Bathroom Plumbing.

Bathroom plumbing covers everything from a single fixture replacement to a full remodel rough-in. Common service calls: shower valve cartridge replacement (the universal cause of leaking shower handles), tub spout diverter replacement, vanity drain leaks, toilet wax-ring replacement, and tile-or-stone shower drain repair. We diagnose the actual source before opening any drywall — bathroom calls often have misleading symptoms.

For remodels, we handle the rough-in plumbing — supply lines, drain-waste-vent, valve placement, and shower pan installation — coordinated with your tile and finish contractors so trades flow correctly. Every valve and drain is set to the finished wall depth so finish trades have clean reference points. All new rough-in is air-pressure-tested to code before drywall closes; city inspection is coordinated and we're on-site for the inspector visit.

Plumbing-only scope on a typical residential bathroom remodel runs $2,800-$5,200 depending on whether you're keeping existing valve and drain locations or relocating them. Relocating drains adds significant labor and often subfloor work; relocating supply is cheaper. Single shower valve cartridge swaps complete in 30-45 minutes and run $185-$265 fully installed depending on brand.

Shower safety is the part of a bathroom remodel most homeowners never hear about. The California Plumbing Code requires every shower and tub-shower valve to be pressure-balancing, thermostatic or a combination of the two, limited to 120°F at the outlet. That is what keeps a shower from turning scalding when someone flushes a toilet down the hall. A lot of original two-handle valves in 1950s through 1970s bathrooms in San Pedro, Hawthorne and Lomita predate that rule, and a remodel, with the wall already open, is the time to replace one rather than build new tile around it.

Older tub drains carry their own history. Some pre-1960s bathrooms still have a drum trap under the tub, a canister-style trap that is no longer allowed in new work and that collects hair and soap until the tub drains at a crawl. Others run galvanized or cast iron drain arms that have narrowed from the inside. A slow tub that clears for a week and then slows again is usually one of the two, and it is where drain cleaning stops being enough and the drain needs to be rebuilt under the floor.

Toilets fail at the floor more often than at the tank. A rocking toilet, a sewer smell in the bathroom or staining around the base usually means a failed wax ring, and in older homes the flange underneath is often corroded cast iron or broken plastic that will not hold a new one. A bad flange gets replaced, not covered with a second wax ring. For running toilets, fill valves and full replacements, see our toilet repair and replacement service.

Hard water shows up in the bathroom first. Scale builds on cartridges until handles stiffen and drip, clogs showerhead faces, and leaves the white crust on fixtures that no cleaner keeps up with. In the beach cities, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach included, it is the most common reason a cartridge fails early. Replacing the cartridge fixes the leak; a water softener fixes the reason it keeps happening.

Tub-to-shower conversions are the remodel we are asked about most. The plumbing work is predictable: the tub spout comes out, the valve usually moves up to shower height, and the drain moves from the end of the tub to wherever the new shower pan puts it. Keeping the drain where it is keeps the cost at the low end of the remodel range above; moving it across the room is what pushes it toward the top.