Water gets in one way and a waterproofing estimate has to say exactly how you are going to stop it: the drain, the pump, the membrane, the grading, the dehumidifier. Here is how basement and crawl space pros put that on paper, a worked estimate you can copy, a calculator that runs on your own per-foot rates, and the app that writes the estimate from a walk through the basement.
Waterproofing is a diagnosis trade. Two wet basements can need completely different fixes: one is a downspout dumping against the foundation and a regrade, the other is hydrostatic pressure under the slab that needs interior drain tile, a sump, and a battery backup. An estimate that skips the diagnosis and quotes a lump sum for "waterproofing" invites the customer to compare it against a $400 crack injection and call you expensive.
The estimates that win explain the water first, then price the system in parts the customer can understand: feet of drain, one pump, square feet of membrane or liner, a dehumidifier sized to the space. Each part has a reason next to it, and the total reads as a plan instead of a number.
Ten lines, in the order the homeowner will read them.
A real-shaped job priced line by line. The rates are examples in the ranges waterproofing crews commonly quote around the country. Your labor, your materials, and your market set the real ones.
| Line item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interior perimeter drain tile: cut slab, excavate, gravel, 4-inch perforated pipe, re-pour concreteFull perimeter of an unfinished basement. | 120 ft | $65 | $7,800 |
| Sump basin with 1/3 hp primary pump, check valve, and lidSet at the low corner. | 1 | $1,250 | $1,250 |
| Battery backup pump systemPower goes out in the storm that floods the basement. | 1 | $950 | $950 |
| Discharge line to daylight, 40 ft, buriedAway from the foundation and the neighbor. | 40 ft | $12 | $480 |
| Dimpled wall membrane, sealed to the drain, 3 ft highDirects wall seepage into the drain. | 360 sq ft | $6 | $2,160 |
| Epoxy injection, two vertical cracksStructural cracks, not shrinkage. | 2 | $375 | $750 |
| Downspout extensions and regrade at the north wallThe cheap fix that stops half the water. | 1 | $450 | $450 |
| Demolition and haul-off of storage shelving and old carpetOne load. | 1 | $300 | $300 |
| Estimate total | $14,140 | ||
| Deposit at signing (30%) | $4,242 | ||
That is $14,140 with a $4,242 deposit at signing. The diagnosis paragraph sits above the lines, the warranty sits below them, and a homeowner comparing it to a $400 crack injection can see exactly why the two are not the same job.
Put in your own per-foot and per-unit rates. The access multiplier applies to the drain and exterior lines.
Example rates only. Change every number to what you charge. Put these rates in SayEstimate and the app prices the next one from a spoken walkthrough.
Everything below is included. No modules, no add-on pricing, no sales calls.
"120 feet of interior drain, sump with battery backup, 40 feet of discharge, membrane on the north wall, two cracks." The AI drafts the lines in your rates. About 60 seconds, start to send.
Three priced tiers on one estimate. The customer picks the level on their phone.
Photos of the seepage, the cove joint, and the downspout dumping at the wall, attached to the estimate with the diagnosis.
The customer opens a clean link, signs, and pays the deposit by card or bank. You are emailed the moment it happens.
Your warranty text and the covered-through date print on the invoice and the customer's page, so the promise is written down next to the payment.
One tap from estimate to invoice. Cash and check marked paid with how they paid. Card and bank settle to your own account with 0% markup.
Written by Terry "Hoss" Tenison runs an insulation business in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee (attics, crawl spaces, spray foam), and built SayEstimate because the estimating software out there was made for companies with an office staff. Crawl spaces are half of his week, so the moisture side of this page is close to home; the example rates are illustrations, and your market sets the real ones. More about Hoss →
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