It is the question people most want to ask and least want to seem rude asking. So here is the plain answer, split by the kind of work, because it genuinely differs.
On a lining job, no
Not “unlikely”. No.
If we quote you a lining job, that is the price. There is no clause waiting for us further down the pipe, and we do not come back mid job with a revised figure.
We can commit to that because by the time you see a number we already know everything that decides it. The camera has been the full length of the line, so we know the material, the condition, how much cleaning it needs, where the branch connections are and exactly how long the run is. Length is the main cost driver on a lining job, and we have measured it rather than estimated it.
If a contractor can tell you the price of a lining job over the phone, before anyone has seen inside the pipe, ask what happens if the line turns out longer than assumed. That is the gap where a quote and a final invoice separate.
On a bursting job, one thing, and you will hear about it first
Bursting is different, and being straight about why matters more than sounding confident.
A lot of the time the reason we are bursting rather than lining is that the camera could not reach the main. There is a collapse or a severe blockage partway along, and all we can get through is a cable. We know we are pulling a new line in. What we have not been able to see is the connection at the far end, where your lateral meets the city main.
If the fitting at that connection turns out to be broken, it has to be replaced, and in Duluth that falls to the homeowner.
So on a bursting quote we tell you up front: this is the one thing we cannot see, here is roughly what it costs if we find it, and here is how likely it is. It runs about two percent of jobs. You get the range before you sign, not a phone call from the trench.
What we do before quoting anything
Three things, in this order.
The camera. A full run, with you watching if you want to. It tells us material, defects, length, branch connections and how much cleaning is involved.
The city map. We request the municipal record showing where the main sits and how deep it is. Depth and location are the biggest cost drivers on a replacement, and guessing at them is how people end up with a number that moves.
The write up. What we found, what we recommend, what it costs, and anything we could not see.
If a camera image is poor, we go back out. We have had people send us footage from another inspection and ask for a price off it. When the picture is not clear enough to be sure, the right answer is to go and look properly, because a confident quote from a blurry image helps nobody.
What to ask whoever quotes you
Four questions, and they work on any contractor including us.
- Did you see the whole line, end to end?
- Did you pull the city map for depth and main location?
- What could you not see, and what would it cost if it turns out to be a problem?
- Is this a fixed price or an estimate?
A contractor working from your pipe will answer all four without hesitating. One working from a price list will get vague around the third.
Why the inspection is free
Because a quote built on a guess is worth nothing to you and causes us problems too. We would rather spend an hour looking properly than spend the job explaining why the number moved.
The camera inspection, the locate and the written report cost nothing and carry no obligation. If the answer is that your line has years left in it, that is a perfectly good outcome and you owe us nothing for finding out.