Plumbing oversight in Erie County, Ohio
The Erie County Health Department's plumbing division says it regulates residential and commercial plumbing work, licenses local plumbers and backflow testers, and issues plumbing permits for new builds, additions and major remodeling, with inspections against the Ohio Plumbing Code.
Which office handles the permit for this address?
A remodel that touches drains, vents or supply lines can bring in more than one office, and the answer can differ from one property to the next. Rather than guess, put the question to each plumber and remodeler you talk with: which office issues the plumbing permit for this address, who applies for it, and who will be on site when the inspector comes? Ask the same people which other permits, if any, the rest of the job calls for. Write the answers down, and compare them across bidders. If two of them tell you different things, call the office they name and ask.
Sandusky's note on the FEMA flood plain
Sandusky says that for a property in the FEMA 100-year flood plain, construction drawings must show flood plain elevations, the lowest living space has an elevation requirement, and a Flood Damage Prevention Development Permit is required.
Ask your remodeler, or the city's building office, whether your property is in the FEMA 100-year flood plain. If the answer is yes, ask them to walk you through what the city's requirements involve for the work you have in mind before any drawings are made.
Name the one change that matters most
Bathroom plans can grow. A new vanity leads to a new floor, the new floor leads to new tile on the walls, and soon the plan is a full gut. Before anyone visits, finish this sentence: "When the job is done, the room must ..." Perhaps it must have a shower someone with a bad knee can step into. Perhaps it must stop fogging the mirror, or hold two people getting ready at once.
Hand that sentence to every bidder. It gives them a fixed point to design around, and it gives you a test for each proposal: does this plan deliver that one change well, and is everything else on the list there because you asked for it?
Storage set into the wall
Wall cavities beside a bathroom can sometimes hold storage without taking floor space. A recessed medicine cabinet, a niche in the shower for bottles, or shallow shelves between studs behind the door are common ideas. Whether any of them will work depends on what is already inside that wall: a drain stack, a vent, wiring or a heating duct can rule out a spot.
Ask each remodeler to check the walls you have in mind, to tell you what they expect to find, and to say what happens to the plan if the cavity turns out to be occupied. For a shower niche, ask how its sill will be sloped and waterproofed, and where its edges will land relative to the tile layout.
A window inside the shower
Some bathrooms have a window on the wall where the shower sits. Water running down the glass and onto the sill can be hard on wood trim and framing over time. If yours has one, raise it early. Ask each remodeler whether they would keep, shrink, raise or replace the window, what sill and trim material they propose, how the opening would be tied into the waterproofing, and whether a frosted or textured glass is an option for privacy. Ask too whether a window change brings in a separate trade, and how that trade's schedule fits with the tile work.
Wall finishes besides tile
Not every wall needs tile. Outside the shower and away from the tub, choices include moisture-resistant paint, wainscot, beadboard, solid surface panels or a tiled band only where splashes land. Inside the wet area, solid panels or large-format slabs are alternatives to small tile with many grout joints.
For each wall, ask what material the remodeler suggests, what goes behind it, how its seams and corners are sealed, and how it is cleaned. A mix of finishes can change the feel of the room and spread the budget differently from tile everywhere.
A sample board in the room's own light
Showroom lighting can flatter a sample. Once you have narrowed your choices, ask for samples of the floor tile, wall finish, grout color, countertop and faucet finish, and set them together on a piece of cardboard propped in the bathroom itself. Look at them in morning light, at night with the room's own fixtures on, and wet. Grout color in particular can look very different once it sits beside the tile at full size. Leave the board in place for a few days before you decide.
What to watch at the first walkthrough
A first visit can tell you something about how a job may run. Notice whether the person looks under the sink and into the vanity, asks to see the space below the bathroom or the attic above it, runs the shower to check pressure and drainage, and asks how the household uses the room. Notice whether they talk you through options or push a single package. Ask how long until a written proposal arrives, and whether it will be itemized.
Questions for each plumber and remodeler
Ask these the same way of everyone, and keep the answers in writing:
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Who will do the plumbing, what is that plumber's state plumbing license number, and is the plumber registered with the Erie County health district?
- Which office issues the plumbing permit for this address, and who applies for it?
- Will you send proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before the start date?
- Who is my contact while the room is torn out, and how will changes be priced and approved?
- What does your written warranty cover, and for how long?
Questions about your own homeowner's policy go to your insurer.