How long to water heaters last?

[ha98ed14]

And how much does it cost to replace them?

[willow33]

Our old water heater lasted about 10 years and it cost us about $1,000 to replace it. I'm sure it varies by state and who does it.

[LD92599]

Usually 10 years, rule of thumb. Cost depends on size, gas vs electric and installation costs.

Our recent hot water heater was just over $1000, installed, 40 gallon, natural gas (ours isn't a "big box special" but one from the plumbing store).

However my FIL's HHW lasted 19 years; my dad though was always the type to replace a HHW at the 10 year mark no matter what - flooding is never fun!

[michellerw]

10 years (I think some might last 15) is the average lifespan. Replacement costs depend on energy efficiency, gas vs. electric, and tank capacity (assuming you do one with a tank). Also, tankless heaters are more expensive.

[MamaMolly]

SIL replaced hers with a $3K tankless model. But she's a nut IMO. I think 10 years and $1k is about the going rate. Not something you want to try and squeak out another few years on. The damage from flooding and consequential insurance costs can be very high.

[JBaxter]

10ish years and agreeing with everyone else. If you replace get a bigger one than you think you need. Teenagers take LONG hot showers and suck up all your hot water

[AnnieW625]

I think $1000 and 10 to 15 yrs. is something to go by. I remember in junior high my dad got one at Contractors Warehouse (now HD Supply---there is one in North Long Beach off of the 91) and he may have paid $650 for it at most. It lasted a long time till maybe like 5 yrs. ago. If your concern is the one that is in the home you are going to buy make that a condition of your escrow if it's not too late.

[ThreeofUs]

Ours have always lasted 12 years to the day of our buying them, lol!

We buy ours from Sears, generally with the agitator at the bottom to keep the minerals in our hard water from gunking up the works, and pay ~500-600.

Remember you may have different delivery, installation, etc., costs with a bigger water heater.

[clc053103]

yep 10 years and about $800 installed. Less expensive models are more like 8. we found out ours was 12 and living on borrowed time! now that's for electric, I believe that natural gas can be a few bucks more and oil can be as much as double- but tend to last longer.

[BillK]

Our Rheem 50gal high efficiency gas water heater has been going strong for 15 years now - /fingerscrossed

[michellerw]

My home warranty replaced my high efficiency Rheem (which was on its last) with a State, which is very low efficiency. Watch out for that sort of thing with home warranties in general. There was also a recall/failure on part of the heating unit in the State and the plumber had to come out and fix it and, despite that particular issue being covered under warranty, none of the labor was. I thought that was pretty crappy.

[egoldber]

After 10 years, I think you're on borrowed time with the average hot water heater. And I agree with the PP who said that the damage that can be caused by one even relatively minor leak will quickly eclipse the cost of a new one!

ETA: That being said, ours is a nothing special, builder grade hot water heater and it is 13 years old. We did have a minor leak a few years ago and they replaced the part. We were fortunate at that time it flooded into the garage vs the house and didn't really cause any real damage except to a couple carpet remnants we had stored in the utility room.

[HIU8]

Ours lasted about 15 years before failing. It cost $1,000 to replace it.

[jenandahalf]

Our last one almost made it to 20 years before giving out in January with a 4 day old baby in the house. No hot water and no heating, and we had to pay well over the odds for an emergency install on a new one. Don't wait like we did!

[HIU8]

OYE. I hear you. We actually replaced ours when we did our Furnace b/c it was on it's last legs but had not exploded yet like the nieghbors had a few weeks prior. Their story was a nightmare. I'm glad we did what we did--our furnace had already broken and that was more of an emergency.

[Kungjo]

At my old house, the water heater lasted 18 years. It was located at the back of the house near the garage and had an exterior entrance on the side of the house. It developed a slow leak that went undetected because it drained out the side of the exterior entrance until it burst and flooded my garage.

If yours is at 10 years, look to replace it in a within 5 years probably. Check it constantly for leaks because that would be your first telltale sign.

[ha98ed14]

I think $1000 and 10 to 15 yrs. is something to go by. I remember in junior high my dad got one at Contractors Warehouse (now HD Supply---there is one in North Long Beach off of the 91) and he may have paid $650 for it at most. It lasted a long time till maybe like 5 yrs. ago. If your concern is the one that is in the home you are going to buy make that a condition of your escrow if it's not too late.

