- Canadian Owned and Operated
All beautiful bathrooms, completed basements, and new kitchen extensions begin the same way on the back side of the wall, under the floor, and in front of a single tile. It is where plumbing rough-in occurs, and is the most impactful stage of any plumbing project.
Do it right and the rest of the fixtures, finishes, inspections, resale are easy. Do it wrong and you are cutting holes in completed walls months later to re-establish drain slopes, re-position an improperly installed toilet rough-in, or redirect a supply line that was installed to a different size. That is a costly lesson that not every homeowner will be able to learn using experience.
In BOS Plumbing and Drains, plumbing rough-in has been in operation in the Greater Toronto Region including Mississauga, Oakville, Hamilton, Milton and Niagara, more than 20 years. We do residential plumbing extensions, complete bathroom construction, basement rough-in plumbing jobs, and commercial plumbing installations and we consider all rough-in as the right basis it is.
Plumbing rough-in refers to the stage of construction or renovation during which all the drain, waste, vent (DWV) piping and supply lines are laid in walls, floors and ceilings prior to the installation of drywall, tile, or any other permanent finish. The rough-in stage is completed at the end of the stage when fixtures are not yet connected. What you are looking at are stub-outs: capped ends of pipes where your toilet, sink, shower, tub or laundry assembly will one day be located.
Good rough-in work takes in-depth understanding of your plumbing system, the slope of drain lines, the termination of the vents, the size of supply lines and the location of shutoff access points. It must also be completely in conformity to Ontario Building Code and capable of passing a municipal rough-in inspection prior to the closure of walls.
This is a licensed plumber job. It is not a stage to cut corners or give to someone who is not accredited and who has not undergone any hands-on experience.
Expert solutions for all your residential & commercial plumbing needs
We serve the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding regions with local expertise
The rough-in of plumbing is what defines the success of your whole plumbing system after construction. After the installation is made of drywall, tile, cabinets, and flooring, it becomes costly and disruptive to correct the errors that go unnoticed. By roughing in properly initially, you are safeguarding your investment and making your renovation process a smooth process.
At BOS Plumbing & Drains, all plumbing rough-in is done to be accurate, code-compliant, and long-lasting.
The bathroom plumbing rough-in encompasses the entire area of drain and supply piping to your new or remodeled bathroom toilet drain and flange, sink drain and supply, bathtub or shower rough-in, and vent connections. All the components should already be in place to fit your specifications of the fittings, and your bathroom layout before even the first wall can be erected.
Key steps in our bathroom rough-in process:
Your licensed BOS plumber begins with an in-depth analysis of your floor plan and specifications of your fixtures. The location of the drains will be determined depending on the placement of your toilet, vanity and shower or tub. We establish appropriate slopes of drains. One of the Ontario code minimums is a 1/4 inch drop per foot of horizontal drains and the most frequent mistake in drainage is not to get this right and see the results in slow drains and chronic backups following a renovation. Vent connections are installed to fit into the existing stack layout of your building. At each of the locations of the fittings, we rough in hot and cold supply lines. We seal all stub-outs neatly and get ready to be inspected.
BOS Plumbing & Drains plans and arranges the municipal rough-in check as a service. You do not go after permits, we do it.
One of the most critical dimensions in bathroom planning is the toilet rough-in which is the distance between the completed wall and the centre of the toilet drain flange. The toilet rough-in of the majority of Canadian houses is 12 inches. There are 10-inch and 14-inch rough-ins, however, especially in older houses in Hamilton, Niagara, and heritage neighbourhoods in the GTA.
Purchase a toilet without checking your rough-in size and you can get one that will literally not fit your hole or will create an unappealing space between the tank and the wall. At the assessment stage, our crew ensures rough-in dimensions and adjusts your floor flange in the precise location to avoid any problems when installing your toilet.
We also fit the floor flange to the proper height in relation to your finished floor surface. One of the most typical sources of leakage repair calls in the future and failure of the wax ring is a flange set that is too low. We do not let that just happen.
