Existing repairs and documentation
Sewer work is buried and its paperwork is scattered. A property with a complete file is easier to maintain, easier to sell, and much easier to argue about if something later goes wrong.
These pages set out which documents are worth keeping, what each one actually establishes, and what to ask for at the point where it is still easy to get — which is usually the day the work is done.
SewerOwner stores none of it. The project workspace keeps your records on your own device so you can organise and print them; nothing is uploaded and there is no account to create.
What this page cannot establish
- a record shows what was documented, not the current condition
- documentation does not establish that work was performed correctly
- the absence of a record does not establish that no work occurred
What this section decides
Which documents are worth keeping, what each one actually establishes, and when to ask for it. The answer to the last is nearly always the same — at the point where it is still easy to get, which is usually the day the work is done.
A sewer file is not evidence of condition. It records what was documented, by whom, and on what date: inspection footage, the proposal that was signed, the permit and its closeout, the written warranty, and whatever a previous owner left behind.
The absence of a document is not evidence either. A file noting that nobody looked is a different thing from a file noting that somebody looked and found nothing, and only one of those is worth writing down as a finding.
Building the record
What would change the answer
- invoices, proposals, permits, reports, and footage
- anything held by a previous owner
What to do next
Knowing what should be in the file is what tells you what to ask for.
See what a complete sewer file containsIf your situation is different
- Work has just finished: Documenting completed work
If you want a second read
You can describe what you have been told and have a person read it. They will say which question is still unanswered, or say that they cannot help — there is no contractor network behind this site, nothing is routed anywhere, and no request reaches a company.
Ask someone to look at what you have been toldRelated, and why
- Project brief
The brief is where a record becomes usable.