Water heater repair in Troy, MI

Lake water through Troy's own mains

Troy does not treat its own drinking water. Its finished water is purchased from the Great Lakes Water Authority, a wholesaler that draws from Lake Huron and the Detroit River and treats it at large plants before sending it north through transmission mains into Oakland County. From the city limits inward, Troy's Department of Public Works owns the local mains, meters and hydrants and handles service problems on the street side.

Lake water treated by GLWA usually tests around 6 to 8 grains of hardness, which counts as soft to moderately hard. That is a far easier life for a tank than the hard well water found in parts of northern Oakland and Macomb counties. Sediment still settles, especially in gas tanks set at high temperatures, but Troy heaters rarely choke on scale. The strain comes instead from volume and from cold: by late winter the supply entering Troy homes dips into the mid 30s, and the heater has to lift every gallon about 85 degrees.

Colonials, basements and a lot of bathrooms

Most of Troy's housing went up after 1970, when subdivisions spread across former farmland between Long Lake, Square Lake, Big Beaver and Maple roads. The typical home is a brick-front colonial with an attached two-car garage, a family room off the kitchen and a full poured basement. Many have a jetted tub in the primary bath, and plenty of owners added a basement bathroom or a wet bar in the decades since. Ranches and tri-levels from the 1960s are more common in the southern part of the city near Fourteen Mile and Maple.

The water heater in these homes typically sits in an unfinished section of the basement beside the furnace, often near a sump pit. Builders in that era usually installed a 40-gallon or 50-gallon natural draft gas tank vented into a metal flue running up through the house. As families grew and basements got finished, the heater stayed the same size while demand kept rising. That mismatch explains many Troy service calls.

The problems plumbers see most in Troy

• Big soaking tubs that drain the tank halfway through filling, especially in primary suites added during a remodel.
• Running out on winter mornings when three or four people shower back to back on mid 30s lake water.
• Sump pump failures and basement water during summer storms, which can reach the heater's burner or the base of an electric tank.
• Worn thermocouples, igniters and gas valves on 8 to 12 year old tanks. Troubleshooting tips live on our page about pilots that drop out.
• Venting changes after a furnace upgrade that leave a natural draft tank on a flue sized for two appliances.
• Tankless units that never got descaled or had their inlet screens cleaned since installation. Here is how a tankless unit gets serviced.

Typical water heater prices in Troy

Troy sits at the higher end of metro Detroit pricing, partly because so many replacements involve upsizing. Stepping up from the builder's 40 or 50 gallons to something larger can mean a larger gas line, new venting and a bigger expansion tank, and those add up quickly on the final invoice.

Michigan licenses and Troy permits

Michigan licenses plumbers through the Bureau of Construction Codes, part of the state agency known as LARA. Water heater work should be done by a licensed plumbing contractor, and gas piping often involves a mechanical contractor license as well. Both can be confirmed through LARA's online license search before anyone starts on your basement.

Inside city limits, Troy's Building Inspection department, located at City Hall on West Big Beaver Road, issues the plumbing and mechanical permits that cover a water heater replacement. A Troy inspector will want to see the expansion tank, flue connection, clearances, gas fittings and where the relief line ends. Most licensed contractors include the permit in their quote, and the city's inspection is worth having on any gas appliance in a house with finished living space below grade.

DTE service and upgrade options

In Troy, DTE Energy is on both sides of the meter story, gas and power, so one company handles the meter outside and the power to any electric or heat pump heater. A tankless gas heater can need far more gas than a standard tank, and in some older Troy homes the meter and service line were sized for a furnace, a range and a 40,000 BTU water heater, not a 199,000 BTU tankless burner. A plumber should check meter capacity and line sizing before promising a tankless swap.

Heat pump water heaters suit Troy basements better than many people expect, since the space is large and the furnace runs nearby. They do cool the basement in winter and need a condensate drain. DTE has offered water heating incentives at times; check what Troy accounts can claim before you settle on a model.

Sizing for a five-person colonial

A common Troy household of four or five, with two upstairs showers and a basement bath, can empty a standard 50-gallon tank in a single morning in February. Options include a 75-gallon gas tank, a high-input 50-gallon model that recovers faster, or a properly sized tankless unit. For the tankless route, look at the flow rating at an 80 to 85 degree rise, which is what a Troy winter actually demands.

Homes with a large soaking tub need separate attention. Filling a 60 or 80-gallon tub calls for a big stored supply or a tankless unit rated for the flow, and plenty of Troy owners have found out the hard way that their original heater was never meant for the tub installed in a 2005 remodel.

Basement water and storm season

Oakland County gets its share of intense summer storms, and the August 2014 rains that flooded basements across metro Detroit reached plenty of Troy homes as sump pumps failed or storm drains backed up. Many Troy colonials sit on clay soil that drains slowly, which keeps sump pits busy for days after a heavy rain.

If water has reached the burner compartment or the gas control on your heater, do not try to light it again. Flooded controls must be replaced, and the safer choice is often a new heater. A battery backup on the sump pump, and a heater raised on a stand in flood-prone corners, are cheap protections in a basement holding a furnace and a water heater.

Repair or replace in Troy

On GLWA water, Troy gas tanks commonly last 10 to 13 years. If yours is under ten and the trouble is an igniter, thermocouple, element or gas valve, paying for that part beats buying a whole new tank. A tank leaking from the body, rusted around the base or tied to a household that has outgrown it is a candidate for replacement.

Since replacements in Troy so often involve going bigger, plan ahead. A tank in its eleventh or twelfth year is the right time to price out a 75-gallon or tankless system, instead of making that decision in a flooded basement on a Sunday night.

Around Troy

Nearby cities each run their own permits. Rochester Hills to the north also buys regional lake water and keeps a separate inspection staff. Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township handle their own inspections, and their older housing differs a lot from Troy's subdivisions. Clawson, Royal Oak and Madison Heights to the south are full of smaller postwar homes with basements. Sterling Heights, across Dequindre in Macomb County, runs a separate building office. Confirm which city covers your address before scheduling work.

Water heater questions from Troy