Excavation as confirmation

Digging to expose the pipe so it can be seen directly from outside.

What this page cannot establish

Excavation confirmation cannot establish the condition of the line away from the excavation
Excavation confirmation cannot establish that no other conditions exist elsewhere

What it is for

To observe the pipe and its surroundings directly, which no remote method can fully substitute for.

When a professional may raise it

These are circumstances, not rules. No method is appropriate everywhere, and a professional declining to use one is not necessarily cutting a corner.

when remote methods have not resolved a question that must be resolved
when work is being performed at that location in any case
when a connection or transition needs to be seen

What to ask for afterwards

A method performed without a record produces very little you can carry into the next conversation.

photographs of what was exposed, before backfill
a written note of what was observed
the position relative to a fixed reference on the property

Practical constraints

disturbs the surface and creates restoration obligations
requires utility locating beforehand
may require a permit
never a homeowner activity

Questions worth asking

What will be exposed, and how will it be documented before backfill?
What surfaces will be disturbed, and what restoration is included?
Who arranges utility locating?
What happens if what you find differs from what was expected?

What would change the answer

photographs of what was exposed, before backfill
a written note of what was observed
the position relative to a fixed reference on the property

What to do next

An open excavation is visible once. What is not photographed then is gone.

Photograph what is exposed before it is covered

If your situation is different

Excavation is being proposed as the work itself: Open-cut excavation as a method

After the work
The documentation window closes at backfill.