Free Plumbing Rough-In Checklist Template

Build and download a free plumbing rough-in checklist — the pre-cover walk you do in the hour before the inspector arrives. It scores the numbers an inspector actually measures: shield-plate setback under IPC 305.6, hanger spacing from IPC Table 308.5, notch and bore limits from IRC R602.6 and R502.8, and the IPC 312 test still live on the system. It returns one verdict — clear to cover, or do not cover. PDF, Excel, or Word export.

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Build your rough-in checklist

One area, one walk, one verdict. Everything here is something that stops the wall closing — so the sheet answers can this be covered, not how far along the job is.

Plumbing Rough-In Checklist

Plumbing

Walk not finished2021 IPC · 2021 IRC

Not checked

19

1Area, date & jurisdictionOne area on one day — this is a single-event sheet, not a project tracker.
Title
Inspection date
Area walked
Walked byoptional
Projectoptional
Project #optional
JurisdictionNot set — the edition changes some values
Authority having jurisdiction
Code edition
Permit #optional
General contractoroptional
Site addressNothing set
Company detailsNothing set
2The pre-cover walkAuto-scoredWhat must still be visible, still supported and still within limits.
Still exposed & accessibleNot started
Nothing covered, insulated or boarded since the last correction
Every correction from the last visit re-worked and left visible
Permit card posted and approved plans on site
Notching & boringNot started
Every notch and bore measured against the limit for that member
Metal tie fitted where a top plate is cut or bored more than 50% of its width
No hole or notch cut in an I-joist, LVL or truss outside the manufacturer’s chart
Protection from nails & screwsNot started
Steel shield plate at every notch or bore where the pipe sits close to the member edge
Plates driven flush and not shifted by the trade that came after
Measure it
Closest pipe to the edge of a stud, joist or rafter

IPC 305.6 — at least 1.25 in.

Measured (in)
Support & spacingNot started
Hanger and support spacing correct for the material, horizontal and vertical
No pipe carrying the weight of another pipe, and no fitting used as a support
Measure it
Longest horizontal support spacing on the run

IPC Table 308.5 — pick which limit applies.

Which limit
Measured (in)
Stub-outs & fixture rough-inNot started
Water closet flange centre and clearances set before the walls go on
Stub-outs capped, at the manufacturer’s rough-in height and projection
Tub and shower bases set, levelled and protected before the walls close
Measure it
Water closet centre to the nearest side wall or partition

IPC 405.3.1 — at least 15 in.

Measured (in)
Test still on the systemNot started
Gauge left on the system, in reach and readable from the floor
Every open end plugged or capped, and the test still on the system now
3Notches & boresAuto-scoredEnter the member’s measured depth — the IRC limit is a fraction of it, not of the nominal size.
4Test on the system right nowAuto-scoredNot the test you passed this morning — the one the inspector is about to read.
Which test is live
Test
Gauge reads
Minutes on
Requiredoptional
5Sign it offOnly tick this once the blocker list above is empty.

Add to your checklist:

Download your checklist:

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What's included

  • A single cover verdict — "Clear to cover" or "Do not cover" — computed from every blocked item, failed measurement, out-of-limit notch and failing test on the sheet
  • A notch-and-bore table that takes the member’s measured depth and returns the IRC limit for it: 25% notch in a bearing stud, 40% in a nonbearing one, 60% bore with 5/8 in minimum edge distance, and 1/6 depth notch and 1/3 depth bore in a sawn joist
  • Shield-plate scoring against IPC 305.6 — under 1-1/4 in from the nearest edge and a 0.0575 in (No. 16 gage) plate becomes mandatory, extending 2 in above the sole plate and below the top plate
  • Hanger spacing measured against IPC Table 308.5, with the material picked on the row — PEX 1 in and smaller at 32 in is the one that catches crews used to copper
  • The IPC 312 test still on the system: 10 ft head for 312.2, 5 psi for 312.3, working pressure for 312.5, each scored on the gauge reading, the minutes it has been on, and whether the needle has moved
  • The IRC R602.6.1 top-plate tie — 0.054 in, 1-1/2 in wide, eight 10d nails a side, 6 in past the opening — which is the item most often missed because the tie belongs to whoever made the hole
  • Every code citation in a tooltip rather than on the page, and in full in every PDF, Excel and Word export

