Kitchen Plumbing Services in Philadelphia, PA
The pipes decide where your sink can go and what the rest of the kitchen has to work around. We run the supply, drain and vent lines for kitchen remodels across Philadelphia. Licensed, permitted and inspected before a single wall closes up.
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The Part of a Kitchen Nobody Sees Until It Leaks
Cabinets and counters get picked first. The pipes behind them decide whether any of it can go where you want it.
Plumbing is the step that sets the layout in a Philadelphia kitchen remodel. Move the sink two feet and the drain, the vent and the dishwasher line all move with it.
This page covers what kitchen plumbing work involves, what it takes to relocate a sink, and what we find inside older Philadelphia homes. Showcase Remodels has been opening up kitchen walls in this city since 2002.
Call us before the cabinets are ordered. A layout that looks fine on paper can turn into a floor that has to come up.
What Kitchen Plumbing Services Cover
Kitchen plumbing is every water and waste line in the room, plus the gas line if you cook on gas. Most of it gets done while the walls are open.
Supply Lines and Shutoff Valves
Hot and cold lines come out of the wall under the sink and end at a shutoff valve each. Old valves that no longer close get replaced while the cabinet is out, because that is the only easy time to reach them.
Drain and Trap
The sink drain runs through a P trap and out to the waste stack. A kitchen with a disposal runs better on a two inch drain than the inch and a half line many older homes were built with.
Vent Line
Every drain needs air behind it or the trap siphons dry and the room smells. The vent is the pipe doing that job, and it has to stay connected when a sink moves.
Dishwasher Hookup
A dishwasher takes a hot supply, a drain line and either a high loop or an air gap so dirty water cannot run back into it. We set the hookup when the cabinet run goes in.
Garbage Disposal
The disposal hangs off the sink drain and needs its own switch and a dedicated outlet under the cabinet. Older sink drains often sit too high for one without a small change to the pipe.
Refrigerator Water Line
An ice maker runs on a quarter inch line teed off the cold supply with its own shutoff. Running it inside the wall rather than across the floor keeps it out of the way of the fridge.
Gas Line and Pot Filler
A range that moves needs its gas line extended and pressure tested by the plumber. A pot filler is a cold line run through the wall behind the range, with a shutoff left reachable.
All of it gets roughed in at the same stage, before drywall and before cabinets. Doing it in one pass is what keeps the kitchen on schedule.
Moving a Sink or Putting One in an Island
This is the question we get most often. The answer comes down to what is under the floor and where the vent runs.
Drain Slope Sets the Distance
A kitchen drain has to fall about a quarter inch for every foot it travels. The further the sink moves from the stack, the deeper the pipe sits at the far end, and at some point it runs out of room under the floor.
Basement or Slab
With a basement under the kitchen, the new drain hangs from the joists and the work stays clean. Over a slab the pipe sits in concrete, so the floor has to be cut and patched.
Island Sinks Need Their Own Vent
An island has no wall to run a vent up. Code answers that with a loop vent under the floor or an air admittance valve inside the cabinet, and both get settled before the island is built.
Keep the Dishwasher Close
A dishwasher works best within about six feet of the sink drain it ties into. Putting the two on opposite walls means a longer drain line and more that can go wrong later.
What a Short Move Looks Like
Sliding a sink a few feet along the same wall is usually a simple extension of the drain and vent. Moving it to a different wall is a different job, and we say so at the estimate rather than halfway through.
We mark the new sink position on the subfloor before anything is ordered. Seeing it in the room settles the argument faster than a drawing does.
What We Find Behind the Walls in Older Philadelphia Homes
Rowhomes and twins across the city were plumbed long before anyone thought about dishwashers. Opening a kitchen wall here is rarely a surprise free afternoon.
Galvanized Steel Supply
Steel pipe rusts from the inside and narrows until the faucet runs thin. When we find it feeding a kitchen, we replace that section in copper or PEX while the wall is open.
Cast Iron Waste Stacks
Cast iron lasts a long time and then fails at the joints and the base. We scope the stack before tying a new kitchen drain into something close to the end of its life.
S Traps Under the Sink
The old S shaped trap siphons itself empty and lets sewer gas up into the room. Any sink we rebuild gets a P trap and a proper vent instead.
Undersized Drains
An inch and a half drain was normal when the house was built and struggles with a disposal. Upsizing that run while the cabinets are out costs far less than chasing clogs for years.
Valves That Will Not Close
Shutoffs that have sat untouched for decades often seize or drip once turned. We plan on replacing them rather than trusting them to hold.
None of this is a reason to panic about an older kitchen. It is the reason we look behind the wall before we quote the job instead of after.
Licensed Remodeling Contractor Serving Philadelphia Since 2002
Find Out What Your Kitchen Layout Will Actually Cost in Pipe
We come out, look under the sink and in the basement, and tell you what moving things involves. The visit is free and you get a straight answer on the layout you want.
Permits and Inspections for Kitchen Plumbing in Philadelphia
Changing pipe in Philadelphia is permitted work. Swapping a faucet is not, but moving a drain or running a new line is.
A Licensed Master Plumber Holds the Permit
The city requires plumbing work on a permit to be overseen by a licensed master plumber in good standing. The plumber on your job carries that license, and the paperwork sits with the permit.
The Rough In Inspection Comes First
Pipes get inspected while they are still visible, before insulation and drywall. Closing a wall ahead of that inspection is how people end up opening it again.
Why It Matters at Resale
Unpermitted work shows up when the house sells and the buyer asks for records. Permitted work leaves a trail that answers the question for you.
We Handle the Filing
Showcase Remodels pulls the permits for the kitchens we build and schedules the inspections around the rest of the trades. You are not the one calling the city.
Timing matters more than most homeowners expect. We book inspections ahead so the drywall crew is not standing around waiting on one.
Why Choose Showcase Remodels for Kitchen Plumbing in Philadelphia
Showcase Remodels has been remodeling kitchens in Philadelphia since 2002. The plumbing is planned by the same people drawing the layout, which is why the sink ends up where you wanted it.
Pipes get opened on day one. Our kitchen demolition page covers that day, and our outdoor kitchen design page covers running the same lines out to the yard.
Related reading: touchless kitchen faucets.
We hold contractor license #13VH04055000 and carry full liability and workers compensation coverage on every job. Licensed plumbers do the pipe work under our permits.
More than 350 homeowners have rated us 4.9 stars, and we hold an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau. Most of that work is kitchens and bathrooms in this region.
Narrow rowhomes, party walls and cast iron stacks are the normal conditions here, not the exception. We price the job on what is behind the wall, not on a flat rate sheet.
Plumbing, electric, cabinets and counters are scheduled by us in one order. Nobody shows up to a kitchen that is not ready for them.
Our office is at 2558 Grant Ave Suite B, Philadelphia, PA 19114. Call 215-515-6484 and we will come look at the kitchen before you commit to a layout.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kitchen Plumbing in Philadelphia
Usually yes, as long as the new drain can keep its fall to the stack and the vent can be rerouted. A basement under the kitchen makes it straightforward. Over a slab the floor has to be cut, which changes the time and the price.
Yes for any change to pipe, including moving a sink, adding a dishwasher line or running gas. Replacing a faucet or a disposal in the same spot does not need one. Showcase Remodels files the permits for the kitchens we build in Philadelphia.
The rough in work is normally one to two days once the walls are open, with the final hookups done after the counters land. The inspection sits between those two visits. Call 215-515-6484 to book a free consultation in Philadelphia.