Bathroom Plumbing

Bathroom Plumbing Repairs and Toilet Problems

A bathroom packs more fixtures and connections into a small room than almost anywhere else in the house.

We work on toilets, faucets, shower valves, shower drains, bathtubs, vanity sinks and the piping that feeds them. That covers one-off plumbing repairs, fixture swaps, and the rough-in and finish plumbing for a remodel. We serve homeowners through our residential plumbing work and property owners and managers through our commercial plumbing service.

A toilet that keeps running

A toilet that refills on its own every few minutes is almost always leaking water from the tank into the bowl. A worn or warped flapper is the usual cause. Sometimes the fill valve is set too high and water spills into the overflow tube.

Weak or incomplete flushes

A weak flush can come from a low water level in the tank, a flapper that closes too early, mineral buildup in the rim holes and siphon jet, or a partial clog in the trap. If more than one fixture is slow, the problem may be further down the line, and we’d look at drain cleaning or the main line instead of the toilet itself.

Leaking at the base

Water around the base after a flush usually points to a failed wax ring or a damaged flange. Don’t ignore it. That water soaks into the subfloor and can cause rot or mold. We pull the toilet, check the flange, replace the seal and reset it.

A toilet that rocks

A rocking toilet breaks the wax seal over time, and that leads straight to the leak described above. The cause might be loose closet bolts, a flange that sits too low after new flooring went in, a cracked or corroded flange, or an uneven floor. We fix the flange first, then shim and reset the toilet so it sits solid.

Toilet Installation and Choosing a New Toilet

Replacing a toilet is a good time to fix an old flange, add a new shutoff valve and supply line, and pick a model that suits the people using it.

Measure the rough-in first

The rough-in is the distance from the finished wall to the center of the drain. Most homes use a 12-inch rough-in, but 10-inch and 14-inch layouts are out there, especially in older homes. We measure before you buy.

Water use

Federal rules have capped new toilets at 1.6 gallons per flush since the 1990s. WaterSense labeled models use 1.28 gallons per flush or less and have to pass a flush performance test to earn the label.

Height and shape

Standard toilets sit around 15 inches from floor to seat. Comfort-height or chair-height models land in the 17 to 19 inch range, which is the seat height accessibility guidelines call for. Taller bowls are easier to sit on and get up from. Elongated bowls are more comfortable for most adults, while round bowls save a couple of inches in a tight half bath.

Faucets, Sinks and Vanities

Dripping faucets

Most modern bathroom faucets use a cartridge to control flow and temperature. When a faucet drips from the spout or the handle gets stiff, the cartridge or its seals are often worn out. On many brands we can replace the cartridge and keep the faucet.

Low flow at the sink

If one faucet runs weak and the others are fine, the aerator is the first thing we check. Mineral scale and debris collect in the screen. If low pressure shows up throughout the house, that’s a different conversation and may involve the water line or old galvanized piping.

Replacing a faucet

When a faucet is corroded, cracked or just outdated, replacement makes more sense than repair. Before you buy one, check how many holes your sink or countertop has and how far apart they are. We also replace old shutoff valves and supply lines while we’re under there, since those are common leak points.

New vanities and sinks

New vanities rarely line up perfectly with the old plumbing. A different height, a different sink position or a switch from one sink to two usually means moving the drain and supply stubs in the wall.

We handle the drain, trap, supply lines, shutoffs and faucet hookup, while the cabinet and countertop trades set the vanity and top. Vessel and wall-mounted sinks have their own drain height needs, so tell us your choice before the walls close up.

Shower Valve Problems and Valve Types

The shower valve is the part in the wall that mixes hot and cold water.

Temperature swings

If the shower goes cold or hot when someone flushes a toilet or runs the washer, the valve isn’t compensating for pressure changes. On a newer valve, a worn or scaled-up cartridge is the usual culprit.

Drips and hard-to-turn handles

A showerhead that keeps dripping after the handle is off usually means worn cartridge seals or a damaged seat. A handle that’s stiff or grinds is often caused by mineral buildup inside the valve. Replacing the cartridge fixes many of these without opening the wall.

Pressure-balance and thermostatic valves

Plumbing codes require shower and tub-shower valves to be pressure-balance, thermostatic, or a combination of the two, with a limit stop set so the water can’t go above 120 degrees. A pressure-balance valve reacts to a drop in hot or cold pressure and adjusts to keep the temperature steady. A thermostatic valve senses the actual water temperature and holds it where you set it, and it usually lets you control volume separately. Thermostatic valves cost more but hold temperature tighter, and they’re the common choice for showers with multiple heads or body sprays. Swapping out an old two-handle valve is a solid safety upgrade.

Shower Pan Leaks

In a tiled shower, the tile and grout aren’t waterproof. Water soaks through to a liner or membrane underneath that directs it to the drain. When that layer fails, water goes into the floor and walls instead.

Signs of a failed shower pan include:

• Stains or soft spots on a wall or ceiling next to or below the shower
• Grout that stays dark long after the shower was used
• Loose tiles or cracked grout near the drain
• A musty smell that doesn’t go away with cleaning
• Baseboards or flooring outside the shower that swell or peel

Not every wet spot is the pan. The leak could be the drain connection, the valve, the supply to the showerhead, or a gap at the door. We sort out the source before anyone starts tearing out tile. Our leak detection service is built for that. When a new pan and drain go in, the shower is typically flood tested by plugging the drain and letting water sit for a day before tile goes on, so problems get caught while they’re still cheap to fix.

