You only find out how good your remodel plumbing is after the walls are closed and the inspector, or the first leak, shows up. During design meetings, it feels like the big decisions are tile, cabinets, and fixtures, and the piping will somehow just work itself out behind the drywall. In Orlando homes, small plumbing choices hidden in the framing can make the difference between a smooth remodel and a money pit.
Maybe you are planning a new walk-in shower in Winter Park, moving a kitchen sink on a slab in Oviedo, or finally adding that second bathroom in your Orlando ranch. Your contractor might say they can “just shift the drain a bit” or “tie into what is there.” That kind of casual language makes plumbing sound simple, and it is why so many homeowners end up with failed inspections, surprise change orders, or recurring clogs in a brand new bathroom.
At ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing, we have been working in Orlando, Seminole County, and Orange County homes since 2003, handling HVAC and plumbing for kitchen and bathroom remodels of many sizes. We are fully licensed and insured, and over two decades, we have been called in many times to fix remodel plumbing that was not planned correctly the first time. In this guide, we show you the most common plumbing remodel mistakes we see in Central Florida and how smart planning can help you avoid them.
To learn more about our Orlando plumbing services, contact us online or give us a call at (407) 499-8333 today!
Why Orlando Remodels Make Plumbing More Complicated Than It Looks
On paper, a remodel looks straightforward. Swap the tub for a shower, move the vanity, add a second sink, maybe shift the toilet to make more space. In reality, those moves change how your drains, vents, and water lines run through your walls and slab. In many Orlando homes, especially slab-on-grade houses and older properties, the existing plumbing layout is not flexible, so every “small” change has a ripple effect under the floor.
There is also a big difference between cosmetic updates and real plumbing changes. Replacing a faucet in the same spot is one thing. Moving that sink to an island or relocating a toilet across the room means opening the floor, tying into the main drain in a different place, and making sure there is a proper vent path back to the roof. That work needs to match the way your current system is built, not a generic diagram from a brochure.
Local conditions around Orlando add another layer. Many homes sit on slabs with cast iron or older PVC buried underneath, and neighborhoods in areas like College Park or Conway often have a mix of old and new piping from past additions. Inspectors in Seminole and Orange Counties know these systems can be tricky. They look closely at remodel rough-ins because tying new work into old lines is where problems usually start. Our team at ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing has spent more than 20 years opening up walls and slabs in this area, so we have seen how those hidden conditions can turn a simple sketch into a very different job once concrete is cut.
Skipping Permits & Inspections Can Stall Your Orlando Remodel
Homeowners are often told that “it is just a remodel” so permits are not a big deal. That might sound appealing when you are worried about delays, but plumbing work without the proper permits and inspections is one of the fastest ways to stall a project in Orlando. It can also cause problems later when you sell the home or try to file an insurance claim related to water damage.
Any time you move fixtures, add a bathroom, change drain or vent layouts, or significantly alter supply piping, local jurisdictions commonly expect a plumbing permit and rough-in inspection. Even if your contractor pulls a general building permit, that does not automatically cover every type of plumbing change. During a remodel, inspectors typically visit at least twice, once at rough-in when pipes and vents are exposed, and again at final inspection when fixtures are set.
When plumbing changes are done without proper permits, several things can happen. Work might look fine to the eye, but fail when an inspector or appraiser eventually sees it, which can lead to a red tag, fines, or being required to open finished walls or tile to correct it. Buyers and their inspectors are also more cautious now. Unpermitted plumbing remodels can slow or derail a sale if issues are found or records are missing.
Because ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing is fully licensed and insured, we are accustomed to working within Seminole and Orange County requirements. We coordinate plumbing permits and rough-in inspections as part of the planning process so hidden problems are caught when walls are open, not after everything is finished. That may add a bit of planning time up front, but it usually saves weeks of frustration later if an inspector says something is not up to code.
Moving Toilets, Showers, Or Sinks Without Rethinking Drains & Vents
One of the biggest plumbing remodel mistakes we see is treating fixture locations like furniture. Moving a toilet two feet, rotating a shower, or shifting a kitchen sink to a new wall all sound minor, but they change how your drains and vents have to run inside the structure. In an Orlando slab home, that often means cutting concrete and re-routing lines that were never designed to serve the new location.
Under every sink, tub, or shower, wastewater flows into a trap, then through a trap arm to the main drain. A vent line connects that system up through the roof to let air in so the trap stays full of water and sewer gases stay sealed off. If you move a fixture farther away, that trap arm gets longer and has to maintain the right slope and distance before it ties into a vent. If the arm is too long, the wrong size, or not vented properly, the water can siphon the trap dry or never drain well in the first place.
