Plumbing cost estimator

These are the installed prices the estimator uses, combined from the cost guides listed under the calculator. Low is the average of the guides' lows, high the average of their highs, typical sits in the middle.

Each price includes the parts and labor for a normal job. Access, code updates and the brand of fixture move it inside the range. A permit, where needed, is about $75 per This Old House.

Rates depend on the plumber's license level and where you are. This Old House puts journeymen at $50 to $100 an hour and master plumbers at $75 to $200. Today's Homeowner puts apprentices at $50 to $75, journeymen at $75 to $120 and masters at $120 to $200. HomeAdvisor gives an overall range of $45 to $200.

Many plumbers also charge a service or trip fee to come out and look. Today's Homeowner puts that at $50 to $150. Emergency and after-hours calls cost more; This Old House mentions a flat emergency fee plus around $150 an hour.

The calculator starts the contractor view at $86 an hour, the middle of the two journeyman ranges. Change it to your own rate.

When you set your own rate, start from what each billable hour has to cover, not from what the shop down the road charges. A plumber on the road all day bills only some of those hours: drive time, supply runs, estimates and callbacks are paid hours that no customer pays for. Divide your yearly costs, your own pay and your profit by the hours you actually bill, and that is the least your rate can be.

The guide rates above are useful as a check. If your number comes out well above them, look at overhead and billable hours before you raise prices. If it comes out well below, you are likely leaving money on the table.

There are two common ways to price service plumbing.

• Time and materials. Labor hours times your rate, plus parts times your markup. Fair on jobs you cannot see into, like a slow drain or a hidden leak. The customer carries the risk if it runs long.
• Flat rate. One price per task, set from the typical hours and parts. The customer knows the price before you start. You carry the risk, and you keep the gain when you are quick.

The contractor view of the estimator does time and materials and shows the flat-rate check beside it: what the guides say homeowners pay for the same job. If your number is below the guide's low end, the hours or the rate are probably too low.

Typical hours from the guides: a tank water heater swap 2 to 3 hours (Bob Vila), a tankless install 4 to 8 hours (This Old House), a toilet 2 to 4 hours, a kitchen faucet 1 to 2 hours and a drain clearing 30 minutes to 2 hours (HomeAdvisor).

Send the price as an estimate.

"Save as an estimate in Koira" carries the lines over: labor hours at your rate, parts, and the permit. Edit them, add good, better and best options for the fixture, and send the estimate from your phone. The customer can sign and pay a deposit before you leave the driveway.

A 50 gallon gas tank, like for like:

1. Labor: 2.5 hours × $90 = $225.
2. Parts: $600 for the heater, connectors and venting, marked up 30% = $780.
3. Price: $225 + $780 = $1,005. Quote $1,000, plus the permit if your city wants one.

That sits inside the $825 to $1,755 homeowners see in the guides. A plumber with higher overhead or a bigger crew lands higher; that is fine as long as the number covers costs. Check it with the profit margin calculator.

• Access. Pipes behind tile, under a slab or in a crawlspace take longer to reach.
• Code updates. A water heater swap may need a new expansion tank, venting or a drain pan to pass inspection.
• Pipe material. Repipes in PEX cost less than copper. HomeAdvisor puts labor at about 70% of a repipe.
• Sewer method. Digging a trench is cheaper per foot than trenchless in open yard, but trenchless avoids tearing up driveways and landscaping.
• When. Nights, weekends and emergencies cost more.
• Where. The homeowner view scales the labor share of each job by your state's construction wage.

For the contractor, the biggest swing is the unknown. A drain clearing can be 30 minutes with a hand auger or two hours with a camera and a machine. Two ways to handle it:

• Diagnostic first. Charge a set fee to find the problem, then quote the repair. The customer pays for the time it takes to know.
• Tiered flat rates. One price for a basic clear, a higher one if a machine or camera is needed. The customer picks with the price in front of them.

Either way, write down what is included and what is not. "Clear main line from cleanout, up to 100 ft" sets the edge of the job before anyone argues about it.

The guides put a 40 to 50 gallon tank swap at about $825 to $1,755 installed, typical $1,290, and a tankless install at about $1,270 to $3,610, typical $2,440. The tankless number is higher for three reasons:

• The unit costs more. Bob Vila says tankless heaters usually cost around $2,500.
• More hours. This Old House gives 4 to 8 hours against 2 to 3 for a like-for-like tank (Bob Vila).
• Upgrades. A gas tankless often needs a bigger gas line and new venting. An electric one may need a panel upgrade.

When you bid either one, add the code items on their own lines: expansion tank, drain pan, earthquake straps where required, and the permit. The customer sees why the price is what it is, and the inspector sees what was done.

Big jobs priced by the foot or by the fixture, straight from the estimator at national prices:

Bob Vila puts a whole-house repipe at $1,500 to $15,000 with a national average of $7,500, which matches the middle of these. The ranges are wide because a repipe in PEX through an open basement is a different job from copper through finished walls. Scope the walls you will open and the patching before you price.