By Project Genie Editorial Team ·
September 11, 2026
The single biggest reason a bid comes in wrong — too high, too low, or revised after the plumber actually shows up — isn't dishonesty. It's that the plumber didn't have enough to go on. A vague job post ("kitchen sink is leaking, need a plumber") forces every pro who bids on it to guess, and guesses turn into surprises once someone's actually standing in your kitchen. Here's exactly what to include so the bids you get back reflect the job you actually have.
Quick answer: Take one wide photo that shows the area around the problem, plus one close-up of the actual issue. Add rough measurements if relevant (you don't need to be precise). Mention when it started, what you've already tried, and anything that affects access — a crawl space, a shared wall, whether the water needs to stay on for the rest of the house. That's usually enough for a plumber to bid your specific job instead of a generic one.
Why This Actually Changes Your Bids
Every plumber bidding on your job is pricing based on what they can see and what you tell them — nothing else. Two identical leaks can get wildly different bids if one posting says "pipe under sink is leaking" and the other includes a photo showing corrosion, the pipe material, and how much room there is to work in. The second poster gets a bid based on the real job. The first gets a guess, and guesses tend to be conservative — padded to cover whatever might be wrong once the pro actually opens the cabinet. For the fuller picture on why bids vary even on jobs that sound identical, see our guide to why contractor quotes vary.
What to Photograph
One wide shot for context — the whole area around the problem, not just the problem itself. This tells the plumber what they're working around: cabinet space, nearby fixtures, how tight the area is.
One close-up of the actual issue — the leak, the corrosion, the specific pipe or fitting. This is what most people remember to send; the wide shot is the one that usually gets skipped.
Separate photos for separate problems — if you're dealing with more than one issue (a slow drain upstairs and a leak under the kitchen sink), don't combine them into one confusing set. Label which photo goes with which problem when you post.
You don't need professional photos. A phone camera in decent light is plenty — what matters is that the shot actually shows the thing you're describing, not a blurry attempt from an awkward angle.
What Measurements Help (Rough Is Fine)
You don't need exact numbers, but a rough sense of scale helps a lot more than none at all. If a pipe section needs replacing, roughly how long is the run? If it's a water heater, roughly how old is it and what size (a 40-gallon tank job is a different quote than an 80-gallon one)? If it's a fixture, do you already know the brand or is it whatever came with the house? None of this needs to be exact — "about 3 feet" or "I think it's a 50-gallon, it's the same one that was here when we moved in 8 years ago" is genuinely useful detail, not a requirement to go measure everything precisely first.
What to Mention Besides the Visual
When it started — a leak that just started today reads very differently than one that's been slowly getting worse for weeks.
What you've already tried — if you've already tightened a fitting, snaked a drain, or shut off a valve, say so. It tells the plumber what's already been ruled out.
Access constraints — a crawl space, a finished basement ceiling that would need to be cut into, a shared wall with a neighbor, or whether the water has to stay on for the rest of the house while the work happens.
Timeline — is this urgent, or can it wait a few days for the right pro? Genuinely urgent situations (active flooding, no water to the house) are a different category — see our burst pipe emergency guide if that's what you're dealing with right now.
A Quick Example
Compare these two postings for the same actual problem:
Vague: "Sink in bathroom is leaking, need someone to fix it."
Specific: "Bathroom sink drain is leaking under the cabinet — started about a week ago, gets worse when the sink is used a lot. Photo shows water staining on the cabinet floor and the P-trap connection where it looks like the leak is coming from. Cabinet is a tight fit, maybe 18 inches deep. Not urgent, but would like it fixed this week."
The second one gives a plumber almost everything they need to bid the actual job — what's wrong, how long it's been going on, roughly how much room they'll have to work in, and how soon you need it done. The first one gives them nothing to work with except a guess.
Get Bids Based on Your Actual Job
The point of all this isn't busywork — it's that a well-described job gets you bids that actually mean something, instead of numbers that change once a pro sees the real situation. Post your plumbing job through Project Genie with photos and details included, and licensed plumbers bid on the job you actually have, not a guess at it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need two photos, or is one enough?
One photo is better than none, but a wide shot plus a close-up covers what a single photo usually misses — either the problem itself or the space around it. Both together give a much clearer picture.
What if I don't know what's actually causing the problem?
That's fine — you're not expected to diagnose it yourself. Describe the symptoms (where the water is coming from, when it happens, any sounds or smells) and let the photos do the rest. A plumber's job is figuring out the cause.
Does more detail mean a higher bid?
Usually the opposite. Vague postings tend to get padded bids because the pro is pricing in uncertainty. Specific postings usually get more accurate — often lower — bids because there's less unknown to price around.
What if my problem doesn't fit neatly into these categories?
Include whatever you can from this list and skip what doesn't apply. Even partial detail — one decent photo and a rough timeline — is a meaningful improvement over a one-line description.
When a Video Says More Than a Photo
Photos cover most plumbing problems well, but a few situations are genuinely easier to show than to describe in a single still image. If the problem is intermittent — a drip that only shows up under certain conditions, a toilet that runs randomly instead of constantly, a gurgle that comes and goes — a short video captures the actual behavior in a way one photo can't. The same goes for anything involving flow or pressure: weak pressure at one fixture, water backing up somewhere it shouldn't, or a drain that empties slower than it should. A 15–30 second clip showing the fixture in use tells a plumber more than a paragraph trying to describe "kind of slow, but not completely blocked."
Sound is the other case a photo simply can't capture. A banging or knocking noise in the pipes (often water hammer), a running sound behind a wall, or a hum coming from a water heater are all real diagnostic clues — recording a few seconds of audio alongside the video, even if the picture itself isn't remarkable, gives a plumber something concrete to react to instead of a secondhand description of a sound.
Video isn't a requirement for most jobs — the wide-shot-plus-close-up approach covers the majority of postings just fine. It's worth reaching for specifically when the problem is something that happens rather than something that simply looks a certain way.
If you are sending more than one video, the same rule from the photo section applies — label each one by which problem it shows rather than sending several unlabeled clips and letting the plumber guess which is which.
A Better Post Gets a Better Bid
The plumbers bidding on your job can only price what you show and tell them. A wide shot, a close-up, rough measurements, and a few sentences of context are usually all it takes to get a bid that actually reflects your job. Post your plumbing job free and let licensed plumbers bid on the real thing. Curious what happens after you post? See how the whole process works.
For the fuller hiring picture beyond just cost, see how to hire a contractor without the spam.