Basement rough-in plumbing is in a league of its own. In contrast to the upper-floor bathrooms where the drainage empties into the existing stack lines, the drainage on the basement fixtures may be at or lower than the same level as your main sewer line which means that the drainage may not be gravity-moved.
BOS Plumbing & Drains will determine whether your basement bathroom can drain to the sewer via gravity or whether it needs an ejector pump (sewage ejector) system, depending on the basement setup and the depth of the level of your municipal connection. We install and design both, and we assure that all of the components are up to the Ontario Building Code when the walls are constructed.Basement rough-in plumbing also commonly includes cutting into concrete floor slabs to run drain lines, which must be done with the right tools, correct slope calculations, and experience of working with older clay or cast iron and current ABS piping. Concrete cutting, drains, and clean backfill are included in our entire rough-in services.
One of the best investments you can make on a GTA home is to finish your basement. It is the proper job of basement rough-in plumbing that keeps that investment decades long.
The shower plumbing rough-in is more precise than most people think and more moving parts than most of the homeowners realize. A shower rough-in done improperly will leave you with a shower valve which is too deep into the wall, a drain which is not centered on your shower base, or a stub-out of your showerhead which is at the wrong height.
Our shower rough-in service covers:
Whether you need a simple alcove shower or a multi head custom walk in, BOS Plumbing and Drains do the shower plumbing rough-in with the level of attention that safeguards your tile investment.
Both terms are heard by many homeowners in the process of undertaking a renovation project. Although they are related, rough-in plumbing and finish plumbing occur at different times.
| Rough-In Plumbing | Finish Plumbing |
| Drain lines installed inside walls/floors | Toilets, sinks, faucets installed |
| Water supply lines routed | Fixtures connected and tested |
| Vent piping completed | Showerheads and trims added |
| Pipe stub-outs positioned | Final caulking and adjustments |
| Municipal inspection usually required | Final system testing completed |
Your system has rough-in plumbing as its backbone. The last step is finish plumbing, which homeowners can see and use on a daily basis.
The plumbing rough-in cost in Ontario is generally calculated based on the number and type of fixtures that are to be roughed in, the complexity of the drain system (above-grade or basement, gravity or ejector, used or unused), the type of pipe to be used and whether concrete cutting or substantial structural work needs to be involved.
Rough in plumbing cost per unit represents the labour, materials and scope of the individual type of units. A rough-in of a toilet is not the same as a shower rough-in is not the same as a rough-in of a laundry, each has its own drain size, venting requirements, and supply arrangement.
Factors that affect your total plumbing rough-in cost:
The best way to know how much you will pay to plumb rough-in is to have a licensed plumber visit your particular project. BOS Plumbing and Drains offers detailed and up front quotes broken down by scope and not started by anything. No vague estimates. No surprise invoices.
Rough-in plumbing is everything that happens inside the walls and floors before surfaces close drain lines, supply lines, vent connections, and stub-outs. Finish plumbing (also called trim-out) is the final phase where actual fixtures are connected to those stub-outs: the toilet is set, the faucet is installed, the showerhead goes on, and the supply lines are connected. Both phases require a licensed plumber. The rough-in phase is where the structural, code-compliance, and dimensional decisions happen and where mistakes are most expensive to fix later.
Yes always. Any plumbing rough-in in Ontario that involves new drain, waste, or vent piping requires a building permit and a municipal inspection before walls close. This isn’t optional, and skipping it creates real problems: failed home inspections during resale, voided homeowner insurance claims related to plumbing failures, and liability if a subsequent issue causes property damage. BOS Plumbing & Drains pulls the proper permits and schedules inspections for every rough-in project we complete. This is part of what you’re paying for when you hire a licensed plumbing company and it’s a significant part of the value.