How to use this template

  1. 1

    Set the area, the date and the AHJ

    This is a single-event sheet, so it covers one area on one day — "second floor, north wing", not the whole building. Record the authority having jurisdiction and the code edition it enforces, because the edition changes some of the numbers underneath.

  2. 2

    Walk the exposure checks first

    Before you measure anything, confirm nothing has already been covered — insulation counts. A batt over a run hides the plate, the staple and the joint, and most inspectors will fail the whole wall rather than pull it back.

  3. 3

    Log every notch and bore you had to think about

    The framing table asks for the member’s measured depth, not its nominal size, and computes the IRC limit from it. A 2x10 joist is 9-1/4 inches, so a one-third-depth bore is 3.083 inches — not 3.333. Anything over the limit lands in the blockers list instantly.

  4. 4

    Measure the numbers the inspector will measure

    Setback to the framing edge, support spacing, and the set-out or rough-in dimension that the finish is about to lock in. Each measurement is scored against the code limit and prints the section it was judged against, so nobody has to take a pass on trust.

  5. 5

    Read the verdict, then sign it

    The sheet returns "Clear to cover" or "Do not cover", with every blocker listed under it. Tick ready-to-cover only when the list is empty. Export to PDF, Excel or Word — the disclaimer, the code citations and the full blocker list travel with every format.

A pre-cover walk, not a phase tracker

Most "plumbing rough-in checklist" templates are phase trackers wearing a different name. They start at the underground, run through top-out and finish at trim, and they answer the question "where is this job up to". That is a useful document, and CloseCrew ships one — the new construction plumbing checklist, which carries the full IPC 312 test table across five phases. It is not this document.

This sheet answers a narrower and more urgent question: is there anything here that must not be covered yet. It is a single-event walk, worked in the hour before the inspector arrives and before the insulator and the drywall crew turn every mistake into a demolition job. So its spine is not the build sequence — it is the set of things that block concealment. What must still be visible. What the framer’s saw already did to the studs your pipe runs through. Whether a plate went on where the pipe sits close to the stud face. Whether the gauge is still holding, and whether the inspector can read it from the floor.

The framing section is the part no competitor template has, because it needs arithmetic rather than a tick box. IRC R602.6 and R502.8.1 express their limits as fractions of the member’s depth, and the member’s depth is its actual dressed dimension, not its nominal name. A 2x4 is 3-1/2 inches, so a bearing-wall stud takes a 7/8 inch notch and no more. A 2x10 joist is 9-1/4 inches, so a one-third-depth bore is 3.083 inches and a one-sixth-depth notch is 1.542. Enter the depth you measured and the sheet returns the number for that member, then scores what you cut against it. A bore over 40 percent of the depth in a bearing or exterior wall additionally demands the stud be doubled, and the sheet asks for that confirmation rather than quietly passing it.

The protection rule is the one that trips people who work under both codes. IPC 305.6 and NEC 300.4 agree on the trigger — under 1-1/4 inches from the nearest edge of the framing member — but they do not agree on the plate. The IPC asks for 0.0575 inch, which is No. 16 gage. The NEC asks for at least 1/16 inch, which is 0.0625. A plumber’s stud guard is five thousandths of an inch shy of the electrical minimum. This sheet prints the figure for the trade it is scoped to and never averages the two.

Values here are from the 2021 International Plumbing Code and the 2021 International Residential Code. Adoption is a local decision, editions in force range from 2009 to 2024, and several states use the Uniform Plumbing Code or a code of their own. The sheet records the authority having jurisdiction and the edition it enforces rather than pretending there is a national answer, and every measurement prints the section it was judged against so a reviewer can check the reasoning rather than the result.

