See the honest number first.
Five questions, no email gate, no “sign tonight” sales hook. A useful planning range before anyone enters your home.
What's a basement like yours actually cost?
A few questions, no email required. Results show immediately as a planning range; the written quote follows the inspection and measured scope.
What kind of work are you investigating?
Real estate assessments are $250 and include a written report.
Standard owner-occupant project estimates are free. If the home is being prepared for sale, listed, under contract, or inside an inspection response window, we handle it as a paid transaction assessment. The $250 fee covers the site visit, photos, written findings, and an itemized quote you can use for disclosure or negotiation.
Read how transaction assessments workThis is a planning range, not a final quote. The written quote comes after the inspection and names the exact scope, inclusions, options, and site conditions that determine your price. If it differs from the planning range, we explain why before you decide.
Same word. Different product. That is why the prices look so different.
Real drain tile, at the bottom of the footing without undermining it.
4-inch perforated corrugated pipe in washed 3/4-inch stone, installed for continuous positive drainage. The system catches hydrostatic pressure before water can push up through your basement floor.
Typical example: $9K-$14K. Any Spin 508 backup and approved AGM battery are selected and priced separately.
Plastic channel. Sitting on top of your slab.
A baseboard-style channel glued to the inside edge of your floor at slab elevation. No trench, no excavation, no real pipe. Water has to rise to the channel's level before it gets caught. By the time their system catches the water, it has already reached your floor.
Typical franchise quote: $18K-$25K+.
Both systems route water to the sump. Only one of them catches it before it reaches your floor. That is the entire difference, and it is why our number looks lower for what is actually the more complete fix.
If you have a quote from a franchise, bring it. We will walk through what they are selling line by line at the inspection, and we will tell you honestly whether their number is fair for the product they are quoting.
See the full breakdownCommon homes, practical planning ranges.
Five common project archetypes. Use the closest example as a planning reference, then compare the included scope. Access, finishes, footing depth, discharge, and site conditions can move the written quote outside these examples.
1950s rambler, full drain tile
70 ft perimeter, unfinished basement; optional backup selected separately in this example
1990s 2-story, finished basement
120 ft perimeter, finished basement demo + restore; optional backup selected in this example
Anoka sand-plain home
Full perimeter, site-selected primary pump; optional backup selected in this example
Sump pump replacement, clean swap
Existing pit in good shape, pump dead or aging, no backup change
Surface-water fix
Regrade 2 sides + buried downspout extensions, no French drain
Most contractors hide the number until they are in your living room.
Homeowners often tell us they could not get a useful number until an in-home sales appointment. Our approach is to publish planning ranges first, then explain any change required by the site conditions in the written quote.
The calculator above gives you a useful planning range before the inspection. The written quote is based on the measured scope and actual site conditions, including buried mechanicals, soil, access, footing depth, and existing infrastructure. If you want the line-item breakdown of what drives the number, read the full 2026 cost guide.
Have a quote from another waterproofer that is outside our range? Bring it to the inspection. We will tell you honestly whether they are selling a different product (often the case) or whether their number is actually fair (sometimes the case). Apples to apples is what matters.
Ready to fix it for good?
Free project estimates for homes not in a sale phase. Written $250 assessments for homes being listed or sold. No high-pressure sales, ever.