# Indianapolis Repipe Quote Comparison Checklist

> A printable repipe quote checklist for Indianapolis-area homes: scope, material, permit, wall openings, water-off windows and testing. Get the PDF here.

URL: https://circlecityrepipeindy.com/resources/

Printable checklist

What every repipe quote should answer, from the pipe material and route to the permit, the wall openings and the pressure test, with a grid to compare quotes side by side. Made to print.

Inside

## What the checklist covers

### Scope: what each quote replaces

Two quotes can look far apart only because they cover different work. Before comparing totals, check that each one answers these.

- Where the new piping starts (at the meter and main shutoff) and where it ends (every fixture, or named rooms only).
- Whole building or partial. For a partial: which lines stay in service, and where new pipe connects to old.
- Hot and cold lines both included, to every fixture on the list.
- In a multi-unit building: which risers are replaced, and how each chase is reached on each floor.
- Main shutoff, pressure-reducing valve and unit shutoffs: replaced, kept or added.
- Water heater: reconnected only, or replaced as a separate line.
- What is left out: sewer and drain lines (a separate trade), fixtures, and the water service line from the street.

### Material and method

PEX and copper are both used for water supply piping. No material is the right answer for every house.

- The pipe material and type named in writing, such as PEX-A, PEX-B, or Type L or Type M copper.
- For PEX: the fitting system (expansion, crimp or press) and whether the layout is a manifold or trunk-and-branch.
- For copper: the joining method, soldered with lead-free solder, brazed or press-connect.
- Parts that carry drinking water meet NSF 372 for lead content.
- The size of the main lines, and of the water service if it changes.

### Permit, license and inspection

A repipe needs a plumbing permit. Inside Indianapolis it comes from the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services (DBNS); Lawrence, Beech Grove, Speedway and the suburbs run their own building offices.

- Who pulls the permit, and which office issues it for your address.
- The permit fee shown as its own line, not folded into the total.
- Whether plan review applies, as it does for a full system replacement in a building with 4 or more units.
- The contractor's Indiana plumbing contractor license number, its registration with the City of Indianapolis (or the city or town where the house is), and a certificate of insurance.
- Who schedules the inspection, and who will be there for it.

### Walls, floors and restoration

Openings and patching are easy to leave vague in a quote. Ask for them in writing.

- How many openings, and in which rooms.
- How plaster is opened (clean rectangles at fittings and turns) and whether tile walls are reached from the back.
- Who closes the openings, and to what finish: patched only, patched and textured, or painted.
- How floors, furniture and common areas are protected.
- Where old pipe stays in the walls, disconnected.

### Schedule and water

Living through a repipe depends on two things: how many working days, and when the water is off.

- The number of working days.
- The water-off windows. Water should be off only while each part is cut over.
- In an occupied multi-unit building: which unit is without water and when, and how the people living there are told.

### Testing and handover

These steps are what make the new piping trustworthy before the walls close.

- A pressure test before any wall is closed.
- Flushing after cutover, with aerators and screens cleaned.
- Shutoffs labeled.
- The final inspection sign-off and a copy of the permit for your records.
- Any written warranty: what it covers, for how long, and who honors it.
- The payment schedule, tied to stages of the work.

Grid

## The side-by-side grid

### One column per quote

- Contractor and license number
- Material, type and joining method
- Starts at / ends at
- Whole or partial; what old pipe stays
- Risers, main shutoff, PRV
- Openings, and who closes them
- Permit type, and who pulls it
- Working days
- Water-off windows
- Pressure test and inspection
- Not included
- Total quoted

### Have these ready

- The year the house was built and how many units it has.
- Any home inspection report that mentions the piping.
- Any Citizens Energy Group or utility notice about the service line from the street.
- Where the meter and main shutoff are, so the walk-through can start there.
- Any remodel planned in the next year or so.

[Set a budget with the cost estimator](https://circlecityrepipeindy.com/tools/repiping-cost-estimator/)

## Get the printable checklist