Every other water company has to win an appointment after closing. You're holding the plans before the drywall goes up.
That is the whole advantage, and it's a structural one. A builder has the design-center visit and the option-sheet selection. A remodeler has the design meeting and open walls. Both already run the two conversations water treatment needs — "what do you want in this house?" and "how are we paying for it?" — on a schedule the homeowner has already agreed to. Adding a system at the design stage is a line item on a contract you're already writing, not a separate sale.
This guide covers city-water lots and communities. It walks through the loop, the option sheet, who installs, a first project from rough-in to walkthrough, and a calculator that runs your homes, your costs and your prices. Nothing in it assumes a well.
Why the timing belongs to you
Search the phrase "water softener builder program" and nearly every result is a local water dealer offering to install for builders. That's the market telling you something: dealers want your rough-in schedule and your buyer at the design center, because those two moments are where water treatment is easiest to sell. You already own both. The only question is whether a dealer gets them or you do.
For builders, the moment is the option sheet — the same document where the buyer picks flooring and cabinet pulls. For remodelers, it's the design meeting and the scope list, when the main line is about to be exposed anyway. In both cases the system goes in through the plumber you already pay, on a day already on the schedule.
Rough in the loop on every city-water home
The softener loop is a valved, accessible point-of-entry location — usually the garage or mechanical room — with a drain and an outlet nearby. It costs some rough-in time on a home that never gets a system. It saves a retrofit on every home that does. Many builders rough it in on every city-water home for that reason; put your own loop cost into the calculator below and decide community by community.
Two details worth getting right at the plan stage: tee hose bibs and irrigation ahead of the loop where the design allows, so outdoor water never runs through treatment equipment (the home flow-rate (GPM) calculator explains why irrigation on a treated line is a sizing problem), and leave the loop where a tech can reach it in five years with a tank on a dolly. For the order equipment goes in on a city supply, see the municipal water treatment sequence.
Put it on the option sheet
One section, three lines, each described in general terms:
- Whole-home softening. Ion-exchange softening is the standard approach to hardness — the dissolved minerals that leave scale on glass, fixtures and water heaters.
- Whole-home filtration. Activated carbon is the media class commonly used for chlorine taste and odor; catalytic carbon is what media makers specify where the utility uses chloramine.
- Drinking-water system. Reverse osmosis is a membrane process for point-of-use drinking water at the kitchen sink and fridge. Run the line at rough-in.
Then one note: the final selection follows a water test. Present categories, not promises — what each type of equipment is for, and that the final pick follows the test. The buyer chooses a category at the design center; the dealer champion confirms the model after reading the utility's report and testing the tap.
For remodelers: scope it while the plumbing is exposed
Kitchen, whole-house and addition remodels where the main line is accessible are the natural fit. The system goes in alongside the job through your existing plumber, and the payment conversation rides the remodel's. The design meeting is where it belongs: one line on the scope list, described by category, with the water test scheduled before the final pick.
Remodeling bathrooms specifically? See the bath-remodeler guide — it covers the glass-and-fixtures conversation without repeating this page.
Who installs it
Your licensed plumber sets the system on the loop. You, as the dealer, own the option, the test, the handoff and the service decision — service it yourself, or arrange a service partner, and decide that before you offer it. Water-treatment licensing varies by state; verify yours before launch. Your plumber's side of the job — the test, the connection, the post-install readings — is written up in the plumbers' playbook.
What to offer first
| Order | Situation | Product | Sizing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Option-sheet "softening" line | Diamond Soft metered ion-exchange softener, 30K / 45K / 60K grain — capacity chosen by home size and the city's hardness range, confirmed by test | Softener sizing calculator |
| 2 | "Softening + whole-home filtration" in one footprint, tight garage | The Diamond — carbon and softening in one tank, Clack WS1 valve | Softener calculator for capacity |
| 3 | "Whole-home filtration" line | Black Diamond whole-home carbon — coconut-shell or catalytic media per the CCR disinfectant; 1.0 / 1.5 / 2.0 ft³ | Size flow from the fixture count on the plans and the carbon size guide |
| 4 | Kitchen drinking-water option (run the line to the sink and fridge at rough-in) | Reverse osmosis, point-of-use | Per the model's documentation |
A first project, rough-in to walkthrough
Sample job
One city-water community, one option
Builder sequence. The remodeler variant is at the end.
0 of 8 checked
Then
Remodeler variant: design meeting → scope line item → water test → install through your plumber while the plumbing is open → orientation at the final walkthrough.
Run your own option-sheet math
Every input starts blank. Your homes, your costs, your prices. This is not a projection of earnings. The builder tab keeps your loop cost separate from the option total on purpose — the tool never nets one against the other.
Your numbers · city-water jobs
Your projects, your option sheet: run the math
Every input starts blank. The math is shown under the result.
Enter all 5 numbers to see your math. 0 of 5 entered.
Your numbers, not ours. This is arithmetic on the numbers you entered. It is not a projection of earnings, income or profit, and it is not a promise of results. “Installed-price total” is your price multiplied by your count. It comes before equipment, labor, financing fees, overhead and taxes, and actual results vary by market, pricing, licensing and effort.
After closing: the handoff and the service question
Buyer orientation happens at the walkthrough: where the bypass is, where the salt goes, who to call. The system's model, serial and test readings go in the closing packet with the appliance manuals. Decide service ownership up front — you as the dealer, or a service partner you've arranged — and put the answer in the packet too, so the first "who do I call?" has an answer before it's asked. Written Lifetime Limited Warranty terms provided to dealers; warranty paperwork reaches buyers through the dealer, per the dealer agreement.
The honest questions
How the Aquonyx dealer program works for builders and remodelers
- No application, enrollment or franchise fee.
- A one-pallet opening order to begin.
- Assigned wholesale pricing after approval, viewed in the dealer portal.
- Product and installation training during onboarding — for you and for the plumber who sets the systems.
- The dealer portal for quotes, ordering, order tracking, installation scheduling and stock.
- The written dealer agreement governs territory and terms. Approval depends on business fit and territory.
- Homeowner financing: on completion of the dealer application, Aquonyx introduces you to its in-house homeowner financing program.
Reading the utility's report is the one new skill the office needs; our guide to the utility's CCR covers it in ten minutes.
Rough in the loop. Put it on the sheet. Apply to become a dealer — no fee, or see the systems first. Aquonyx is the manufacturer; dealers run their own businesses.
This guide covers municipal (city) water. Licensing varies by state; verify with your state board. Equipment is described by type and specification only — the model's documentation states what each system is designed to do.
About Aquonyx. Aquonyx builds city-water treatment systems for independent dealers. You buy from the maker. Articles are written and reviewed by the Aquonyx Technical Team; see how we source and check them.