i have water comming up through my basement drain. It is city sewer....

Im wondeirng what i can expect to pay rotor rooter or the like to come
out and unclog it. I know i know.......you have to know what is wrong
before they can give you a price but by that time its too late.

Im just looking for a ball park cost so i can know what to expect to
shell out.

any ideas????

"scale" wrote in message
oups.com...
i have water comming up through my basement drain. It is city sewer....

Im wondeirng what i can expect to pay rotor rooter or the like to come
out and unclog it. I know i know.......you have to know what is wrong
before they can give you a price but by that time its too late.

Im just looking for a ball park cost so i can know what to expect to
shell out.

any ideas????


You can call them and ask them yourself. It is a legitimate question to ask
a plumber or any other tradesperson how much they charge. If they can't
give you an exact price they may be able to give you a ball park figure.

"scale" wrote in message
oups.com...
i have water comming up through my basement drain. It is city sewer....

Im wondeirng what i can expect to pay rotor rooter or the like to come
out and unclog it. I know i know.......you have to know what is wrong
before they can give you a price but by that time its too late.

Im just looking for a ball park cost so i can know what to expect to
shell out.

any ideas????


I would call the city first. If the blockage is in the city main they will
clear it for free. At least they do most places. Actually I would open the
2 nearest manhole covers and look but you may not want to do that.

Rotor-Rooter the brand name works on a flat fee basis here. Other rooter
services may or may not.


Colbyt

scale wrote:
i have water comming up through my basement drain. It is city sewer....

Im wondeirng what i can expect to pay rotor rooter or the like to come
out and unclog it. I know i know.......you have to know what is wrong
before they can give you a price but by that time its too late.

Im just looking for a ball park cost so i can know what to expect to
shell out.


I believe I paid $85 for "Clean Drains" to come about a year ago. It's
really worth it, too. It only takes about 10 minutes and there's no
mess or aggravation.

But I discovered a pitfall. I was having trouble with a septic run in
one bathroom. The drain cleaner (Roto Rooter at that time) came and
used the 3" auger which restored the run. At least for about a week and
then I repeated the whole sequence. In the end, I discovered the real
problem was that the "Orangeburg" pipe had collapsed and the drain guy
was just cutting a run through the dirt! PVC is far superior to Orangeburg.

RR charges about 200$. More on weekends. They also try to sell you a
warranty. Try a local plumber though. They may be cheaper and have
better service. RR plumbers are big company employees, so their
motivation and attention to quality is unpredictable.

scale wrote:
i have water comming up through my basement drain. It is city sewer....

Im wondeirng what i can expect to pay rotor rooter or the like to come
out and unclog it. I know i know.......you have to know what is wrong
before they can give you a price but by that time its too late.

Im just looking for a ball park cost so i can know what to expect to
shell out.

any ideas????


A few years ago, a company I worked for had a drain pipe leak and called
Roto Rooter. After taking all day to find the clog and clear it, they
charged my company around $900. My company assumed that it would be a
simple 1-2 hour job and did not get a quote ahead of time since RR is
well known.

On 14 May 2006 06:31:58 -0700, "scale" wrote:

i have water comming up through my basement drain. It is city sewer....

Im wondeirng what i can expect to pay rotor rooter or the like to come
out and unclog it. I know i know.......you have to know what is wrong
before they can give you a price but by that time its too late.

Im just looking for a ball park cost so i can know what to expect to
shell out.

any ideas????

Small town USA has rates that start at around $75 to $100. That
includes a maximum of 30 minutes from arrival.

Those ads in the paper of $25 service calls usually result in a bill
of $325 for the same work.

Some advice you didn't ask for:
1) If you own a home, you really should own a decent plumber's
snake. Often you can clear an obstruction yourself. Even
if you can't, you can generally determine the approximate
location of the clog.
2) Always phone the city first if there is any chance that the clog
is their responsibility. Using your snake may give you a hint
about the location.
3) Ask around. Almost every neighborhood has at least one person
who has a long list of reasonably priced handmen. The gentleman
that some of us hire for sewer issues charges about 1/2 what
Roto-rooter charges. He's got good equipment, including sewer
cameras. He's also honest - he questions folks over the phone
and advises them to call the city first whenever that seems prudent.
4) Use the phone to get several quotes. Be certain that you understand
what you will receive for a fixed price quote over the phone. For
example, Roto-rooter may charge $x.xx for a basic call, but then
an hourly rate of $y.yy gets tacked on if the service call on-site exceeds
45 minutes. If it is less than 45 minutes, you still pay the flat rate.
5) For all home repairs that you don't feel interested in doing yourself,
have your resources lined up before the emergency occurs.

Good luck,
Gideon

RR came out and pulled out tree roots blocking from my main outside
access to the street. Damn trees in the front yard. Ill be putting
rootx down the main to keep the roots from comming back.

Charged me like $229 for the entire job. I didnt have them snake the
floor drain from the basement under the floor to the main 4 inch
although the recommended it. That woudl have cost me an addtional $140.
That run looks to be only about 5 feet!!

Sick on the charges ...thats for damn sure. Even the rootx they wanted
75 bucks for a 4lb tub. I got it online for like $50.

On 27 May 2006 10:05:54 -0700, "scale" wrote:

RR came out and pulled out tree roots blocking from my main outside
access to the street. Damn trees in the front yard. Ill be putting
rootx down the main to keep the roots from comming back.

Charged me like $229 for the entire job. I didnt have them snake the
floor drain from the basement under the floor to the main 4 inch
although the recommended it. That woudl have cost me an addtional $140.
That run looks to be only about 5 feet!!

Sick on the charges ...thats for damn sure. Even the rootx they wanted
75 bucks for a 4lb tub. I got it online for like $50.


My city does this at no charge. You might want to call City Hall to
see if they do as well.

I bought Root Kill or a brand name similar at HD and used it twice a
year instead of calling a plumber twice a year. If memory serves
about $5.00 and jug lasted more than a year. Copper something was on
the label.

On 27 May 2006 10:05:54 -0700, "scale" wrote:

RR came out and pulled out tree roots blocking from my main outside
access to the street. Damn trees in the front yard. Ill be putting
rootx down the main to keep the roots from comming back.

Charged me like $229 for the entire job. I didnt have them snake the
floor drain from the basement under the floor to the main 4 inch
although the recommended it. That woudl have cost me an addtional $140.
That run looks to be only about 5 feet!!

Sick on the charges ...thats for damn sure. Even the rootx they wanted
75 bucks for a 4lb tub. I got it online for like $50.