Faucet Repair & Installation
Kitchen, bath and utility faucets — repaired or replaced with the ceramic-disc, solid-brass parts that survive 26–28 grain water.
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Artisan Water Group
Sink, Shower & Tub Installation in Lake in the Hills, IL
A shower with two temperatures and nothing in between. A tub that drains slowly and stains at the overflow. A new vanity where the drain does not quite line up with the old rough-in.
- 5.0★ · 11 Google reviews
- Licensed & insured
- Free written estimates
- Locally owned
Need this handled today? Call and a real person answers — nights, weekends and holidays included. You get the price before we start.
These are the jobs where the plumbing is genuinely half the project, and where doing it right the first time saves opening a tile wall later.
The single most common call in this category locally is the shower valve. Our water scales the balancing spool inside the cartridge until it can no longer modulate, and the shower loses its middle range. Replacing the cartridge fixes most of them. When it does not, the valve body gets replaced — and how we get at it is the part worth talking about before anyone touches tile.
What brings us out for shower, tub and sink work
Some of these are repairs and some are upgrades. All of them benefit from being diagnosed rather than assumed.
A shower you cannot dial in
Scalding, then cold, with nothing usable between. The pressure-balancing spool inside the valve has scaled and can no longer respond. Usually a cartridge, sometimes a valve body.
Temperature that swings when a toilet flushes
That is a pressure-balancing valve that has stopped balancing, and it is a genuine scald risk in a house with children or older adults.
A tub that drains slowly
Hair and soap in the trap, or a linkage-style stopper that is no longer opening fully. Both are straightforward once diagnosed.
Stains or damp below a shower or tub
A failed pan, a bad drain connection, or grout that has let water past. This is the one not to wait on, because it is rotting framing you cannot see.
A new vanity that does not line up
Different sink, different drain height, different supply positions. Adapting rough-in to a new fixture is routine work and much easier before the cabinet is fixed to the wall.
You are converting a tub to a shower
The drain has to move and the valve height changes. Very worth planning with a plumber before the demolition rather than during it.
How we approach these jobs
The goal is always the smallest opening, the right valve, and a joint that will not weep in two years.
1. Identify the valve before quoting
Manufacturer and model determine whether a cartridge exists, whether a universal will fit, or whether the body has to be replaced. A photo of the trim is often enough for us to tell you on the phone.
2. Look for rear access first
The back of a shower valve is frequently reachable through a closet or an adjacent room. Going in that way avoids tile work entirely, and it is the first thing we check.
3. Protect the room
Drop cloths, tub protection, and dust control before anything opens. Tile chips and grout dust travel.
4. Replace with the right class of valve
Pressure-balancing at minimum; thermostatic where the household wants a set-and-forget temperature. Both are code-relevant and both matter more in a house with young children.
5. Set fixtures level and sealed
Tubs shimmed and supported so they do not flex, drains and overflows gasketed properly, and sinks set with the trap arm at correct slope so the cabinet base stays dry.
6. Test hard before we finish
Fill and drain, run the shower to temperature, set the scald stop, and check every joint with a paper towel. Then we patch the access opening to a paint-ready finish.
Why shower valves fail early in this village
A pressure-balancing valve works by letting a small spool float between the hot and cold inlets, shifting to keep the mix constant when pressure changes elsewhere in the house. It relies on that spool moving freely inside its sleeve.
At 26 to 28 grains per gallon, mineral deposits build inside that sleeve. The spool sticks. The valve stops balancing, and you get the classic Lake in the Hills shower — fine until someone flushes a toilet, then a jolt of hot.
Replacing the cartridge restores it. Doing it every few years is the reality of hard water, which is also the strongest practical argument for a whole-home water softener: a softener protects every valve in the house at once, and shower cartridges are among the most annoying things it saves you from replacing.
Planning a bathroom fixture change properly
Talk to a plumber before you buy the fixture, not after. It takes ten minutes and it prevents the most common and most expensive surprise in bathroom work.
The things worth checking first: whether the new sink's drain height matches the existing rough-in, whether a freestanding tub needs a floor-mounted filler and therefore a new supply route, whether the shower system you like needs more gallons per minute than your supply lines can deliver, and whether the valve you have chosen has replacement cartridges available in ten years.
