Free plumbing estimate template
Built around how plumbing jobs actually get billed: fixtures, fittings, permit pulls, access work and the shutoff that always turns out to be seized.
In short
A plumbing estimate should list the fixture or equipment being installed, the labor hours by task, every fitting and valve as a material line, permit and inspection fees, and written exclusions for concealed damage and code upgrades found during the work. The template below covers all of that and is free to print or copy. The most common reason a plumbing job loses money is unbilled access work — opening walls, ceilings and slabs — so price it or exclude it in writing. If you want typical price ranges to check your numbers against, use the plumbing cost estimator; if you would rather not write the document at all, plumbing estimating software can draft it from a voice note in under a minute.
The plumbing template
A worked water heater replacement is filled in as an example. Replace the numbers with your own rates and local material prices.
[Your Business Name]
[Street address, city, state ZIP]
[Phone] · [Email]
License #: ____________
Estimate
Estimate #: ____________
Date: ____________
Valid until: ____________
Prepared for
Name: ____________________
Phone: ___________________
Email: ___________________
Job location
Address: _________________
City / State / ZIP: ________
Start date: ______________
Scope of work — Water heater replacement — 50 gal gas, basement
- •Shut off gas and water, drain and disconnect existing 50 gal gas water heater
- •Haul away and dispose of existing unit
- •Supply and install new 50 gal atmospheric gas water heater
- •Replace cold-side shutoff valve (existing valve seized)
- •New water flex connectors and dielectric unions
- •Install thermal expansion tank on cold supply with support bracket
- •Reconnect and verify draft on existing B-vent; new drip leg on gas line
- •Fill, purge air, light and test; verify temperature at fixture
Labor
Drain, disconnect and remove existing heater
Set new heater, water and gas connections
Expansion tank and shutoff valve replacement
Vent check, fill, purge and test
Materials
50 gal atmospheric gas water heater
Thermal expansion tank, 2 gal
3/4" quarter-turn ball valve
3/4" stainless water flex connector, 18"
Dielectric unions
Gas flex connector, drip leg and fittings
Drain pan and PVC drain line
Disposal fee, old unit
- Subtotal
- $1,605.31
- Sales tax
- $53.57
- Total
- $1,658.88
Not included
- •Permit and inspection fees (billed at cost if required)
- •Venting replacement or re-sizing beyond the existing connector
- •Gas line re-sizing or meter upgrade
- •Electrical work, including dedicated circuits for a conversion
- •Repair of concealed rot, mold or water damage found on removal
- •Drywall, framing or finish repair at access openings
Terms
- •Payment due on completion unless otherwise agreed in writing
- •Estimate valid for 15 days from the date above
- •After-hours and weekend calls billed at 1.5x the labor rate
- •6-year manufacturer tank warranty; 1-year warranty on installation labor
- •Changes to scope are priced by written change order
Customer signature / date
Contractor signature / date
Or skip the typing entirely
A blank template still means an hour at the kitchen table. With QuickBidAI you talk through the plumbing job into your phone while you're still standing in it, and a filled-in estimate — scope, labor, materials, exclusions, terms — comes back in under a minute. You set every price before it goes out.
How to price a plumbing job
Price the fixture, then everything around it
The water heater is the easy part. The flex connectors, dielectric unions, expansion tank, seized shutoff, drain pan and vent adjustments are where the hours go. Each one is a line.
Bill access work separately
Opening a wall, ceiling or slab to reach a line is its own labor line, and patching it back is usually an exclusion. Say so before you start cutting.
Put permits and inspection on their own line
Water heater swaps, gas line work and repipes usually need a permit. Show the fee at cost and note that a failed inspection caused by existing conditions is billed separately.
Quote code upgrades as conditional
Expansion tanks, sediment traps, seismic strapping, backflow devices — write them as 'if required by inspector' lines with a price attached, so there's no argument on the day.
Charge for the emergency window
After-hours, weekend and same-day calls get a different rate. Put the rate schedule on the estimate rather than surprising them on the invoice.
Set a short expiry on material-heavy jobs
Copper and PEX pricing moves. On a repipe, 15 days is a fairer expiry than 30.
Plumbing lines that get left off
Old unit disposal
Hauling and disposing of a 50-gallon tank or an old cast iron fixture takes time and costs a tipping fee. It's a line, not a favor.
Water shutoff and re-pressurize
Draining down and refilling a system, bleeding air out of every fixture and checking for leaks afterward is real time on a repipe.
Concealed rot and mold
Once the vanity comes out you own whatever is behind it — unless the estimate says you don't.
Camera and locate work
Sewer camera inspection and line locating are separate services. Bill them, even when they lead to the job you quoted.