Plumbing estimate template

Download the Plumbing estimate template

The same sample document in two formats. The PDF is what a finished estimate looks like; the spreadsheet has live formulas, so change a quantity or a rate and the totals follow.

No signup, no email, no watermark. Sample figures — edit everything. Opens in Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets.

See this estimate filled in, in the builder — the same sample, editable.

What a Plumbing estimate needs on it

Estimate anything involving existing supply or drain lines you have not scoped. Galvanised pipe that crumbles at the union, a drain with no accessible cleanout, and a shutoff that will not close are the three findings that most often move a plumbing number, and they belong in your exclusions in writing.

• Fixture make, model and finish — "toilet" and "comfort-height elongated, brushed nickel trim" are different bids
• Code upgrades the install may trigger: expansion tank, pressure-reducing valve, pan and drain line
• Access notes — whether the price assumes an accessible shutoff and a workable clearance
• What you have not scoped: pipe material behind the wall, cleanout access, whether the main shutoff actually closes
• That drywall, tile and finish carpentry repair are excluded, because customers assume otherwise

And what every estimate needs

Use an estimate when the scope is clear but the final number can still move — concealed damage, a substrate you cannot see until demo, or material prices that change between bid and start date.

• An expiry date, so a months-old number cannot be held against you
• Scope written plainly enough that a homeowner knows what is excluded
• A deposit or payment schedule if you need money before mobilising
• A signature line, so acceptance is recorded rather than remembered

Plumbing line items included in this template

These load into the builder ready to edit. Prices are starting points, not our opinion of what you should charge — set your own and they save to your price book.

Rates are illustrative US figures and vary widely by market. Price your own work.

Questions

Should a plumbing estimate include drywall repair?

Only if you are actually doing it — and say so either way. "Access holes cut as required; drywall repair and paint by others" on the estimate prevents the most common plumbing dispute there is, which is a customer expecting to get their wall back finished.

How do I estimate a job when I cannot see the pipe?

Price the visible scope and carry an allowance with a stated unit rate for what is behind the wall — for example, so many feet of replacement at a per-foot price. The customer gets a real number and you are not absorbing a discovery you had no way to price from the hallway.

What should a repipe estimate say about the things I have not inspected?

Name them. Galvanised pipe that crumbles at the union, a drain with no accessible cleanout, and a shutoff that will not close are the three findings that most often move a plumbing number. An estimate that lists them with what each would cost reads as thorough; one that omits them reads as a surprise waiting to happen.