Water heater repair in Lakewood, CO

A city served by many water providers

Lakewood does not run a single municipal water utility. Denver Water serves a large share of the city through distributor contracts, and the Marston treatment plant sits just over the line in southwest Denver, near the southeastern edge of Lakewood. Its supply is Rocky Mountain snowmelt from the South Platte basin and, through the Roberts Tunnel, the Blue River and Dillon Reservoir.

Other parts of town buy water from Consolidated Mutual Water Company, which draws largely from Clear Creek, or from small special districts such as Green Mountain Water and Sanitation, Bancroft-Clover and Willowbrook. Each sets its own rates and publishes its own quality report. Hardness across the city usually lands in the soft to moderately hard range, so scale is a slow problem, not a fast one, but households on the harder end will see more crust on a tankless heat exchanger.

The quickest way to know your provider is the name on your water bill. When a plumber suggests a softener or a filter for your heater, ask which district's report the recommendation is based on.

Ranches, split-levels and basement mechanical rooms

Much of Lakewood was built between 1950 and 1980, when the city filled in around the Federal Center and along Colfax, Alameda and Wadsworth. Neighborhoods such as Eiber, Morse Park, Lasley, Two Creeks and Belmar Park are lined with brick ranches over full or partial basements. The water heater typically stands next to the furnace on the basement slab, often sharing a masonry or metal flue that runs up through the middle of the house.

Split-levels and bi-levels in Green Mountain and the streets below the Bear Creek greenbelt keep the tank in a downstairs laundry or furnace nook, sometimes behind a finished family room wall. Newer townhomes and condos near Belmar, Union Square and the light rail stops along the W Line often use smaller tanks or tankless units in closets or garages. Leaks in finished lower levels are the expensive surprise in all of them.

Hail, wind and the vent cap on your roof

The western suburbs of Denver catch some of the heaviest hail on the Front Range, and Lakewood has seen several storms that shredded roofs from Green Mountain to Wadsworth Boulevard. People think of shingles and gutters, but hail also dents and knocks loose the metal vent cap on a gas water heater's flue. A crushed or missing cap can let rain and snow run down into the draft hood, rust the burner area and interfere with venting.

After any big hailstorm, take a look at the flue caps when the roofer is up there. If the roof is replaced, make sure the crew reconnects the water heater and furnace vents properly and does not leave flashing loose. Strong chinook winds coming off the foothills can also gust down a short flue and blow out a pilot, especially on older standing-pilot tanks.

Elevation and gas burners

Most of Lakewood sits between about 5,400 and 6,000 feet, climbing toward the foothills on the west side. At that height a gas burner works with noticeably thinner air, so any heater installed here should carry a high-altitude listing or be derated following the manufacturer's directions. Signs of a burner out of adjustment include a lazy yellow flame, black soot near the combustion chamber door and a persistent exhaust odor in the basement.

If you are ordering a tankless unit, confirm that its altitude setting matches your elevation and that it is sized for 40-degree winter water, not for the sea-level flow figures printed on the box.

The problems plumbers see most in Lakewood

• Leaks behind finished basement walls in split-levels, found only when carpet turns wet.
• Backdrafting on 1960s heaters left alone in a shared chimney after the furnace went high efficiency.
• Hail-damaged flue caps letting snowmelt drip onto the burner.
• Pilot blowouts during downslope wind events on older atmospheric tanks.
• Expansion tank failures on homes where a pressure-reducing valve or check valve closed the system.
• Undersized tanks in ranches that added a basement bathroom or a soaking tub.

Typical water heater prices in Lakewood

Lakewood quotes generally match the rest of the Denver metro. Finished basements that need drywall opened, a chimney that must be lined, or a gas pipe too narrow for a high-input tankless burner are the factors that raise the bill most often.

Permits and plumber licensing in Lakewood

Every plumber who replaces a water heater in Lakewood needs a Colorado license, which is issued by the State Plumbing Board through the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Homeowners can look up a name or license number on the state's verification site before signing anything.

The City of Lakewood's building division writes the permit for a heater swap, and its inspector checks the gas piping, flue, combustion air supply and relief valve drain. Homes in unincorporated Jefferson County pockets, including much of Applewood, are permitted through Jefferson County instead, so the address matters before work begins.

Shared chimneys and furnace upgrades

The classic Lakewood venting problem begins the day a 1960s furnace gets swapped for a condensing unit whose PVC pipe exits the side of the house. The water heater is suddenly the only appliance in a chimney sized for two, and the small, cooler exhaust stream may not rise reliably in a January cold snap. Combustion products can then spill into the basement.

Fixes include a properly sized metal liner, a power-vent heater that pushes exhaust out the wall, or a sealed-combustion or tankless unit. Whatever the fix, mount a CO detector on the ceiling outside the Lakewood mechanical room.

Xcel Energy and choosing the next heater

Both the gas meter and the electric meter on a Lakewood house almost always belong to Xcel Energy. Gas tanks remain the most common replacement, but heat pump water heaters have gained ground, and Xcel has offered rebates on them at times. A heat pump unit fits well in a roomy basement mechanical room that stays above freezing, and it pulls moisture out of the air, which suits basements that feel damp after spring storms.

If your heater is past ten years and showing rust at the bottom, price out a new tank or tankless install and set it against the long-term operating cost of each fuel before you decide.

Around Lakewood

Wheat Ridge to the north and Edgewater to the northeast run their own building departments and rely on a mix of Denver Water and Consolidated Mutual. Golden has its own municipal water from Clear Creek and its own permit office. Morrison, Littleton and Arvada each issue separate permits, and Arvada operates its own water treatment plants. Unincorporated Applewood and Ken Caryl to the south fall to Jefferson County.

Water heater questions from Lakewood