What should be optional in a plumbing proposal?

In this template: Expansion tank ($320.00 USD), Permit and inspection ($180.00 USD), Water shut-off valve replacement ($280.00 USD). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

Pricing guide for plumbers

How much to charge for plumbing

Updated October 23, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the plumbing template.

Example starting total$2,900.00 USD

Short answer: Price plumbing as one fixed line (water heater supply and install at $2,400.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,900.00 USD, then 3 optional lines (expansion tank, permit and inspection, water shut-off valve replacement) the client can switch on. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

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Below: the price lines from our plumbing quote, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to show it so the client accepts instead of haggling.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
Water heater supply and install40 or 50 gallon tank, valves, connectors, removal of the old unit	$2,400.00 USD	Included
Expansion tankProtects the heater and pipes where the water system needs one	$320.00 USD	Optional, on by default
Permit and inspectionMunicipal permit pulled and the inspection booked	$180.00 USD	Optional, on by default
Water shut-off valve replacementNew main shut-off at the meter	$280.00 USD	Optional, off by default

Starting total with the defaults on: $2,900.00 USD, before the client chooses among 3 optional lines. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

Trades quotes are compared side by side, often on a phone, so the total has to be obvious and the scope written in words a homeowner uses. Materials, labour and what happens if the wall is not what you expected, each on its own line.

A fixed price for the defined job and optional lines for the things clients always ask about mid-way: the extra bed, the second coat, the seasonal visit. When they are on the page from the start, nobody feels upsold.

Deposit and payment stages belong in the proposal. A client who has accepted a page that says "40 percent to book, balance on completion" has agreed to it, and the signed record proves it.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for plumbing?: Price plumbing as one fixed line (water heater supply and install at $2,400.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,900.00 USD, then 3 optional lines (expansion tank, permit and inspection, water shut-off valve replacement) the client can switch on. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a plumbing proposal?: In this template: Expansion tank ($320.00 USD), Permit and inspection ($180.00 USD), Water shut-off valve replacement ($280.00 USD). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present plumbing pricing so it gets accepted?: Trades quotes are compared side by side, often on a phone, so the total has to be obvious and the scope written in words a homeowner uses. Materials, labour and what happens if the wall is not what you expected, each on its own line.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Water heater supply and install is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Expansion tank, Permit and inspection, Water shut-off valve replacement sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real quote, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on a phone or laptop, picks the extras, and taps Accept. You both get the signed PDF.

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