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That $600 backwater valve retrofit just ate my weekend
Got called to a strip mall in Tulsa where the city was demanding backwater valves on three units. I quoted the job at $600 a unit, said two days max. First unit took me six hours because the floor slab was thicker than the prints showed and I had to rent a core drill. Second unit went smoother but the existing cast iron was so brittle it cracked on me. Third one, the inspector showed up and made me redo the slope because he said my pitch was off by a quarter inch. By Sunday night I was worn out and barely broke even. Has anyone else dealt with city inspectors changing the rules halfway through a retrofit? What did you charge to make it worth your time?
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kevin_hernandez831mo ago
That Tulsa inspector pulling the quarter inch slope thing sounds like the same move I see everywhere now. It's like every rule gets stricter after you already started the work. I noticed it at the DMV last month, they changed the document list halfway through my wait. Same with my buddy's garage build, the county added a new setback rule after he poured the foundation. Nobody ever says sorry or adjusts the price when they move the goalposts. You just eat the cost and move on. My guess is you learned the real lesson, always add 30 percent for inspector surprises.
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