Closeout documentation
The paperwork that ends a capital project, and why it is not optional.
Closeout documentation is the package of warranties, as-built drawings, and related records a contractor hands over at the end of a capital project. There is no universal checklist for what it must contain: your signed contract sets the list. The clock on those warranties starts at substantial completion, not final payment.
Closeout starts at substantial completion, not the last invoice
A project is not "done" the day the crew packs up. It reaches substantial completion when it is finished enough for the association to use it, even though small items still need fixing. That date matters because it is what starts the warranty period, not the date of the final payment and not the date the contract was signed.
"was developed to establish the date of Substantial Completion for the purpose of commencement of applicable warranties and to allow the Owner to occupy or utilize the Work."
Source: Instructions, G704 Certificate of Substantial Completion, American Institute of Architects
Who certifies that date, an architect, an engineer, or another design professional, depends on which contract form your association used and what your governing documents require. Confirm this in your own construction contract.
What is actually in the package
In plain terms, closeout documentation is the handoff: warranties from the contractor and from the manufacturers of what got installed, as-built drawings showing what was actually built (which can differ from the original design), and whatever other records your project generated along the way.
No standard-setting body publishes a single, universal closeout checklist that applies to every project. What your association is entitled to receive is whatever your signed construction contract says it is. Read that section of the contract before the project starts, not after, and ask your design professional to confirm the list against the actual project.
The punch list comes first
Right after substantial completion, expect a punch list, the items still to be completed or corrected. This is a normal part of finishing a project, not a sign something went wrong.
"the contractor prepares a list of items to be completed or corrected following substantial completion, and the architect verifies and amends this list."
Source: Instructions, G704 Certificate of Substantial Completion, American Institute of Architects
Hold the closeout package, and any remaining payment or retainage your contract allows you to withhold, until the punch list is cleared and the promised documents are actually in hand. A verbal promise to send warranties later is not closeout documentation.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Your association just repaved the parking lot. The contractor says the work is substantially complete. When does the one-year warranty period on that work begin?
A contractor hands your board a folder of paperwork and calls it the closeout package. What should the board check it against?
Right after the roof contractor declares the project substantially complete, the architect walks the site and writes up items still needing correction. What is this list, and when does it happen?
Sources
- Instructions, G704 Certificate of Substantial Completion, American Institute of Architects
- A Series, Owner Contractor Agreements, American Institute of Architects
Capital Projects
Not sure what your contract requires at closeout? Read Construction contracts next.
What your contract requires as closeout deliverables, who certifies substantial completion, and how long you must retain these records vary by contract and by state recordkeeping rules.