What simple plumbing actually involves
Simple plumbing covers the small, single-fixture water work that keeps a kitchen, bathroom, or laundry running without calling in a licensed plumber for a full re-pipe. The most common simple-plumbing jobs are P-trap replacement under a sink, supply line swaps for a faucet or toilet, basket strainer replacement, fixture shut-off valve replacement at the wall, garbage disposal swap (where the existing wiring and drain are already in place), running drain clearing on a sink or tub, and washer hookup. The scope is intentionally narrow: one fixture, accessible connections, no opening of walls, no work behind drywall, no gas, and no sewer main. If the job stays inside that box, a vetted handyman can finish it in 30 to 90 minutes with parts from any hardware store.
What separates simple plumbing from the work a licensed plumber needs to do is the size of the job and the type of system involved. Re-piping a house, swapping a water heater, installing a tankless system, opening a sewer main, or any gas-line work falls outside handyman scope. Anything within it — a leaking trap, a slow drain, a stuck shut-off valve, a hose that won't seal — is what we treat as simple plumbing on this site. We are honest about that line. If your job crosses it, the pro will tell you on the first visit and refer you to a licensed plumber rather than do work they should not.
Los Angeles plumbing has its own quirks that shape the work. Pre-1980 homes in Silver Lake, Pasadena, Hollywood, Echo Park, and parts of West LA were often piped in galvanized steel for supply and cast iron for drains. Galvanized corrodes from the inside, narrowing the bore and dropping pressure; cast iron cracks at the hub joints over time. Both materials are still in service in thousands of LA homes, and they change how a small job feels. A simple shut-off valve replacement on PEX is a five-minute job; the same job on a corroded galvanized stub can become a one-hour task because the threads will not turn cleanly. Earthquake risk also matters: rigid copper supplies break at fittings during shaking, which is why flexible braided supply lines and quarter-turn ball valves are now the standard for any new connection. Tree-root intrusion in older neighborhoods like Pasadena, Hancock Park, and parts of Mid-Wilshire affects drain lines under the slab — but that is a sewer-main problem, not simple plumbing, and we do not do it.
When you need this service
You have a slow drip under the kitchen or bathroom sink and a small puddle in the cabinet. The most common cause is a worn P-trap washer, a loose slip nut, or a cracked plastic trap. A pro can replace the entire P-trap assembly with a new Plumbcraft or Brasscraft kit in under twenty minutes, and you do not have to empty the cabinet for a week trying to figure out where the drip is coming from.
Your faucet's shut-off valve under the sink does not turn anymore, or it leaks when you do turn it. Old multi-turn compression stops freeze in place, and forcing them snaps the stem. The fix is a quarter-turn ball valve replacement — Brasscraft or SharkBite, depending on whether the existing line is copper, PEX, or galvanized. This is also the right moment to switch from rigid lines to flexible braided supplies for earthquake safety.
The toilet supply line is sweating, hissing, or has a slow weep where it meets the tank. Toilet supply lines are cheap (about $8 for a Fluidmaster braided line) and have a five-minute install once the water is off. If the leak is at the wall valve rather than the line, the valve is the real fix and the job grows by twenty minutes.
A bathroom sink or tub drains slowly even after a plunger and a hand auger from the hardware store. A pro will run a longer cable snake from the trap or through the overflow, clear the soap-scum and hair clog, and check that the trap arm has the right slope. We do not do main-line clearing — that requires a sewer machine and is plumber territory — but a single fixture's branch line is well within scope.
You bought a new garbage disposal, washing machine, or kitchen faucet and need it hooked up to existing connections. As long as the wiring is in place (for disposals), the supply lines are accessible (for faucets), and the drain and water hookups already exist (for washers), this is a clean swap. A pro brings the right plumber's putty, PTFE tape, and basin wrench so the job actually finishes the same day.
How to choose the right pro
Confirm the pro keeps simple plumbing inside scope. The right pro will read your job description, ask whether the existing pipe is PEX, copper, or galvanized, and tell you up front if the job belongs to a licensed plumber. Anyone who says yes to everything — including water heaters, gas, or sewer work — is the wrong choice for your home and probably for their own license.
Look at the verification badges, not the marketing. Every Shatun Brothers simple-plumbing pro has cleared Persona ID + selfie liveness — that's required to list. The badge you most want to look for here is Insurance Verified: water damage to a cabinet is the most common late-breaking claim on plumbing work, and a pro with current general liability coverage on file gives you cleaner recourse if something leaks two weeks later. License Verified is a separate badge for pros who hold a CSLB license — useful information, but not required for handyman-scope plumbing work.
Ask which fittings the pro prefers, and why. A pro who specifies SharkBite push-fit only when transitioning between materials (copper to PEX, for instance) and uses sweated or compression elsewhere is thinking about long-term reliability. A pro who uses SharkBite for everything is fast but is also relying on a fitting that some inspectors will flag inside finished walls. For exposed under-sink work, push-fit is fine. Behind drywall, it is a judgment call.
Look at the recent reviews for the same kind of job you have. A pro with twenty kitchen-faucet swaps and great recent feedback is a safer pick for your kitchen-faucet swap than a pro with the same average score built on disposal installs and washer hookups. We show the last ten reviews on every pro profile so you can read the trajectory rather than just the headline number.
