How Plumbers Quote a Job (and What to Get in Writing)

Quote, estimate or hourly rate: what each one commits the plumber to

The words matter, and plumbers use them loosely. Ask which one you are being given.

• A quote (or fixed price) is the price for the job described. If the plumber finds the work took longer than expected, that is their risk, not yours, unless the job itself changes
• An estimate is an informed guess. The final bill can be higher, but it should not be wildly higher without the plumber stopping to tell you why
• Time and materials is an hourly or day rate plus the cost of parts. It suits jobs where nobody can see the problem until something is opened up, such as tracing a leak under a floor. Ask for a cap or a stop-and-check point

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, what a trader tells you about the price, spoken or written, can become part of the contract if you relied on it (section 50). Where no price was agreed at all, you pay a reasonable price and no more (section 51).

Why an emergency repair is priced differently

For a planned job, such as a new bathroom or moving a radiator, a plumber visits, looks, and sends a written quote a few days later. You can compare two or three and choose.

An emergency does not allow that. The plumber has to travel to you before they know what is wrong, and you usually want the water stopped that night rather than a quote by email. So emergency work is normally priced in two parts: a charge for attending, and a price for the repair given once the fault is found. How that attendance charge is set varies a lot between firms, which is explained in plumber call-out charges explained.

For our own visits, the £60 call-out applies at any hour, and the repair price is agreed with you on site before any work starts. You see the price of the repair while the water is still off and you can still say no. Our page on emergency plumber charges sets it out in full.

How a plumber works out the price on site

A good engineer diagnoses first and prices second. For a leak, that means finding exactly where it is coming from, checking whether the pipe either side is sound, and working out whether the part can be bought tonight or needs ordering. For a boiler fault, it means reading the fault code, running the checks the manufacturer sets out, and confirming which part has failed rather than replacing parts until the fault clears.

The price is then built from three things: the time the repair will take, the parts, and anything unusual about access. Access is the one people forget. A pipe behind a tiled bath panel, a stopcock under fitted kitchen units, or a cylinder in a loft with no boards all add time, and a fair quote says so.

Parts are the easiest line to check. A 15mm compression coupling, a tap washer or a toilet fill valve costs little at a plumbers’ merchant, while a boiler part such as a diverter valve, fan or printed circuit board can cost from under a hundred pounds to several hundred depending on the make. You are entitled to ask what a part costs and where it comes from.

The six things to get in writing

For an emergency, "in writing" can mean a text, an email or a line on a job sheet you sign. It does not need to be a formal document. It does need to exist before work starts, not on the invoice afterwards.

• Exactly what the price covers: which fault, which part, which room
• Whether it is a fixed price or an estimate, and if an estimate, how far it could move
• The parts to be fitted, by name, and whether they are included in the price
• Whether the price includes VAT. A plumber whose taxable turnover is over £90,000 must be VAT registered and will add 20%
• What happens if the job turns out bigger: the plumber should stop and give you a new price before carrying on
• Whether there is any guarantee on the repair, and how long it lasts

When the job grows once work has started

Plumbing jobs grow for honest reasons. A stopcock that will not close fully means the engineer cannot isolate a leak without going to the outside stop tap. A corroded joint crumbles when it is touched. A boiler repair uncovers a second fault that was hidden by the first.

The rule to hold on to is simple: extra work needs a new price, agreed before it is done. An engineer should stop, show you the problem, explain the options (including making safe and coming back), and give a price for each. If they carry on without asking, you have good grounds to dispute paying for the extra work.

Be wary of an emergency visit that turns into a sales pitch. A new boiler, a full repipe or a replacement cylinder is almost never something you need to decide at midnight. Ask for the emergency made safe tonight and a written quote for the bigger job, which you can compare with others in daylight. The 14-day right to cancel does not cover the urgent repair you called someone out for, but it does cover extra goods or services sold to you on the same visit.

If you dispute a bill, pay the amount you agreed, write "paid under protest" on the invoice, and put your complaint in writing. Our guide to emergency plumber scams covers the patterns to look out for.

Comparing quotes for planned work

For work that can wait, get at least two quotes and compare them line by line rather than by the total. Check they describe the same job: the same parts, the same pipe sizes, whether making good (replastering, retiling) is included, and who removes the old fittings.

A much lower quote often leaves something out. A much higher one sometimes includes work the others missed. Ask each plumber what is included, and for gas work check the engineer is on the Gas Safe Register for that type of appliance. Gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers. More questions worth asking are in questions to ask an emergency plumber.