Water Heater Installation and Replacement in Port Orchard, Kitsap, Pierce and Mason Counties

When replacement is the right call

A tank heater lasts somewhere around a decade, longer on soft municipal water and shorter on sediment-heavy well water, and the end comes one of two ways. The first is a leak from the tank itself, which shows up as water at the base with no fitting above it or rust streaking from the jacket seam. There is no repair for a corroded tank. The second is a repair bill on an old unit that approaches the cost of a new one, where the honest advice is to put the money toward a heater with a full life ahead of it.

Some replacements are about capacity rather than failure. A family that has grown out of a 40 gallon electric, a new soaking tub that drains the tank in one fill, or an accessory dwelling unit added onto the house all call for a bigger or a second heater. We size the unit to the household's actual use, not to whatever happened to be installed in 1998.

And some are planned. Homeowners selling a house, outfitting a rental, or simply not wanting to find out what a failed heater does to a finished basement replace them proactively. That is a reasonable choice, and it lets you schedule the work instead of making a panicked call.

Gas or electric, and what each needs around Puget Sound

Which fuel you have mostly decides the question. Cascade Natural Gas serves parts of Kitsap, Puget Sound Energy serves much of Pierce County, and propane is common on acreage in Mason County and north Kitsap. Where gas is available, a gas tank heater recovers faster and costs less to run than a standard electric tank, and a power-vent model can go where a natural-draft vent cannot. Where it is not, a standard electric heater is simple, reliable and quiet, and it is what most homes in all-electric neighborhoods have.

Gas installations include a new flex connector, a sediment trap or drip leg, a shutoff valve, and a check of the venting and combustion air. Older homes near the shipyard sometimes have a water heater sharing a flue with a furnace that has since been replaced by a heat pump, leaving the heater on a flue too large to draft properly. We catch that and correct it.

Electric installations include checking the circuit and the disconnect, new whip and connections, and confirming the breaker matches the element rating. If your panel is tight or the existing wiring is undersized, we say so before the day of the job rather than finding out when the new heater trips the breaker.

What a complete, code-compliant installation includes

Washington requires seismic strapping on water heaters, and plenty of the heaters we replace were never strapped or were strapped with plumber's tape. We install proper straps into framing at the upper and lower thirds of the tank. A drain pan goes under any heater installed over finished space or where a leak would cause damage, with a drain line routed to the exterior or an approved indirect drain.

An expansion tank is required on any home with a pressure reducing valve or a backflow device at the meter, which covers most homes on municipal water around here. It gives the heated, expanding water somewhere to go so the relief valve does not drip and the tank is not stressed. We size it to the heater and the house pressure and support it properly instead of letting it hang off a fitting.

The relief valve discharge is piped to a safe location, the hot and cold connections get new flex lines or hard pipe with dielectric unions, and the temperature is set and verified with a thermometer at a tap. On homes where a higher storage temperature makes sense for capacity, we add a thermostatic mixing valve so the water at the fixtures stays safe.

• Bradford White or A. O. Smith tank sized to the household
• Seismic straps into framing, top and bottom
• Drain pan with a line to daylight where required
• Thermal expansion tank sized to the system
• New relief valve discharge, flex lines and dielectric unions
• Gas drip leg, shutoff and vent check, or electric whip and breaker check
• Permit, inspection and haul-away of the old heater

Sizing for your household, not the shelf

A 40 gallon tank suits a couple or a small family with staggered schedules. Fifty gallons is the common choice for a family of four with a shower rush in the morning. A larger tank or a high-recovery gas model makes sense for big tubs, teenagers or a multi-generational household. Where the space will not fit a larger tank, a tank booster mixing valve lets a 50 gallon unit store hotter and deliver like a bigger one.

We also look at where the heater sits. A tank in a crawlspace with three feet of headroom has to fit through the access door, and a closet installation may need a shorter, wider model. We measure before we order, which saves everyone a wasted morning.

Replacement day, start to finish

The water is off for the duration of the swap, which is usually a few hours. The old heater is drained, disconnected and carried out. The new one is set on a stand where required, strapped, piped, vented or wired, and filled. We purge air, light the burner or power the elements, and wait for the first full heat cycle to check for leaks and set temperature.

You get a walkthrough of the shutoffs, the temperature setting and the relief valve, plus a reminder of when to drain the tank or check the anode. The old heater leaves on our truck and the permit record arrives with your invoice.

Pricing and warranty

A standard gas or electric tank replacement is a four-figure project priced flat, including the heater, the expansion tank, straps, pan, connections, permit and haul-away. Upgrades like a power-vent model, a new gas line, relocating the heater or electrical work are quoted as separate line items so you see what each one adds. The price is approved on your phone before the old heater is touched.

The heater carries its manufacturer warranty and our labor is covered by our own extended warranty. We register the unit for you and keep the serial number on file so a warranty claim down the road is a phone call rather than a search.