Get the price in writing before the work starts. Simple plumbing has narrow ranges, and a quote of $300 to replace a single P-trap is a sign you are paying for the truck, not the job. A clear written quote that lists the parts (P-trap kit, supply lines, valve) and labor minutes is the right baseline. Add-ons appear only if the pro opens up the cabinet and finds something different from what was described.
Keep proof of insurance on file for your records. Water damage that shows up two weeks after a job is the most common late-breaking simple-plumbing claim. A pro who emails their certificate of insurance without being asked has done this before and has nothing to hide. We keep a current certificate on every pro's profile, but it is fair to ask for a copy that lists your address as the job site.
Pricing in Los Angeles
P-trap replacement and supply-line swaps usually run $80 to $160 in Los Angeles. The parts are inexpensive (a Plumbcraft P-trap kit is about $10, a Brasscraft braided supply line is about $8), and the labor is twenty to forty minutes once the cabinet is cleared. Pros who price below $80 are typically combining the visit with another job in the same building or block; pros who price above $160 for a single trap are usually adding a minimum truck-roll fee. Either approach is normal, just ask which one you are paying for.
Shut-off valve replacement runs $100 to $180 depending on the existing connection. PEX or compression connections turn the job into a fifteen-minute swap with a Brasscraft quarter-turn ball valve. Sweated copper raises the price because the pro has to drain the line, cut, deburr, and either solder a new valve or transition to a SharkBite push-fit. A galvanized stub is a wild card — the threads can come apart cleanly, or they can crumble and force the pro to recommend a licensed plumber to extend the line.
Single-fixture drain clearing on a sink or tub is typically $120 to $220. The price reflects the cable snake (a $300+ tool the pro brings), the PPE, and the cleanup. We do not quote main-line clearing on this site because it is outside our scope, but for a slow bathroom sink or kitchen branch, the job is bounded and the price should be quoted up front. If the pro arrives and finds the slow drain is actually a venting problem or a partial main-line clog, the right call is to stop, refund or refuse the visit, and refer you to a plumber.
Hose bib or outdoor spigot replacement (a related but separate service we list elsewhere) typically runs $120 to $250 depending on whether the existing stub is sweated, threaded, or accessible only from inside. Garbage disposal swaps with existing wiring run $140 to $240 including disposal-mount alignment.
DIY vs hiring a pro
P-trap replacement is one of the cleanest DIY jobs in plumbing. The whole assembly comes apart by hand or with channel-lock pliers, the new kit costs about ten dollars at any hardware store, and the only specialized knowledge is to put the slip washers on in the right order and to not overtighten the plastic nuts. If you can clear the cabinet, you can do this in fifteen minutes. The same logic applies to washer-hose hookups and most basket strainer replacements: cheap parts, accessible connections, no special tools.
Supply line replacement and shut-off valve replacement land in the middle. A flexible braided supply line is a five-minute swap once the water is off — capable DIY for anyone who can use a wrench. Shut-off valve replacement is the harder cousin: if the existing connection is PEX or compression, it is a DIY job. If the connection is sweated copper, you are looking at draining the line, cutting cleanly, deburring the pipe, and either soldering a new valve in (which requires a torch, flux, solder, and the confidence to work near studs) or using a SharkBite push-fit. Push-fit fittings are reliable when installed correctly, but they are also a place where small DIY mistakes turn into slow leaks behind a cabinet wall, which is the worst kind of leak to find. If you are not sure, a pro is worth the call.
Drain snaking is DIY for a bathroom sink with a $30 hand auger from Home Depot, but it is also where DIY does the most quiet damage. Forcing a cable through a corroded cast-iron drain in a 1940s home will crack the pipe, and the leak does not show up until the wall behind the vanity is wet. Pouring caustic drain cleaner into a clogged P-trap and then trying to remove the trap is the other classic mistake — when the trap comes off, the caustic comes with it, into the cabinet and onto your hands. If the drain has not cleared after one careful pass with a hand auger and a plunger, stop and book a pro rather than escalate to chemicals.
Common mistakes to avoid
Overtightening plastic compression nuts on a P-trap. Plastic threads strip easily, and the slip nut is supposed to seal with the rubber washer underneath, not with crushing pressure. Hand-tight plus a quarter turn with channel-locks is right; another full turn cracks the nut and you are back to the hardware store with a wet cabinet.
Forgetting to confirm where the main shut-off is before starting work. Fixture shut-off valves fail at the worst time — when you are replacing them. If the fixture stop will not close fully, your only fallback is the main shut-off at the street meter (or at the house valve, if there is one). Knowing where it is and that it actually turns is part of the job, not an emergency you discover under a kitchen sink at 9 p.m.
Using PTFE (teflon) tape on the wrong joint. PTFE belongs on threaded pipe joints — supply line nipples, hose-bib threads, sometimes shower-arm threads. It does not belong on compression fittings, where the seal comes from a brass ferrule clamping onto the pipe, or on slip-joint nuts, where the seal comes from a rubber washer. Wrapping PTFE on a compression joint actually prevents the seal from forming.
