The narrative bank — overview

Narrative bank — full page with filters, search, and card grid

The narrative bank is one of the most important features in Lumos. It is a canonical reference of pre-formulated narratives, organized by domain and component, that you draw from on each inspection to save writing time without losing rigor.

Lumos provides a default bank rich with hundreds of narratives compliant with BNQ 3009-500. You enrich it with your own phrasings as your practice grows.

How to access it

Two paths:

From the main Lumos sidebar, click Narrative Bank. The standalone page opens at /narratives-bank.
From the inspection editor, click the book icon in the header. The bank opens as an overlay, contextualized to the subsection you are editing. See Using the bank from the editor.

Volume

The demo account uses over 700 narratives. On your account, you will find system Lumos narratives (the canonical base) plus those you have created or modified over time.

Organization: Domains and Components

The bank uses a more granular taxonomy than your report template:

Domains are the major inspection themes (Structure, Roofing, Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC, Exterior, Interior, Insulation, Ventilation, Safety, Garage, Pool, Septic Tank…).
Inside a Domain, Components specify the narrative’s subject (Foundation, Asphalt Shingles, Faucets, Electrical Panel, Water Heater…).

Each narrative in the bank is tagged Domain > Component, making search and filtering easier.

Four narrative types

Each narrative also carries a type:

Information — a neutral or descriptive fact (material present, observed configuration).
Limitation — an uninspected area and the reason.
Deficiency — an identified defect or risk.
Method — a description of procedure, tool, or approach.

See The four narrative types.

Two distinct banks

Lumos distinguishes two banks based on inspection context:

Pre-purchase — narratives standardized per BNQ 3009-500, for inspections of existing properties.
Pre-handover — narratives referencing the National Building Code and the GCR Warranty, for new building inspections. The BNQ 3009-500 standard does not apply to these inspections.

See The two banks (Pre-purchase and Pre-handover).

Narrative sources

Each narrative also carries a source label:

Default Lumos narratives — the canonical base provided by the platform.
Your business narratives — your own narratives, created or modified.
Private narratives — your strictly personal narratives (not shared with your team where applicable).

See Narrative sources.

Semantic search

The bank includes a semantic search engine. Type what you are looking for in plain language (“crack stucco”, “roof infiltration”, “overloaded electrical panel”) and Lumos surfaces relevant narratives even if your words do not exactly match the narrative title.