Saved by Ehrhardt Brothers Quality Plumbing! (West of Baltimore, a.k.a ColumbiaPlumber)…read more
Sunday evening, our water felt less hot than usual. Monday, it was only as warm as we keep the house, and only as much water as there is in the pipes! Our gas water-heater failed! Bad timing, too. Last week was what Chicago calls Fools'-Spring ... around 70°. But this week was back to Second-Winter, 30° (Mar 2026). And the next warm days, which Chicago calls the "Spring-of-Deception", is still ten days away.
There was water leaking from the heater. This is considered the calm before the 50-gallon tsunami. If this is home-remedy advice, First call a friend who has successfully navigated this problem. Next shut off the gas and then the pilot. Next shut off the water inlet. Your friend will have at least one plumber to recommend. (They will enjoy that...) If your garden hose isn't frozen to the spigot, drain the water tank. If frozen, spend a sleepless night with the 24/7 plumber's number on speed-dial. We chose #2.
We made it through the night. Two of our friend's recommendations were small-businesses, our preference, and we asked all three for quotes and availability. Ehrhardt was ready to offer a price based on our descriptions and photos, of course with caveats for anything unexpected. I considered their bid to be a pretty-penny, but I'll say it was less than our friend's expectation, and more than our friend in Cleveland expected. A fair price.
They came the next morning, and it might have been sooner if we had called right away. We cleared a path for them through the house, and they had the water heater replaced in 90min. Impressive. We went out for St. Pat's. But what we should have done was what they told us: check the pilot light for about 30min, and test the hot water after 60 to 90min. We came home to cold water. I'll admit some grumpiness.
We called in the morning, and they came back in a jiffy (our apologies to everyone else who had appointments that day). In 30min, they figured it out: a faulty pilot in the new, just-unboxed water heater. They had a replacement part over-nighted. The next morning, in 30min, done. This time we did as told: checked the pilot after 20min (and nervously, an extra time again after that). Still lit! The second time we checked, the hot water outlet was noticeable warm. By 60min, hot water from the faucets! By 90min, much to relief of nearly everyone i know, a piping hot shower. AAAAAHHH :-)
Ok, so how does three visits equal 5-stars! The hardest question answered first: Because the problem was the manufacturer's fault, and Ehrhardt handled it flawlessly: Excellent communication by Ehrhardt, priority attention to our problem, no excuses, just fast resolution. Great service staff, from the office to my house. Fair price.
I admit that I'm writing this in the after-glow of that hot shower. This could be the start of a beautiful situationship.