Plumbing – How to Hire Professional Plumbers | Angie’s List

Bathe retro with a $1,000 cast iron clawfoot freestanding tub. Or go futuristic with your soaking comforts as your body listens to music through sound waves emanating from underwater resonant speakers in a tricked out corner tub costing thousands.

Want something simpler yet still stylish? Soak in the middle of the room in a drop-in tub, starting at $600; or step into a no frills all-purpose $500 alcove tub tucked in three walls, with a showerhead for every day.

Simple bathtub faucets start around $50 and run 10 times that or more. The average cost to replace an old tub with a new one runs $2,500 to $3,500, according to Costhelper.com.

Whatever your preference and price point, theres a tub to sooth. Thats, of course, ifyou want a bathtub.Many homeowners particularly those who dont have young children living with them have thrown the tub out with the bath water in favor of installing a walk-in shower. Just make sure to consider the pros and cons of tub to shower conversions.

Among popular options, are walk-in showers wrapped in a frameless glass enclosure or tiled walls, with or without a door to seal in the steam. Then theres the choice of what angle you want the water to hit you.

Options range from the standard wall-mount showerhead, overhead, and handheld showerheads to multiple showerheads that spritz targeted spray, rain and mist. You could spend less than $50 for a basic showerhead, or thousands for a shower system.

The price to install a shower can range from a hundred or so to put in a showerhead and add a curtain to an alcove tub or $1,000 for a simple shower stall. Expect to pay $5,000 to $10,000 or more for a tiled walk-in shower enclosed in glass.

You can cut your water consumption during showers nearly in half by installing a low-flow showerhead. This would also make it less likely youll run out of hot water during times of peak water use in your home.

According tostandards set by the federal government, a low-flow showerhead uses no more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute at a water pressure of 80 pounds per square inch. Thats less than half the rate of water used by some older traditional showerhead models. Low-flow showerheads come in two main types, aerating, which creates a mist, or laminar-flow that sends water out in a steady stream.

Whether you switch to a low-flow shower head or just want to replace your old one, the steps are simple:

1. Remove the old showerhead by twisting it to the left. If you need to use a wrench, wrap a soft cloth around the shower head and tighten the wrench around it to prevent scratching the plumbing lines.

2. Clean off any gunk in the threads of the shower pipe and wrap it with fresh plumber's tape. The tape should overlap itself by about 50 percent as you move across the threads. Wrap clockwise so the tape wraps in the same direction that new head will screw on.

3. Attach the new showerhead and tighten it as much as you can by hand.

4. Turn on the shower and watch for leaks. If you see any, wrap the showerhead with the cloth and use the wrench to gently give it one more quarter turn.

To save water elsewhere in the bathroom, newer faucets come with aerators, which screw on to the tip of the faucet, that reduce flow rates. Check into adding one if yours doesnt already come equipped.

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Plumbing - How to Hire Professional Plumbers | Angie's List