Why there is no price list here
What affects the price of waterproofing
Two houses on the same street can get very different bids for what sounds like the same job. These are the reasons, so you can read a proposal with them in mind.
For any job
How much of the house
Drains, liners and coatings are sold by length or area. One wall is a different job from the full perimeter.
Access
A walk-out basement with a wide door is easy. A crawl space with a small hatch and little headroom means everything goes in and out by hand, slowly.
What is in the way
Finished walls, built-in storage, a furnace, a deck over the wet wall, mature planting. Each has to be moved, protected or rebuilt.
Where the water can go
A short run to a good outlet is cheap. A long buried pipe, or a connection that needs approval, is not.
Permits and other trades
A dedicated electrical circuit for a pump, a plumbing permit for a drain line, or an engineer's letter each add to the total.
By type of house
Basements
- interior or exterior: digging outside costs more per foot than cutting the slab inside
- depth of the footing, which sets how much soil comes out
- block or poured walls, which changes how leaks are sealed
- whether the floor has to be finished ready for new flooring
Crawl spaces
- square footage and the number of piers to wrap
- how much old insulation and debris has to be removed
- liner thickness and whether the walls are insulated
- whether drainage and a pump are needed before the liner
Extras that are easy to miss
A battery backup for the pump, a high-water alarm, a dehumidifier and its drain, cleanouts on the pipe, and putting the garden back. Ask whether each is in the figure you were given or listed separately.
Ongoing costs matter too. A dehumidifier uses electricity all year and a backup battery has to be replaced from time to time.
Comparing two bids fairly
- Are they for the same walls, the same length and the same outlet?
- Does each name the materials, or only say "drain system" or "liner"?
- Which one includes the permit, the electrician and the reinstatement?
- What does each warranty exclude?
A low figure that leaves out half the work is not the cheaper bid. Choosing a company covers what the contract should say.
The only real number is a written one
A company has to see the house to price it. Call to speak with one about a visit.
Get a waterproofing company on the phone
For homeowners with water coming into a basement or crawl space, or a yard that drains toward the house.
Call (503) 555-0120Calls can be recorded. Read how the referral is paid for and what happens to your details.