Water heater replacement in Salt Lake City

Fixed prices for Salt Lake City

Every price includes the tank, the install, the Salt Lake City permit and inspection, and everything on the list below. Pick your size, answer a few questions and you'll see your total before you book.

• New tank installed in the same spot, with the same fuel
• City plumbing permit and inspection, pulled by the licensed contractor
• New thermal expansion tank
• Seismic straps (required in Utah)
• New water connectors and, for gas, a new gas connector
• Reconnect to your existing code-compliant vent and relief line
• Haul-away and disposal of the old tank
• 1-year labor warranty, plus the manufacturer's tank warranty

Salt Lake City requires a permit, and it's in your price

Replacing a water heater in Salt Lake City needs a plumbing permit from SLC Building Services. Under the city's current plumbing fee worksheet, a water heater replacement is a $57 base fee plus $16 for the water heater, plus a 1% state fee: about $73.73. Only a licensed contractor can pull it, so the plumber who installs your tank applies for it through the city's Citizen Access Portal.

After the install, a city inspector checks the work: the gas connection and shutoff, the vent, the temperature and pressure relief line, the expansion tank and the seismic straps. Someone 18 or older needs to let the inspector in. We schedule that with you. The permit and the inspection are already included in every price on this page.

Some 84106, 84109 and 84115 addresses are in Millcreek or South Salt Lake rather than Salt Lake City. Those cities have their own permits. We check your address when you book and tell you before anything changes.

Hard water and sediment in Salt Lake tanks

Salt Lake City Public Utilities' 2026 water quality report lists total hardness of 8.0 to 12.4 grains per gallon from the Big Cottonwood, City Creek and Parleys treatment plants, and 9.6 to 33.4 grains per gallon from city wells and springs. That is hard to very hard water.

When hard water is heated, calcium settles to the bottom of the tank as sediment. You hear it as popping or rumbling, the tank takes longer to recover, and the steel under the sediment runs hotter and wears out sooner. That's why many tanks along the Wasatch Front are replaced in the 8 to 12 year range rather than lasting much longer.

To get the most out of your new tank, drain a few gallons from the valve at the bottom once a year, have the anode rod checked every three or four years, and consider a water softener if your home doesn't have one.

Where water heaters sit in Salt Lake homes

• Basement utility rooms in older bungalows and Victorians in the Avenues, Sugar House, Liberty Wells and 9th and 9th. These are standard installs. If the basement stairs are very narrow or steep, or the tank is boxed into a small closet, the tight access add-on ($195) applies.
• Basements next to the furnace in 1950s and 1960s ranch homes in Rose Park, Glendale and the East Bench. The water heater often shares a vent with the furnace. We reconnect to the existing vent when it's sound; a rusty connector is replaced for $145.
• Garages, common in newer homes. A gas burner in a garage has to sit 18 inches above the floor. If yours sits on the floor, a stand is $175.
• Closets in condos and townhomes downtown and in neighborhoods like Marmalade. A drain pan is required where a leak would damage the floor ($125). Heaters on an upper floor or in an attic get a custom quote.

Altitude matters for gas water heaters

At about 4,200 feet, gas burners get less oxygen than at sea level. Some gas models need a high-altitude version or kit above 2,000 feet. We only install tanks rated for Salt Lake's elevation, so your new heater burns cleanly and passes inspection.

If your water heater is leaking right now

1. Turn the cold-water valve on top of the tank to off.
2. Gas tank: turn the gas control knob to off. Electric tank: switch off its breaker.
3. If water is spreading, attach a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom and run it to a floor drain.
4. Then book online or call or text us at (801) 555-0123. Choose "As soon as possible" for timing.

If you smell gas, leave the house now and call 911 and your gas company from outside.

ZIP codes we serve in Salt Lake City

84101, 84102, 84103, 84104, 84105, 84106, 84108, 84109, 84111, 84112, 84113, 84115 and 84116.