San Ramon Water Heater Repair & Installation

Most water heaters I replace in San Ramon have simply aged out, usually somewhere between 10 and 15 years old, and the first sign is a leak from the bottom of the tank or a sudden loss of hot water. Where you live in the city can speed that up. Most of San Ramon is on EBMUD water, which is on the softer side and easy on a tank. Dougherty Valley gets its water from DSRSD, and part of that supply is harder groundwater, so tanks there build up more sediment and get noisier and slower to heat as they age.

In a bigger home the master bath is often the farthest fixture from the water heater, so the water sitting in that pipe has gone cold and has to run out before the hot water reaches you. A recirculation pump keeps hot water moving through the line so it's ready when you turn on the tap. I add them to tank water heaters, and the Navien tankless units I install have one built in.

Before I recommend a size, I ask how many people live in the home, how often showers are running, and whether more than one runs at the same time. Those answers tell me more than square footage or the number of bathrooms. A lot of San Ramon homes I work in have bigger families, and the existing tank was often too small from the start. If you're running out of hot water or waiting on the tank to recover, I'll check whether the heater is working properly before recommending a larger one.

For a lot of San Ramon homes, yes, especially larger ones where several showers run at once. The Navien tankless systems I install typically run $4,500 to $6,000 installed, depending on whether your gas line and venting need work to support it. I'll check both and give you a free estimate. If you already bought a tankless unit yourself, installing it in place of a tank usually runs $2,000 to $3,500.

40 or 50 gallon gas: $1,800 to $3,000

40 or 50 gallon electric: $1,600 to $2,800

75 gallon: $3,500 to $4,500

That includes the unit, labor, materials, and hauling away the old tank. The permit is required and adds about $500. Every unit I supply comes with a 6-year, no-questions-asked replacement guarantee, and the estimate is free, so you'll have the price in writing before I start.

Emergencies go ahead of scheduled work, and I'm usually there the same day, next day at worst. I don't charge extra for nights, weekends, or emergencies. If you're not sure whether it's an emergency, give me a call and I'll help you figure out how quickly it needs to be handled.