With toilets, the stakes are even higher. Toilets need a precise connection to the main drain with proper slope and a nearby vent. In a remodel, we sometimes see toilets shifted to a more convenient spot without moving the vent and drain arrangement below. This can lead to chronic clogs, slow flushing, gurgling in nearby fixtures, or sewage odors that show up weeks after everyone has left the job.
Another issue is assuming the vent path is flexible. In many Orlando homes, there is a single vent stack in a given area, and all fixtures were originally grouped around it. If you move a shower to an outside wall to get a nice window, but there is no practical way to tie that drain into a proper vent path, you can end up with a beautiful shower that never drains right. Our technicians are trained to assess the entire drain and vent system before saying “yes” to a new layout, so you know whether a move is simple, complex, or not worth the risk and cost.
Ignoring Pipe Size, Slope & Cleanouts During Rough-In
The rough-in stage is where most of the real plumbing work in a remodel happens. Pipes are run, drains are tied in, vents are connected, and cleanouts are placed before walls and floors are closed. When rough-in is rushed or treated as an afterthought, small decisions about pipe size, slope, and access can create big headaches for years to come.
Drain size matters more than most homeowners realize. Every fixture adds flow to a line, and lines can only handle so much before they slow down or back up. If you add a double vanity or a new shower to a branch that was sized for fewer fixtures, you may have a bottleneck hidden behind the wall. It might not show up during an initial test, but as hair, soap, and grease build up, that undersized pipe can become a chronic problem.
Slope is another critical detail. Drains need to drop at a steady rate, often around a quarter inch per foot, so wastewater moves but solids do not get left behind. Too much slope, and water outruns solids, leaving a sludge that clogs the pipe. Too little, and everything sits and builds up. On long runs under a slab or through joists, getting that slope right takes careful measuring and planning, not just “eyeballing” the pipe.
Cleanouts are the access points that allow a plumber to clear a line without tearing into your new bathroom or kitchen. During remodels, we sometimes find that old cleanouts were buried inside new walls or cabinets, or that no new cleanouts were added when extra fixtures were tied into a run. That might save a little time during rough-in, but it makes any future drain problem far more invasive and expensive to fix.
At ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing, our technicians check sizing, slope, and cleanout placement before we consider rough-in complete. We explain our choices to homeowners in plain language, so you know why a certain line is upsized or why we recommend a cleanout in a specific spot. That level of attention is part of how we approach every job, and it is one of the most effective ways to reduce the chance of “mystery” clogs in a brand new space.
Connecting New Plumbing To Old Pipes The Wrong Way
Most Orlando remodels do not start from scratch. New showers, sinks, and tubs usually tie into existing plumbing that might be decades old. That interface between new and old is where many leaks and failures start, especially in homes with cast iron or galvanized steel pipes under the slab or in the walls.
In older Central Florida neighborhoods, we still find cast iron drains running under slabs and galvanized steel or copper for water lines. New work today is typically done in PVC for drains and a mix of copper, PEX, or CPVC for water. Each material behaves differently. When they are connected with the wrong fittings, or when dissimilar metals are put together without proper separation, corrosion and joint failures are much more likely.
A common example is tying new PVC drains into old cast iron with whatever coupling happens to be in the truck. If that coupling is not designed for that specific transition, it might not seal correctly around the cast pipe. Over time, soil movement, minor settling, and Orlando’s high water table can stress that joint until it seeps or fails under your new bathroom.
On the water side, connecting copper directly to galvanized steel without the right fittings can set up galvanic corrosion, where one metal slowly sacrifices itself to the other. The result can be pinhole leaks or weak spots that might not show up in the first year but later become a problem just as you are getting comfortable in your updated space.
Our team at ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing is familiar with the full range of materials we see in Orlando and works with leading brands like Moen, Toto, Kohler, Bradford White, and American Standard. Before we tie new lines into old, we evaluate the condition of the existing piping and choose the correct transition methods instead of just cutting and gluing to whatever is there. That extra step can be the difference between a solid long-term connection and a hidden weak point under your new tile.
Forgetting Access, Valves & Future Service In Your New Design
During design, it is easy to focus on the finished look and forget how your plumbing will be serviced later. Shiny new finishes, frameless glass, and custom cabinetry all compete for space with shutoff valves, traps, and cleanouts. If nobody is thinking about access while the layout is being drawn, you can end up with a bathroom or kitchen that is beautiful but very difficult and costly to service.
