Documenting completed work

The end of a job is the last moment several of these are easy to obtain. A week later, the crew is elsewhere and the file is closed.

What this page cannot establish

documentation does not establish that the work was performed correctly
post-work footage records the line on that date only
SewerOwner cannot assess whether a completed job was done well

The short answer

The end of a job is the last easy moment to collect the records that prove what was done. Post-work footage, the closed permit, the warranty in writing, and the position of anything newly installed are all straightforward to obtain while the crew is still on site, and close to impossible to reconstruct a year later.

Collect them for two audiences. The next contractor will have none of this history and will otherwise price against assumptions. A buyer’s inspector will ask, and a documented answer is worth more than a recollection of one.

Ask for the footage before the crew leaves, and confirm separately that the permit was closed. Those are handled by different people, and neither one implies the other.

Collect before the crew leaves

post-work camera footage, as a file you hold
a written description of what was actually done, if it differed from the proposal
photographs of the open excavation, taken before backfill
the position of any new cleanout or device, measured to a fixed reference
the permit number, and confirmation of who closes it out
the written warranty, including what you must do to keep it valid
the final invoice matching the described scope

Questions for the end of the job

Did the work differ from the proposal in any way, and is that written down?
Where exactly is anything you installed, measured from what?
When will the permit be closed out, and will I receive the document?
What maintenance does anything you installed require?
What would void the warranty?

What would change the answer

post-work footage
the permit closeout document
the written warranty

What to do next

An open permit is invisible until it is expensive, which is usually during a sale.

Check the permit is actually closed out

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 told

Permits and inspections
What the permit process produces.