I have an opportunity to bid on a complete house remodel. The house is gutted. There is basement, main level and upstairs. There will be two bathrooms (one on main level and one upstairs), kitchen on main level and laundry in basement. The existing 4" cast iron drain and vent stack will need to be removed. I would be installing new ABS pipe for drains and vents and Uponor PEX for the water. After reading the posts earlier this week about noisy drains it makes me wonder if the drain stack should be cast iron for sound dampening?

MY QUESTION: How would you go about estimating this project?

My goal is to come up with a number that we are both happy with. I want to be fair but also be compensated nicely for a job well done and to code. It is going to be A LOT of work.

It will be permitted which means testing and inspections. It is relatively close in proximity to my base. It's a good winter project because 99% of work is indoors. Parking does seem to be a concern and could be a problem. The homeowners will be acting as GC and hiring sub contractors as needed.



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You "estimate this project" the way you do all of them.
1. draw a diagram of the projected systems
2. figure out the fittings and amount of pipe required to do it
3. Compute the labor involved
4. Add in any "unusual expenses" such as delays and costs of parking
5. add in a "fudge factor" to cover unforeseen costs
6. add in for permits and inspections
7. compute your profit percentage
8. present the total to the customer. If he accepts it good, if not you probably didn't want the job anyway.



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Step #9 take the number you got and double it, because they are gonna try to negotiate it down, plus, there’s gonna be plenty of stuff you missed in your walkthru that you will be on the hook for

That is all included in #5 "fudge factor".

thanks hj for making it simple. So awesome that you share your plumbing experience.

Yes sir got to plan for and add for contingencies. There's never less work than planned.
Estimating the labor hours will be the hard part. But since the laborer is me well then I guess
it really depends on how I'm performing with the installation of DWV and water systems.
A proper plan is essential..right up there with the willingness to do the work.



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Having a plan is the first step. The devil is in the details.

"The homeowners will be acting as GC and hiring sub contractors as needed".

If the home owner is not experienced and is not familiar with how to stage a job, he can make decisions that would require extra effort on your part to compensate.

Sum is spot on...Changes to the plan or conflicts with other subs that require you to go back and change or re-do something you've already done need to be called out in the original proposal. Let's say you run some pex and the framing inspector wants an additional firestop in the wall, and they say you have to remove pex and re-run, you need to be able to charge extra for that.

Last year I replaced the cast iron stack in our 102 year old house that services the two upstairs baths and vents through the roof. The pipe runs down the outside wall in the living room behind the couch. I bought special insulation to wrap the new PVC pipe and batting to fill the wall cavity, but still every time someone flushes it sounds like someone s dumping a bucket of water on you. Can't beat CI pipe for quiet.

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Not a plumber by trade but a fierce DIYer

If the owner is supplying fixtures, you may want to know what he's buying.
If it's coming from outside the USA, you'll want to know.