(888) 515-3188

Home › What Drives the Quote

What Drives the Quote

No prices here, ever. What a sump pump quote turns on instead, so it reads as a set of choices.

The gist

What moves a sump pump quote is which of the five parts has failed, whether the discharge line has to be altered, whether the pit needs clearing, and whether a backup is being added at the same time. Access to the pit decides the labor on all of it.

Pit and Pump is a referral service, not a contractor. We connect homeowners with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands, and a discharge connection is usually a permitted alteration — ask to see the permit. We carry out no work, we sell no equipment, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.

No prices, and the reason

We are a referral service. We do not do the work, we do not set the prices, and a national average for a job whose cost depends on a hole in your particular basement would be a made-up number with a dollar sign in front of it.

What is worth knowing is which parts of the job are variable, because that is what makes two honest quotes differ.

The things that move it

  1. Is the pit already there. Replacing a pump in an existing pit and cutting a new pit into a concrete floor are different jobs by an order of magnitude.
  2. Where the discharge goes, and whether it is moving. Relocating a discharge line is usually a permitted alteration and it is the item most likely to be underestimated.
  3. Whether a backup is included, and which kind — see the backup options.
  4. Whether the circuit exists. A dedicated outlet where there is none is electrical work, not plumbing.
  5. Access. A finished basement is a different proposition from an unfinished one.

Two questions worth asking every time

What did you find on the check valve? If a cycling complaint is being answered with a new pump, that answer should exist.

Does the discharge comply with the local rule, and does moving it need a permit? Anyone who does this work regularly in your area will know immediately. Anyone who does not, will not.

Where to go next

Done the bucket test?If the pump ran and cleared the pit, you may not need us at all. If it did not, or if you want the discharge looked at, we will route you to somebody who covers your area — the ZIP code is all we need to find them. Free to you. The line is not restricted to sump work; any plumbing job can go through it.

Call (888) 515-3188
Call (888) 515-3188