What is remodel plumbing?
Remodel plumbing covers everything a bathroom, kitchen, or addition project needs from the plumber: moving supply and drain lines when a wall moves, running new DWV (drain-waste-vent) and water lines to a fixture that did not exist before, and setting the trim — toilets, faucets, tub and shower valves, disposal, dishwasher line — once drywall and tile are done. It is split into two visits by design: rough-in happens with the walls open, trim happens after finishes go in.
When do you need it?
- Moving a sink, toilet, or shower to a new location
- Adding a bathroom, powder room, or laundry
- Opening up a kitchen and relocating the sink or moving to an island
- Converting a garage, basement, or attic to living space with a bath
- Building an ADU or finishing a daylight basement
- Any project where your contractor's plans show plumbing on a different wall than it is today
If the fixtures stay exactly where they are and you are just swapping a toilet or faucet, that is a fixture job, not a remodel rough-in — see toilet repair & installation or faucets & fixtures instead.
How the visit goes
Rough-in comes first. With walls or subfloor open, we run new supply lines and DWV piping to match the approved plan, set drain locations for tub, shower, and toilet, and stub out water lines for the sink and any appliance. That work has to pass a rough-in inspection before insulation and drywall go up — we coordinate the inspection window with your GC or, if you are owner-building, walk you through what the inspector will check.
Trim comes after tile, drywall, and cabinets are in. We come back to set the toilet, faucets, tub/shower valve trim, garbage disposal, and any water heater or dishwasher connections, then pressure-test and check for leaks before we call it done. On a repipe combined with a remodel, or a project adding a tankless water heater, that gets sequenced into the same two visits.
What affects the price
- How far new lines have to run from the existing stack or main
- Whether we are working with a slab, crawlspace, or basement — Portland's mix of all three changes access
- Number and type of fixtures (a powder room is simpler than a primary bath with a freestanding tub)
- Whether the existing drain and vent stack has capacity or needs upsizing
- Permit and inspection scheduling with the city or county you're in
- Coordination complexity — how many other trades we're working around and how tight the schedule is
- Any surprises found once walls open: old galvanized pipe, undersized vents, or DWV that does not match what's on paper
What's specific to Portland houses and water
Portland's older neighborhoods — Sellwood, Richmond, Kenton, St. Johns, much of inner Southeast — still carry a lot of 1930s–1960s houses with cast iron drain lines and galvanized supply. Opening a wall for a remodel is often the first real look anyone's had at that pipe in decades, and it's common to find a stack or branch that needs replacing while we're in there rather than tying new fixtures into pipe that's already failing. Newer builds in Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, and Happy Valley are mostly copper or PEX with plastic DWV, so rough-in there is usually more straightforward, but ADU and basement conversions still mean tying into an existing main that was never sized for extra fixtures.
Portland's soft water is gentle on new copper and PEX, which is one less thing to worry about on the finish side. Permit requirements and inspector expectations vary a bit by jurisdiction — Multnomah County, Washington County, and Clackamas County each run their own process — and we work within whichever one your project sits in.
Why Sheltons Construction
We're a licensed Oregon plumbing contractor working bathrooms, kitchens, and remodel rough-ins across the Portland metro, from Portland proper out to Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham, and down toward Salem. We work trade to trade with GCs and remodelers — showing up for rough-in and trim on the day you need us, pulling or coordinating the permit, and being straightforward about what a wall opened up reveals. If you're managing the project yourself, we'll walk you through what the inspector is checking for before they show up.
What to do now
Call to talk through your plans, or request a quote with your contractor's drawings or a description of what's moving. If the project also touches drains, a water heater, or an existing leak, take a look at drain cleaning, water heaters, or leak detection & pipe repair — we can fold that into the same visit. For bath- or kitchen-specific work, see bathroom plumbing and kitchen plumbing. Check the FAQ for common permit and scheduling questions, or find your area below.
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