Contractor visit checklist

28 questions, in the order they are useful. Print it and have it in your hand. The reaction to being asked these is itself information.

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Before they arrive

• Photograph every wet spot and crack, with a ruler in frame and the date.
• Note the weather in the 48 hours before each appearance of water.
• Find out where every downspout ends, and whether the grade falls away from the wall.
• Book at least three visits. Ask each whether they are independently owned or part of a franchise or dealer network — two brands can be the same company.

Diagnosis — ask before they see your walls

• What is the USDA drainage class of the soil here? (If they do not know what that is, you now know something useful about the diagnosis you are about to receive.)
• Is water entering above the slab, at the wall-floor joint, or up through the floor? How did you determine that?
• How do you rule out condensation before recommending drainage?
• Is any part of what you are seeing structural rather than water?
• What would you tell me to do if you did not sell anything?

The proposal

• Is this priced per linear foot? What is the rate, and how many feet?
• What exactly is excluded — slab patching, dust containment, restoration, landscaping?
• Which pump, by manufacturer and model, and can I see its performance curve?
• What flow does that pump deliver at the total dynamic head in my house?
• Is a backup pump included? Battery or water-powered? Where does the battery live?
• Where does the discharge terminate, in feet from the wall, and what pipe?
• How is the discharge protected from freezing?
• Do you pull a permit? Is any of this inspected by the city?

Warranty — where the real differences hide

• Is the warranty on the system, the workmanship, or a promise of a dry basement?
• Does it cover water entering anywhere, or only through the section you worked on?
• Is it transferable to a buyer, and is there a transfer fee?
• Is it backed by the manufacturer, an insurer, or only by your company?
• How long has this company traded under this name? (A lifetime warranty from a four-year-old entity is a marketing phrase.)
• What voids it? Ask them to point at the clause.

Pressure tactics — note whether these happen

• A price that is only valid today, or a discount for signing on the visit.
• A financing application produced before a written scope.
• Refusal to leave a written proposal behind.
• Discouraging you from getting other quotes, or from an independent engineer.
• A structural claim with no measurements to support it.

What to do with three quotes that disagree

They usually will, because each firm sells a different family of products. The way out is not to average them. It is to get an independent structural engineer — one who does not sell repairs — to write a scope, at $400–$1,150, and then ask all three to bid that scope. It converts three sales pitches into three comparable prices, which is the only situation in which comparing them means anything.

More on getting a second opinion without paying twice

Page data updated 2026-08-12