Yeah, it is the one thing that came back "questionable" on the inspection report. Everything else was new enough that they thought it would not need to be replaced anytime soon. There's a newer roof, new low flow toilets, newer windows, but a 9 y.o. water heater. That was the only remark: It's old. I think it is too late for a concession. I am trying to decide if I can get the ceilings scraped right away or if I need to put that money towards a new water heater right away...

[AnnieW625]

Yeah, it is the one thing that came back "questionable" on the inspection report. Everything else was new enough that they thought it would not need to be replaced anytime soon. There's a newer roof, new low flow toilets, newer windows, but a 9 y.o. water heater. That was the only remark: It's old. I think it is too late for a concession. I am trying to decide if I can get the ceilings scraped right away or if I need to put that money towards a new water heater right away...

Nothing is too late until you have signed final papers I believe. Contact your agent ASAP. Now as far as the ceilings go we have scraped ceilings in 3/4s of our house (only hallway, and two back bedrooms still have them) because the seller stopped mid project because they fired the contractor who started it. Looking back we should've put that as a condition in our escrow that they finish it, but we've lived with them for 4/1/2 yrs. and it's no big deal (we are children of the 70s/80s who lived with popcorn ceilings our whole lives..he he!). Instead of replacing the water heater right now, open up a savings account and put $1000 in it for the water heater. If it goes then you are covered. If you can afford the ceiling now then do it esp. if it's the whole house. Also it's messy but my parents saved a bunch of money and scraped the ceilings themselves and then had someone come in and retexture the ceilings for them.

[momof2girls]

We replaced ours after 9 years (it was the orginal builders one so I don't know if the quality was builders crap). Anyway, a new one cost about $1,000 here in the northeast.

[Penny's Pappa]

Nothing is too late until you have signed final papers I believe.

Careful though. Depending on the circumstances, backing out of the deal after the offer has been accepted may result in you losing any earnest money you may have deposited.

[Snow mom]

After many threads on your home buying I have to admit I have no idea how your real estate agent is running things, but how it worked when we bought our home is we put in an offer with our earnest money and had a 10 day period for inspections when we could request changes. After the inspection I wrote a letter to the homeowner detailing problems and requested a reduction in the buying price. You can also request something like the water heater being replaced before closing. During the inspection period I could have walked and not lost my earnest money. You'd need to check with your real estate agent about requesting changes to your contract.

To answer your original question, our water heater is living on borrowed time. I believe it is 16. We're planning on replacing with tankless.

[wolverine2]

Ours is on veeerrry borrowed time. It's like 40 years old. It's copper. When it dies the plumbers are going to fight over it. I can't believe it's still going.

[daniele_ut]

After many threads on your home buying I have to admit I have no idea how your real estate agent is running things, but how it worked when we bought our home is we put in an offer with our earnest money and had a 10 day period for inspections when we could request changes. After the inspection I wrote a letter to the homeowner detailing problems and requested a reduction in the buying price. You can also request something like the water heater being replaced before closing. During the inspection period I could have walked and not lost my earnest money. You'd need to check with your real estate agent about requesting changes to your contract.

Agreed. If you made your offer contingent on the inspection, which you should have, then you can walk away from the deal based on the results of the inspection if you feel the sellers won't address the issues satisfactorily. Frankly, though, a 9 year old hot water heater wouldn't really be a deal breaker for me. We bought our house as-is, because it was a bank owned home, but we still made the offer contingent on the inspection because we wanted to know what we were facing for repairs. We couldn't ask for any concessions but at least we had an idea of the cost of getting the house back in shape. We've spent over $30K in renovations so replacing a hot water heater wouldn't be a big deal to me at all.

[michellerw]

Yeah, it is the one thing that came back "questionable" on the inspection report. Everything else was new enough that they thought it would not need to be replaced anytime soon. There's a newer roof, new low flow toilets, newer windows, but a 9 y.o. water heater. That was the only remark: It's old. I think it is too late for a concession. I am trying to decide if I can get the ceilings scraped right away or if I need to put that money towards a new water heater right away...

