Remodeling allowancesCost reportSeptember 2026
Plumbing fitting prices rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026, a record, which can push a remodel past the allowances in its quote
An allowance is a dollar amount the quote sets aside for an item you have not picked yet, such as tile, a faucet or a light fixture. When your pick costs more than the allowance, the difference is added to the bill.
- Change on year
- +5.1%Plumbing fixture fittings and trim, September 2026
- Index, Sept. 2026
- 453.198Highest since the series began in 1947
- Over five years
- +28.8%From September 2021
- A $1,000 allowance
- $1,051Needed a year later at the index’s pace
- Status
- PreliminaryJune through September 2026
The plumbing fittings index has held at a record since March 2026, 5.1% above the level of September 2025
The Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index for plumbing fixture fittings and trim stood at 453.198 in September 2026, 5.1% above September 2025 and the highest level in a series that starts in 1947. A producer price index tracks what manufacturers receive for their goods, before any store or contractor markup. Fittings and trim are among the things a remodeling quote often leaves to be chosen later, through an allowance.
Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act counts allowances as part of a contract’s specifications. Its definition of specifications lists plans, detailed drawings, lists of materials and stated allowances among the ways the trade describes the work and the materials for a job.
Line 01 · Plumbing fittings since 2019
The index rose 28.8% in five years, in steps that hold flat for months
The index moves in steps, holding flat for months and then jumping. It rose from 431.266 in September 2025 to 444.670 in December, 451.310 in January 2026 and 453.198 in March, and it has not changed since. Over five years, from September 2021, it rose 28.8%.
Line 02 · Six finish items compared
Plumbing fittings rose 5.1%, the most of six finish items, and all six rose less than the 9.7% for all repair goods
The plumbing index rose the most of six finish items that quotes often carry as allowances. Each index has its own base period, so compare the percentage changes across rows, and leave the index levels aside.
| Item | Change on year All repair goods | On year | Five years | Sept. 2026 | Series | Index base |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing fixture fittings and trim | +5.1% | +28.8% | 453.198 | WPU1054 | 1982 = 100 | |
| Lighting fixtures | +2.5% | +23.7% | 247.574 | WPU1083 | 1982 = 100 | |
| Oak and maple hardwood flooring | +2.5% | +22.0% | 280.924 | WPU08120401 | June 1984 = 100 | |
| Stock wood kitchen cabinets and countertops | +1.6% | +9.4% | 124.959 | WPU08210102 | December 2012 = 100 | |
| Clay floor and wall tile | +0.8% | +11.5% | 139.162 | WPU1344 | 1982 = 100 | |
| Household appliances | −0.3% | +14.9% | 152.377 | WPU124 | 1982 = 100 | |
| All goods for residential repair and remodeling | +9.7% | +29.5% | 342.798 | WPUIP2321001 | June 1986 = 100 |
Lighting fixtures and oak and maple hardwood flooring each rose 2.5% on the year. Stock wood kitchen cabinets and countertops rose 1.6%. The lighting index, which starts in 1960, and the cabinet index, which starts in 2012, both set records in September. Clay floor and wall tile rose 0.8%. Household appliances fell 0.3%.
From September 2025 to September 2026, plumbing fittings rose 5.1% and household appliances fell 0.3%
All six rose less over the year than the index for all goods that go into residential repair and remodeling, which was up 9.7%. That broader index covers the goods a contractor buys for the whole job, including lumber, metals and fuel. The six items above are the kind a quote often leaves to an allowance, where a change in their price shows up in what you pay for your own selection.
Line 03 · How an allowance changes the final price
With the same picks, Quote B started $1,500 lower and finished $500 higher
Suppose two contractors quote the same bathroom remodel in a Conshohocken twin. The numbers are round and invented for this example. Quote A is $30,000 and includes $5,000 in allowances. Quote B is $28,500 and includes $3,000. The homeowner then picks the same tile, vanity, shower trim and lights under either contract.
The same $6,700 in picks runs $1,700 over Quote A’s allowances and $3,700 over Quote B’s
The picks cost $6,700. Under Quote A the homeowner owes $1,700 over the contract price. Under Quote B the same picks add $3,700.
Quote B finished at $32,200 against $31,700 for Quote A
| Quote | Contract price | Allowances | Picks | Owed | Final price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quote A | $30,000 | $5,000 | $6,700 | $1,700 | $31,700 |
| Quote B | $28,500 | $3,000 | $6,700 | $3,700 | $32,200 |
Quote B started $1,500 lower and finished $500 higher, at $32,200 against $31,700.
Prices can also move between the day a quote is written and the day you choose. BLS describes a simple way to adjust a price with an index: change it by the same percentage as the index.
Index adjustment, plumbing fittings
A $1,000 fittings allowance written in September 2025 would have needed about $1,051 to buy the same goods a year later, if their prices moved with the plumbing fittings index. Your faucet’s price may move more or less than the index.
Line 04 · What the act says about changes
Section 9 requires a written change order, signed by both sides, for each material departure
The act requires a written contract to describe the work, the materials and a set of specifications
“that cannot be changed without a written change order signed by the owner and the contractor.”
Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act
Section 9 bars a contractor from departing from the plans or specifications in any material respect without a written change order, dated and signed by both sides, that gives the price change for each departure. The act does not say whether picking an item over its allowance counts as a material change. A written change order for each selection gives you a dated record of what you chose and what it added. Our guide to change orders and payment schedules covers what to put in one.
Line 05 · Before you sign
What to ask before you sign
Ask each contractor to list every allowance as a separate line, with the item, the dollar amount and what it covers. For tile, ask whether the allowance is for the material only or includes installation, and whether it is per square foot or a lump sum.
Ask whether the contractor adds a markup or fee to the amount over an allowance, and whether you get a credit when your pick costs less. Put both answers in the contract.
When you compare quotes, add up the allowances in each one and line them up. A gap of a few thousand dollars in allowances can account for most of the difference in the totals.
Price a few items you would choose at a showroom or online before you sign, so you know whether an allowance is close to what you plan to spend.
Our guide to what remodeling costs and why explains the other lines in a quote, and the guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor lists every term a contract must have. For windows, see Conshy Windows.
Notes
Caveats
The indexes are national and measure prices at the producer level, before shipping, store margins and contractor markup. They show the direction and size of price changes, and say nothing about what a particular faucet or tile costs at a Montgomery County supplier. BLS says its producer price data can be revised for up to four months after first publication, so the June through September 2026 figures are preliminary. The indexes are not seasonally adjusted.
The worked example is invented. Real contracts handle allowances in different ways, and some add a markup to any overage. How the act applies to a given contract is a question for a lawyer.
The act covers work of more than $500 at a private residence, which it defines as a single-family house, a building of no more than two units, or a single condominium or co-op unit. New home construction falls outside it. The statute text described here was posted by the General Assembly on October 29, 2026. That day the General Assembly’s page for the act listed five bills of the 2025-2026 session that would amend it.
Data: plumbing fittings index since 2019, six finish items since 2024, September 2026 table, worked example and final prices (CSV).