Installation day, from first photo to first glass.
The number one question after price is "what actually happens to my house?" Fair question. Here is the whole process, in order, including the wrinkles.
Before anyone visits: the photo quote
Everything starts with your water shut off valve, the point where the city line enters your home. In most LA houses it is in the garage or on a wall near it. When you request a quote we ask three things: how many people live in the home, how many bathrooms, and where that valve is. A phone photo of the valve area is usually all our installer needs to confirm the price. No site visit, no walkthrough appointment, no rep in your living room.
Can't find your valve? Look in the garage on the wall shared with the street side of the house, then near the water heater, then outside near the hose bib closest to the street. Send us photos of your best guesses and we will identify it, or send you a diagram that helps you locate it.
What gets installed, and where
A standard installation places three pieces of equipment:
- The media tank, about 10 inches around and 60 inches tall, stands where your water enters, usually the garage. Every drop entering the house passes through its softening resin and carbon bed at up to 28 gallons per minute through a full 1.25 inch line, so you never trade pressure for quality.
- The brine tank, roughly 17 by 17 inches, sits beside it holding the salt that rinses the resin during self cleaning.
- The tankless RO unit, about 15 inches by 6, mounts under the kitchen sink with its own dedicated faucet in your choice of five finishes.
A Salt Free System is even simpler: one slim column, no brine tank, no drain, no electricity.
The day itself
- Water off. The crew shuts the main valve. Expect a few hours without water; plan showers accordingly.
- Tie in. The main line is cut and routed through the new tank, with a bypass valve so the system can be serviced without shutting water to the house.
- Drain and power. The softener needs a drain connection for its monthly self clean and a standard outlet for its valve timer.
- Under the sink. The RO unit connects to the cold line, and the crew mounts the dedicated faucet.
- Flush and test. Media beds are rinsed, connections checked, hardness verified at the tap.
- Walkthrough. You learn the bypass valve, the salt routine, and what the system sounds like when it self cleans. Then the crew hauls off every scrap of packaging.
Most homes are done in a single visit, in a day. You will drink RO water that evening, and the first fully soft shower arrives as the water heater turns over its tank of hard water, usually within a day or two.
The wrinkles, disclosed up front
- Outdoor valve: some LA homes, especially older ones, have the shut off outside with no garage access. The equipment installs outdoors with weather protection, an insulating sleeve or rock enclosure. More labor is involved, which is why outdoor installs carry an added fee we confirm from your photo before you commit.
- Trenching: occasionally the line placement requires digging a short trench. Cost depends on distance, quoted in advance.
- Attic routing: homes with attic plumbing take a $250 tie in.
None of these appear as surprises on install day. The photo quote exists precisely so the number you approve is the number you pay.
After the crew leaves
Before installation you are added to a direct support thread with your installer and our office. Questions go to people who have seen your actual plumbing. The maintenance routine is a bag of salt every couple of months and an annual RO filter change. The warranty runs for life on all parts and pieces, five years on the media bed, one year on the RO, and every service trip in your first year is free.