Kitchen and bath
The new faucet is still in its box because the old shutoff will not close. Fixtures and the connections behind them, fitted properly, with the parts nobody photographs renewed while they can be reached.
Fixtures and finish work, where the plumbing stays put. If the piping itself is moving, if a wall is coming out, or if the room is changing shape, that is remodels. The short version: if the new sink goes where the old sink was, you are on the right page.
What it covers
Everything you touch in a kitchen or a bathroom, and the connections behind it. Sinks, faucets, toilets, tubs, shower valves and trim, waste disposals, dishwasher and refrigerator connections, laundry connections, and the stops, supplies and traps that serve all of them.
It covers the appliances too. A new dishwasher, a gas or electric range, or an ice maker, delivered and waiting: our team installs it, connects the water, the drain and the gas where there is gas, and runs it before leaving.
It is the work that turns a fixture you bought into a fixture that works. The fixture is usually the easy part. What takes the time is what sits behind it: a shutoff valve under the sink that will not turn, or turns and does not stop the water, or the connection under a toilet that decides whether the new one sits solid on the floor or rocks on it. This page is about all of it.
What the job involves
- Checking what is there. Whether the shutoff valves work and how the existing connections are put together. A simple swap stops being simple when the valve behind it will not close, and it is better to know that before the old fixture comes off.
- Shutting off and covering up. Water off at a shutoff that works, or at the main if none does, and the counters, tile and floor around the job protected.
- Removing the old fixture. Out without marking the counter, the tile or the floor that is staying.
- Replacing worn parts. Shutoff valves, supply lines, seals and drain parts that are worn or were never right, replaced while they are cheap and easy to reach.
- Setting the new fixture. Level, secure and sealed where it should be.
- Connecting the water and the drain. Made up properly, so it drains well and does not leak.
- Testing it. Filled, drained, flushed and run, and checked for leaks.
When you need it
- A new dishwasher, range or ice maker sitting in its box, waiting to be connected
- A faucet in a box, and a stop under the sink that will not turn
- A toilet that moves when you sit on it, or that has left a stain on the floor around its base
- A new vanity, sink, tub or shower going in where the old one was
- A dishwasher or a refrigerator with an ice maker arriving on a delivery date
- A shutoff valve that is green, weeping, or missing altogether
- A cabinet floor under the sink that is soft, stained or swollen
- A shower that runs scalding when a toilet flushes elsewhere in the house
- A disposal that has stopped, hums, or leaks where it meets the sink
- Fixtures that are simply tired, in a room that is otherwise fine
Why it matters
Fixture work looks like the easy end of plumbing, which is exactly why it does so much damage. Everything in a kitchen or bathroom sits on a finished surface, most of the connections are hidden the moment the job is done, and the failures are slow. A connection under a sink that is a quarter turn short does not flood anything. It wets the back corner of the cabinet floor for a year, and the cabinet floor is what tells you.
The classic is the toilet. A toilet that rocks, or one set on a worn seal, does not flood anything either. It leaks a little at every flush into the floor under the tile, where nobody sees it. By the time the floor feels soft, the repair is carpentry.
And the shutoff valves. They are the cheapest part of a fixture job and they decide how bad the next problem in that room will be. A shutoff that works turns a burst supply line into a puddle. One that does not turns it into a run to the basement to find the main.
How Connerney handles it
- Licensed and insured. Licensed and insured in Massachusetts.
- Worn parts replaced while they are reachable. Shutoffs, supply lines and seals that are worn get replaced while they are easy to get to, rather than left behind a new vanity.
- Tested. Run, filled, drained and checked for leaks, and the room left clean.
- Owner run. Bill Connerney owns the business, answers the phone and books the jobs, and our team of experienced plumbers does the work. Rated 5.0 on Google across 20 reviews, and BBB accredited since 2018.
Questions people ask
- The shutoff under the sink will not turn. Can the faucet still be replaced?
- Yes. The shutoff is usually replaced on the same visit, because a faucet you cannot shut off is a problem the next time anything goes wrong. The water is turned off at the main instead, the old shutoff comes off, a new one goes on, and then the faucet. Do not force a stuck shutoff by hand: it can break, or start leaking inside the wall, which turns a faucet swap into an opening in the drywall.
- The toilet rocks a little when you sit on it. Is that worth doing anything about?
- Yes, soon. A toilet that moves can break the seal underneath it, and once that seal is broken it can leak into the floor at every flush without a drop showing on the tile. The fix is usually small: the toilet comes up, the connection to the floor is checked and repaired if it needs it, and the toilet goes back down level on a new seal. Left alone, the fix can become the floor.
- A new dishwasher is being delivered. What does the plumbing side need?
- A hot water supply with its own shutoff, and a drain connection set up so dirty water cannot run back into the machine. The delivery crew will usually connect to whatever is there. Whether what is there is right is the real question, and an old valve clamped onto a copper line years ago is a common one to replace.
- Why replace the stops and supplies if they are not leaking?
- Because they are about to be hidden behind a new vanity or under a new sink, and they cost very little to replace while the cabinet is empty. Replacing a worn shutoff and supply line now is a small job. The same parts failing later can mean emptying the cabinet, cutting into a finished installation, and shutting off the whole house to change them. If something will be hard to reach afterward, it is worth looking at while it is easy to reach now.
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Where we work
Based in Natick, working across MetroWest Massachusetts.
Plus the surrounding MetroWest towns. If you are nearby, call and ask.
Call us, or request service
Tell us what is going on. If no one picks up, leave a message and Bill will call you back as soon as he can. If it is easier to write it down, the form reaches the same place.