Two baths become one suite.

Count the bathrooms in an unrenovated Rio Vista house and the era gives itself away. The 1920s places were drawn with a single full bath and maybe a half bath off the kitchen. The 1950s and 1960s houses out on the Isles added a second, usually shared through a hall, both of them tiled in colors that have since become collectible. What owners want now is a primary suite: a real shower, a double vanity, storage, and a door that closes on the rest of the house.

Fort Lauderdale Building Services permits the plumbing, electrical and mechanical work through LauderBuild, and inspectors want to see rough-in and waterproofing before anything gets covered. That sequence exists for a reason. Most of these houses sit on slab, so moving a drain means cutting concrete, re-sloping and re-pouring, and the inspection record is the only proof the work was done right. Broward's amendments to the Florida Building Code, administered through the county Board of Rules and Appeals, govern the details, and any new exterior window needs an HVHZ product approval.

Water finds whichever detail nobody checked, so we check all of them. Shower pans are flood-tested and left to sit before tile touches them, slopes are verified with a level rather than a feeling, blocking goes in before heavy glass is ordered, and exhaust actually reaches the outside instead of the attic. The scope is fixed in writing, a supervisor is on site every working day, and the route from your front door to the work zone gets protected. Licensed, insured, 150-plus projects deep.