Water Heater Repair
No hot water, not enough hot water, odd noises or a leak at a valve. We find the failed part and tell you whether repair is worth it.
Plumbing Services Across the South Sound
Home Plumbing · South SoundRooter-Man Plumbing of Tacoma fixes drains, sewer lines, pipes and water heaters for homes across the South Sound, from Tacoma and Puyallup to Gig Harbor and Olympia. A real person answers 24/7.
- Real person 24/7
- Upfront flat-rate pricing
- Licensed, bonded and insured
- Background-checked technicians
- Family- and veteran-owned
At a glance
Not sure which service you need? You don't have to know. Call and tell us what you see, hear or smell. A licensed technician finds the cause for a $49 diagnostic fee, which is waived when you approve the repair. You get a flat-rate price before any work begins.
15
Home plumbing services, from drains to water heaters.
$49
Diagnostic fee, waived when you approve the repair.
Flat rate
Your price, parts and labor included, before work begins.
24/7
A real person answers the phone.
Water Heaters
Hot water problems get fixed, or replaced when repair no longer makes sense. You get an honest call on which one you need.
Water Heater Replacement
Gas and electric tank replacements sized to your household. Most water heater replacements are done the same day.
Tankless Water Heaters
Tankless installs, repairs and descaling, including switching from a tank. A tankless unit heats water only when you use it.
Kitchen and Bath
The fixtures you use every day, repaired or replaced with care for your floors and finishes.
Bathroom Plumbing
Toilets, showers, shower valves and cartridges, tubs, faucets and bathroom sinks. Repairs, replacements and stubborn toilet clogs.
Kitchen Plumbing
Kitchen sinks, faucets, garbage disposals, dishwasher hookups and air gaps. We also clear and repair kitchen drains.
Water Lines and Leaks
These services cover the pipes that bring clean water to your home and everything inside the walls.
Whole-House Repiping
Replace failing galvanized, polybutylene or worn copper supply pipe with PEX. You get a flat-rate quote for the full repipe, with no hourly billing.
Water Line Replacement
Replace the buried line from the meter to your house. Whenever possible we use trenchless methods through two small access holes.
Leak Detection
Find hidden leaks in walls, floors, slabs and yards without tearing things apart. We use non-invasive tools, including thermal imaging.
Drains and Sewer
These services cover the pipes that carry water out of your home, from the sink trap to the public sewer main. Most start with finding the real cause.
Drain Cleaning & Rooter Service
Slow or blocked sinks, tubs, showers, toilets and main lines. We clear the clog with a cable machine and charge a flat rate for most drain cleaning.
Hydro Jetting
High-pressure water that scours grease, scale and roots off the inside of the pipe. It is the next step when clogs keep coming back.
Sewer Camera Inspection
A small camera on a cable shows the inside of your sewer line on a screen. You see the roots, cracks or sags for yourself.
Sewer Line Repair & Replacement
Repair or replace the side sewer from your house to the street. We explain whether a spot repair or a full replacement makes sense.
Trenchless Sewer Repair
Lining and pipe bursting fix many sewer lines through small access holes. Your lawn, driveway and trees stay where they are.
Water Quality
Know what is in your water before you buy anything. Testing comes first.
Water Softeners & Filtration
Water softener installs and whole-house filtration, starting with a free water quality test. If you don't need a system, we tell you.
Emergency Plumbing
Some problems can't wait. A real person answers 24/7, and we can send a plumber after hours when you need one.
24/7 Emergency Plumbing
Burst pipes, sewage backups, major leaks and frozen pipes. A real person answers 24/7. Visits outside Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 5 PM, carry an after-hours fee.
What Home Plumbing Covers
Your home runs on two plumbing systems that work side by side. One brings clean water in under pressure. It feeds every faucet, toilet, shower and appliance, plus your water heater. The other carries used water out, from each drain down through the house and out to the street.
Most of it is hidden. Pipes run inside walls, under floors, through crawlspaces and under the yard. So problems tend to show up as small clues first: a slow tub, a gurgling toilet, a damp spot on the ceiling, or a water bill that jumps for no reason.
- Water supplyThe pipes that carry clean water from the meter to every tap and appliance.
- DrainsThe pipes under sinks, tubs and showers that carry used water down and out.
- Side sewerThe buried pipe that carries all of your waste water from the house to the public main.
- Hot waterTank and tankless water heaters that warm water for showers, dishes and laundry.
- FixturesToilets, faucets, sinks, showers and disposals: the parts you touch every day.
- Water qualitySofteners and filters that deal with iron, hardness or taste in your water.
In the South Sound, drains and sewer lines take the most punishment. Fall and winter rain soaks the ground for months. Big firs and maples send roots toward any moisture they can find, and an old clay or cast iron sewer joint is an easy way in.
Housing age matters too. Many homes built before about 1960 still have clay or cast iron sewer lines and galvanized steel water pipe. Homes from about 1978 to 1995 may have polybutylene, a gray plastic supply pipe known to fail. Newer homes mostly use PVC drains and PEX, a flexible plastic water line.
- Roots and rainWet soil and big trees push roots into old sewer joints, which causes repeat backups.
- Cold snapsA hard freeze can split pipes in crawlspaces, garages and outside walls.
- Older pipesGalvanized, cast iron and clay pipes wear out from the inside over decades.
- Hidden leaksA slow leak in a wall or slab can rot wood and grow mold before you see it.
Why call a plumber instead of trying a fix yourself? Many problems have a hidden cause. A slow kitchen drain can be grease in the trap. It can also be roots in the side sewer forty feet away. A store-bought fix may clear the symptom for a week while the real problem grows.
