Make More Money in Plumbing With This One Service

One of the great things about the trades is your ability as an operation to be malleable.

Add new technology, buy a state-of-the-art truck, find different ways to add value to your customer’s lifestyle… And do it all while creating new avenues for revenue.

Sometimes it’s as simple as putting a focus on something you already do, like this one pivot we’ve made in HVAC when slow season hits.

A few years ago, we were like many plumbing companies—handling sewer repairs the old-fashioned way: digging.

Sure, it worked, but it came with a lot of pain points—torn-up yards, long lead times, high callbacks, and honestly, it wasn’t as profitable as it looked on paper.

We needed a better way, and we found it.

Enter pipelining—a simple but game-changing addition to our services.

The Plumbing Pipeline Solution

With pipelining, we found a way to flip the script.

Instead of digging up pipes, we can reline them from the inside—no trench, no mess, just results. Here’s why it’s a win for everyone:

• Happier Customers: No torn-up yards or surprise landscaping bills.
• Higher Profits: The margins on pipelining are far better than excavation.
• Fewer Callbacks: It’s reliable, efficient, and just works.

We started small, investing $60,000 in a patch setup. It wasn’t cheap, but here’s the thing: our first job was $16,000. That’s nearly a third of the equipment cost covered with one project.

By the end of month one, the machine had already started paying for itself. How did we do it? It was all about starting small and scaling.

Instead of diving in with a $250,000 setup, we tested the waters with a patch kit. Half the equipment we bought can still be used if we decide to upgrade.

You don’t always need to get into something all the way.

But more than that, we made sure we had the right people. Pipelining isn’t something you can hand off to just anyone.

We found experts who’d done this before, then we hit the ground running. Once again, it’s almost like recruiting the right and best people matters a lot.

But equipment and installers mean nothing if you aren’t educating customers on why that service is a big deal.

We started by sending out emails explaining the why and how—but also the benefits of pipelining over typical digging.

Leads came rolling in.

Why Pipelining Works

Pipelining solves two major problems at once: customer satisfaction and profitability.

We can now offer two options: traditional excavation or pipelining.

Most customers pick pipelining because it saves their landscaping, and even when pipelining is priced higher, they’re still thrilled with the value.

Here’s an example:

• Excavation Job: $6,000 + $5,000 in landscaping repairs.
• Pipelining Job: $10,000 flat.

The customer spends the same (or less) and walks away happier.

For us, the profit margin is higher, and the job is completed faster. Win-win.

But what comes next? If you know me, then you know the answer is all about scaling.

We’ve gone from always being booked out 4–6 weeks for excavation to offering next-day pipelining services.

This shift is massive. Instead of turning customers away or losing them to competitors, we’re filling our schedule and increasing revenue.

Our goal? To make pipelining a core part of our business, just like HVAC tune-ups or drain cleanings. Average service ticket always benefits from pushing core services.

And I want our core to be full of pipes.

We’re already seeing how this will add significant revenue and reduce the headaches that come with traditional excavation.

If you’re in the trades, think about what inefficiencies are holding you back.

For us, it was excavation. Pipelining didn’t just solve a problem—it created new opportunities.

And that’s what running a business is all about. All it took was a little bit of digging.

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