How to quote a plumbing job

A plumbing quote wins the job when the customer can see what you will do, what it will cost and what could change the price.

Scope: what’s in and what’s out

Describe the work fixture by fixture: what you will replace or reconnect, and where. List exclusions just as plainly, such as drywall patching, tile work or bringing old piping up to code. Note what the price assumes about access, like a main shutoff that closes, and who pulls the permit. Then say what happens if you find more once the wall is open: you stop, write up the added work and cost as a change order, and go on once the customer signs it.

How plumbing work is priced

Charge	Priced as	Show on the quote
Labor	Hourly, with a minimum	Rate, minimum, time increment
Repair or install	Flat rate per task	What each task includes
Service call or diagnostic	Fee per visit	Whether it’s credited to the repair
Parts and fixtures	Each	Brand, model and grade
Permit	The permit fee	Which permits the job needs
Disposal	Per job	What gets hauled away
After-hours	Surcharge or higher rate	The hours it covers

In California, a service and repair contract is an agreement with a homeowner or tenant for home improvement work of $750 or less that the customer contacted you to request, with nothing paid until the work is done, among other conditions (B&P §7159.10). If you charge a service charge on one, the contract must show it under “Amount of Service Charge”, with the statement “You may be charged only one service charge, including any trip charge or inspection fee.”

Texas: the plumbing board’s block on page one

In Texas, the first page of a plumbing estimate or proposal, on paper or electronic, must carry the plumbing board’s block in type of at least 12 points: the Responsible Master Plumber’s first and last name and license number, the phrase “regulated by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners”, plus the Board’s mailing address, phone number and website address (22 TAC §367.10(b)).

Upgrades as optional add-ons

Quote the job the customer asked for, then add upgrades as optional items that stay out of the total until picked: good, better and best faucets, a comfort-height toilet, or new shutoff valves while the wall is open. The customer then weighs options instead of saying yes or no. Price each upgrade as the extra cost, parts and labor, over what the base price already includes, so the total is right whatever they pick.

How long the price holds

Put a valid-until date on every quote. Prices and schedules change, and an open-ended price can be accepted months later, after your costs have moved. Pick a period you can honor.

Deposits within state limits

Say how much is due at signing; a deposit covers what you buy up front, such as a special-order fixture. The FTC tells homeowners not to pay the full price up front, and some states limit down payments (FTC), for example:

• California: on a home improvement contract, the down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever is less, and beyond it you may not request or accept more than the value of the work done or materials delivered, unless you furnish a bond or joint control the section lists (B&P §7159.5).
• Maryland: no payment for a home improvement before the contract is signed, and a deposit of at most one-third of the contract price at or before signing (Bus. Reg. §8-617).

Acceptance and the right to cancel at home

Ask the customer to sign and date the quote, with the options they chose, and keep that copy.

If you sell the job in person and the customer signs at home, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule can apply: unless one of the rule’s exclusions fits, it covers sales of consumer goods or services of $25 or more agreed at the buyer’s home, even when the buyer invited you (16 CFR 429). The buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Tell them so out loud, print the rule’s cancellation statement in at least 10-point bold next to their signature, and give them a completed, dated copy with your name and address and a completed Notice of Cancellation form in duplicate. If they cancel in time, refund all payments within 10 business days of receiving their notice.

The rule doesn’t exempt you from state door-to-door sales laws that give the buyer the same or a greater right to cancel: in California, a buyer can cancel a home solicitation contract for a home improvement until midnight of the third business day after receiving a signed and dated copy, or the fifth if the buyer is a senior citizen, though a service and repair contract has its own rule (Civ. Code §1689.6).

Lead-safe work in homes built before 1978

In general, EPA says anyone paid for work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978 must be certified, and it lists plumbers among the contractors covered (EPA). Minor repair and maintenance that disturbs six square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 or less outside, is not covered, as long as none of the work practices EPA’s rule prohibits or restricts are used; demolition of painted surfaces is always covered. Before a covered renovation, give the owner EPA’s Renovate Right pamphlet no more than 60 days ahead and get their written acknowledgment; if the owner doesn’t live there, also give it to an adult occupant as the rule describes (40 CFR 745, subpart E). Ask the home’s age while you scope, and price the lead-safe work in.

Three mistakes that lose the job or the margin

1. Pricing hidden work as certain. A fixed price for work behind a wall leaves every surprise to you, so write down what the price assumes.
2. Forgetting the extras. An unpriced permit, haul-away or after-hours call-out comes out of your margin, or surprises the customer later.
3. Quoting days later. A customer with water on the floor may hire whoever prices the job first, so send the quote from the job.