Could you ask the seller to throw in a 1 year home warranty? That shouldn't run them more than $300 and you would then just have to pay the deductible for something like a new HW heater.

[american_mama]

A relevant question for us since our water heater is original to the house, making it.....
.
.
.
.
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44 years old.

Yes, our water heater has been making hot water for longer than I have been alive. It does not leak. We do not run out of water. We have not done a thing to it in the 5 years we've owned the house. Our home inspector said it was the oldest functioning water heater he'd ever seen.

Clearly, we are living on borrowed time. But we are taking the approach if it ain't broke...

[Penny's Pappa]

Could you ask the seller to throw in a 1 year home warranty? That shouldn't run them more than $300 and you would then just have to pay the deductible for something like a new HW heater.

I don't think the warranty would pay to replace a water heater that isn't broken. It may actually have to fail before the warranty would kick in. Either way, this is a good suggestion. Our sellers paid for a one-year warranty when we bought our house and our realtor made it sound like that was pretty standard. As always, YMMV.

[egoldber]

I don't think the warranty would pay to replace a water heater that isn't broken. It may actually have to fail before the warranty would kick in.

Exactly. If I were a seller with a house with a perfectly good water heater (just old) no way, no how would I buy you a home warranty or replace it. If it's broken or leaking, yes. But if it isn't broken, it is yours as is.

OP, I'm not sure what your goal is here. Honestly, you seem to want to buy a house with no flaws. There is no such thing. All houses have issues. All houses need maintenance. Even brand new houses will have issues that need work. You will need money here or there for a broken water heater, furnace repairs, exterior maintenance, gutter repair, roof tiles blow off in wind storms, linoleum peels, tiles break, dry wall gets ripped, walls need paint, etc. Houses are expensive. VERY expensive to maintain and repair.

[Wife_and_mommy]

Exactly. If I were a seller with a house with a perfectly good water heater (just old) no way, no how would I buy you a home warranty or replace it. If it's broken or leaking, yes. But if it isn't broken, it is yours as is.

OP, I'm not sure what your goal is here. Honestly, you seem to want to buy a house with no flaws. There is no such thing. All houses have issues. All houses need maintenance. Even brand new houses will have issues that need work. You will need money here or there for a broken water heater, furnace repairs, exterior maintenance, gutter repair, roof tiles blow off in wind storms, linoleum peels, tiles break, dry wall gets ripped, walls need paint, etc. Houses are expensive. VERY expensive to maintain and repair.

A very diplomatic :yeahthat:. If it's not the water heater, it will be something else--no two ways about it.

Also, a water heater is one of the less expensive things that would need repair. We were able to replace ours for 400-600(can't remember exact numbers) because my brother is a handy type so there were no installation fees.

[vludmilla]

Exactly. If I were a seller with a house with a perfectly good water heater (just old) no way, no how would I buy you a home warranty or replace it. If it's broken or leaking, yes. But if it isn't broken, it is yours as is.

OP, I'm not sure what your goal is here. Honestly, you seem to want to buy a house with no flaws. There is no such thing. All houses have issues. All houses need maintenance. Even brand new houses will have issues that need work. You will need money here or there for a broken water heater, furnace repairs, exterior maintenance, gutter repair, roof tiles blow off in wind storms, linoleum peels, tiles break, dry wall gets ripped, walls need paint, etc. Houses are expensive. VERY expensive to maintain and repair.

I don't know. I don't see it this way at all. She just asked how long they last and what they cost. In her follow-up post on this thread, she clarified that she was trying to determine if she would need to put HER money into a new hot water heater first or if she would be able to "scrape the ceilings" first. Doesn't sound to me like she's looking for the perfect house or to get the seller to pay for anything. She's buying her first house ever, in California, with all of her precious savings. Jeez. In fact, I think she has been quite realistic about houses and not looking for the perfect one, from what I can tell from prior posts. Recall that she was considering houses in foreclosure and ith bomb shelters. Sounds emininently not without flaws. She is, after all, buying a house under 400k in southern California.

