Quotation under pressure: the ₹21,000 bathroom and the ₹18,000 demand
A plumber has surveyed a bathroom in a two-storey house and prepared these quantities and rates: 25 mm CPVC pipe 22 m at ₹160/m; fittings ₹2,200; two brass bib cocks and one angle valve ₹1,800; a 1000 L triple-layer tank ₹6,500; labour ₹4,500 (three days, one plumber plus helper); wastage 5% on material; GST at 18% on material plus labour. The owner's real budget is ₹21,000, but his brother-in-law has told him the job should cost ₹18,000, that wastage should not be charged, that GST can be 'adjusted' if no proper bill is issued, and that a cheaper local-brand pipe will do. He wants work to start tomorrow. The plumber needs the tank and most fittings on site before starting.
1. Build the quotation from the given figures and state precisely how far the job is from the owner's ₹18,000 figure.
Read the worked answer
Itemised build-up:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| 25 mm CPVC, 22 m × ₹160 | ₹3,520 |
| Fittings | ₹2,200 |
| 2 bib cocks + 1 angle valve | ₹1,800 |
| 1000 L tank | ₹6,500 |
| Material subtotal | ₹14,020 |
| Wastage 5% of material | ₹701 |
| Labour (3 days) | ₹4,500 |
| Subtotal before tax | ₹19,221 |
| GST 18% | ₹3,459.78 |
| Quotation total | ₹22,680.78 ≈ ₹22,681 |
Distance from the demand: ₹22,681 − ₹18,000 = ₹4,681 short, about 26% of the demanded figure. Even the pre-tax subtotal of ₹19,221 already exceeds ₹18,000, so the gap cannot be closed by trimming tax or wastage alone - something in the scope or specification would have to change. That is the key fact to put in front of the owner: his expectation was never arithmetically possible for this scope.
2. Propose the safest set of reductions that keeps the installation compliant, recompute the total, and list the reductions you will refuse and why.
Read the worked answer
Safe reductions:
- Re-route to cut the run from 22 m to 18 m: saves 4 × ₹160 = ₹640 (verify the shorter route is actually buildable).
- Delete the third bib cock, keeping two bib cocks and the angle valve: saves ₹450.
- Simplify fittings where the shorter route allows: ₹2,200 to ₹1,950, saves ₹250.
Recomputed: material = ₹2,880 + ₹1,950 + ₹1,350 + ₹6,500 = ₹12,680; wastage 5% = ₹634; labour ₹4,500; subtotal ₹17,814; GST 18% = ₹3,206.52; total ₹21,020.52 ≈ ₹21,021. That sits almost exactly on the owner's real ₹21,000 budget.
Refuse:
- Removing the 5% wastage - it is a genuine allowance for cut-offs, damaged fittings and site breakage; hidden, it simply returns as a variation claim later.
- 'Adjusting' GST - a proper tax invoice at the applicable rate is a legal requirement; no compliant plumber can trade it away.
- Non-ISI or unmarked pipe - pressure rating and wall thickness are unknown, and the guarantee becomes meaningless; the pipe is buried and the failure cost is far higher than the saving.
- Skipping the pressure test to save half a day - never a cost item, it is part of the job.
3. Write the commercial terms you would put on the quotation and the sentence you would use to decline the ₹18,000 demand without losing the client.
Read the worked answer
Terms to state on the quotation:
- Scope and quantities with makes, grades and ISI marking of pipe, fittings, valves and tank.
- Whether rates are inclusive of material at site, cutting, jointing and making good of chases, and what is excluded (tiling, electrical point, municipal approvals).
- Wastage shown as a separate, visible 5% line, with the basis stated.
- GST number and rate, and that a tax invoice will be issued.
- Payment schedule: advance for tank and fittings, balance on completion and successful pressure test.
- Timeline with the dependency that material must be on site before the start date.
- Test to be done and recorded (pressure, duration) and a written guarantee period for workmanship, with what voids it.
- Validity of rates, given material price movement.
Declining line: 'I understand ₹18,000 is your target, and I want to work with you - but at that figure I would have to either drop the tax invoice, use pipe I cannot guarantee, or hide wastage and add it to your bill later. None of those protects your bathroom or my name. Here is the same job at ₹21,021 with the run shortened and one tap removed; if that is still tight, we can do the wet work and tank now and fit the remaining fixtures next month.' This keeps the relationship, shows the arithmetic and offers a real choice rather than a refusal.