Commercial plumbing cost per square foot
- Estimate total
- $4,376.16
- Your cost
- $3,400
- Subtotal before tax
- $4,196.50
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. RoughInDesk publishes no market averages and quotes no survey: the defaults are a worked example to replace with your own. The pipe dimensions in the pipe-size tool are the published standard sizes, cited on that page.
Commercial plumbing cost per square foot is the figure a general contractor asks for at the concept stage, and the honest answer is that plumbing is priced per fixture and per run, not per square foot: a restaurant and a warehouse of the same area are different jobs by a wide margin. The plumbing estimating software on this site produces the estimate from the fixture count and the conditions, free and without an account, and the per-square-foot figure falls out of that number and the area; RoughInDesk Pro keeps the estimate against the job.
Try the free calculator Free to use. No account, no card, no sign-up.
Why the square foot is the wrong unit
The fixtures decide the cost: a restaurant has a kitchen's worth of drains, grease interceptor and gas, a warehouse has two restrooms. The square footage is the same; the plumbing is not. A per-square-foot figure is the fixture cost divided by the area after the fact, and it only transfers to a building of the same type and density.
Estimate from the fixture count and the runs
Count the fixtures from the plans by type, take the runs from the riser diagram, add the conditions: slab, existing services, the grease interceptor, the backflow device, the water heater sizing. The estimator on this site takes those and produces the number the same way for every job.
Report it per square foot when asked
Divide the estimate by the area and give the general contractor the figure with the fixture count beside it, so when the design adds a restroom the number moves visibly. Pro keeps the estimate and its assumptions against the job for the revision that follows.
The proposal that follows
The concept figure becomes a proposal when the drawings are issued, with the scope, the exclusions and the options. The proposal template on this site builds it from the estimate. From the vendors' own pricing pages: Tradify lists Lite at $47, Pro at $51 and Plus at $61 per user per month; Jobber lists Core at $49 per month for one user with additional users at $29 each; Housecall Pro lists Basic at $59 per month billed annually or $79 monthly. RoughInDesk Pro is $47 per month for the whole crew.
RoughInDesk Pro
Keeping what you make
The answers are free forever. Pro turns them into your paperwork: your logo and license number on it, no watermark, every estimate and invoice saved against the customer and the job, and clean exports.
- Download as PDF
- No RoughInDesk watermark
- Save and reopen later
- Your logo and license on it
- Bulk export documents
- Appointment reminders emailed to your customers
- Connect your own Stripe account and get paid online
- Connect your QuickBooks Online or Xero
$47per month, whole crew
Start RoughInDesk Pro Free for 14 days. No card needed. PricingThe first 14 days are free and no card is asked for. Add a card during the trial and the first charge is on the day it ends; do not, and your workspace becomes read-only with nothing deleted. Renews monthly at the price above until you cancel. We email you before any price change.
Commercial plumbing cost per square foot: common questions
What is a typical commercial plumbing cost per square foot? There is no typical figure worth quoting without the building type and the fixture count; the estimator on this site produces the number from those, free.
Is the estimator free? Yes. The plumbing estimating software on this site produces the estimate from the fixture count and the conditions with no account and no card.
What moves the number most? The fixture density, the grease interceptor and the gas on a restaurant, the backflow and the fire service on a larger building, and whether the services are already at the site.
Will it do what you need for Commercial plumbing cost per square foot?
Tell us what your business needs and we will tell you straight whether RoughInDesk Pro does it today, whether it is coming, or whether you are better off with something else. A person reads these and replies.