The right tools also save money. A camera shows exactly where a sewer line is broken, so only that part gets fixed. Trenchless methods can replace a line through small access holes instead of a long trench. And a clear diagnosis means you pay once for the right repair, not three times for guesses.
Why South Sound Homeowners Call Rooter-Man
Rooter-Man Plumbing of Tacoma is a family- and veteran-owned plumber that has served Tacoma for 20+ years. Here is what you can count on when you call.
The owner answers
Rob Hanson owns the business and answers the phone. Your call reaches a person, not a call center.Real person, 24/7
Phones are answered day and night, every day of the week, including holidays and weekends.Flat rate, upfront
Parts and labor are included in one upfront price. You know the cost before work begins.$49 diagnostic
A $49 fee covers finding the cause, and it is waived when you approve the repair.Licensed and insured
WA plumbing contractor ROOTE**792MT. Licensed, bonded and insured, with background-checked technicians.Open Monday to Saturday
Regular hours are 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Saturday. After-hours visits are available, with an after-hours fee.We are a locally owned Rooter-Man franchise, and we are independently owned and operated. The name on the van is national. The people in it live and work here, and our crews head out from our base on Tacoma's southeast side, near Midland and Summit.
Same-day service is available on many jobs, and most water heater replacements are done the same day. Bigger jobs like repipes and sewer replacements can be financed through Wisetack, subject to approval. Work is backed by our labor warranty, plus manufacturer warranties on equipment.
Plumbing help in the South Sound
A real person answers 24/7. You get a flat-rate price before any work begins.
How a Service Call Works
Every job follows the same steps, whether it is a slow drain or a full sewer line. You know what happens next and what it costs before we start.
Step by step
You call, a person answers
Day or night, a real person picks up. Tell us what is happening and we set up a visit.We head your way
A licensed, background-checked technician comes to you. Same-day service is available on many jobs.We find the cause
The technician diagnoses the problem for a $49 fee. That fee is waived when you approve the repair.You get the price
You see a flat-rate price with parts and labor included. Nothing starts until you say yes.We fix and clean up
We protect your floors, do the work, test it with you and clean up before we leave.We help you plan
We tell you what to watch for next. A membership plan can keep yearly checks on schedule.
For drains and sewer lines, finding the cause often means a camera. We feed a small waterproof camera into the line and show you the screen. If roots, a crack or a sag is to blame, you see it, and you decide on the fix with the facts in front of you.
If the job is bigger than expected, we stop and talk before going further. You never find a surprise charge on the bill. And if you call at 2am on a Sunday, the flat rate is the same as it would be on a Tuesday afternoon.
Membership Plans
A membership puts yearly checks on the calendar and lowers what you pay for repairs. Plan benefits start after 8 consecutive monthly payments.
Basic Plan
$29 a month
- 1 plumbing inspection a year
- 1 water heater flush
- 1 secondary drain cleaning
- Toilet auger service
- Priority emergency service
- 10% off repairs and the $49 diagnostic fee waived
Pro Plan
$49 a month
- 2 plumbing inspections a year
- 2 water heater flushes
- 2 drain cleanings
- Toilet auger service
- Priority emergency service
- 10% off repairs and the $49 diagnostic fee waived
Benefits begin after 8 consecutive monthly payments. Ask us which plan fits your home.
Plumbing Through a South Sound Year
Fall rain
Soaked soil and falling leaves bring backups. A drain or sewer check before the rain pays off.Winter cold snaps
Insulate crawlspace pipes and know where your main shutoff is before a hard freeze.Spring growth
Roots put on new growth in spring. Repeat slow drains are a sign to camera the sewer line.Summer checkups
A good time to flush the water heater and plan bigger jobs like a repipe.Where We Work
From our base on Tacoma's southeast side, we serve homes across the South Sound. That covers Pierce County towns like Puyallup, Lakewood and Gig Harbor. It also covers Federal Way in King County, and Olympia and Lacey in Thurston County.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Rooter-Man Plumbing of Tacoma is a licensed Washington plumbing contractor, licence ROOTE**792MT with the Department of Labor and Industries. We are bonded and insured, and our technicians are licensed and background-checked. You can look up the licence on the L&I website before we arrive.
Yes. Our phones are answered 24/7 by a real person, not an answering machine or a call center. Often it is Rob, the owner. Tell us what is going on, and we will schedule a technician and talk you through any steps to take. If it can't wait until morning, we can send a plumber at night for an after-hours fee.
We use upfront, flat-rate pricing. After we find the cause, you get one price for the job with parts and labor included. Nothing starts until you approve it, and there are no hidden fees or hourly surprises. If the job changes, we talk with you before doing more.
It covers the visit and the work of finding what is wrong. When you approve the repair we recommend, the $49 fee is waived. If you decide not to go ahead, the $49 is all you pay, and you still keep the diagnosis to use as you choose.
Yes, for visits outside our regular hours. We are open Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 5 PM, so a Saturday daytime visit is priced like any weekday. If a plumber has to go out at night or on a Sunday, an after-hours fee applies. You hear the full price, fee included, before any work begins.
Yes. Larger jobs like sewer line replacement, repiping or a new water heater can be financed through our partner Wisetack, subject to approval. You can ask about it when you get your price. Applying is separate from the repair decision, so you can check your options first.
We are a locally owned Rooter-Man franchise, and we are independently owned and operated. Rob Hanson owns the business and answers the phone. Our crews live and work in the South Sound, and decisions about your job are made here in Tacoma, not at a national office.
We serve Tacoma and the South Sound. In Pierce County, that means Puyallup, South Hill, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, University Place and Bonney Lake. In King County, we cover Federal Way, Des Moines and Maple Valley. In Thurston County, we serve Olympia and Lacey.
Plumbing across the South Sound
Call any hour and a real person answers. We are open Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and you get a flat-rate price before work begins.