Plumbing Renovations

Renovation Plumbing

Where Plumbing Fits in a Remodel Timeline

Plumbing shows up twice in almost every remodel. We come in early, after demo, to run the rough-in. Then we come back near the end, after tile and cabinets, to set fixtures. Everything between those two visits depends on the rough-in being right.

Here’s the usual order on a bathroom or kitchen job:

• Demo. Old fixtures, cabinets and wall coverings come out. We like to see the space once it’s open, before anything is decided for good.
• Rough-in. We run new drain, waste and vent lines and new supply lines, set valve bodies and stub out to the locations on the plan.
• Rough inspection. The building department checks the work while it’s still exposed. Drains are usually tested under water or air pressure at this stage.
• Cover. Once the rough passes, the other trades close walls, pour or patch slab, and install tile and cabinets.
• Trim-out. We set toilets, faucets, shower trim, sinks, disposals and appliance connections, then test everything.
• Final inspection. The inspector signs off on the finished plumbing.

The expensive mistakes happen when someone covers work before inspection, or when fixture choices change after rough-in. A valve body set for one brand of shower trim doesn’t always accept another. We’ll talk about that more below.

Planning Decisions That Drive Plumbing Cost

The single biggest factor in remodel plumbing cost is whether fixtures stay where they are. Swapping a vanity or toilet in the same spot is simple. Moving a toilet four feet across a slab floor is a different project.

Keeping fixtures in place

When the layout stays the same, we can often reuse the existing drain locations and focus on new valves, supply lines and trim. This is where many budget-minded remodels land, and there’s nothing wrong with it.

Moving fixtures

Relocating a sink a few inches along the same wall is usually minor. Moving a toilet, tub or shower drain on a slab means cutting concrete, trenching and tying into the existing line with enough slope. On a raised floor or second story it means working through joists. Adding a new fixture entirely, like a second vanity or a laundry sink, also means new venting.

Things that add up quietly

• Upgrading from a tub to a large walk-in shower with multiple outlets
• Wall-mounted faucets or toilets that need in-wall carriers or special rough-in
• Replacing old piping discovered once the walls are open
• A larger or second water heater to support new fixtures
• Fixture changes after rough-in is done

We’d rather walk through these options with you and your contractor before demo than find out at rough-in that the plan needs to change.

Bathroom Remodel Plumbing

Bathrooms are the most common room people remodel. Typical work includes new shower valves, tub-to-shower conversions, new or relocated drains, new toilet flanges, vanity supplies and drains, and body sprays or handheld wands.

A tub-to-shower conversion sounds simple, but a tub drain and a shower drain usually aren’t in the same spot, and a shower pan needs its drain placed to suit the pan or the tile layout. On a slab that often means some concrete work. We also check whether the shower valve should move to a more convenient height or wall.

For more on everyday bathroom service outside a full remodel, see our bathroom plumbing page.

Curbless showers and linear drains

Curbless showers are popular, and they take planning. The floor has to slope toward the drain without a curb holding water back, so on a slab the area under the shower is often recessed. Linear drains help because the floor only slopes in one direction toward a long channel instead of four directions toward a center drain. We coordinate drain placement and height with the tile setter and whoever is handling waterproofing, since the drain body has to match the finished floor.

Aging-in-place features

Plenty of Southwest Florida homeowners remodel with the long term in mind. Plumbing is a big part of making a bathroom easier to use as you get older.

• Curbless or low-threshold showers with linear drains
• Shower valves placed where they can be reached from outside the spray or from a seat
• Handheld showers on slide bars
• Comfort-height toilets
• Wall-hung or open vanities with room for a seated user, with drain and supplies arranged to clear knees
• Anti-scald valves that limit water temperature

Grab bars aren’t plumbing, but we’ll keep blocking locations in mind so the framer has room. Plan it all together and you won’t end up opening the wall twice.

Kitchen Remodel Plumbing

Kitchen work usually involves the sink drain and supplies, dishwasher, disposal, ice maker or refrigerator line, and sometimes a pot filler or a prep sink in an island.

Islands are the big one. Putting a sink in a new island on a slab means trenching to the drain line and figuring out venting, since there’s no wall to run a vent up through. That’s one of the places an air admittance valve or an island vent arrangement comes into the conversation, depending on what the local jurisdiction accepts.

