In almost every city a fee is exacted for opening a street, tapping a water main and connecting to the street sewer, consequently, these items of expense must be taken into account when making up an estimate. The cost of a tap is the same in all cases where a simple tap of the regulation size is used; but when there is a deviation from the standard a higher price is charged, and therein is where the danger lies of making a mistake. For instance, if the fee for a 5/8-inch tap be five dollars, and a multiple connection, requiring six taps, is called for in the specifications, the total cost for taps would be five multiplied by six = thirty dollars; and the estimator who would figure on a basis of the standard price would lose twenty-five dollars, plus the profit, on that one item. Likewise, the cost would be greater than the regulation price if the street main had to be broken to insert a specified fitting. In such case the estimator should get from the water company an estimate for this part of the work.

The cost of connecting to the sewer is generally the same, regardless of the size of pipe or the quantity of sewage it will convey, so there is little danger of going astray in the cost price of this item. The cost of a permit for opening the street, on the other hand, is generally based on the size of the opening, and is intended to defray the expense of putting the pavement in order after the trench is refilled. On streets which are not paved or macadamized the cost for a permit is nominal, while on paved streets they run quite high. It is of importance in such cases to keep the size of the opening as small as possible, without restricting it to such an extent as to interfere with the economical working of the men; and both water and house sewer should be run in the same trench to save not only the cost of two opening permits but, likewise, the extra cost of digging. It should be remembered by the estimator that the deeper the sewer the wider will have to be the trench, consequently the more costly the paving permit. The estimator, of course, will determine the depth of the main sewer in the street, as without this knowledge he cannot intelligently estimate the cost of excavating.

The location of branch Y's, the depth of sewers in the streets, character of soil in any locality, or any other information relating to the sewers can be had upon application to the city engineer in small cities, or to the Department of Sewers in large cities.