We had a bathroom completely remodeled and now have brown water coming from the tub faucet. Its very brown at first then seems to clear but leaves a brown ring around the tub if its filled. Contractor says its "old pipes" (and is denying responsibility) but we never had the problem before and its not brown ANY WHERE else in the house. Unfortunately we don't have an access panel to the tub faucet. Any ideas? How do I convince the contractor he's responsible?

Plumber could be correct. He shook up the pipes and now you are getting sediment from old pipes into your tub. That could last for few days, maybe couple of weeks. But eventually, it should clear and brown water should disappear. Also, there is a possibility Plumber put in piece of "black" iron pipe. That discolors water in few hours and empties into your tub every time you use it. Ask him what kind of nipples he used to rough-in and attach tub spout. Let us know what he said. Milo

Is this "brown water" coming out of both the hot and cold or just one? My guess is that you have a older home with galvanized pipes. These build up iron oxide,(rust) on the pipe walls. In working on your bathroom the pipes were disturbed and what you're seeing is the minerals that broke loose. Run the water to flush out the pipes and see if that doesn't help. If the color is only in the hot water click on back and tell me about it. Tom