What you were promised, and what to check before you sign it off

Pick the kind of job. The left column is what a contractor typically undertakes to do; the right is what you can verify yourself before the invoice is paid.

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The handover ledger

None of this is adversarial. A job that was done properly survives every question on the right-hand column easily, and a contractor who minds being asked has told you something useful.

Which kind of job?

What was undertaken

Equipment sized from a calculationNot from the capacity of what was there before, and not from a rule of thumb about square footage.
The duct work assessedBecause new equipment on an inadequate duct system performs like the old equipment.
Refrigerant weighed inRather than topped up until the gauges look approximately right.
The old system removed properlyIncluding the refrigerant, which is a legal obligation rather than a courtesy.
A diagnosis, not a guessThe fault identified with instruments before a part was ordered.
A written price before the workIncluding what happens if something else is found once it is open.
The cause establishedA failed capacitor is a symptom as often as it is a cause.
The old part availableYou are entitled to see what came out.
A defined scopeWhat the visit covers, item by item, rather than the word “tune-up”.
Readings takenTemperatures, pressures, airflow and electrical draw — measurements, not ticks.
Consumables listedWhich filters, what sizes, and whether they were changed or inspected.
Findings reportedIncluding the things that are fine, because next year that is the comparison.
Protection of the spaceFloors, finishes and the route in, agreed before anybody arrived.
Agreed working hoursSo the work fits round how the space is actually used.
Air rebalanced afterwardsBecause partitions change where the air goes even when the plant is untouched.
Access maintainedFilters, coils, valves and dampers still reachable once the ceiling is closed.

What to check

Ask for the calculationNot the conclusion. A one-page summary naming the rooms and the assumptions is normal to hand over.
Ask what the airflow measuredBefore and after. If nobody measured, nobody knows whether the ducts can carry it.
Ask what charge was weighed inAnd what the line length was. Both should be written on the invoice or the commissioning sheet.
Ask for the model and serial numbersIn writing. Warranty claims start there and so does every future service visit.
Ask what the readings wereA diagnosis has numbers behind it. Getting them is reasonable and takes a minute.
Ask why it failedIf the answer is “they just do”, ask again. Sometimes that is true; often it is not.
Ask what to watch forA repair that might recur is worth knowing about before it does.
Check the invoice describes the partNot just “electrical repair”. You may need that description in two years.
Read the report for figuresIf there are no numbers on it, the visit cannot be compared with anything.
Check the drain was testedNot inspected. A float switch that has never been tripped is an assumption.
Check what was left aloneAnd why. A good report says what was deliberately not done.
Keep the report somewhere findableTaped inside the plant room door beats a folder nobody opens.
Walk the route before and afterWith somebody from the contractor, and photograph it. It ends most disputes before they start.
Ask for the balance figuresRoom by room, written down. Balancing without a record is an opinion.
Open an access panel yourselfIf you cannot reach a filter, neither can the next engineer, and you will pay for that every visit.
Check who holds fire damper responsibilityWhere a new wall crosses a duct. It has a legal answer and it is not always ours.

4 checks

Whatever the job Ask for it in writing and keep it. Almost every dispute we are asked to look at comes down to one party having a document and the other having a recollection — and in nearly every case the work itself was fine.

Plainly

What this ledger is not

Not an accusationIt describes what good practice looks like. Most contractors do most of this most of the time, and asking is not an insult.
Not a contractWhat you are owed comes from what you agreed and from your consumer rights, not from a list on a website.
Not only for other people's workAsk us the same questions. If we cannot answer them on our own jobs, the list is worthless.

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