Water Heater Repair & Installation in Cornwall
Cold shower on a Monday, a puddle spreading under the tank in the furnace room, or a pilot that won't stay lit? A licensed Cornwall plumber repairs tank and tankless water heaters the same day — and when the tank's done, we install a new one, haul the old one out, and help you return a rental unit instead of paying on it for another ten years. Price agreed before we start.
Repair or replace? Mostly it comes down to the age of the tank
A tank water heater in Cornwall lasts about 8 to 12 years — Cornwall's hard-ish city water and the well water out in the county both chew through anodes and build scale. A tankless unit, flushed once a year, can run 20. Inside those windows, most problems are a part: an element, a thermostat, a gas valve, a thermocouple, a relief valve. We carry the common ones and fix it on the first visit.
Past twelve years, or once the tank itself is weeping, repair is throwing money at steel that's already rusted through from the inside. We'll say so, give you both prices — repair and replacement — and let you decide. The new unit is covered by the manufacturer's warranty; we don't dress it up as anything else.
Water heater problems we fix every week in Cornwall
Find yours. Most of these are a one-visit repair — the last two are usually the tank telling you it's time.
No hot water at all
Tripped breaker, burnt-out element, or a high-limit switch that's tripped on an electric tank; pilot or igniter on gas. Fixed the same day in most cases — unless the tank's gone.
Runs out fast
Two showers and it's cold. Lower element dead, dip tube broken, or a tank full of sediment eating the capacity. Or it's a 40-gallon tank in a house that needs a 50 or 60.
Leaking tank
From a fitting or the relief valve — repairable. From the seam or the bottom of the tank — it's rusted through, and it only gets worse. Shut the cold inlet, call us, and we'll replace it before the furnace room floods.
Pilot light out
Keeps going out on a gas tank: worn thermocouple, dirty pilot, a gas valve on its way, or a draft problem at the vent. We fix the cause, not just relight it and leave.
Error code on the display
Tankless units talk: flow sensor, ignition failure, overheating, scale. We read the code, clean or replace the component, and descale the heat exchanger if that's what tripped it.
Banging or popping
That kettle-on-the-stove sound is water boiling under a layer of sediment at the bottom of the tank. A flush usually quiets it and buys the element some life.
Rusty water or a rotten-egg smell
Brown hot water means the anode's used up and the tank's corroding. Sulphur smell — common on well water in SD&G — is bacteria reacting with the anode. New anode and a flush, or a new tank if the steel's gone.
Not sure which one you've got? Describe the symptom and we'll tell you on the phone whether it's a repair or a replacement day.
(613) 706-3981
Tank, tankless or combi boiler — the three we install, and who each one suits
Replacement day is the one chance to pick the right unit instead of the same one again. We'll give you a price on each and tell you which actually makes sense for your house and your gas or hydro bill.
Tank — gas or electric
The standard in most of Cornwall: 40, 50 or 60 gallons. Gas recovers faster after three showers in a row; electric is simpler and the only option in a lot of the older homes and out on the county roads with no gas line. Swapped in two to three hours.
Tankless (on-demand)
Endless hot water, a box on the wall the size of a suitcase, and up to 20 years of service. Costs more up front and sometimes needs a bigger gas line or a panel upgrade — we check before promising anything.
Combi boiler — heat and hot water in one
For the brick homes downtown and in Le Village still on radiators or in-floor heat. One unit heats the house and the domestic water. Makes the most sense when the old boiler and the old tank are both due at the same time.
Tank leaking on the floor or no hot water on a Sunday night? We come out.
A 50-gallon tank that lets go empties itself across the furnace room and into whatever's stored next to it in under an hour — and in half the basements in Cornwall that's the freezer, the Christmas boxes and the kids' stuff. Nights, weekends and holidays, somebody picks up, tells you what to shut off, and gets on the road.
No hot water with a family to get through the morning is an emergency too. Most repairs and most replacements are done the same day you call — we keep standard tanks on the truck in winter for exactly this reason.
While you wait for us
- 1.Close the cold-water valve on top of the tank
- 2.Electric: flip the breaker. Gas: turn the control knob to "off"
- 3.Move what you can off the floor; towels at the door if it's heading for finished space
- 4.Call — we'll give you an arrival time and the price for the visit
New install, old tank swapped, or finally going tankless — and the rental question
New installation
New build, basement apartment, in-law suite, a shop out back. Supply, venting, drain pan, expansion tank where the code calls for it, and the permit pulled.
Replacing an old tank
Drain it, disconnect it, new one in, new relief valve and fittings, test, and the old tank goes out on the truck. Two to three hours, hot water before supper.
Switching from a tank to tankless
We check the gas line size or the electrical panel first, re-vent through the wall, relocate the unit if it frees up the floor, and set it up for Cornwall's water with a scale filter.
Renting your water heater? You don't have to.
