brush or roller and follow the product order and drying instructions.
12. **12. Keep people away from wet paint** Mark or barrier wet areas and protect floors and fittings. Only hand the area back when the product allows it.
13. **13. Wash before leaving the job** Wash hands after painting and before eating, drinking or smoking. Change contaminated clothing where the assessment requires it.
14. **14. Clean up without raising dust** Use a suitable vacuum for settled dust and collect wet waste safely. Do not dry sweep or blow dust into the room.
15. **15. Clear and hand back the area** Remove tools, waste and unused materials. Check the area is clean and ready to use. Tell the customer or whoever runs the site when the work is complete.

## What a finished method statement says

- **The job and its boundaries** What is being done, where, and what is not your work.
- **How the work area is set up** Access, shared spaces and who else is around.
- **The steps, in the order they happen** One action to a step, from arrival to sign-off.
- **Who does each step** The people in charge and the skills each step needs.
- **What happens if something goes wrong** Who to call, where to go and how help gets in.

## Method statement or risk assessment: which one is this?

This is the method statement: how the job is done, step by step. The risk assessment says what could go wrong and what controls it.

[See both together in the Painting and decorating RAMS example](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-examples?job=repainting-occupied-offices).

## Method statement example questions

**Are these real jobs?**

No. Every job, company, person and address here is made up, and every page says so.

**Can I send one as it is?**

No. Your site, your people and your emergency arrangements will be different. Change it to fit your job first.

**Where is the risk assessment that goes with it?**

In the [Painting and decorating RAMS example](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-examples?job=repainting-occupied-offices). The method statement names it on page one.

**Word or PDF?**

Both. Word if you will change the wording yourself, PDF to read or print. Or press Use this and edit it in [the builder](https://complyonsite.com/tools/rams-builder?job=painting-and-decorating).

**Does a method statement need a risk assessment?**

A method statement names the risk assessment it rests on. CDM 2015 does not set a form for either document.

**Where is the blank?**

On the [method statement template](https://complyonsite.com/tools/method-statement-template) page. These examples are all filled in.