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Written inspection reports

A written report is worth more than footage alone, because it ties statements to a date and an author. But most reports mix two very different kinds of sentence, and telling them apart is the whole exercise.

What this page cannot establish

  • a report records what the inspector stated; SewerOwner cannot confirm any of it
  • a recommendation in a report is a professional opinion, not an established fact
  • a report cannot establish the condition of anything outside its stated scope

The two kinds of sentence in a report

An observation
A statement about what was seen, ideally with a location: what, and where along the line. This is the part of the report that other professionals can address directly.
A recommendation
A statement about what should be done. It is a professional judgement built on the observations plus experience plus assumptions. It is legitimate, and it is not a finding.

When the report comes with a quote

A report that arrives attached to a quote from the same company is ordinary, and it is also why the split matters: the recommendation and the scope of work are written by the same party from the same visit. Read the observations on their own first, and only then read the proposal against them.

The questions that follow are about fit rather than about the inspector: which observation each item of work addresses, what the scope leaves out, and whether repairing a named section or replacing the run is what is being described.

What a good report states about itself

  • the date of the inspection
  • the access point used and the direction travelled
  • how far the inspection reached, and what stopped it
  • whether the line was cleaned before or during
  • what could not be inspected, and why
  • observations tied to distances, separately from recommendations

How a report sits alongside your other evidence

Each kind of document reliably shows something different. Knowing which is which is what stops one document being asked to carry more than it can.

Written inspection report

A document describing what an inspection covered and observed.

Reliably shows: what the inspector recorded as observed; the scope the inspector says was covered. A written report ties statements to a date and an author. Recollections of a verbal explanation do not survive a disagreement; a dated document does.

Cannot establish: that the observations are correctly identified; that the recommendations follow from the observations; the condition of anything outside the stated scope.

Camera video

A recording made by a camera pushed through the line.

Reliably shows: what the camera lens could see along the path it travelled; the order in which features were passed. Recordings are routinely deleted or overwritten. A copy you hold is the only version that survives a change of contractor, and it is frequently the single most valuable item in a sewer file.

Cannot establish: the condition of any part of the line the camera did not reach; the significance of anything visible in the frame; ownership or responsibility; structural capacity or code compliance; that a given repair method is appropriate.

Marked locations

Notes or marks identifying where along the line something was observed.

Reliably shows: where the person recording it believed the observation sat. A location is what lets a second opinion look at the same place. Without one, a later inspection cannot be compared to an earlier one.

Cannot establish: an exact position on the property surface; the depth of the line at that point; that a later inspection measured from the same reference point.

Proposal

A written offer describing work a contractor would perform.

Reliably shows: what the contractor committed to in writing. The written proposal is what governs, not the conversation. Comparing proposals is comparing documents.

Cannot establish: that the described work is appropriate for the property; that the price is reasonable; that omitted items are excluded; the contractor’s competence or workmanship.

What would change the answer

  • the full report rather than a summary page
  • the inspection date and the access point used
  • any statement of what could not be inspected

What to do next

The brief keeps what you were told separate from what has been established, which is exactly the distinction a report blurs.

Separate observations from conclusions in your own record

If your situation is different

If you want a second read

If you have footage or a written report and cannot tell what it establishes, you can send what you hold and have a person read it. They will say what the inspection covers, what it does not reach, and what to ask for next. Nothing here judges the inspector.

Have someone read your inspection evidence
Have someone read your inspection evidence

Related, and why