Like a lot of Ontario, plenty of Cornwall homes came with a rental tank the previous owner set up and nobody's looked at since. Add up twelve years of monthly charges and you've bought that tank three times over. We'll install one you own, show you how to return the rental, and help you read the buyout clause in the contract before you call them. Your new unit carries the manufacturer's warranty — that's the only warranty you need in writing.
Maintenance that gets a tank to 12 years instead of 8 — and the brands we work on
An hour every year or two. Cheaper than a new tank, and a lot cheaper than a flooded basement.
Tank flush
Drains the sediment that bangs, insulates the bottom element and cooks it. Does more for lifespan than anything else on this list.
Anode rod check
The sacrificial rod that rusts so the tank doesn't. On well water it's often gone in three years. Replace it in time and the tank keeps going; miss it and you're buying a tank.
Tankless descaling
A vinegar or descaler flush through the heat exchanger once a year keeps the flow up and the error codes away. Skip it and the unit that should last 20 years starts tripping at 7.
Brands we repair and install
GSW and Giant are the tanks you'll find in most Cornwall basements; Bradford White and A.O. Smith for gas and heavier-duty jobs; Rheem across the board; Navien and Rinnai for tankless and combi units. Whatever's on the label, parts are on the truck or a day away, and the warranty that counts is the one the manufacturer puts on the box.
Restaurants, offices, apartment buildings — hot water you can't afford to lose
A restaurant on Pitt Street without hot water gets shut by the health unit. A twelve-unit building on Montreal Road without hot water is twelve phone calls to the landlord before breakfast. We service and install high-recovery commercial tanks, tanks in parallel, and tankless units in cascade — sized to the actual draw, not a guess.
Work is scheduled around your hours, we handle the gas permits and inspections, and for buildings with multiple units we'll set up a maintenance schedule so tanks get flushed and anodes checked before they fail — not after a tenant calls at 6 a.m.
Book a commercial visitNo hot water or a tank leaking? Hot water back today.
Water heater repair, replacement and installation across Cornwall, Long Sault, Ingleside, Lancaster and SD&G — 24/7, with the price agreed before we start.
Water heater repair and installation in Cornwall — what people ask
My water heater is 10 years old — repair it or replace it?
A tank lasts 8 to 12 years. At 10, if the tank's sound and it's an element, thermostat or valve, we repair it. If the tank is weeping, rusty from the bottom, or it's the second repair this year, replacement is the honest answer — the steel is done and the next failure is the one that floods the basement. We check the date on the label with you and give you both prices.
How fast can you do a water heater repair or replacement in Cornwall?
Same day for most calls. A repair — element, thermostat, thermocouple, relief valve — is 45 minutes to an hour and a half once we're there, with common parts on the truck. A full tank replacement is two to three hours. A leaking tank goes to the front of the line, 24/7, Cornwall and the county.
Is a tankless water heater worth it in Cornwall?
For a family that keeps running out, a house where floor space matters, or anyone planning to stay put, yes — endless hot water and up to 20 years of life against 8 to 12 for a tank. It costs more to install and may need a bigger gas line or a panel upgrade, and on well water it needs a scale filter and a yearly flush. We check all of that before quoting so there are no surprises.
Can I replace my rental water heater with one I own?
Yes. We disconnect the rental, install the unit you own in the same visit so you're never without hot water, and tell you how to return the old tank so the monthly charge stops. Read your contract first — some have a buyout or a notice period — and we'll help you make sense of it. Your new heater carries the manufacturer's warranty.
My water heater is leaking from the bottom — can it be fixed?
Depends where it's coming from. A drain valve, a fitting or the pressure-relief valve, yes. Water seeping from the tank itself, no — it's rusted through and it only gets worse. Shut the cold valve on top, kill the power or gas, put a towel down, and call. We replace it the same day, before it reaches the finished side of the basement.
What warranty comes with a new water heater installation?
The manufacturer's warranty — it varies by brand and model, usually longer on the tank than on parts, and longer again on tankless units. We register it, give you the paperwork and an invoice with the install date, which a lot of insurers now ask for. An installation done to code by a licensed plumber is what keeps that warranty valid.
Tell us what's going on — a Cornwall plumber calls you back
Name, number and a line about the problem. We'll call to confirm a time and give you the price before anyone shows up.
Real arrival window, price before we start
Cornwall · Long Sault · Ingleside · Lancaster · South Glengarry
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Water heater repair in Cornwall — what customers say
Plumbers across Cornwall and SD&G
Based on Second Street West, on the road from Long Sault to Lancaster. Same crew, same price, whether you're on city water downtown or a well out on the ninth concession.
902 Second St W, Suite 207
Cornwall, ON K6J 1Z8
City of Cornwall
Downtown & Le Village
Riverdale
East End
Brookdale & Northwood
Eamer's Corners
Glen Walter
South Stormont & South Glengarry
Long Sault
Ingleside
St. Andrews West
Williamstown
Martintown
Lancaster
Summerstown
Bainsville
Newington
Farther out
Alexandria
Morrisburg
Akwesasne