Shower Installation In Front Royal, VA
A new shower is only as good as the valve, the pan, and the lines feeding it. We set those up right, so the tile work that goes over them lasts. Father and son, on the job ourselves.
Where Ajax fits in a shower project
The Plumbing Is The Part That Has To Be Right
Most folks call us about a shower for one of two reasons. Either you are tearing out an old one and putting in something new, or you are doing a full bathroom job and the tile guy or the remodeler needs the rough plumbing handled before he can move. Either way, the work nobody sees, the valve, the drain, the pan slope, the supply lines, is the part that decides whether you have a shower you love for twenty years or a callback in eighteen months.
We are plumbers, so we own the wet half of the job. We set the shower valve at the right height and depth in the wall, we run new copper or PEX supply lines to it, we connect the drain and get the pan or shower base pitched so water actually leaves instead of pooling in a corner. When you are tiling, we coordinate so the valve sits proud at the correct depth for your trim plate and the drain is centered where the base wants it. We are blunt about what is in the wall before it gets closed up, because once that tile is on, fixing a leak means tearing it back off.
What a shower install actually involves
Setting the mixing valve. Running hot and cold supply lines. Installing the shower drain and connecting it to the waste line. Setting and leveling a shower base, or building the drain side of a tiled pan. Pressure testing every joint before anything gets covered. Mounting the trim, the head, the handle, and the arm at the end. On a conversion from tub to shower, also capping or rerouting the tub spout drop and adjusting the drain location.
What we do not do is the tile setting and the waterproofing membrane on a fully custom tiled shower. We work with your tile installer on those. We handle every drop of water that runs through the thing.
Pipe connections in Front RoyalSigns it is time
When You Are Ready For A New Shower
You are remodeling the bathroom.New shower goes in as part of the project, and the rough plumbing has to be set before the walls close.
See remodeling
The old shower base is cracked or stained for good.A fiberglass pan that flexes underfoot or won’t come clean anymore is past saving. Replace it, don’t keep recaulking it.
See remodeling
You want a tub-to-shower conversion.Common in Front Royal homes where the kids are grown and a step-over tub is now a fall risk. We move the drain and supply to suit a walk-in.
See remodeling
The valve is shot.If your single old shower has no way to keep you from getting scalded when someone flushes, a new pressure-balanced valve is worth the wall opening.
See services
You added a bathroom.Basement build-out, addition, in-law suite. A brand new shower needs supply, drain, and venting run from scratch.
See remodelingOlder homes around here
A lot of houses in Front Royal and out through the Shenandoah Valley were not built with the bathroom you want now. Galvanized supply lines that have narrowed to a trickle, a drain run at the wrong slope, a stud bay too tight for a modern valve. When we open the wall we tell you straight what we find. Sometimes a shower swap turns into replacing a six foot run of old pipe. We would rather you hear that before we start than get a surprise on the invoice.
We are also on well and hard water out here. Hard water chews up valve cartridges faster, so we steer you toward fixtures that hold up and that we can get parts for down the road.
How we do it
From Old Shower To New, How Ajax Runs It
- Walk it
We look before we quote
We come out, look at what you have, check the supply lines and the drain, and figure out what the new shower needs. You get a free quote with the real scope, not a number off a phone call.
- Demo
Out comes the old one
We pull the old base, pan, or surround and get a clean look at the wall and the existing rough plumbing. This is where the wall tells the truth about what is back there.
- Rough
Valve, lines, and drain set
New supply lines run to the valve, valve set at the right depth for your trim, drain connected and the base pitched to fall toward it. Then we pressure test before a thing gets covered.
- Base
Pan or base goes in level
We set and level the shower base, or we build out the drain side for a tiled pan and hand off to your tile installer for the waterproofing and tile.
- Trim
Heads, handle, and a final run
After tile or surround, we mount the showerhead, the handle, and the trim plate, then run it hot and cold and watch every connection. You do not pay until the water runs right.
Straight talk on cost
What A Shower Install Costs, Honestly
Anybody who gives you a flat shower install price over the phone without seeing the job is guessing. A simple swap, same drain location, same valve position, a one piece base with a surround, is a different day than a full custom tiled shower with the drain moved four feet and a stud bay that needs old galvanized cut out and re-piped.
Here is how we price it. We come out for free, look at the real scope, and give you a number for the plumbing work with the variables called out. If the wall opens up and there is forty year old pipe that should come out while we are in there, we tell you the cost of that before we touch it, not after. No surprise add-ons.
One thing worth knowing in our winters: if you ever have a frozen water line behind a shower wall, we take ten percent off frozen water-line repairs. The Shenandoah Valley gets cold enough that an outside wall with a shower supply in it can freeze, and we would rather fix it right and fair than have you put it off. Send us the details and we’ll get you a real number.
Two common jobs
New Build Or A Straight Replacement
Brand new shower
An addition, a basement bathroom, an in-law suite. There is no existing plumbing to work with, so we run supply lines, set the drain into the waste system, handle the venting, and set the valve from scratch. This is more involved because we are building the wet work, not adapting it, but it means everything is sized and sloped correctly from day one.
Replacing an old shower
The drain and supply are already there, so the question is how much of it can stay. Sometimes the existing rough plumbing is fine and we adapt to it. Sometimes the valve is obsolete or the supply has corroded and it makes sense to redo it while the wall is open. We look, we tell you which way it falls, and we do not pad the job with work it doesn’t need.
Either way, certified on most water heater and fixture brands, backflow certified, and we stand behind the connections we make. Want to see the kind of work we turn out? Take a look at our gallery.
Questions we get
Shower Install Questions
Do you do the tile, or just the plumbing?
Can you convert my tub to a walk-in shower?
My house is older. Will that be a problem?
How long does a shower installation take?
What does it cost to install a shower?
What if I have an emergency, like a leak from a new shower?
Pipe burst, water heater dead, or just need a straight answer?
Tell us what is going on and a real person calls you back, usually within the hour. The quote is always free.
Rather talk now? Call 540-671-5417, 24/7.