That last one matters more than people expect. A beautiful valve from a brand with no parts history is a remodel waiting to happen. If you are doing a full room, our bathroom remodel plumbing page covers the whole sequence.
What drives cost on shower, tub and sink work
Access is the variable that moves the number most, and it is knowable in advance.
- Cartridge or valve body
- A cartridge swap is a modest job. Replacing the valve body means opening a wall, and that is a different scale of work.
- How we get at the valve
- Rear access through a closet is the cheap path. Through tile is not, and it brings a tile repair into the project.
- Valve type
- Pressure-balancing is standard. Thermostatic costs more and gives you a genuinely set temperature. Multi-outlet systems with body sprays need more supply capacity behind them.
- Fixture weight and access
- A cast iron tub up a flight of stairs is a two-person job before any plumbing happens. Acrylic is a different proposition entirely.
- Drain relocation
- A tub-to-shower conversion or a new vanity position usually means moving the drain, which means opening the floor below or working from a basement ceiling.
- Condition of what we find
- Rotten framing behind a leaking pan, or corroded galvanised at the rough-in, changes the job. We tell you before proceeding rather than after.
We quote after seeing the valve trim and the access situation. That way the number you get is the number you pay.
Sink, Shower & Tub Installation FAQs
Can you replace a shower valve without removing tile?
Often, yes. Many valves are reachable from behind through a closet or an adjacent room, and that is the first thing we look for. When there is no rear access, we cut the smallest opening that works and finish it with an access panel or a tile repair.
My shower valve is old and parts are discontinued. Now what?
Some older valve bodies accept modern universal cartridges; many do not. If yours does not, the body gets replaced. Send us a photo of the trim and we can usually tell you which situation you are in before we come out.
What is the difference between pressure-balancing and thermostatic?
Pressure-balancing keeps the hot-cold ratio steady when pressure changes elsewhere in the house. Thermostatic holds an actual set temperature regardless of supply changes, and lets you keep your preferred setting between showers. Thermostatic costs more and is noticeably nicer to use.
Do I need a permit for a new tub or shower?
Like-for-like replacement in the same location generally does not. Moving a drain, adding a fixture, or converting a tub to a shower involves new drain and supply work and does require a Village permit — which we pull and itemize.
How long does a shower valve replacement take?
A cartridge swap is usually under an hour. A full valve body replacement with rear access is typically a half day. Through tile, add time for the opening and the repair.
Often needed together
Related plumbing services
These come up on the same houses more often than not.
Bathroom Remodel Plumbing
Rough-in, drain relocation, venting and finish plumbing — sequenced with your tile and cabinet trades, permitted and inspected.
Learn moreLocal specialty Water Softener Installation & Repair
Whole-home softeners sized for real 26–28 grain water — plus repairs, resin service and salt guidance for the system you already own.
Learn more
Worth reading first
More on this from our blog
Hard Water5 min readHow Mineral Buildup Shortens the Life of Your Fixtures
Fixtures are where hard water shows up first. Most of what looks like a broken faucet in this village is actually a mineral problem — and that changes the fix.
Hard Water6 min readDoes Lake in the Hills Have Hard Water? What Homeowners Need to Know
Short answer: yes, and it is not close. At 26 to 28 grains per gallon, our water is roughly six times harder than the national average. Here is what that actually does to your house.
Sink, Shower & Tub Installation
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- 5.0 from 11 Google reviews
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Please call (207) 419-2600 instead — a real person answers, nights and weekends included, and we can usually sort it faster on the phone anyway.
Why homeowners choose us for this
We are a licensed, insured, owner-operated shop based on Pine Street in Lake in the Hills. That means the person quoting the job is the person doing it, and nobody here is measured on how much they sold you.
Every recommendation starts with the water. At 26–28 grains per gallon, our supply is roughly six times harder than the national average, and it is the single biggest factor in how long anything in your plumbing lasts. Fixing the symptom without addressing that is how you end up calling someone again in two years.
And when a permit is required — water heaters, sewer work, gas piping — we pull it and show the fee on its own line. Ask every plumber you talk to for the same. Read more in our guide to plumbing permits in McHenry County.