As-built documentation: why contractors need a full job history

A year after handover, the client calls: a grout line in the bathroom has darkened, and they are sure the tiling was done wrong. Which adhesive and grout were used, how long the screed dried, what was under the tiles — does anyone still remember a year later? The worker is on another job, the receipts are gone, and the photos sit on someone's phone.

An object passport is as-built documentation in a form any client can read. It holds the history of the work actually carried out: what was done, with which materials, when, and what it looked like before the walls and floors were closed. The client needs it, but first of all it protects the contractor.

What goes into an object passport

The passport records what was actually done, as opposed to what was planned. It usually includes:

• Work by stage. Demolition, electrics, plumbing, screed, tiling, finishing — with dates.

• Materials. Brand and product: adhesive, grout, waterproofing, cable, pipes, paint. A year later, this is the first information anyone asks for. How to keep track of it from the purchasing stage is covered in Construction material management.

• Hidden work in photos. Cable and pipe runs before plastering, waterproofing before tiling, screed before flooring. Once finished, the only way to see them is in photos.

• Decisions that changed the project. Moved sockets, different tiles, a changed layout. Who agreed to it and when. How to record those decisions is covered in Construction change orders.

Object passport, as-built documentation and closeout documents

On larger projects, contractors hand over as-built documentation and construction closeout documents at the end: drawings updated to show what was actually built, product data, warranties and inspection records. The contract defines what goes into the package. Renovation contracts often skip a formal closeout package, yet the questions clients ask are the same: what was done, with what, and what it looked like before it was covered.

The object passport answers those questions in a form the client understands: stages, materials, photos of hidden work and agreed changes. When a contract does require formal closeout documents, the passport is the base for preparing them.

Why it matters to the contractor

A calmer handover

The client sees a clean room and also what is hidden in the walls and under the floor. Handover brings fewer questions and more trust, because the work is visible stage by stage.

Warranty questions

When a client comes back with a complaint, the conversation is about facts: which material, which layer, which day. Dated photos of hidden work answer the question faster than any explanation. In France, for example, the décennale warranty runs for ten years. Details are forgotten long before that; a document with photos stays.

Referrals

A client who receives a tidy record of their renovation shows it to friends, and to the buyer when they sell. The passport works as a portfolio the contractor never has to put together separately.

Order in your own work

When workers know every stage ends up in the passport, they caption photos and write reports more carefully. The passport sets the reporting standard for the whole job.

Why passports usually do not get made

In theory everyone wants a passport. In practice it gets put together on the last day from whatever can be found: photos from chats, receipts from the van, workers' memories. It takes a long time and ends up incomplete, because half the hidden work is already covered and the photos are scattered across phones.

The conclusion is simple: build the passport as the work goes, stage by stage, rather than after handover.

How to build the passport as you go

These steps work with a shared drive folder and an ordinary spreadsheet.

1. One folder per job, with a subfolder per stage. Demolition, electrics, plumbing and so on. Everything that belongs to a stage goes into its folder the same day.

2. Photograph hidden work before it is covered. Before plastering, before screed, before tiling. A wide shot and a close-up, with a caption: "Kitchen, cable run, 3 Nov."

3. Materials with brand and a photo of the packaging. A photo of the adhesive bag or grout label takes a second and a year later answers "what did you use?".

4. Changes in writing. Every decision that changes the project is recorded as text or a document, with the date and the name of whoever agreed to it.

5. A short report at the end of each stage. What was done, with which materials, links to the photos. When the stage is finished, the report goes to the client. The passport builds up from finished parts.

6. A copy for the client and for you. A PDF stays with both sides, wherever the working files were kept.

Where these rules reach their limit

Folders and spreadsheets work as long as the owner keeps an eye on them: reminding workers to photograph hidden work, sorting photos by stage, copying reports into the document. With every new job there are more folders, and the passport goes back to being made on the last day.

The next step is a passport that builds itself from work that is happening anyway: from tasks and workers' reports.

How DOMOD handles this

In DOMOD, the object passport grows with the work:

• The Worker's report becomes part of the passport. The Worker adds interim and final reports to the task, with text and photos. Final reports of completed tasks go into the stage passport automatically.

• The Manager edits and publishes. The Manager and the Owner can add interim reports, edit the text and remove internal notes. A stage passport is published to the Client with a single toggle.

• The Client sees results stage by stage. Published stage passports build up into the object passport. The Client receives the document as the work progresses, not only at the end.

• The PDF stays with the Client. The passport exports to PDF with its sections, text and photos. The file stays with the Client permanently, and it is worth keeping a copy yourself.

More in the help centre: What is the digital object passport and Publishing the passport to the client.

DOMOD works from your phone. Managers, Workers and Clients join for free, and the first 14 days are a free trial.

In short

• An object passport is the history of the work actually done: stages, materials, hidden work in photos, project changes.

• It helps the contractor at handover, with warranty questions and with referrals.

• Build it as the work goes, stage by stage. It is easiest when it grows out of the tasks and workers' reports already kept on the job.

FAQ

What is as-built documentation?

As-built documentation records how a building or renovation was actually carried out, as opposed to how it was planned: updated drawings, materials used, photos of hidden work and changes made along the way. It is handed to the client at the end of the job.

Which work should be photographed for construction photo documentation?

Everything that will be covered later: cable and pipe runs before plastering, waterproofing before tiling, screed before flooring, the base under underfloor heating. A wide shot and a close-up, with a caption and a date.

When should the passport go to the client?

Stage by stage as each one is finished, with the final document at handover. Keep a PDF copy yourself as well: it is useful for warranty questions.