How to do a plumbing takeoff

Read the spec first

Start with Division 22. Read 22 40 00 for plumbing fixtures. Read the piping sections for the materials the spec allows above and below the slab. Read the insulation section. Note the testing and disinfection rules. They take labor that no drawing shows.

Sheets and schedules that carry the count

• The plumbing fixture schedule. It gives each fixture tag, maker, model and connection sizes.
• The equipment schedule: water heaters, pumps, mixing valves and backflow preventers.
• The P sheets: underslab, floor and roof plans.
• The riser diagrams or isometrics. They show pipe sizes and vertical runs.
• The architectural enlarged restroom plans. They show what the architect drew.
• The kitchen equipment schedule, if the job has a kitchen.

Steps in order

1. Count fixtures by tag from the plumbing plans.
2. Check that count against the architectural plans.
3. List the equipment from the schedule.
4. Measure waste and vent pipe by size. Start below the slab and work up.
5. Measure domestic water pipe by size. Add the risers from the diagrams.
6. Measure gas, storm and condensate pipe.
7. Count valves, cleanouts, floor drains, roof drains and hose bibbs.
8. Add fittings, hangers and insulation by your own method.

Count, length, area or volume

• Count: fixtures, drains, cleanouts, valves, equipment and rough-in connections.
• Length: pipe by size and material, and pipe insulation.
• Area: seldom used.
• Volume: underslab trench excavation, bedding and backfill.

Conflicts to find, and what to exclude

• The architectural plan shows a fixture that the plumbing plan omits.
• The spec allows one pipe material. A drawing note calls for another.
• The riser diagram and the floor plan show different pipe sizes.
• The plumbing drawings stop at the building line. The civil drawings start somewhere else.
• Kitchen and owner equipment need connections that no one counted.

Most jobs split building plumbing and site utilities near the building wall. Read the documents for the exact point. Qualify excavation, backfill and slab cutting. State who supplies owner furnished fixtures and who installs them. Exclude fire sprinkler pipe unless the bid form puts it with you.

Trade takeoffs · Updated 11 Nov 2026