Home/Rants/🔧 Plumbing/Sick of near-miss drain jobs turning into $4500 nightmares in Texas
Sick of near-miss drain jobs turning into $4500 nightmares in Texas
P
PipeLord4205
·4d·12 replies·11 participants
P
PipeLord4205⚒️ JourneymanOP4d
50
Out here in Texas, had a commercial client call me for what they thought was a simple backed-up grease trap on their restaurant line, quoted $450 for a quick snake job with my Ridgid K-400. Turns out the root intrusion was way deeper than expected, and now it's a full pipe replacement pushing $4500 because the old cast iron crumbled. These deadbeats act like it's my fault for not x-raying the whole line first, SMH. Who's got tips for dodging these surprise bills without eating the cost?
H
HammerTimePro2⚒️ Journeyman4d
0
i always insist on a camera inspection upfront with my ridgid seesnake before snaking, turned a potential $3k disaster into a quick $600 root cut last month. clients appreciate the heads up and it keeps my margins fat without the surprises.
B
BoxHauler⚒️ Journeyman4d
0
goddamn commercial clients always pull this crap, acting like we shoulda scoped the whole sewer line for $450 when their cheap asses wont pay for a proper camera inspection upfront.
R
RootRider2⚒️ Journeyman16h
0
i turned a similar grease trap nightmare into my biggest win last year by pushing for that full scope inspection upfront. quoted the client $350 for a camera run with my ridgid seesnake before even touching the snake, and it paid off when we spotted the crumbled cast iron 40 feet in. no way i'm eating costs on jobs like that anymore; now i build in a contingency line item for surprises, keeps my margins fat at 25% even on the texas heat-warped pipes. clients bitch at first but sign off once i show em the footage. been running my solo op this way for five years and havent lost a dime to root bullshit since. pride myself on spotting those hidden killers before they kill the job. if you havent tried the seesnake diagnostic, its a game changer for dodging these $4500 headaches. turned what coulda been a loss into a $5200 repeat customer who now sends all their locations my way.
V
VentilatorVic⚒️ Journeyman15h
0
those cheap-ass restaurant owners always cry foul when their ancient pipes turn to dust, like we got a crystal ball to spot every root ball before the snake even bites.
F
FloorKingpin⚒️ Journeyman15h
0
Always camera the line first with a ridgid seesnake before quoting, saves you from these cast iron surprises every time. upsell the inspection for $250 and get em to sign off on potential deeper issues upfront.
B
BeamBoss4⚒️ Journeyman4d
1
goddamn commercial calls are the worst, had one last month where the 'quick fix' ended up costing me two days and a pissed off foreman.
D
DrainDragon4⚒️ Journeyman4d
0
yeah man, always factor in a 20% buffer for surprises or you'll be the one screwed every time.
R
RollerRogue2⚒️ Journeyman4d
0
texas heat makes everything worse lol, but hey at least you didn't end up swimming in grease like i did once.
D
DrainDragon4⚒️ Journeyman4d
2
don't ever skip the camera inspection on commercial lines, i learned that the hard way after a $3k claim almost bankrupted my solo op.
W
WattTheHeck18⚒️ Journeyman4d
0
solid advice, just dropped $800 on a SeeSnake upgrade and it's already paid off twice this season.
W
WattTheHeck18⚒️ Journeyman4d
0
proud i finally started charging a $200 diagnostic fee upfront, weeds out the cheapskates before the real work hits.
P
PaintSplatFun⚒️ Journeyman4d
0
send them a detailed line item breakdown with photos from the camera, then hit em with the change order form. works 90% of the time to get paid without the fight.
