What Should an Oil Tank Sweep Report Include?

The report is what lawyers, lenders and buyers will read, so it should be written for them. A sweep that ends with “we did not find anything” and nothing else leaves everyone guessing.

What a good report contains

• The property and date. Address, date of the sweep, who did the work.
• The area searched. Often a simple sketch or a description of the yard, basement access and any other areas covered.
• The methods. Which equipment was used, for example metal detection and ground penetrating radar. See Ground Penetrating Radar vs. Metal Detector for Oil Tanks.
• The findings. Whether a tank was found, a signal that needs identifying, or no sign of a tank.
• Locations. Where any finding is, relative to the house or a fixed point.
• Photos. Of the findings and the marks on the ground, where useful.
• Limits. Which areas could not be searched and why: a deck, a driveway, brush, a shed, interference from metal or utilities.
• Recommendations. For example, an exploratory dig over an unclear signal, or no further action needed.

What a reader should be able to tell

Someone who was not there should be able to see what was checked, how, what the result was and what was left unchecked. That last part is the hardest to find and the most useful.

Be wary of

• A report that claims certainty about everything.
• A report that does not say what was not searched.
• A one line result with no detail.
• A report that does not name the company or the date.

Reports from tank sweeps commonly note that no sweep can guarantee detection of every target. A report that says so is being honest, not hedging.

Who uses the report

Your attorney, the buyer’s or seller’s attorney, the lender if they ask, and you. Keep a copy with your closing documents. If you sell later, it helps. See Selling a Home With an Oil Tank in NJ.

Ask before you book

Ask the company to show a sample report. See How to Choose an Oil Tank Sweep Company in NJ.

Oil Tank Scan NJ provides a written report with every sweep. Call 732-673-1584.