Nobody surveys a site for free. The cost is either in the equipment margin of the project you sign, or spread across the projects you did not.
What a free survey optimises for
A survey paid for by a future sale has to produce a sale. That shapes what gets measured and what gets recommended — not dishonestly, usually, but a supplier who only earns on equipment has no reason to find that your existing station is serviceable.
Ask what happens to the report if you do not proceed. The answer tells you what the survey was for.
What a paid survey changes
The report is yours
Measured data, calculations and a scope, in your hands, usable with any contractor — including one who is not us.
The recommendation can be "do less"
On two of the last six water surveys the honest answer was a repair, not a rehabilitation. That answer is only available when it does not cost the surveyor their fee.
The price that follows is real
A number built on measurements does not move at contract stage. Estimates built on a walk-round always do.
What it should cost
A survey is a small percentage of the works it defines, and it is credited against the contract if you proceed. If a supplier will not put that in writing, the survey is a sales visit.
