How pricing works
The honest answer to how much is that it depends. Here is on what, and when you get the number.
What decides the price
Four things move it most.
The size of the house, and any additions
How many ways in we find, and how hard they are to reach
Whether there is a cellar, a crawlspace and an attic to work in
How many visits the job needs
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
It names the inspection, the sealing, any treatment and the number of visits.
Included: inspection of the outside, cellar and attic
Included: sealing with steel mesh, metal flashing and mortar
Not included: masonry, roof and chimney repair, which a mason or a roofer quotes
What happens at the visit
We walk the house with you, show you each gap and write down what we find. The estimate comes from that walk-through.
When you get the number
In writing, before any work starts. It's a set figure for the work listed, not an hourly rate.
If the job changes
If we find something we hadn't seen, we stop, tell you and write the change down before we go on.
How and when you pay
After the work is done, by check or card, as the estimate says.
Ask for a written estimate
We walk the house, then write the number down.