Mamba Drainage Services
Bathroom Renovation Plumbing Vancouver
Moving the toilet to buy back layout. Pulling the tub for a proper walk in shower. Adding a second sink to the vanity.
All of it is rough in work, which means it happens inside the walls and under the floor before a single finish goes on. We do that part, pull the permit, and work to your GC’s schedule.
What bathroom renovation plumbing actually covers
Almost every bathroom renovation has plumbing in it, and the plumbing is the part that has to be right before anything pretty happens. Once the tile is on, a mistake in the rough in is not a fix, it is a demolition.
Toilet relocation. Moving a toilet a few feet means a new closet flange position, new supply routing, and proving the drain still falls correctly to the existing stack. The further it moves, the more of the floor has to open up, which is why the layout wants locking before the framing crew starts.
Shower expansion. Taking out a tub for a larger walk in shower means a new drain location, a new shower valve rough in, new supply lines, and waterproofing rough in verified against whatever system your tile contractor is using. Schluter KERDI, Wedi and a traditional pan liner do not all want the same drain assembly, so that conversation happens before we set anything.
Double vanity. A second sink needs its own supply, a drain into the existing branch, and venting that actually satisfies the new fixture count rather than the old one.
Full gut and remodel. Every supply line, every drain, new fixtures throughout, and often a swap off galvanized or Poly B onto PEX while the walls are already open. If the house has either of those, this is the cheapest hour it will ever be to deal with them.
All of this needs a City of Vancouver permit. We pull it, book the rough in inspection for before the drywall closes, book the final for after the fixtures land, and produce a stamped certificate of work for the property file. General liability and full WCB coverage on every job.
The part people underestimate is sequencing. Rough in goes in after framing and before drywall. Fixture install goes in after tile and before paint touch up. Get that order wrong and you either cut open new drywall for an inspector or you put scratches on finishes that were signed off a week ago. We work with most of the established Vancouver GCs and we would rather talk to them directly than have you relay it.
What rough in actually means, fixture by fixture. The toilet gets a closet flange set at the right distance off the finished wall, which is one figure for a standard toilet and a different one for a compact or heritage bowl, plus a cold supply run to the angle stop position and drain fall proved at the code minimum back to the existing stack. The vanity gets hot and cold stub outs at handle height and a drain stub out at basin height, with wall blocking added wherever a wall hung or vessel sink is going to hang off the studs rather than sit on a cabinet. The shower gets its mixing valve set for the head height you actually chose, with the handheld bar higher again, and the drain placed for the pan layout including any bench or curb. The tub gets its drain positioned off the drain end of the tub, a spout supply stub out at the right height, and the mixing valve coordinated with the shower if it is a combined tub shower.
Then the venting gets checked. BC plumbing code requires every fixture to be vented so the traps cannot siphon themselves dry, and a small bathroom that gains a second sink can quietly outgrow the stack it has had since the house was built. We verify the existing stack against the new fixture count and add vent connections where it does not carry.
The rough in inspection is the gate. A City of Vancouver plumbing inspector visits once the rough in is complete and before the drywall closes. We book it, walk the inspector through the work, and deal with anything raised while the wall is still open. Once it passes, the walls can close and the project moves.
Then the fixture phase, after tile and before paint. The toilet gets set on the flange with a fresh seal, brass closet bolts, levelled, caulked and connected. The vanity faucet goes in with its pop up drain, P-trap, supply lines and quarter turn shut offs. The shower cartridge goes into the rough in valve body, then the trim plate, the lever, the arm and the head, with flow and temperature tested. The tub spout goes on slip fit or threaded, the drain and overflow go in and get leak tested, and the caulk lines get coordinated with the tile contractor. The City final follows, the certificate of work is issued, and your GC can get on with paint, mirrors and hardware.
City permits included
Renovation coming up? Start with the rough in
The plumbing goes in first and it decides what the rest of the project can do. Get it planned before the framing crew arrives, not after the tile is down.
Bathroom renovation plumbing FAQ, Vancouver
Yes. City of Vancouver requires a plumbing permit for fixture relocation or any new plumbing routing. We pull the permit and coordinate both inspections, the rough in one before the walls close and the final one after the fixtures go in.
Yes, and it goes better when we do. We work with most established Vancouver GCs. Rough in gets scheduled against the framing crew and the fixture install lands after tile and before paint touch up. We would rather talk to them directly than have the schedule relayed through you, because the two moments that matter, the inspection before drywall and the install after tile, are exactly the ones that slip when three people are passing messages.
No, we handle the plumbing portion. For tile and paint we coordinate with your GC or point you at Vancouver contractors we work with regularly. Some homeowners want a plumbing only scope, plenty want the whole thing coordinated through their GC, and both are fine.
Yes. Pre-1970 Vancouver heritage bathrooms need careful work to keep their character while meeting current code, and the connections behind them are rarely standard. Sioux Chief adapters, brass conversions and code compliant supply transitions handle most of it. It is slower and more careful work than a modern rough in, and we would rather say that in the quote than discover it on site with your GC’s crew waiting.
If the house has Poly B or galvanized supply, yes. The walls are already open and the access is already paid for, so the incremental cost is small next to what the same work costs as its own job. Doing it later means opening the same walls a second time, and repainting a bathroom you just finished. This is the single most common thing we get asked about after a renovation is closed up, at which point the answer is expensive.
A 10 year workmanship warranty on the rough in and the fixture install. Manufacturer warranties are separate. Moen, Kohler and Delta carry lifetime on cartridges, Toto runs 5 to 10 years on toilets, and PEX-A carries a 25 year manufacturer warranty.
No. The rough in needs the water off to that bathroom, not to the whole house. We isolate at the branch wherever the existing plumbing allows it, and in older homes where there is no branch isolation we will tell you before the day rather than on it, so you can plan around a short shutdown instead of discovering one.
Yes. Sometimes relocating the vanity, adding a handheld shower bar or changing the shower trim is the whole job. Not every bathroom needs to come apart, and we will tell you when it does not.
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