Documenting before work starts
Once a trench is open, nobody can establish what the surface looked like before. This takes about fifteen minutes and is the cheapest insurance in the whole process.
What this page cannot establish
- documentation does not establish what restoration standard applies
- SewerOwner cannot tell you whether restoration was adequate
- photographs record appearance, not condition
What to photograph
Include something for scale where you can, and make sure the date is captured by the device.
- every surface along the expected work route, from more than one angle
- the driveway, walkways, and any hardscape, close up and in context
- planting, particularly anything mature or established
- fencing, walls, edging, and any feature near the route
- the equipment access route across the property
- any existing damage or settlement, so it is not attributed to this work
- interior floors, where work comes inside
- any locate marks, before they weather away
What to write down
- the agreed start date and expected duration
- the written restoration standard for each surface
- who to contact during the work, and how
- what you have been told will happen if something unexpected is found
- whether drainage will be usable throughout, and if not, for how long
What would change the answer
- the work route, if a locate has been performed
- the written restoration scope from the proposal
What to do next
Photographs are only useful measured against a written standard, and the standard is in the proposal.
Check what the proposal says about restorationIf your situation is different
- Work is already under way: Documenting work as it happens
Related, and why
- Restoration
What restoration involves and what it cannot promise.