What does a plumber actually do on a kitchen or bathroom remodel?
Three visits, usually. First we come out, look at the space and whatever plans you have, and give you a fixed price. Second is the rough-in: the walls and floor are open, and we move the supply and drain lines to the new layout, set the tub or shower valve, and run gas if a range or a heater is moving. Third is the finish: once tile, counters and cabinets are in, we come back and set the fixtures, connect the sink and disposal, and test everything.
The rough-in is the part that controls your schedule. Tile, drywall and cabinets all wait on it, so if plumbing slips a week, the whole job slips a week. When we give you a rough-in date, we build our schedule around holding it. If your house still has galvanized or old copper, a remodel is the cheapest time to repipe the affected part, because the walls are already open. We'll tell you when that's worth doing and when it isn't.
What plumbing does an ADU need?
An ADU is a small house, so it needs everything a house needs: water supply, drain and vent, and usually gas. The two questions that decide the cost are whether your existing water service and sewer line can carry another unit, and how far the ADU sits from where they run today.
A garage conversion is usually the least expensive, since the water and sewer are already close. A detached ADU at the back of the lot means trenching, and the cost moves with the distance and what's in the way, like a driveway, mature trees or a slab. We handle the underground, the rough-in, and the finish plumbing, and we coordinate with your general contractor or designer so our dates line up with framing and drywall. If you're still deciding on a layout, get us out early: moving a bathroom three feet on paper is free, and moving it after the slab is poured is not.
Do you work with remodelers, designers and general contractors?
Yes, and it's most of what we do on this work. We read the plans you send, price from them, and hold the dates we commit to. If something on the plan won't work in the field, you hear it from us during the estimate, not the day of the rough-in.
For homeowners running their own remodel, we can work straight from your fixture list and your cabinet and tile schedule. Send us the model numbers and we'll tell you what the rough-in needs to be before anything gets ordered. Either way, one crew does the underground, the rough-in and the finish, so nobody has to re-learn your house halfway through. Every job carries our 1-year workmanship warranty.
