Our Process
How a job runs in Cape Girardeau, step by step: free quote, written scope, written quote, sign-off - and the cheaper option named when there is one.
Sequence
Four steps, start to finish
Free quote by phone, the property line settled first, and a written quote before any work.
Tell us where the water is, and where the meter is
Curb or basement changes what the dial can tell you. At a basement meter, a turning dial with everything off means a leak indoors, while a still one says nothing about the buried stretch outside. Those two facts let us say a great deal before anyone drives over.
We settle the property line
Water in the street, at the curb or short of your lot line points to the City's side, and then the call is Alliance Water's, not ours. Hearing that from us costs you nothing.
Then we isolate and listen
Pipe in a basement or crawlspace is shut off and tested in sections, buried line is traced and listened along, and walls get the moisture meter and thermal camera. Nothing is opened to go looking.
You get the spot, and a separate repair quote
A location marked on the ground or the wall, what found it, and a written quote for the repair, which you are free to hand to any licensed plumber you prefer.
What it costs
The prices, in one place
These are estimated ranges for Cape Girardeau County; your own is quoted once we have looked.
Leak Detection - estimated $150 - $400
Priced on access, not on the clock.
Water Line Leak Detection - estimated $150 - $450
Your side of the property line only.
Basement Leak Detection - estimated $150 - $400
The source named, whichever trade it belongs to.
Wall Leak Detection - estimated $200 - $400
Readings first, the opening last.
Emergency Leak Detection - estimated $150 - $400 plus the after-hours rate
The hour changes, the method does not.
Before you pay anyone
Four checks, in order, and the first three are yours
The order matters, because the first one can end the job.
Find the meter: at the curb or in the basement
Some houses here have it in the basement, and the City's own leak policy plans for that. Where it sits decides what the dial can and cannot tell you.
Shut everything off and watch the dial
If the small leak dial creeps while nothing in the house is drawing water, something is getting past the meter. At a basement meter that points inside the house; at the curb it points anywhere between the meter and your faucets.
Walk from the street to the foundation
Soft ground, a strip of greener grass or water at the curb is worth a look before you book. Near the street it may be the City's side of the property line, and the City's repair.
Then call, with what you saw
The dial, the meter's location and where the water is. On those three we can usually tell you on the phone whether you need us, the City, or a different trade.
The City's side
Why the property line comes before the price
Cape Girardeau's own leak policy, and what it means for a homeowner.
The City of Cape Girardeau takes responsibility for every leak up to the property line, regardless of where the meter is. That is written into the City's own guidance, and it is not the rule of thumb most people carry around, which treats the meter as the boundary. Here, a leak in the ground near the street can be the City's to find and repair even when the meter sits in your basement.
So the most valuable part of a first call is often free: working out from what you describe whether the water is on the City's side. When the leak is inside the line and the meter is in the basement, the City's policy has Alliance Water move the meter to the property line at no cost, which gives the repair a shutoff. Knowing that before anybody digs keeps the cost with whoever owns the pipe.
- The property-line question asked on the first call
- City-side leaks sent to Alliance Water at no cost to you
- Basement-meter relocation explained where it applies
- Locating and repair kept as two separate quotes
Want a number on it?
Call (573) 257-2817, say what you are seeing, and leave the call with a written quote and a time for Cape Girardeau.
Talk to us
Talk to us about leak detection in Cape Girardeau
Call now
(573) 257-2817Free quote by phone, the property line settled first, and a written quote before any work.
Before you call
- Which side of the property line, settled first
- Meter location noted: at the curb or in the basement
Where we work
Every area we cover