For general kitchen plumbing repairs and upgrades, visit our kitchen plumbing page.

Moving Drains on a Slab

Most homes in Southwest Florida are built on concrete slabs, so moving a drain means going through the floor. Here’s what that involves.

• We mark the old and new drain locations and trace where the existing line runs.
• The slab is saw-cut and broken out along the path of the new pipe.
• We dig a trench, run new pipe to the new location and tie into the existing drain.
• The new pipe needs a consistent downhill slope. Under the Florida plumbing code, horizontal drain pipe 2-1/2 inches and smaller generally needs 1/4 inch of fall per foot, and 3 to 6 inch pipe generally needs at least 1/8 inch per foot.
• The work is tested and inspected before the trench is backfilled and the concrete is patched.

Slope is where long moves get tricky. If a toilet moves far from the main line, there may not be enough depth under the slab to keep proper fall. Sometimes the answer is tying into a different branch. Sometimes the move has to be shortened. We look at this before anyone commits to a layout.

Cutting a slab also gives us a look at the existing drain line. If it’s old cast iron, it’s a good time to check its condition with a camera. Our sewer line repair page covers that side of the work.

Venting and Code Issues That Come Up

Every fixture drain needs a vent. Vents let air into the system so water drains smoothly and traps don’t get siphoned dry, which is what keeps sewer gas out of the house. When a fixture moves or a new one is added, the venting has to work for the new layout.

Common venting issues on remodels:

• A fixture moved too far from its existing vent
• A new island sink with no wall to carry a vent
• Old work done without proper venting that shows up once the wall is open
• Vent pipes cut or removed during demo by another trade

Air admittance valves

An air admittance valve is a one-way valve that lets air into the drain line without running a pipe through the roof. The Florida plumbing code includes provisions for them, with rules about where they go and how they’re installed, and local building departments may have their own requirements. They’re useful in the right spot, but they aren’t a cure-all, and we’ll tell you when a conventional vent is the better call.

What We Find in Older SWFL Homes When Walls Open

A lot of homes in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres and Punta Gorda were built between the 1960s and the 1990s. When those walls come open, we tend to see the same things.

• Cast iron drains. Common in older homes. Over decades it can crack, scale up inside or rot along the bottom of the pipe, especially under slabs.
• Galvanized steel supply lines. These corrode from the inside, which cuts water pressure and can leave rust in the water.
• Polybutylene. Gray plastic supply pipe used in many homes from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. It has a history of failing, and many insurers don’t want to see it.
• Undersized or poorly sloped drains. Past owners or handymen sometimes added fixtures to lines that were never meant to carry them.
• Old patch jobs. Mixed materials, rubber couplings in odd places and leaks that have been slowly soaking the framing.

None of this is a reason to panic. It’s a reason to plan a small contingency and make decisions while the wall is still open. If you’ve noticed a musty smell or stains, our leak detection work can help sort things out before demo starts.

Repiping while the walls are open

If the house has galvanized or polybutylene supply lines, a remodel is the cheapest time to replace them. The walls and ceilings are already open in the rooms being renovated, so a good chunk of the access work is done.

Some owners repipe only the remodel area and tie back into the old system. That works, but you still have the old pipe everywhere else. Others use the remodel as the starting point for a full repipe. We’ll give you the tradeoffs honestly. You can read more on our whole-house repiping page.

Water Heater Capacity for New Fixtures

A remodel often adds hot water demand without anyone thinking about it. A big soaking tub, a shower with a rain head and body sprays, or a second primary bath can outrun a water heater that was fine for the old layout.

Before rough-in, we look at what the new fixtures need and compare it to what the existing heater can deliver. Sometimes the existing heater is fine. Sometimes it makes sense to go larger, add a second unit near the new bathroom, or switch to tankless. Tankless units need the right gas line size or electrical service, so that’s worth sorting out early with your contractor and electrician.

See our water heaters and tankless water heaters pages for more detail.

Permits and Inspections

In Florida, relocating plumbing, adding fixtures, replacing water heaters and repiping generally require a permit from the local building department. Each jurisdiction has its own process, so Lee County, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Collier County and Charlotte County all handle things a little differently.

