FIG. 02·Water Heaters · St. Louis
Water Heaters
Repair when repair is honest, replacement when it is not. Most tanks in this city die at eight to twelve years, and most of them warn you first.
When to call
What it looks like from your side.
- Hot water that runs out sooner than it used to
- Rumbling or popping from the tank — sediment, and it is costing you gas
- Rust-coloured water from the hot tap only
- Damp or a rust ring at the base of the tank — that one is not a repair
The method
How we do it.
You get the price before we start, not after we finish.
01
We check the age before we check anything else
The serial number tells us how old the tank is. A six-year-old heater with a bad element is a repair. A thirteen-year-old heater with the same fault is a replacement, and pretending otherwise just means we are back in four months.
02
We size it to the house, not to the shelf
Bathrooms, occupants and how you actually use hot water. Undersizing means cold showers. Oversizing means you heat water all year that nobody uses.
03
We bring the install up to current code
Expansion tank, seismic strapping where required, a proper T&P discharge and a drain pan with somewhere to go. Older St. Louis homes are frequently missing at least one of those.
Questions
About water heaters.
Tank or tankless?
Tankless is excellent if your gas line and venting can take it and you plan to stay in the house. In a lot of older homes here the upgrade costs more than the heater. We will price both and tell you which one we would put in our own house.
How long is it out for?
A straight tank swap is usually a morning. If the install needs venting or gas work to meet code, we tell you that at the quote, not on the day.
Book it
Get water heaters scheduled.
A written price before anything starts. If it is actively leaking, call instead of filling this in.
Other services
What else we do.
Dispatch
Something leaking right now?
A person answers, day or night. If water is moving, call — that is always faster than a form.