Bathroom remodeling in Naperville, IL

The City is specific. Installing or replacing any trap, drain, water, soil, waste or vent pipe needs a plumbing permit, and so does replacing or rearranging valves, pipes or fixtures. Clearing a stoppage, fixing a leak, or pulling and resetting a toilet does not.

So a tile refresh with the same fixtures in the same places is cosmetic. Moving the vanity, converting a tub to a walk in shower or adding a second sink is permit work, filed with TED through Civic Access.

Naperville's amendment to the Illinois plumbing code prohibits PVC, CPVC, polyethylene and polybutylene pipe for the water supply inside the house. We spec shower and vanity supply lines to that list before the plumber orders anything. Every new fixture must carry the WaterSense label when a labelled version is available, which covers toilets, faucets and showerheads.

The plumbing contractor has to attach a copy of their state registration and a letter of intent to the permit application. The City says applications without them will not be considered.

Any electrical work in a Naperville bathroom, even a new fan circuit, needs its own electrical permit from a state licensed electrician registered with the City. NM cable is limited to temporary wiring here, so new runs to the fan, heated floor or vanity lights use another approved method. That matters most when the ceiling below is finished and the electrician has to fish a route.

Naperville added a visitability section to its residential code. It calls for wood blocking inside the walls of one first floor bathroom so grab bars can be fixed later, and it sets out door and hallway clearances. Whether it applies depends on the scope of the job. Even where it does not, blocking costs little while the wall is open.

The local historic district holds houses from the 1860s through the 1920s, Italianates, Queen Annes, Foursquares and bungalows among them. Interior bathroom work there needs no Certificate of Appropriateness. A new window or a changed window opening on the street facing facade does, so we keep vents and new openings on the sides and rear.