The camera found it. Now price both fixes.
Roots at 38 feet, a belly in old clay pipe, and a homeowner who wants to know if a spot repair will do. Redline turns your findings and camera stills into the spot repair and the full replacement side by side, with what's not included written down.
From the inspection to a quote they can compare
Inspect and grab stills
Run the camera, then screenshot the roots, the offset, the belly. Redline keeps photos, not video, so the stills are what goes on the job.
Send findings and footage
"62 ft clay to the main, roots and a belly at 38 ft." Add the method you'd use for each option and anything that's on the homeowner.
Two or three fixes, side by side
Spot repair, full replacement, or the repipe in PEX next to copper. Each option carries its own lines and total.
Write the exclusions as lines
Lawn and driveway restoration by others, drywall patching by others, "price assumes no rock". A $0 line is a line nobody can say they missed.
Deposit and follow-up
Add a deposit percentage, save it to their file and email the numbers from your Gmail. Big plumbing quotes get shopped, so the pipeline counts the days.
A sewer line, two ways
Two drafts for Erik Lindqvist:
Option 1: excavate and repair at 38 ft, 6 ft of 4 in PVC with couplings, root cut, camera re-inspection, permit. $3,850.
Option 2: replace 62 ft with 4 in PVC, open trench, two-way cleanout at the house, camera re-inspection, permit. $11,200.
Lawn and landscape restoration by others is a $0 line on both. Deposit?
Both drafts now carry a 25% deposit. Approve them and they save to his file.
Quotes are drafts you check. Example prices only.
What goes on the big three plumbing quotes
| Quote | Lines that belong on it |
|---|---|
| Sewer line | Footage and pipe size, method (dig, trench), cleanout, camera re-inspection, permit, restoration by others |
| Repipe | Fixtures or drops by count, PEX or copper option, main shutoff, wall and ceiling access holes, patching by others, permit |
| Water heater | Unit by size and fuel, expansion tank, venting, pan or straps where code needs them, haul-away, permit |
Examples only. Code items depend on your town.
The repipe and the sewer line get shopped
A dead water heater usually gets replaced by whoever is standing in the basement. A repipe or a sewer replacement is different: the number is big, the homeowner calls two other plumbers, and the cheapest bid often leaves out the cleanout, the permit or the hole patching. A quote that lists those as lines, with photos of the problem, explains the difference better than you can on the phone.
Then it's follow-up. Ask "which sewer and repipe quotes are still out?" and Redline lists them with their totals. It drafts the check-in from your own Gmail when you say so.
Straight answers on plumbing quotes
Redline does
- Quote repair and replacement options side by side
- Read the camera stills and photos you send
- Put exclusions on the quote as $0 lines
- Remember your prices for common work
- Add a deposit percentage
Redline doesn't
- Store sewer camera video (photos only)
- Keep a flat-rate price book
- Offer customer financing
- Let the homeowner accept the quote online
- Pull permits or book inspections
Questions contractors ask
Can I quote a water heater on the spot?
Yes. Send a photo of the data plate and say what you'd put in. Redline drafts the options with the code items you name, and remembers your prices for next time.
How do I price a repipe by fixture?
Give Redline your rate per fixture or per drop once ("PEX repipe is $650 a fixture") and the count. It lays out the lines and you add access and patching as you see fit.
Can I attach the camera video?
No, Redline keeps photos, not video. Take stills of the roots, the belly and the break. They're what the homeowner needs to see anyway. Attach them to the job and they stay with it.
More for plumbers
Quote the next sewer line from the driveway.
Quotes are free on every plan. Solo adds deposits and invoices, with a 7-day trial on the web.
Keep reading
- Plumbing softwareFit emergencies into a full day, quote water heaters on the spot and get paid before you leave.
- Plumbing dispatch softwareBurst pipe at 10am? Reshuffle the day and send a truck in one message.
- Plumbing invoicing softwareTenant opens the door, landlord pays: unit, tenant and work order on every invoice.
- Quotes and estimatesItemized quotes by chat or from a photo, with a deposit. Options and tax in the composer.