Who pulls the permit

On most remodels, the plumbing contractor pulls the plumbing permit, or the plumbing is included under the general contractor’s permit with the plumber listed as a subcontractor, depending on the jurisdiction and the job. We’ll sort that out with your contractor up front.

Florida does have an owner-builder exemption that lets property owners pull permits for work on their own home. It comes with strings attached. The owner has to sign a disclosure statement, is responsible for the work, and generally has to do it personally or directly supervise it. There are also restrictions on selling or leasing the property within a year of completion. If you’re considering that route, read the disclosure carefully.

What gets inspected

• Underground or under-slab rough. Drain lines in the trench, tested before backfill.
• Top-out or wall rough. Drains, vents and supply lines in the walls before they’re covered.
• Final. Fixtures set, water heater installed and everything working.

Exact stages depend on the jurisdiction and the scope. The point is the same everywhere: don’t close up plumbing that hasn’t been inspected.

Flood Zones and the 50% Rule

Much of Southwest Florida sits in FEMA flood zones, and that affects remodels. Under the substantial improvement rule, often called the 50% rule, if the cost of improvements to a building in a flood zone reaches 50% or more of the structure’s market value, the building generally has to be brought into compliance with current floodplain rules. For an older, lower home, that can mean elevating it.

Plumbing costs count toward that total, along with the other trades, materials and labor. The value used is the building’s value, not the land. Local jurisdictions like Lee County, Cape Coral and Fort Myers Beach each run their own review, and their procedures differ.

We don’t make that determination, but we can give you or your contractor a clear plumbing number to include in the building department’s calculation. If you’re working on a home near the water in Fort Myers Beach or a canal-front house in Cape Coral, ask about this early.

Working With GCs, Designers and Other Trades

On a remodel we often work alongside a general contractor, a designer, or a homeowner running the project with several trades. We handle the plumbing. We coordinate with the tile setter, cabinet installer, electrician and HVAC contractor, but we don’t do their work.

What helps the job go smoothly

• Fixture specs before rough-in. We need model numbers and rough-in sheets for valves, toilets, tubs, freestanding tub fillers and wall-mounted faucets. Rough-in dimensions vary by manufacturer.
• A clear schedule. Let us know when demo will be done and when walls need to close so the rough inspection doesn’t hold anyone up.
• Order fixtures early. Specialty valves, trim kits and imported fixtures can take weeks to arrive. Having the valve body on site at rough-in matters more than having the trim.
• Cabinet and tile layouts. Knowing exact sink centers and tile heights lets us set stub-outs and valves in the right place.

If you’re a builder working on ground-up projects too, our new construction plumbing page covers that work.

Commercial Build-Outs and Tenant Improvements

We handle plumbing for tenant improvements and build-outs in offices, retail spaces, restaurants and medical suites. The work is similar to residential remodeling in sequence, with more coordination and usually stricter plan review.

Common scope includes restrooms, break rooms, hand sinks, mop sinks, water heaters and connections for equipment. Restaurant and food service spaces often involve grease interceptors, floor drains and indirect waste for equipment. Many build-outs happen in existing shells on slabs, so trenching for new restroom and sink locations is routine.

We work from the approved plans and coordinate with the GC’s schedule and the landlord’s requirements. More on our commercial plumbing page.

Condo Remodels

Condos in Naples, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers and on the islands add a few steps. Most associations require approval before work starts, and many want to see the contractor’s paperwork and a description of the scope. Some limit work hours and elevator use.

Shutoffs are the other big issue. In many buildings, a unit can’t be isolated on its own, so shutting water down means coordinating with building management and giving notice to neighbors. Stacks and shared drain lines also run through units, and anything that ties into them needs care. We plan around the building’s rules so the job doesn’t stall. If you’re in a high-rise in Naples or Bonita Springs, get your association paperwork started early.

When to Call and What to Send Us

The best time to bring us in is before demo, while the layout can still change without cost. Even a quick look can head off a layout that won’t drain properly or a valve that won’t fit.

To get started, send us:

• Plans or a sketch of the new layout, even if it’s rough
• A fixture list with model numbers, if you have it
• Photos of the existing space, including under sinks and the water heater
• The property address, so we know which jurisdiction and whether flood rules may apply
• Your target schedule and who else is on the job

Call (239) 518-4198 or use our request form. We work throughout Lee, Charlotte and Collier Counties. Check our service areas for the full list.