How to price plumbing jobs is the question a plumber asks after a year of quoting from the last invoice and wondering where the money went. Pricing plumbing jobs starts with a count, fixtures and runs and equipment, and prices the count at the supply house's sheet with waste; how to charge for plumbing work is the hours per fixture and per run from the company's own record, at a rate loaded with everything the wage does not carry, then the overhead the job must recover and the markup that leaves a profit. The estimate template on this site works that arithmetic and prints the lines the customer sees.
Count the job before you price it
A repipe is feet of pipe by size, fittings per run, stops and valves, and the hours to open and patch; a bathroom remodel is fixtures by the piece, the rough-in and the set as separate hours, and the trim; a water heater is the unit, the connections, the venting and the permit. Write the count down every time in the units the supply house sells, and the material line stops surprising the company at the counter.
Hours from your own record, at a loaded rate
The hours a fixture rough-in or a run takes the company's plumbers is a number the company owns once it records the hours worked against the hours quoted for a season. Price those hours at a rate that carries payroll taxes, insurance, the van, the tools and the apprentice; a rate built from the wage is the reason the year ends thin. Subcontracted excavation or concrete cutting goes in at the quoted price.
Recover the overhead, add the markup, quote one total
The overhead percentage from the books is applied before any profit; the markup on top is the profit, and it is not the margin. Quote the customer one total with the scope and the exclusions and keep the count and the hours with the estimate. Pro files every estimate against the customer and the property, so a quote given in spring can be found in autumn and the hours per fixture improve with every job that closes.
Questions people ask about how to price plumbing jobs
Should a plumber charge by the hour or by the job?
Build the price from hours internally and quote the customer a job price with the scope; an hourly quote invites an argument about the hours instead of the result.
How do I know my hours per fixture?
Record the hours worked against the hours quoted on every job for a season; the average by fixture and by building type is the company's own labor unit.
What markup do plumbing contractors use?
The percentage that covers the company's overhead from the books and leaves the profit the owner wants; the template applies the percentage you enter and prints the margin alongside it.