Bathroom Remodeling Contractor in
Orange, CA

SB 407 (Statutes of 2009, chapter 587) put California's water-saving fixture rules into the Civil Code for property built and available for use on or before January 1, 1994. As chaptered, section 1101.4(a) says that from January 1, 2014, for building alterations or improvements to single-family residential real property, the permit applicant replaces all noncompliant plumbing fixtures with water-conserving ones as a condition for final permit approval. The statute counts a toilet above 1.6 gallons per flush, a showerhead above 2.5 gallons per minute and an interior faucet above 2.2 gallons per minute as noncompliant. It gives multifamily property separate dates, so in a condo or townhome we read how it applies to your unit.

The City of Orange Water Division explains hardness as mineral content, usually stated in grains, and treats 10 grains or more as hard. It says the city's hardness varies with the season and with a customer's location in the service area. Imported water from the Colorado River and Northern California is typically hard, while well water is moderately hard. The city says hardness is not a safety issue and names white spotting, for example on dishwasher-washed glassware, as the main nuisance. In a new bathroom the same minerals can spot glass and polished metal, so the finishes belong in the plan. Your water bill names your supplier. If it is not the City of Orange, read that supplier's report instead.

The city says most exterior changes to properties in the Old Towne Historic District are reviewed against its Historic Preservation Design Standards, some by staff and larger ones by the Design Review Committee. A bathroom is mostly interior work, but the window over the tub, the exhaust duct and the cap where it leaves the wall are all on the outside. The page we read does not say how interior-only work is handled, so when an address sits in the district we ask Planning staff before the scope is final.

Older homes often have compact bathrooms. Before we choose finishes, we measure the room, mark the fixture positions and test the door swing, the clearance at the toilet and the width of the shower. Small changes to the layout often give back more space than any single material choice.