Heaters · Wilmer, AL
Water Heater Installation
A water heater install done once, done right, and explained so you know what was done and why. That is the whole pitch, and it is why Wilmer homeowners keep the same number.
Master Plumber MP4379BBB A+ accreditedPaul Evans answers
How Paul handles it
Nothing gets sold that the house does not need. Running a one-truck shop means there is no quota pushing a replacement when a repair would hold, which is the single biggest difference between this and a franchise van.
Here is what actually happens. Paul comes out, looks at the real thing instead of guessing from the doorway, and tells you what he found. If it is small, he says it is small. If it is going to be a job, he says that too, and he says why before anything gets taken apart.
You are not hiring a company. You are hiring the owner, and the owner is the person standing in your utility room. The longer version of how this shop runs is on the about page, and the work itself is in the gallery.
What matters on a water heater installation job
Sizing is the part people skip
A forty gallon tank and a fifty gallon tank cost nearly the same to install and behave completely differently in a house with two teenagers. Recovery rate matters more than capacity on an electric unit, because once the tank is drained it refills faster than it reheats. The right answer depends on how many showers run back to back, not on what was there before.
Where the old one failed tells you something
A tank that rusted through at the bottom was probably running without a working anode rod for years. One that failed at a fitting was a connection problem, not a tank problem. If nobody looks at why the last one died, the new one dies the same way on the same schedule.
Code is not optional on a replacement
Expansion tank where the system is closed, a proper T and P discharge routed down and terminated correctly, a drain pan with somewhere to drain if the unit sits over finished space, and the right disconnect. These are the items that get skipped on a cheap swap and the ones that matter when something lets go.
The old unit tells you how to set the new one
Before anything comes out, the existing setup gets looked at for what failed and why. Undersized supply, a missing shutoff, a connection that was never right, a drain that was always marginal. Installing a new fixture onto the same bad conditions just resets the clock on the same complaint.
Shutoffs and access get fixed while the wall is open
The cheapest time to put a proper shutoff on a fixture is while the work is already happening. Houses where every repair means closing the main are houses where small problems turn into emergencies, and that is usually a twenty dollar part somebody skipped years ago.
It gets tested before anybody leaves
Pressure held, connections dry, drain flowing, no movement in the fixture. A leak that shows up two hours after the truck pulls away was a leak when the truck was still there, and testing is how you catch it then instead of later.
How to tell what you’re dealing with
Knowing which of these sounds like your house makes the first call a lot shorter.
If the water smells or stains
Iron, sulfur and sediment are water quality problems. A test tells you which filtration is worth having.
If the hot water runs out faster than it used to
Sediment has filled the bottom of the tank or one heating element has quit. Both get checked in a few minutes.
If it only happens with hot water
That isolates it to the heater or the hot side of the house, which is a much shorter list than the whole house.
If you hear popping or rumbling
That is water trapped under sediment flashing to steam. It is a maintenance problem before it is a replacement problem.
How a call goes, turn by turn.
From the phone ringing to the truck pulling away, there are four stops and none of them involve a sales pitch.
Start
Paul picks up
You call (251) 421-0367 and the man who’ll do the work answers. No phone tree, no dispatcher, no waiting for a callback from somebody else.
Then
He’s on the way
You get a real time instead of a four-hour window, and he keeps it. One review has him there at 9 for a 7 a.m. call; another, on the way within twenty minutes.
Then
Finds the real cause
A camera, a meter or a pressure test before any number gets said out loud. A guess is how a repair comes back.
Arrive
Fixed and tested
Tested before the truck leaves. You hear what was done and what to keep an eye on, in plain words.
“He gave me options with no pressure to decide one way or the other.”
Other jobs Paul does
More heaters work
- Water Heater RepairElement, thermostat or valve. Repaired when repair makes sense.
- Water Heater ReplacementOld tank out, right-sized tank in, connections done right.
- Tankless Water Heater InstallationGas or electric on-demand units, plumbed and vented properly.
- Tankless Water Heater RepairLukewarm water and error codes, traced to the real cause.
Things worth doing yourself
None of this needs a plumber. It’s the short list that prevents the calls nobody wants to make.
- Heater fittings Look at the connections on top of the tank for green or white crust. That is the first sign of a slow weep.
- Shut off valve Know where the main shut off is and turn it by hand once a year. The moment you need it is the worst moment to discover it is seized.
- Water heater Check the T and P valve and look at the base of the tank for rust or damp. Five minutes, twice a year.
- Drains Hot water and a drain screen beat chemical cleaner. Caustic drain products damage older pipe and make a cable job messier later.
- Hose bibs Disconnect hoses before the first hard freeze. A connected hose holds water in the bib and that is what splits it.
Straight answers
Still not sure? Ask Paul directly.
Repair or replace the water heater?
Elements, thermostats, valves and anode rods are repairs. A leaking tank is a replacement. Paul tells you which one you have before anything gets sold.
Tank or tankless?
It depends on how much hot water the house uses at once and what the gas or electric service can carry. That gets worked out at the house, not on a sales sheet.
Do you work on older homes?
Yes. A lot of the housing stock here is older, and cast iron, galvanized and polybutylene all behave differently. That is diagnosis work, which is the part that matters.
Who actually shows up?
Paul Evans. Every time. LT Drain is a one-truck, one-man operation on purpose, so the person who answers your call is the person who does the work.
Are you licensed?
Licensed Master Plumber MP4379, bonded and insured. The number is printed on this site because you should be able to check it with the Alabama plumbing board.
Do you charge to come look?
There is a diagnostic visit and it is explained on the phone before he drives out. You will know what the visit covers before you agree to anything.
Let’s talk solutions.
Tell Paul what it’s doing. He’ll tell you what it needs and when he can be there.
Call (251) 421-0367 Or send a messageMaster Plumber MP4379 · BBB A+ accredited · licensed, bonded and insured