Shower Installation and Conversions

We handle the plumbing for new showers and for converting existing ones. That means the valve, the supply piping to the heads, the drain, and the trap under the floor. Tile, glass and waterproofing are handled by the other trades, and we schedule around them.

Tub-to-shower conversions

Converting usually means moving or replacing the valve, raising the showerhead outlet, and changing the tub drain to a shower drain. A tub drain is often smaller than what a shower needs, so the drain line may have to be upsized.

Walk-in and curbless showers

A curbless shower has no step at the entry, so the floor has to slope toward the drain without a raised curb to hold water in. On a slab, that often means recessing the floor around the drain.

Linear drains

A linear drain is a long, narrow channel instead of a round center drain. The floor only needs to slope in one direction toward it, which makes curbless entries and large-format tile easier. The drain body and trap still have to be set at the right height and connected correctly, which is our part of the job.

Bathtub Installation and Replacement

Replacing an alcove tub

Swapping a standard tub for another one of the same size is the simplest job. Pay attention to drain side (left or right), since the drain and overflow have to line up with the existing plumbing or be moved.

Freestanding tubs

A freestanding tub sits away from the wall, so the drain has to come up through the floor in the right spot, and the faucet is often a floor-mounted tub filler. On a slab home, that means cutting the concrete to run the drain and supply lines to the new location. Many freestanding tubs also hold a lot of water, so it’s worth checking your water heater capacity before you pick one.

Moving Bathroom Fixtures on a Slab

Most homes in Southwest Florida are built on concrete slabs, and the drain lines run through or under that slab. Moving a toilet, shower drain or tub drain means cutting the concrete, trenching, running new pipe at the proper slope, and patching the floor.

It’s common in remodels, but it adds time and cost, so decide early which fixtures really need to move. Keeping the toilet in its original spot and moving the vanity, for example, is usually far less work than the reverse. Moving fixtures typically requires a permit and inspection. Our plumbing renovations page covers more about planning a layout change.

Aging-in-Place and Accessibility Updates

Plenty of homeowners here are planning to stay put for the long haul, and a few plumbing changes make a bathroom easier to use as needs change.

• Comfort-height toilets in the 17 to 19 inch seat height range
• Curbless or low-threshold showers with a linear drain
• Handheld showerheads on a slide bar, so you can shower seated
• Shower valves placed where they can be reached from a bench or from outside the spray
• Lever-handle faucets that are easier to operate than knobs
• Thermostatic or pressure-balance valves to guard against scalding

Grab bars need solid blocking in the wall behind them. The blocking is framing work, but the best time to add it is while the wall is open for plumbing, so we flag it during rough-in.

Hot Water for Bigger Showers and Tubs

A big soaking tub or a shower with several heads can use more hot water than the old setup did. If the water heater can’t keep up, you’ll get a lukewarm bath or a shower that goes cold halfway through.

Before a bathroom upgrade, we look at the size and age of your water heater and how many bathrooms draw from it. Sometimes the answer is a larger tank. Sometimes it’s a tankless water heater sized for the flow rate the new fixtures need. Our water heaters page covers repair, replacement and sizing in more detail.

Bathroom Remodels, Other Trades and Permits

On a remodel, the plumbing comes in stages. We do the rough-in after demolition and framing, before insulation and drywall or backer board. After the tile, cabinets and glass are in, we come back to set fixtures and make final connections. Tile can’t start until the plumbing is roughed in and inspected.

Moving fixtures, adding new ones or replacing piping inside the walls generally requires a plumbing permit and inspection in Lee, Charlotte and Collier Counties. Simple like-for-like fixture swaps often don’t, but the rules vary by jurisdiction, so check with your local building department or ask us. If the home still has old galvanized or polybutylene supply pipe, a remodel with open walls is a practical time to consider whole-house repiping.

Hard Water and Your Bathroom Fixtures

Much of Southwest Florida has hard water, meaning high levels of calcium and magnesium. Those minerals leave scale inside anything that water passes through. In bathrooms, that shows up as clogged showerhead nozzles, spray patterns that go crooked, faucet aerators that plug up, and shower cartridges that get stiff or start to drip long before they should.

Scale in toilet rim holes weakens the flush too. Soaking showerheads and aerators in vinegar handles light buildup. Valves seized by scale usually need new cartridges.

When to Call a Plumber

Some bathroom fixes are fine to do yourself, like swapping a flapper or cleaning an aerator. Call us when you see any of the following:

• Water on the floor around a toilet, tub or shower
• Stains or soft spots on walls or ceilings near a bathroom
• A shower that swings hot or cold, or won’t shut off completely
• A toilet that rocks or keeps clogging
• Slow drains in more than one fixture
• Any plan to move, add or upgrade fixtures

Multiple slow drains or gurgling fixtures can point to a problem in the main line, which we handle through our sewer line repair service. We work throughout Southwest Florida, including our Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Naples service areas. See all of our service areas, call (239) 518-4198, or send a request through our contact form.