How we price repairs: written price on site, before any work starts

You get a price before we touch anything

Our rule is simple: no work happens until you have a written price in hand and you have said yes. After the diagnostic, your technician writes up exactly what needs to happen, what parts are involved, and what it will cost, total, before starting any repair.

How the number is built

• Diagnostic fee: $89 daytime or $149 after-hours, waived if you approve the repair same visit.
• Labor: $189 per hour, one-hour minimum, at standard rates.
• Emergency or after-hours labor: 1.5x the standard rate.
• Parts: listed by item on your written quote, not bundled into a mystery total.

Your technician adds these up and gives you one clear number for the job. If the scope changes once work has started, for example if something else is found once a wall or fixture is opened up, we stop and get your approval on the new price before continuing. You will never see extra charges appear on the final invoice that you did not agree to first.

Why we do not quote firm prices over the phone

Two houses with the same symptom can have very different fixes: different pipe materials, different access, or a second issue hiding behind the first. A phone estimate would either be too vague to be useful or wrong often enough to feel dishonest. The trip and diagnostic fee exists so the number you get on-site is one we can actually stand behind in writing.

Comparing quotes fairly

If you are getting more than one quote, ask each company for the same three things we give you: the diagnostic fee, the hourly labor rate, and an itemized parts list. A number with no breakdown behind it is hard to compare honestly, whether it comes from a national call-center dispatcher or a local shop.

What happens if you say no

If you decide not to move forward with the repair after seeing the price, you only pay the trip and diagnostic fee for that visit. There is no pressure and no follow-up sales calls. Your written quote is good for a reasonable window if you want time to think it over or compare it to another quote, and you can call us back to proceed whenever you are ready.

Need a hand? Harborline dispatch is 24/7 at (310) 555-0148.