Most of what makes a bathroom or kitchen remodel succeed happens before the tile goes down. The plumbing rough-in decides where fixtures can actually go, whether your new layout is possible, and whether the finished room passes inspection. Get it wrong and the cost of fixing it lands after the walls are closed and the tile is set.
Ocean Plumbing and Air handles the plumbing scope on bathroom and kitchen renovations across Miami-Dade and Broward. We work directly with homeowners, general contractors, and designers, and we are a licensed Florida plumbing contractor (CFC1432498) pulling our own permits.
Planning a bathroom or kitchen renovation?
Talk to a licensed plumber before the layout is finalised. It is far cheaper than moving a drain after the fact.
What the Plumbing Scope Covers in a Remodel
Renovation plumbing is not one task. On a typical bathroom or kitchen project it includes:
- Demolition and safe disconnection of existing fixtures, with lines capped and water isolated
- Relocating supply and drain lines to suit the new layout
- Drain, waste, and vent work, including correcting slope and venting that was wrong or non-compliant in the original build
- Rough-in to the exact dimensions your fixtures require
- Shower valve and tub filler installation, set at the right depth for the finished wall thickness
- Supply lines for kitchen sinks, dishwashers, ice makers, and filtration
- Gas line work where a range or tankless unit is involved
- Fixture setting and final connections once finishes are complete
- Pressure testing and inspection at each required stage
Why Layout Decisions Have to Involve a Plumber Early
Homeowners often finalise a layout with a designer, then discover the plumbing cannot support it. A few things that regularly force redesigns:
- Moving a toilet is the most constrained change in any bathroom. The drain needs adequate fall to the stack, and on a slab that can mean opening concrete.
- Relocating a shower changes both drain position and required slope, and can affect the room below on a two-storey home.
- Freestanding tubs need floor-mounted supply and drain that has to be roughed in before the floor is finished, to the millimetre.
- Kitchen islands with sinks require drain and vent routing through the floor, which is straightforward in a crawl space and considerably more involved in a slab.
- Wall-hung vanities and concealed cisterns need in-wall carriers and a wall deep enough to take them.
Bring us in while the layout is still on paper. A thirty-minute conversation at design stage routinely saves thousands and prevents a compromise you have to live with every day.
When to Repipe During a Renovation
If your walls are already open, this is the cheapest opportunity you will ever have to replace ageing pipe. The demolition and wall repair are already in the budget.
It is worth doing if any of these apply: the home has galvanized or polybutylene supply lines, you have had pinhole leaks, pressure is poor throughout the house, or the pipe serving the room is simply old and you would rather not reopen a freshly tiled wall in five years.
We will tell you honestly when existing pipe is fine to leave alone. Where a partial or full repipe makes sense, see whole-home repiping, and where drain lines are the concern, cast iron replacement. Combining that work with a remodel means the walls come open once instead of twice.
Working With Your Contractor or Designer
On most renovations we are one trade among several, and the plumbing has to land in the right sequence or everyone waits. We coordinate directly with your GC, tile setter, and cabinet installer on:
- Rough-in before board and tile, dimensioned to the actual fixtures being installed
- Valve depth set for the finished wall build-up, not the bare stud
- Inspection timing, so walls are not closed before the inspector has seen the work
- Return for fixture setting once finishes are cured and cabinets are in
If you are managing the project yourself, we will tell you plainly what has to happen before and after us so the schedule holds.
Permits, Code, and Inspection
Renovation plumbing that relocates drains, alters venting, or adds fixtures is permitted, inspected work in Miami-Dade and Broward. Venting in particular is where unpermitted remodels most often go wrong, and it is invisible once the wall is closed, which is exactly why it gets skipped.
We pull the permit, schedule inspections at the right stages, and hand you the closed permit at completion. Unpermitted renovation work surfaces when you sell or refinance, and an unpermitted bathroom can hold up a closing. Our Florida licence is CFC1432498.
What Moves the Price
- Whether fixtures stay in place or move. Same-location replacement is a fraction of the cost of relocation.
- Slab versus crawl space or second floor. Opening concrete is the single largest swing factor.
- Number of fixtures being added, moved, or replaced
- Whether venting has to be corrected to meet current code
- Fixture type. Freestanding tubs, wall-hung units, and body-spray shower systems need more rough-in than standard fittings
- Gas work, if a range or tankless heater is part of the project
- Whether you repipe while the walls are open
- Permit and inspection requirements for your jurisdiction
Financing options are available on larger projects, and our workmanship and the parts we install are warranty backed. Specific terms come to you in writing with the estimate.
Completed Renovation Projects
- Kitchen Remodel and Re-Piping, Miami
- Shower Renovation and Re-Piping, Miami
- Standing Bathtub Installation, Miami
- Full Bathroom Re-Piping and Sewer Line Replacement, Miami
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I move my toilet or shower to a different wall?
Often yes, but it is the most constrained change in a bathroom because the drain needs adequate fall to reach the stack. On a slab it usually means opening concrete. We can tell you quickly whether your specific move is straightforward, awkward, or genuinely not worth doing.
Do I need a permit to remodel my bathroom?
If the work relocates drains, alters venting, or adds fixtures, yes. Cosmetic changes such as swapping a vanity in the same position generally do not. We confirm what your scope requires before starting and pull the permit where one is needed.
When in the project do you come in?
Twice, usually. Once for rough-in after demolition and before walls are closed, and again for fixture setting after finishes and cabinets are complete. Both visits get scheduled around your other trades.
Should I repipe while the walls are open?
If the home has galvanized or polybutylene pipe, or a history of pinhole leaks, it is the most economical moment you will get, because the demolition and wall repair are already paid for. If the existing pipe is sound we will say so rather than sell you work you do not need.
Can you work with my general contractor?
Yes, and we do routinely. We coordinate rough-in timing, valve depths, and inspection scheduling directly with your GC and finishing trades so nobody is held up waiting on plumbing.
How long does the plumbing portion take?
The rough-in on a single bathroom is usually a small number of days. Fixture setting is typically one visit. The overall renovation timeline is driven by tile, cabinetry, and curing times rather than by the plumbing itself.
Get the plumbing right before the tile goes down
A consultation while the layout is still changeable. Licensed Florida plumbing contractor CFC1432498, serving Miami-Dade and Broward.