Assuming a SharkBite or PEX push-fit will work on any pipe. Push-fit fittings are designed for copper, PEX, and CPVC of the right outside diameter. Galvanized steel has a different OD and threading, and pushing a SharkBite onto galvanized pipe ends with a leak. The right move is a transition fitting, or a licensed plumber if the galvanized stub itself is corroded.
Pouring caustic drain cleaner into a stubborn clog and then opening the trap. The cleaner does not vanish — it sits in the trap until you open the slip nuts, at which point it comes out under your hands or onto your face. If you have already used a chemical drain cleaner, tell the pro before they arrive so they can flush the line first or refuse the job and refer you to a plumber with the right PPE.
Frequently asked questions
Is a handyman allowed to do plumbing in California?+
Yes, within limits. California's CSLB CSLB handyman scope covers any single job where the combined cost of materials and labor stays under $500 and the work does not require a permit. Most simple plumbing — P-traps, supply lines, shut-off valves, basket strainers, garbage disposal swaps, single-fixture drain clearing — sits comfortably under that ceiling. Re-piping, water heaters, gas lines, and sewer mains do not, and a licensed plumber is required by law for that work.
What counts as 'simple plumbing' on this site?+
One fixture, accessible connections, no opening of walls, no gas, no sewer main, and no work that requires a permit. The most common jobs are P-trap replacement, supply-line swaps, shut-off valve replacement, garbage disposal swaps with existing wiring, single-fixture drain clearing, basket strainers, and washer hookups. If your job is bigger than that, the pro will tell you on the first visit and refer you to a licensed plumber.
My house was built in the 1940s and has galvanized pipes. Can a handyman still help?+
Often, yes — for any job that lives at the fixture end of the line. Replacing a P-trap, swapping a shut-off valve, or installing a faucet on a galvanized stub is usually fine if the threads on the stub are still sound. If the threads come apart during the job, the right answer is to stop and recommend a licensed plumber to extend the line in copper or PEX. This is a judgment call that comes up often in Silver Lake, Hollywood, and Pasadena homes, and our pros are honest about when they should hand off.
Should I use a SharkBite fitting or sweat copper?+
Both are valid, and the choice depends on where the fitting will live. Push-fit (SharkBite) is excellent for exposed under-sink and accessible work, especially when transitioning between copper and PEX. Sweated copper is preferred for connections that will be hidden inside walls, where access for a future repair is hard. A good pro will use the right one for the location, not the same fitting everywhere by default.
Why does my shut-off valve leak when I try to use it?+
Multi-turn compression stops have a packing washer around the stem that dries out and shrinks over the years. The valve seals fine when fully open or fully closed, but begins to weep around the stem the first time you actually turn it. The fix is to replace it with a quarter-turn ball valve — Brasscraft makes a reliable one in copper, PEX, and compression versions. While you are at it, switch any rigid supply lines to flexible braided supplies for earthquake safety.
Can I use a drain cleaner before the pro arrives?+
Please do not. Caustic drain cleaners sit in the trap if they fail to clear the clog, and when the pro opens the slip nuts the cleaner comes out into the cabinet and onto skin. If you have already used one, tell the pro before the visit so they can bring the right PPE or, in some cases, refer you to a plumber with the equipment to flush the line safely. A plunger and a hand auger are safe first attempts; chemicals are not.
Why are flexible braided supply lines safer than rigid copper in LA?+
Rigid lines transmit shaking directly to their fittings during an earthquake. The fitting itself is the weakest point, and the failure mode is a clean break with the water on. Flexible braided supplies absorb that movement, which is why they are now the default for new fixture connections across California. Replacing a rigid stub-out with a braided supply is a five-minute job and is one of the small things that quietly reduces earthquake water damage.
What is the difference between a single-fixture drain clog and a main-line clog?+
A single-fixture clog affects only one drain — one bathroom sink, one tub, one kitchen line — and the rest of the house drains normally. That is in scope for simple plumbing. A main-line clog affects multiple fixtures (the toilet gurgles when the washer drains, water rises in the tub when the kitchen sink runs), and that is a sewer machine job for a licensed plumber. If our pro arrives and finds the slow drain is actually a main-line problem, they will stop and refer you out rather than charge for work that will not solve the issue.
How long does a typical simple-plumbing visit take?+
Most jobs run thirty to ninety minutes once the pro is at the cabinet or fixture. P-trap replacement is fifteen to twenty-five minutes, supply-line swaps are five to fifteen, shut-off valve replacements run twenty to sixty depending on the existing connection, and a single-fixture drain snake is usually thirty to forty-five. Add ten to twenty minutes if the cabinet under the sink is full and needs to be cleared first.
What if the pro opens the cabinet and finds something bigger than I described?+
They will stop, show you, and quote the larger scope before continuing. If the new scope crosses into licensed-plumber territory — corroded galvanized behind the wall, a slab leak, a venting problem — the right answer is to refer you out rather than push past the handyman exemption. The diagnosis itself is part of the visit fee, not a separate charge, and you will not be billed for work that should not have been done by a handyman in the first place.