Fixture Replacement near you

EPA's labeled products have published performance limits rather than marketing claims, which makes them easy to compare. A WaterSense labeled bathroom faucet is certified at a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute, a 30 percent reduction from the 2.2 gallon per minute standard, with EPA estimating average household savings of about 700 gallons a year, roughly the water used in 45 showers. If every home in the country made that one change, EPA calculates savings of 71 billion gallons a year.

For showers, a labeled showerhead uses no more than 2.0 gallons per minute against a 2.5 gallon standard, and EPA puts the average family's savings at 2,700 gallons of water and more than 330 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, because heating that water is a real share of the cost. EPA also points out the cheapest version of this upgrade: aerators can simply be twisted onto an existing faucet for a few dollars, which is worth doing before deciding the whole fixture needs replacing.

Any fixture near water is a fixture where ground fault protection matters. CPSC describes a ground fault circuit interrupter as an inexpensive device that protects against severe electrical shocks by constantly monitoring the current in a circuit and interrupting power if the current flowing in differs from the returning current by as little as 0.006 amperes, faster than a blink of an eye. CPSC advises testing every GFCI after installation, at least once a month, after a power failure and according to the manufacturer's instructions.

CPSC is also clear about who should install what. It states that circuit breaker and receptacle-type GFCIs may be installed by a qualified electrician, that receptacle-type GFCIs may be installed by consumers with adequate knowledge and skills to conform to proper wiring practices and the instructions accompanying the device, and that when in doubt about the proper procedure you should contact a qualified electrician rather than attempting it. For arc fault circuit interrupters, CPSC is firmer still: be sure to have a qualified electrician install AFCIs and do not attempt this work yourself, because the installation involves working within panel boxes that are usually electrically live even with the main breakers turned off.

The order is unglamorous and it prevents most of the disasters. Isolate first, and verify the isolation rather than trusting the label on the panel or the fact that the handle turned. For plumbing, that means closing the stop, opening the fixture and confirming the flow actually stopped. For electrical, it means testing the conductors at the fixture, not just flipping a switch.

Then remove, inspect and decide. The five minutes after the old fixture comes off are when a good tradesperson finds the corroded stop, the ungrounded box or the missing duct, and tells you about it before the new fixture is committed. Fitting follows the manufacturer's instructions rather than habit, and every job ends with the water back on and the joints checked under pressure, or the circuit re-energized and the device tested.

The install is priced on access and on what is behind the fixture, not on what the fixture cost. A pedestal sink or a deep vanity with a tight cabinet takes longer than an open base. An older house is a larger job than a newer one because more of the existing parts are at the end of their life. Replacing shutoff valves, adding GFCI protection, changing a box so it can carry a fan, and ducting a bath fan to the exterior are all separate pieces of work that get discovered at the fixture and priced accordingly.

When several fixtures are replaced in one visit the per-fixture cost drops, because the setup, isolation and cleanup are shared. That is a reason to make a list of everything that needs doing before booking rather than calling three times in a season.