Bathroom Plumbing

Rough-in stage

Rough-in is everything that ends up hidden: drains, vents and supply lines inside walls and floors. It happens after demolition and before drywall or cement board. This is the moment to move a toilet, widen a vanity, shift a shower drain or add a second sink. Once tile goes up, those decisions are fixed.

During rough-in we also look at what the old bathroom was hiding. Original galvanized steel, grey polybutylene supply lines, cracked cast iron fittings and undersized vents all turn up behind bathroom walls in Aurora homes of different ages. Replacing them while the wall is already open costs a fraction of opening it again later. Our Poly-B guide explains why that particular pipe deserves attention.

Moving drains or adding fixtures usually requires a plumbing permit from the Town of Aurora, along with an inspection before the walls close. We tell you which parts of your plan fall under that.

Shower valves

The valve is the brass body hidden in the wall that blends hot and cold. Choose the trim set before rough-in, because the valve and trim have to come from the same family. A pressure-balancing or thermostatic valve protects against sudden scalding when someone flushes a toilet. Depth inside the wall matters too, especially behind thick tile. The details are on our shower valve replacement page.

Vanities and tubs

A vanity's drain and supply height should match the cabinet you have picked, not the old one. Vessel sinks need taller faucets or wall-mount spouts. Floating vanities hide less, so pipes have to come out of the wall at tidy, accurate spots.

For tubs, the drain and overflow assembly gets installed with the tub, and access to it matters. Freestanding tubs need a floor drain placed precisely, and the floor beneath must carry a lot of weight once the tub is full. Alcove tubs need a level, supported base.

Final fit

After tile, paint and cabinets, we come back for finish work:

1. Set the toilet on a fresh seal.
2. Mount faucets and connect supplies with new stops.
3. Install the shower and tub trim.
4. Connect drains and traps.
5. Run every fixture, check every joint and test hot water reaches each one properly.

A bathroom on a lower level brings its own drain and venting questions; see basement bathroom rough-in. If you only need a valve or a toilet sorted and are not renovating, the individual service pages cover that work.

Planning around a kitchen too? A disposer sits on the same list of fixture jobs as a vanity drain, and garbage disposal service explains it.