60-minute guarantee · Coupon
Later than 60 minutes from call to door?
Here’s $60 off.
No code to remember: tell your plumber or our dispatcher and $60 comes off the invoice. Good 24/7 on emergency calls in our service areas. Guarantee terms
Open 24/7 · 60-minute guarantee
Bathroom Plumbing
A shower that scalds when someone flushes, a tub that takes forever to drain or a stain on the ceiling downstairs — bathroom problems like to hide behind tile. We find the cause first, fix it through the smallest opening we can, and plumb full renovations from rough-in to the last fixture.
At your location in 60 minutes or you save $60.
The short answer
If water is coming through the ceiling below your bathroom, stop using the shower and tub and tell your super or neighbor. Note when it leaks: only during showers points to the pan, the grout or the valve, only when the tub is filled high points to the overflow, and all the time points to a supply pipe — for that, close the main or have the riser shut. We’re at your location in 60 minutes or you save $60 — then we trace the leak, give you the price and fix it through the smallest opening we can.
Is this an emergency?
Call now if…
- Water is coming through the ceiling below and won’t stop
- A shower or tub valve won’t shut off
- The shower is running scalding hot and won’t turn down
Can usually wait for a scheduled visit
- A slow tub drain that still empties
- A dated shower valve that still holds a steady temperature
- Planning a renovation or moving fixtures
Not sure? Call anyway — we’ll tell you honestly.
Do this right now
- If water is reaching the ceiling below, stop using the shower and tub and tell your super or the neighbor.
- Note when the leak shows up — during showers, after a full bath, or all the time.
- If the shower won’t shut off, close the valves behind its access panel if you have one, or ask the super to shut the riser.
- Keep children and older relatives out of a shower that’s running scalding.
Signs you need us
- The shower turns scalding or icy when someone flushes
- A stain or drip on the ceiling under your bathroom
- A tub or shower that drains slower every month
- Weak pressure at the shower but not at the sink
- Cracked grout or peeling caulk where the tub meets the wall
- Loose or hollow-sounding tiles on the shower wall
- Peeling paint or soft drywall on the other side of the shower wall
- A shower handle that’s stiff, loose or spins too far
How we handle the call
- 01
Find the source
Test-filling the tub, running the shower on its own and checking the supply lines tells us whether it’s the pan, the overflow, the grout or a pipe — before anything is opened.
- 02
Open only what’s needed
When we need access, we go through an access panel, a closet behind the shower or a ceiling that’s already damaged, instead of breaking good tile.
- 03
Fix the valve right
Worn cartridges are replaced, and an old two- or three-handle valve can be swapped for a pressure-balance or thermostatic one that holds the temperature steady.
- 04
Clear slow drains
Hair comes out of tub and shower drains, and an old drum trap under the floor gets cleaned out or replaced with a modern trap.
- 05
Plan the renovation
For a remodel, we lay out the rough-in, check it against the building’s rules and pressure-test every line before the walls close.
Know your building
Bathroom leaks and renovations in apartments and houses
In an apartment building, your bathroom usually sits right over someone else’s, and its drains often run in the space between your floor and their ceiling. That’s why a failed shower pan, a leaking tub overflow or cracked grout usually shows up downstairs first — sometimes months after it started. In a house, the same leak shows up on the ceiling of the room below — or, under a ground-floor bathroom, on the joists and subfloor in the basement or crawlspace. Older homes and buildings add their own quirks: three-handle shower valves, drum traps under the floor and galvanized supply pipe that slowly narrows. And on the top floors of a tall building, weak pressure can be the building’s problem rather than yours: under a rooftop tank there isn’t much water above you to push it, and a struggling booster pump shows up there first.
Renovations bring the building in. Co-ops and condos usually require an alteration agreement and certificates of insurance from contractors before work starts, and house rules limit the hours. Many co-ops restrict moving a bathroom over a neighbor’s living space — the “wet over dry” rule — and moving a toilet even a few feet can mean rerouting its drain through the ceiling below. We help you plan a layout that works with the stack instead of against it, and give your managing agent a clear description of the plumbing work. In a house there’s no board to answer to, and a basement or crawlspace underneath often makes moving a drain much simpler.
One visit, whole job
Everything covered on the call
- Shower and tub valve repair and replacement
- Pressure-balance and thermostatic upgrades
- Anti-scald limit stop adjustment
- Weak shower pressure
- Slow tub and shower drains
- Old drum traps replaced
- Leaks to the apartment below traced to the source
- Vanity and bathroom sink replacement
- Renovation rough-in and moving fixtures
Upfront price, every time
What bathroom plumbing costs
Repairs are priced by the part and the access. A new cartridge or a limit-stop adjustment is done from the front in a short visit; replacing a whole valve means opening the wall, and the price depends on whether we can get in from behind or have to go through tile.
Renovation plumbing is priced by scope: how many fixtures, whether any of them move, how far they are from the stack and what the building requires. You see the price before any tile comes off, and if an open wall turns up rotted pipe or a valve that won’t take new parts, we stop and show you the options first.
Honest advice
Fix the valve, or redo the bathroom?
Most bathroom plumbing problems don’t need a renovation. A scalding or dripping shower can usually be fixed with a new cartridge or a valve replaced through a small opening, a slow drain is a cleaning job, and a leaking overflow is a gasket — none of it means losing your tile.
A renovation starts to make sense when the shower pan has failed, when water has got behind the tile and softened the wall, or when the pipes behind it are corroded galvanized steel. If you’re redoing the room anyway, replace the valve and the supply and drain lines while the walls are open — it costs far less now than later.
Mistakes that make it worse
- Caulking over a leak — if water is already behind the tile, fresh caulk only hides it
- Turning up the water heater to fix a lukewarm shower — the valve’s limit stop is often the real cause
- Ignoring a stain on the ceiling below because your bathroom looks dry
- Planning a new layout before checking your building’s wet-over-dry rules
Keep it from happening again
- Recaulk where the tub meets the wall as soon as the old bead cracks or peels
- Pull hair out of the tub stopper every week or two
- Keep the curtain or door sweep inside the tub so water stays where the drain can take it
- If there’s an access panel behind the shower, look inside once a year for drips or stains
The 60-minute guarantee
The clock starts when our dispatcher confirms your job. If we’re late, $60 comes off your invoice. No forms, no fine-print games. Read the terms
FAQ
Bathroom Plumbing questions
Why does my shower get hot when someone flushes the toilet?
The toilet draws cold water, so the cold side of an older shower valve loses pressure and the mix turns hot. A pressure-balance or thermostatic valve fixes it by holding the temperature steady.
What’s the difference between a pressure-balance and a thermostatic valve?
A pressure-balance valve keeps the mix of hot and cold steady when the pressure on either side changes. A thermostatic valve holds the temperature you set and usually has a separate volume control — it costs more, and it’s the steadier of the two.
Water is leaking into the apartment below my bathroom. Is it my shower?
It might be — or the toilet seal, the tub overflow or a pipe. Notice whether it leaks only during showers, only after a full bath, or all the time, and tell us when you call; it points straight to the source.
Why is my shower pressure weak when the sink is fine?
Usually a clogged showerhead or a screen inside the valve. In buildings with old galvanized pipe, rust loosened when the water is shut off for building work is a common culprit.
Can I move my toilet or shower in a renovation?
Often, yes — but the drain has to reach the stack with enough slope, and many co-ops limit moving fixtures over a neighbor’s living space. We check both before you commit to a layout.
What is a drum trap?
A round canister trap, usually under the floor beside the tub, found in many older bathrooms. They collect hair and are hard to clear, so we replace them with a standard trap when we can reach them.
More we handle
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