Related templates

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Rough-In Checklist FAQs

What is checked at a plumbing rough-in inspection?

The inspector is checking what will be permanently hidden the moment the walls close, so the list is short and physical. Is anything already covered — insulation counts as concealment under IRC R109.1.2, and IPC 108.2.3 bars covering work until the code official authorises it. Are the notches and bores within the IRC limits for the members they were cut in. Is there a steel shield plate anywhere the pipe sits less than 1-1/4 inches from the edge of a stud, joist or rafter, per IPC 305.6. Is the hanger spacing right for the material, per IPC Table 308.5. Are the trap arms within the maximum developed length to their vents in IPC Table 909.1. Are the penetrations fireblocked at floor and ceiling level under IRC R302.11. And is the IPC 312 test still live on the system with a gauge the inspector can read without a ladder.

It depends which system, and the IPC gives three different answers. For drainage and vent tested with water, IPC 312.2 says no section may be tested with less than a 10-foot head of water and the pressure shall be held for not less than 15 minutes. For drainage and vent tested with air, IPC 312.3 says a uniform gauge pressure of 5 psi — or the equivalent of a 10-inch mercury column — held not less than 15 minutes with no measurable loss. For the water supply system, IPC 312.5 says water at not less than the working pressure of the system, or for piping other than plastic an air test of not less than 50 psi, again held not less than 15 minutes. That last one is widely misquoted: the 50 psi figure is the air alternative, not the water requirement, and IPC 312.1 does not permit plastic piping to be tested with air at all.

IPC 305.6 requires it in concealed locations where piping other than cast iron or galvanized steel is installed through holes or notches in studs, joists, rafters or similar members less than 1-1/4 inches from the nearest edge of the member. The plate must be steel, not less than 0.0575 inch thick — that is No. 16 gage — must cover the area where the member is notched or bored, and must extend not less than 2 inches above sole plates and below top plates. Cast iron and galvanized steel are exempt because a drywall screw does not get through them. Note the electrical rule is stricter on thickness: NEC 300.4 asks for at least 1/16 inch, so a plumbing stud guard does not satisfy an electrical inspector.

IRC R602.6 sets the limits as fractions of the stud’s actual depth. A stud in an exterior wall or bearing partition may be notched to a depth not exceeding 25 percent of its depth — for a 3-1/2 inch 2x4, that is 7/8 of an inch. A stud in a nonbearing partition may be notched to 40 percent, or 1.4 inches. Bores may be up to 60 percent of the stud depth in any stud, but the edge of the hole must be not less than 5/8 inch from the edge of the stud, and the hole must not sit in the same section as a notch. A bore over 40 percent in a bearing or exterior wall requires the stud to be doubled, and no more than two successive doubled studs may be bored. Worth knowing that the 2021 IRC prints the edge-distance sentence in a way that reads backwards; the 2024 edition states it plainly as "not less than 5/8 inch from the edge of the stud", which is how every inspector enforces it.

No. Insulation is concealment. IRC R109.1.2 requires the plumbing rough-in to be inspected before it is covered or concealed, and IPC 108.2.3 adds that work which does not comply shall be corrected and shall not be covered until authorised by the code official. In practice this is the single most expensive mistake on a rough-in, because an inspector who finds a batt over a run will generally fail the wall rather than pull the insulation back and take responsibility for what is under it. It is also the reason this checklist puts exposure first, ahead of everything technical.

Scope and spine. A new construction checklist is a phase tracker — underground, water service, rough-in, gas, final — carrying the whole IPC 312 test table and telling you where the job is up to across weeks. This is a single-event pre-cover sheet for one area on one day, organised around concealment blockers rather than build sequence, and it returns one verdict instead of a progress count. If you want the whole-build record, use the new construction plumbing checklist. If you want the walk you do before the drywall arrives, this is it.

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