ACE DuraFlo Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
ACE DuraFlo is a home services franchise that restores pipes in place using its patented ePIPE epoxy lining process instead of full repiping. Franchisees run local operations, managing pipe-restoration jobs and accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ACE DuraFlo franchise requires a total initial investment of $147K – $415K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2022 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $147K – $415K
- 57th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 42nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 11
- 20th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $147K – $415K including a $35K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
- DATANo Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- ACE DuraFlo Systems, LLC
- Parent company
- None
- Ultimate parent
- Controlled by same persons as Pipe Restoration Technologies, LLC
- Predecessor
- Pipe Restoration Technologies, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Operating Member (Chief Executive Officer), Chief Technology Officer and Managing Member
- Larry Gillanders
- CEO experience
- 25 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Nevada
- HQ
- 3122 West Alpine Street, Santa Ana, California 92704
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.8M
- vs $1.3M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Larry Gillanders
- Headquarters
- California
- Founded
- 1999
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 10% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown9 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $20K | $20K | |
| Real Property / Lease (office space)not refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Fixtures and Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | — | $10K | |
| Equipment (mini E / residential commercial)not refundable | — | — | |
| Plumbing Supplies and Epoxynot refundable | $115 | $4K | |
| Vehiclenot refundable | — | — | |
| Signagenot refundable | $500 | $2K | |
| Training Expenses (travel and living)not refundable | — | — | |
| Additional Funds (miscellaneous opening costs)not refundable | — | — | |
| Total initial investment | $22K | $38K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $147K – $415K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $150K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Renewal fee | $1K |
| Total fee load | 9.5% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
ACE DuraFlo did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one ACE DuraFlo unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
20%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.5% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance average).
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
System contracting at -52.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
Only 7% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How ACE DuraFlo Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 11
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 10.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 91%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 7.1%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -52.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -52.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 9.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 9.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
ACE DuraFlo presents HIGH RISK due to a contracting franchise system (−9.1% YoY), complete absence of financial performance data, unprotected territories, and a cost structure misaligned with a declining 11-unit network.
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 states: "No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item."
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORSystem declining 9.1% YoY (11 units total) suggests weak franchise model viability
- 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed (Item 19) prevents ROI assessment and indicates potential franchisor transparency issues
- 03MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization between franchisees
- 04MINORHigh franchise fee ($34.9K) relative to small system size and declining unit count signals potential revenue dependency on recruitment
- 05MED8%/6% tiered royalties on undisclosed revenue base makes profitability modeling impossible for prospects
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Based on population, increments of 250,000 up to one million |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Orange County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Nevada |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 states: "No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item."
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 20 hrs
- Training location
- Santa Ana, California
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 20 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
ACE DuraFlo · FDD (2022) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a ACE DuraFlo franchise?
The total investment to open a ACE DuraFlo franchise ranges from $147K – $415K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do ACE DuraFlo franchise owners earn?
ACE DuraFlo does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the ACE DuraFlo FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the ACE DuraFlo FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is ACE DuraFlo's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for ACE DuraFlo (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many ACE DuraFlo franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ACE DuraFlo has 11 total units in the United States, including 10 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is ACE DuraFlo a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ACE DuraFlo as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.