plumbing issue

I had a call from a client complaining about suspected animal activity in the attic and strong odors in the upstairs bedrooms and living room. She also had discovered what she thought was some feces in the insulation. Prime suspect: Raccoons!
I went and inspected the attic, found out the feces was some pieces of roofing paper and wood. Nothing looked too disrupted, insulation was mostly clean and nicely in place. Could not find any sign of raccoons, neither in the attic, nor anywhere on the roof or around the house.
Finally found a white PVC pipe that looked out of place. The strong odor came from a disconnected stack vent.
They just recently had the cedar shingles redone and somehow the workers must have dislodged the pipes. So the smell was sewer, not raccoons!
Sometimes the suspected animal activity turns out to be a plumbing issue!

I guess that is why you charge just for showing up !!

So did you charge him the plumber's rate or the ADC rate after you told the owner the animal smell was them?

the client was extremely happy that I had found the root cause of the issue, and I charged what I thought was appropriate for that and my time and effort.
Let's just say, not enough to retire, but I also did not lose money on that call!

Very common rat entry point in a lot of states
We often had to use smoke testing to locate pipes that were replaced and not capped in remodel houses inside the walls

At least the roofing company punched it back through the roof and didnt just forget about it. Saw them do that with a wood stove once...lol morons.

Great work!