Every fixture should have accessible shutoff valves, and every major drain run needs reachable cleanouts. In remodels, we sometimes see freestanding tubs set in the middle of a room with no access to the supply or waste connections, or vanities that box in the trap and supply valves behind permanent panels. It looks clean, but if there is ever a leak, the only way to reach it is to cut into finished surfaces.
Showers are another spot where access is often ignored. Mixing valves are buried in walls with no nearby access panel, especially on interior walls or in multi-head setups. If the valve ever needs service or replacement, you do not want your only option to be tearing out expensive tile from the front of the shower.
Thinking about future service does not just limit damage from leaks. It also makes routine maintenance like water heater replacement, drain cleaning, or adding a bidet seat or new fixture much simpler. As a company that builds long-term relationships through our ClubOne Membership, we expect to come back to your home for years to maintain what we install. That means we plan for practical access from the start, so you are not paying for unnecessary demolition down the line.
Poor Coordination Between Your Contractor & Your Plumber
Even with a solid plumbing plan, remodels can run into trouble when trades are not communicating. We regularly see situations where cabinets are installed before rough-in is fully confirmed, tile is set before shower valve depths are checked, or framing goes up without space left for proper pipe runs or vent chases. In each case, lack of coordination forces last-minute compromises that most homeowners never see but eventually feel.
For example, if a vanity is installed slightly off from the planned location, the drain and supplies may no longer line up. A rushed fix might be angled pipes or extra fittings that trap debris and look sloppy inside the cabinet. If tile goes in before a shower valve depth is verified, you might end up with handles that do not sit flush or trim that does not fit right. These are details that do not show up on a mood board but affect how finished your project feels.
Structural elements can also be affected. When plumbers arrive to find no space left in joists or studs for proper pipe runs, the temptation for some crews is to over-notch or drill where they should not. That can weaken framing or force noisy, tightly packed pipes that bang and rattle when you use the water.
Good remodel plumbing in Orlando depends on your contractor and plumber being on the same page early. At ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing, we coordinate regularly with general contractors, tile installers, and cabinet shops. We verify fixture rough-in heights, wall depths, and locations before final work is done, and we keep homeowners informed when we see a clash coming. If something unexpected happens on site, our 24/7 live phone support means you or your contractor can reach a real person to talk through options instead of guessing and hoping it works out.
How To Plan A Trouble-Free Plumbing Remodel In Orlando
By this point, you have seen how many things can go wrong behind the scenes in a plumbing remodel. The good news is that most of these problems are avoidable when plumbing is planned as carefully as the finishes. You do not need to learn plumbing code, but you do need the right questions and the right partner.
Start by bringing a licensed plumbing company like ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing into the conversation early, ideally before you finalize layout drawings. Ask for a walk-through of your existing plumbing so you know what you are working with, especially in older Orlando homes with cast iron or mixed materials. Discuss where drains and vents currently run, which fixture moves are simple, and which will require more invasive work or might not be worth the cost.
Before demolition, confirm who is pulling plumbing permits and how rough-in and final inspections will be scheduled with Seminole or Orange County. Review rough-in locations and heights for toilets, vanities, showers, tubs, and appliances with both your contractor and plumber, and make sure everyone agrees on where access panels, cleanouts, and shutoff valves will be. A short coordination meeting can prevent a lot of “I thought you were handling that” moments.
As a Navy veteran-owned company, our approach at ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing is shaped by values of precision, discipline, and doing the job right the first time. We provide flat-rate, no-surprise pricing once we have diagnosed what your remodel will involve, so you know what to expect before work begins. Our technicians walk you through their recommendations in clear language and stay available as the project unfolds, so decisions about hidden plumbing are made thoughtfully, not on the fly in a dusty room.
Plan Your Orlando Plumbing Remodel With Confidence
A successful plumbing remodel in Orlando is not about luck. It comes from understanding how new fixtures will work with your existing system, planning around local conditions and codes, and insisting on careful rough-in before the walls close. By paying attention to permits, fixture moves, pipe sizing and slope, material transitions, access, and coordination among trades, you can protect your investment in that new kitchen or bathroom.
You do not have to become a plumbing pro to avoid these mistakes. You just need a team that treats your remodel with the same care you put into choosing every finish. If you are planning a plumbing remodel in Orlando or are already in the middle of one and want a second set of eyes, reach out to ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing to talk through your plans and catch issues on paper instead of in your finished space.