Once the boxes are in a dumpster, nobody can check how the old sink was plumbed or where the switch for the disposal sat. A twenty-minute photo pass the week before demo is the record. It settles arguments about cracks that were already there, and it gives the remodeler something to look at when a trade asks “what was behind this?”
Modern Kitchen San Diego does not document job sites. You do this for yourself and then you share the album.
Each wall, with the devices in frame
Photograph every kitchen wall straight on, then closer on each outlet, switch, and light. Include a tape measure in a few frames so the height above the counter is visible. Get the window from inside, including the sill and the trim, because a new backsplash often collides with that trim.
Open the upper cabinets and shoot the inside back. Some have a duct, a soffit access, or a patch from an old leak. You will not remember which door it was.
Under the sink
This is the set people skip and then wish they had. Shoot the shutoff valves, the drain, the dishwasher hose, the disposal, and any filter or leak sensor. Get a wide shot and a close shot of each connection. If you see crust, a soft hose, or a stain on the cabinet floor, those frames matter more than the pretty ones.
If the cabinet floor is already swollen, say so in a note on the photo. Demo crews are not there to catalog old damage unless you ask them to look first.
The panel and the hood
Photograph the electrical panel with the directory readable. You do not need the cover off if you are not comfortable taking it off. The directory alone tells the remodeler which breakers are labeled kitchen and which labels are fiction.
If you can see the hood duct by looking up into the cabinet beside the hood, photograph that too. Many people cannot see it. Do not cut a hole to find out. Not seeing it is itself a fact: the path is unknown until someone opens the wall.
Damage you want on the record
Cracks in the backsplash, a soft spot in the floor, a stain on the ceiling below a second-story kitchen, a door that already rubs. Shoot them in daylight. A photo with a date in your camera roll is quieter than a dispute after the crew has been in the house.
Share the album before demo, not after something goes wrong. The remodeler should have it in the job file. If they will not take it, keep your copy anyway.
Then the referral
If you still need a remodeler, call (858) 400-4913 with your city and a one-line scope. We try to make an introduction. The contract, and the responsibility for the existing conditions you photographed, sit with the remodeler you hire. Check the license at cslb.ca.gov.