Common Problems
Bathroom Problems We Handle Room by Room
Six regulars account for most bathroom work in Glen Allen’s houses, townhomes, and condos.
Toilets that run, rock, or refuse
Internals that waste water silently, wax seals that weep at the base, flanges corroded below floor level, fill valves that shriek — the toilet is the room’s hardest-working fixture and its most eloquent complainer.
Showers that scald, chill, or drip
Aging cartridges lose their temperature balance; shower heads mineralize; diverters pass water to the spout mid-shower. Behind the tile, valves from the eighties and nineties are reaching their service era all at once.
Tubs that drain slowly or leak underneath
Hair mats in the branch, drain shoes leaking only under a bather’s weight, overflow gaskets perished — tub faults hide under the fixture, which is why their ceiling stains arrive as mysteries downstairs.
Vanity faucets and traps that weep
Cartridges drip, supply stops corrode, trap slip joints loosen among the stored bottles. The vanity cabinet is the bathroom’s crawlspace: small, dark, and where leaks go to be ignored profitably.
Low pressure or no water in one bath
A room’s supply can be throttled by a half-closed stop, a clogged cartridge, or a branch restriction — while the rest of the house flows fine. The pattern locates the fault before any wall opens.
Remodel rough-ins and fixture moves
Moving a toilet two feet is a drain-slope and flange conversation; adding a shower is a valve, drain, and vent design. Rough-in is where remodels succeed invisibly for decades or fail expensively behind new tile.