What it's for
This plumbing estimate template prices plumbing work by the piece: a bath to rough in, a toilet and faucet to set, a water heater to swap, so many feet of gas pipe. Every item you list carries a material cost and labor hours, and the workbook totals them by category before it adds labor, job costs, overhead and margin.
The order follows our guide on how to build a construction estimate: cost is settled first, then overhead and margin make the price. For a line-item estimate that is not built on a takeoff, see our construction estimate template. Electricians and HVAC contractors have their own takeoff files, the electrical estimate and the HVAC estimate.
What's inside
- Takeoff. The PLUMBING ESTIMATE letterhead sits over the job details (PROJECT, CLIENT, ESTIMATE NO., DATE, PREPARED BY) and 20 takeoff lines. You type the ITEM, choose a CATEGORY (Rough-in, Fixtures, Water heater, Gas piping or Other) and enter QTY, UNIT, MATERIAL EACH and LABOR HOURS EACH; the sheet fills in MATERIAL and LABOR HOURS. A TOTALS BY CATEGORY block sums each of the five, catches uncategorized lines in "Not in a category above" and ends at Takeoff total.
- Labor and job. The takeoff's hours meet your rate here. Labor hours arrive from Takeoff, your Additional hours join them, and the sum at the Rate per hour is the Labor total. That labor, the takeoff materials, Equipment rental and Disposal add up to the Direct cost. Adding sales tax on the materials, permits, bonds and a contingency gives the Job cost; overhead on that gives the Total cost; and the Bid price divides the total cost by (1 − margin).
- Quote. The sheet you send: PLUMBING QUOTE on your own letterhead, a quote number, date and valid-until date, the client, project and address, six lines for the scope, the Price from Labor and job, and places for you and the client to sign.
- About this template. Three steps, a note on the example figures, the version (v2, 2026-09-24), the license and links.
All four sheets fit one printed page each and are protected with no password. Pale yellow marks what you type; everything else is locked.
How to fill it in
- Clear or overwrite the three example lines. The sheet counts a line once it has an item or a figure; a category or a unit alone won't make it count.
- Split a bath into rough-in and trim. The example does: "Example: bath drain and supply" is one Rough-in line, 1 ea at $420.00 and 12 hours, while the toilet and the faucet are Fixtures lines. TOTALS BY CATEGORY then shows the rough-in's materials and hours apart from the trim's, which helps when the two happen on different visits.
- A water heater has its own category, so a replacement can be one Water heater line carrying the heater, its connections and the hours. Hauling off the old tank is a cost, not a count, so it goes in Disposal on Labor and job.
- Gas pipe can go by length: the run's feet in QTY, "ft" in UNIT, and your cost and hours per foot, since UNIT is free text. Build any extra for waste into the quantity, because nothing is added for you.
- On Labor and job, add Additional hours for time the takeoff doesn't hold (blank is 0) and your Rate per hour. A drain-cleaning machine or any other rental belongs in Equipment rental, where overhead and margin apply to it.
- Plan review and inspection fees go in Permits and fees. Type the tax, contingency and overhead rates with the percent sign. Sales tax is figured on the takeoff's materials only, and the file doesn't decide what your state taxes. Keep the Target margin (% of the bid price) under 100%, and replace the example's overhead and margin with yours.
- Type the Quote's letterhead and the client, project and address on the Quote itself: none of them come across from Takeoff. Its Price follows Labor and job and can't be typed over. Print the Quote alone or save it alone as a PDF, since the rest of the workbook shows your costs and margin.
The worked example
The workbook opens filled in, and each takeoff line begins "Example:". According to the About tab, the quantities, costs, hours, the $90.00 rate and the $40.00 disposal cost are illustrative figures, not typical prices, and the 12% overhead and 15% margin come from the bid price calculator's worked example.
| Item | Category | Qty | Material each | Material | Hours each | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: bath drain and supply | Rough-in | 1 ea | $420.00 | $420.00 | 12.00 | 12.00 |
| Example: toilet, set and connect | Fixtures | 1 ea | $265.00 | $265.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Example: vanity faucet | Fixtures | 1 ea | $140.00 | $140.00 | 1.50 | 1.50 |
Rough-in comes to $420.00 and 12.00 hours and Fixtures to $405.00 and 3.50 hours, so the takeoff holds $825.00 of materials and 15.50 hours.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Labor total, 15.50 hours at $90.00 | $1,395.00 |
| Disposal | $40.00 |
| Direct cost | $2,260.00 |
| Job cost | $2,260.00 |
| Overhead, 12% of job cost | $271.20 |
| Total cost | $2,531.20 |
| Bid price, 15% margin | $2,977.88 |
| Profit | $446.68 |
| Markup on total cost for this margin | 17.65% |
| Price marked up by the margin % instead | $2,910.88 |
| Left on the table by marking up | $67.00 |
Nothing is entered for equipment rental, tax, permits, bonds or contingency, which is why the job cost matches the direct cost. The Quote shows a Price of $2,977.88. A 15% markup in place of the 15% margin would have priced the job $67.00 lower; our guide to markup vs. margin covers why.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work in Google Sheets or Numbers?
Both open .xlsx files. This one has no macros, and its formulas use only IF, AND, ROUND, SUM and SUMIF.
Can I add more than 20 takeoff lines?
Yes. Unprotect the sheet (there's no password), insert rows between two lines so the totals take them in, and copy the two calculated cells and the category choice into each new row.
Does it size pipe or pick a water heater?
No. It prices the items, quantities, costs and hours you type. It sizes nothing and checks nothing against a code.
Can I price by the fixture instead of by the part?
Yes. Make each fixture a line with quantity 1, or the count of that fixture, and put everything it takes in its material each and hours each.
Can I put my logo on it?
Yes, on the Quote: insert it where the sheet says YOUR LOGO. That row is 36 pt (half an inch) tall, so a logo sized to it fits without dragging the row taller. To remove the YOUR LOGO text, choose Review > Unprotect Sheet (there is no password), then protect the sheet again.
Is the Quote a contract?
No. It's a quote: a scope, a price and an acceptance block with signature lines. It has no contract terms, and the file doesn't decide yours.