Faucets, toilets, sinks, showers and more
Fixture installation, and the measurement to take before you buy anything
The most common problem with a new fixture is not the fitting of it. It is discovering on the day that the toilet does not line up with the drain, or the faucet does not match the holes in the sink. Each of those has one number behind it, and every one of them can be checked in about a minute with a tape measure.
Before you buy
Measure this first
Pick what you are replacing. These are the checks that stop a fixture going back to the store, and they are worth doing before you fall in love with something.
Fixture buying check
What to measure, and what usually goes wrong when nobody does.
What are you replacing
Send us a photo with a tape measure in the frame and we will confirm it before you order. That takes us two minutes and saves you a return trip.
Honest heads-up
Why a simple fixture job sometimes grows
This is the single most common reason a quick job turns into a longer one, and it is better said in advance than discovered with the water off.
- Old shutoff valves often will not reseal. The small stops under sinks and behind toilets are frequently multi-turn valves that have sat untouched for decades. Closing one for the first time in twenty years can be the last thing it ever does properly, and then it weeps rather than shutting.
- Which is not carelessness, it is age. The valve was already at the end of its life. Replacing a fixture is simply the moment it gets asked to work.
- So we quote for the possibility rather than pretending it will not happen. If yours are old multi-turn stops, we will tell you upfront that replacing them is likely and what that adds, instead of raising it halfway through with your water off.
- Quarter-turn ball stops are the upgrade worth taking. They seal reliably, they are quick to operate in an emergency, and they make the next job on that fixture a small one. It is a modest addition at the point where the pipe is already open.
- Corroded supply lines get replaced, not reused. Braided stainless lines are inexpensive and they are a common source of sudden failure when they are old. Reusing one to save a few dollars is a poor trade.
- Toilet flanges are the other one. A flange that sits below finished floor level, or one that has cracked, needs correcting before a new toilet goes on, otherwise the seal fails and you find out slowly through the ceiling below.
Worth considering
Fixtures that make a house easier to live in
If a bathroom is being changed anyway, some of these cost very little extra at that moment and a great deal more as a separate job later.
- Comfort height toilets. Taller than the traditional height, which makes a noticeable difference for anyone with knee or hip trouble. Same footprint, same rough-in, so it is purely a choice of which unit to buy.
- Blocking behind the wall for grab bars. If a wall is open for any reason, adding solid backing costs almost nothing now. Fitting a properly anchored grab bar later, into a wall with nothing behind the tile, is a much bigger conversation.
- Thermostatic or pressure balancing shower valves. These hold temperature steady when a toilet flushes or a washing machine fills, which is a comfort feature and a scald protection feature at the same time.
- Lever handles rather than knobs. Easier for arthritic hands, and no more expensive. One of those choices that costs nothing to make correctly at the point of purchase.
- A mixing valve at the water heater. Lets the tank store hotter while delivering safer water at the tap, which matters where there are young children or anyone with reduced sensation. Worth asking about alongside water heater work.
- Shutoffs where there are none. Plenty of older fixtures have no local stop at all, so any future problem means shutting the whole house off. Adding one while we are there is small and it pays for itself the first time something goes wrong.
Questions
Fixture installation questions
Yes, and plenty of people do, particularly when they have chosen something specific. Two things worth knowing. Send us the model or a photo before you order so we can check it fits what you have, because the measurement checks above are the difference between a smooth morning and a wasted one. And a fixture you supplied carries its own manufacturer warranty rather than ours, so if the unit itself proves faulty that is a conversation with the supplier. Our workmanship is covered either way.
A straightforward faucet or toilet swap where the connections are sound is usually well under an hour. What extends it is almost always the things around the fixture rather than the fixture itself: a seized shutoff, a corroded supply line, a flange that needs correcting, or a vanity that has to come apart for access. That is why we ask a few questions when you book, since it decides whether we allow half an hour or half a morning and whether we arrive with the right parts.
That is usually the sensible way to do it, and it costs less per fixture than booking them separately because you are only paying once for the visit. If you have a list, send the whole thing rather than the most urgent item. It also lets us bring the right parts for all of it in one go, which matters given how often shutoffs and supply lines need replacing along the way.
Replacing a fixture in the same location, using the existing supply and drain, generally does not. Moving a fixture, adding one where there was none, or altering drain and vent pipework is different, and requirements vary between towns and between Connecticut and Massachusetts. We work in both states and we will tell you which category your job falls into before we start. If a permit is needed, that is our responsibility to raise rather than something you should be finding out afterwards.
Call us and we will come back. A toilet that rocks has not been shimmed and levelled properly on an uneven floor, and rocking eventually breaks the seal underneath, so it is worth correcting promptly rather than living with. A new faucet dripping usually means a supply connection or an internal cartridge rather than the installation, and either way it is ours to look at. Neither is something you should be tolerating on work that was just done.
We handle the plumbing side, which includes the rough-in work if pipework is moving, and the fitting of everything once surfaces are finished. We are not a general contractor, so tiling, carpentry and finishing are not ours, and on a full remodel we work alongside whoever is running the project. If you are at the planning stage, it is worth having us look before walls close, because that is the cheapest moment to add shutoffs, blocking for grab bars, or a relocated supply.
Book it
Send us the list
What you are fitting, whether you have bought it yet, and roughly how old the house is. A photo under the sink tells us more about the job than anything else you could send.
Related
Next steps and neighbors
Pipe RepairIf what's behind the wall needs work.
Water Heater ServicesMixing valves and hot water supply.
Leak DetectionIf a fixture is leaking out of sight.
Emergency PlumbingAnswered 24 hours a day.
All PlumbingEverything we cover, and what we don't.
Do we cover your townOur Connecticut and Massachusetts service area.
Free, no obligation
Check it fits before you buy it
Send a photo with a tape measure in the frame and we will confirm the fixture works with what you have, before you order it.