Opening And Closing The Wall
If the valve body needs to be replaced, the wall has to be opened to get at the plumbing. Opening tile is quoted separately because nobody can price tile blind. I need to see the tile, the layout, whether it is still in production, and what is behind it. Some showers have drywall behind the tile, some have cement board, some have a mud bed that is thick and stubborn. Some tile is cheap builder grade and some is high end import. I am not going to throw out a number without seeing what I am dealing with. I will come look, give you a straight quote, and you decide.
Closing the wall back up is a different story. We have a posted line for that. Touch-up paint and minor drywall fix is $150 labor, and that includes the supply run for the materials. If I open the wall from the back side, which is usually the cleaner way to do it, I will patch the drywall, tape it, mud it, texture it to match as close as I can, and paint it. You are not left with a hole in the wall waiting for a handyman you have to find on your own. The job is done when the wall is closed and painted.
There is also the option of an access panel. If the shower backs up to a closet or a utility room where an access panel would not look out of place, we can install one for $125 labor. That gives you a clean, serviceable opening so that if the valve ever needs attention again, nobody has to cut drywall. It is a smart move for showers with a history of problems. The choice is yours. I will tell you what I think makes sense for your situation and you make the call.
- Opening tile is quoted on site, never blind
- Touch-up paint and minor drywall fix is $150 labor, supply run included
- Access panel install is $125 labor for a clean service opening
- We close the wall, we do not leave you with a hole
Related Shower And Tub Fixes
While I am there for the valve, there are a few other things that often need attention. The tub spout, trim, or showerhead is a common one. If the spout is corroded, the diverter gate is shot, or the trim plate is pitted and ugly, swapping it out is $125 labor. That is a posted number, subject to what the job turns out to be. If the pipe behind the spout is rotted out, that is a different conversation. But a straightforward swap of worn trim is a quick job with a known price.
A shower pan drain replacement is $350 labor in cases where the pan stays in place. The drain assembly under a shower pan can crack, the rubber gasket can fail, or the strainer can strip out. Replacing it means working through the top of the pan without disturbing the pan itself. It is finicky work because you cannot break the seal between the pan and the drain pipe below. The labor is posted so you know what it costs before you decide.
For a tub that leaks into the ceiling below, the fix is usually a tub drain and overflow rebuild. That is $275 labor. The old waste and overflow assembly gets pulled, the gaskets get replaced, and the whole thing gets tightened back up. It is a common repair in older houses where the rubber gaskets have turned hard and crumbled away. Again, the labor is posted. You know the number. The parts are at cost. The drive is a dollar a mile both ways.
- Tub spout, trim, or showerhead swap is $125 labor
- Shower pan drain replacement is $350 labor where the pan stays
- Tub drain and overflow rebuild is $275 labor
- Every price is labor only, parts at cost with no markup
How The Cart And Deposit Work
On the homepage there is a price board with every job we do and a drive gauge where you type your address or ZIP. You pick the jobs you need, add them to the cart, and the drive gauge calculates the round trip miles and the drive dollars. You see a running total that is your labor plus the drive. There is no phone call, no estimate, no waiting for someone to get back to you. You build the number yourself.
When you are ready to book, you pay the drive fee as a deposit. That deposit comes off the final bill. It is not an extra charge on top of the labor. If your drive is $40 round trip and your labor total is $300, you pay the $40 to reserve the visit. On the day of the job, you owe the remaining $300 plus whatever the parts cost at the supply house. The deposit secures the time slot and covers the cost of getting there and back. If you cancel, the deposit is not refunded because the drive still costs what it costs.
This system exists because the normal way of quoting plumbing work is broken. Most shops give you a free estimate that is not really free. The cost of driving around giving estimates is baked into the prices of the jobs they do book. You pay for everyone else's free estimates whether you know it or not. By charging the drive fee as a deposit, we keep the labor prices lower and we only spend time on customers who are serious about getting the work done. It is a fairer way to do business.
Parts, Markup, And The Supply House
The plumbing trade runs on parts markup. A shop buys a cartridge for one price and sells it to you for a much higher price. They call it overhead. I call it a hidden charge. We do not mark up parts. I hand you the supply house receipt and you pay what I paid. If the cartridge costs what it costs, you pay that number. If the valve body costs what it costs, you pay that number. There is no percentage added, no rounding up, no service fee buried in the parts line. The labor is the labor and the parts are the parts.
You can also buy the part yourself. If you want to grab a cartridge from the home center or order one online, go ahead. I will install it. I will tell you if the part you bought looks like the wrong one or if it is a cheap knockoff that is going to fail in a short time, but I will not refuse to install it. Some customers want the convenience of me bringing the part. Some want to shop around and save a few bucks. Either way works. The labor does not change.
One thing worth knowing is that supply house parts and big box store parts are sometimes not the same, even when the brand and model number match. Manufacturers make retail versions that use more plastic and less brass. A supply house cartridge and a home center cartridge might look identical but one lasts much longer than the other. I get my parts from plumbing supply houses. If you buy your own, I recommend doing the same. But again, the choice is yours.
- Parts are sold at cost with the supply house receipt
- You can supply your own parts, no problem
- Supply house parts are often better than retail versions
- No parts markup ever, on any job
Service Area And Round Trip Drive
We are based in Killeen and serve Central Texas. The drive is $1 per mile, counted both ways, out and back. That is the round trip number, not the distance from the shop to your door. If you are in Salado, that is about 24 miles out, so $48 round trip. Georgetown is about 45 miles out, $90 round trip. Round Rock runs about 55 miles out, $110 round trip. Waco is about 60 miles out, $120 round trip. Austin is about 70 miles out, $140 round trip. These are round trip figures. The drive gauge on the homepage gives you the exact number for your address.
There is no hidden trip charge baked into the labor. Most plumbing companies advertise a low hourly rate or a free estimate and then they pad the bill with a trip fee, a fuel surcharge, or a service call charge that you do not see until the invoice lands. We do not do that. The drive is the drive. It is a dollar a mile both ways and it is right there on the screen. You know what you are paying to get me there and back before you pick up the phone.
The drive fee deposit reserves your time slot. When you add your jobs to the cart and the drive gauge calculates the round trip number, you pay that drive amount to book. That deposit comes off the final bill. It is not an add-on. If your round trip drive is $48 and your labor is $300, the deposit is $48 and the balance on the day of the job is $300 plus parts at cost. Simple math, no surprises.