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Six Questions, Asked on the Phone
Leak location is one of the few trades where you are buying information rather than a repair, which makes the terms of the sale worth settling in advance.
The essentials
Six questions separate a leak locating service from a call-out being sold: what methods they carry, whether they locate before excavating, what the report contains, whether they also repair, what happens if nothing is found, and what it costs.
One: what happens if the locate is wrong
The single question most worth asking, and the one most likely to be answered vaguely. If the floor or the ground is opened where you were told and the leak is not there, who pays for the second opening?
There are reasonable answers, including that you do. What is not reasonable is finding out afterwards.
Two: is the survey priced separately from the repair
Some operations locate and repair; some only locate. Both are legitimate, and they create different incentives, so it is worth knowing which you are dealing with before anybody arrives.
Ask whether the survey fee is credited against a repair if you go ahead with the same firm, and ask whether you are free to take the report elsewhere.
Three: what will you get in writing
A written locate with the method used and the meter readings on arrival and departure is worth having, and is exactly the document an adjustment claim benefits from.
“We will mark the floor” is not a report.
Four: what do you already know about the pipe
Tell them the material if you know it, and the age of the property. Plastic is harder to hear than metal and it changes which instrument is appropriate. A firm that engages with that question is thinking about your job; one that does not is quoting a call-out.
Five: have you spoken to the utility
Ask whether they want you to check with the water utility first. The good answer is yes, because a leak on the utility side is not your bill and a firm happy to survey without establishing that is not saving you money.
Six: credentials, and the permit if the ground is opened
Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands, and work that opens a slab, a footway or a highway is normally permitted. Ask to see the permit rather than assuming there is one.
We do not vouch for any individual contractor and no page on this site says we do.
Check with your water utility first.If the leak is on their side it is not your bill and not your excavation, and that call is free. If it is yours, come back and we will route you to a local contractor who can find it, chosen on the ZIP code you give. We never charge you either way. Nor must it be a leak: whatever the plumbing is doing, this number reaches somebody.
Call (888) 530-1544