Technically, a homeowner can pull a DIY permit in Ontario for work on their own home. Practically, plumbing rough-in particularly basement rough-in plumbing and shower plumbing rough-in involves drain slope calculations, vent sizing, code-specific pipe sizing for each fixture unit load, and concrete cutting that most homeowners are not equipped to do correctly. The municipal inspector will catch deficiencies, which means you’re tearing out work and redoing it before walls can close. For a project that forms the foundation of everything above it, the cost of hiring a professional plumber service is consistently better value than the cost of DIY mistakes.
The timeline depends entirely on scope. A single bathroom plumbing rough-in in an above-grade addition with accessible framing typically takes one to two days for an experienced crew. A full basement rough-in plumbing project with concrete cutting, multiple fixtures, and an ejector pump installation may take three to five days. BOS Plumbing & Drains gives you a realistic project timeline when we quote we build in time for the municipal inspection so your overall renovation schedule isn’t disrupted.
The consequences range from inconvenient to genuinely costly. Incorrect drain slope causes chronic slow drains and sewer gas issues. A toilet rough-in set at the wrong dimension means your toilet doesn’t fit or leaves a gap against the wall. A shower rough-in valve set at the wrong depth means your trim kit won’t install without a wall repair. Worst case improperly vented drain lines allow sewer gas into your living space, creating both a health hazard and a code violation that requires a licensed plumber to remediate. The cost of fixing bad rough-in work after walls close is multiples higher than the cost of having a licensed residential plumbing team do it correctly the first time.
Our home plumbing rough-in services include all types of household plumbing: new bathroom additions, ensuite additions, basement bathroom rough-ins, laundry room rough-ins, kitchen additions, and whole home rough-ins. We deal with homeowners, renovation contractors and general contractors throughout the GTA and we can schedule our schedule to match your build schedule.
And it could be you are adding a second bathroom to an Oakville family home, completing a basement in Mississauga, or creating a new ensuite in a Hamilton century house that needs and uses creativity in getting around the heritage walls BOS Plumbing & Drains can get you through your project.
In commercial plumbing rough-in, the accuracy is required as the ones in residential work scale to more complex buildings with more stringent inspection guidelines, shorter deadlines, and an increased number of fixtures. BOS plumbing and drains are involved in commercial plumbing used in retail fit-outs, office additions, restaurant plumbing, multi-unit residential buildings, and light industrial spaces throughout the GTA.
Our commercial department is aware of the time constraints of commercial construction. We operate according to your schedule and report progressively to ensure your project is not inspected during inspection windows or to hold up other trades.
24 Hour Plumber & Emergency Plumber Coverage Across the GTA
Rough-in jobs are scheduled jobs but emergency plumbing repair does not wait until after business hours in a plumbing project. BOS plumbing and drains are 24 hour plumbers and emergency plumbers in the Greater Toronto Area, including emergency plumbers Oakville calls, Mississauga emergence, Hamilton, Milton, and Niagara. Should there be a burst pipe, large toilet leak repair or an active water damage scenario one day, night or weekend our team will be there in a flash.
We are not an organization that puts emergency service on their web site and picks up to a voicemail at 2 AM. As soon as you call BOS Plumbing & Drains in an emergency, you can reach a live dispatcher who sends a licensed plumber towards your address.
When you look up plumbers near me in the GTA you are looking beyond the distance. You want a plumbing company that will be there when they say and charge you what is right, does the job to code and is dedicated to what they do. The BOS Plumbing and Drains standard has been more than 20 years old.
Plumbing rough-in is the stage that makes or breaks your renovation project either it is a success or a money pit. There is no alternative to do it right the first time, and having a plumber service with experience of 20+ years and thousands of completed projects under their belt, is the best way to be right.
BOS Plumbing and Drains will have free, in-depth rough-in evaluations and initial quotes throughout the entire GTA. We draw permits, arrange inspections and provide first time work.
Make your plumbing rough-in evaluation and base your project on a lasting foundation by calling BOS Plumbing & Drains today.