[michellerw]

I don't think the warranty would pay to replace a water heater that isn't broken. It may actually have to fail before the warranty would kick in. Either way, this is a good suggestion. Our sellers paid for a one-year warranty when we bought our house and our realtor made it sound like that was pretty standard. As always, YMMV.

Mine wasn't dead yet, but nearing the end of the accepted lifespan when I bought. Near the end of the warranty period, it was replaced by the warranty contracted plumber because of (1) age and (2) rust around the bottom. So it's definitely a YMMV type situation but it may be worthwhile if there are a couple similar type situations going on in the house.

[ha98ed14]

I don't know. I don't see it this way at all. She just asked how long they last and what they cost. In her follow-up post on this thread, she clarified that she was trying to determine if she would need to put HER money into a new hot water heater first or if she would be able to "scrape the ceilings" first. Doesn't sound to me like she's looking for the perfect house or to get the seller to pay for anything. She's buying her first house ever, in California, with all of her precious savings. Jeez. In fact, I think she has been quite realistic about houses and not looking for the perfect one, from what I can tell from prior posts. Recall that she was considering houses in foreclosure and ith bomb shelters. Sounds emininently not without flaws. She is, after all, buying a house under 400k in southern California.

:yeahthat: Thanks for the defense. This is it, exactly. Beth, I don't know where you got the idea that I expected jack from this seller. This house is in near perfect condition compared to others we have looked at. I said that the only "red flag" on our inspection report was that the water heater was old, but as far as our inspector could tell, working fine. The house is currently occupied by a family, so *I*think it is safe to presume that it works. I don't think my fam could/ would go without HW for any length of time.

Not that it is anyone's business, but we are paying for this house ourselves. No help from family. And we are paying all our own closing costs. No help from the seller. Our realtor (says) he is buying us a home warranty. We will see if it will come to pass, but anyway , the point is that we did not ask the seller for anything. No repairs, no credits, nothing. It's all us. I know people buy and sell houses everyday, just like women have babies everyday, but when it is YOUR first experience having a buying a house or having a baby, it is pretty. freaking. scary. And I have been looking for a house LONGER that I was preggers with DD. Yesterday, we went into labor and wired ALL our "precious savings" to the escrow company. Today we sign loan docs. That it is a done deal, I guess.

ETA: I am perfectly prepared to pay for my own water heater.

[egoldber]

I apologize if you felt I was criticizing you. In re-reading it seems it was someone else that said that they would ask for a warranty etc. and I guess I got confused.

But my main point, and again, I am sorry if I offended, was that homeownership comes with financial risk. I think that many first time homebuyers underestimate the money and risk. I know that we did. We easily spent several thousand dollars the first months after we bought our first house, and not even on repairs, just on mundane things like trash cans, ladders, snow shovels, window treatments and gardening equipment.

Not that having a home doesn't have it's perks and rewards also. :) But being prepared for the other part is really important IMO.

Anyway, good luck in your new home.

[ha98ed14]

But my main point, and again, I am sorry if I offended, was that homeownership comes with financial risk. I think that many first time homebuyers underestimate the money and risk. I know that we did. We easily spent several thousand dollars the first months after we bought our first house, and not even on repairs, just on mundane things like trash cans, ladders, snow shovels, window treatments and gardening equipment.

Not that having a home doesn't have it's perks and rewards also. :) But being prepared for the other part is really important IMO.

Anyway, good luck in your new home.

Thanks for the good wishes. I hope we are lucky and get to live in the house for at least a year or two with only minor problems. The furnace is new and the roof is less than 10 years old, so those majors are looking okay.

I know (in the way any first time homeowner knows) that there is financial risk to buying a house. It is simply because there is no one else to call when the X breaks, and you no longer have the flexibility of 30 days and you can move. But I really think that, just like with kids, there is no way to anticipate everything and there is no perfect time to do it. There is lots you don't know, but people still do it, and you learn by experience. I have become more aware just by reading this board, where there is a post at least once per week looking for advice on a new fridge, dishwasher, paint, everything and anything. And there is also tons of advice. Not that I expect the BBB to answer all my house questions, although I hear Nicci is a window, grout and caulking expert. ;) It is still the better of the two options (renting/ owning) if you plan to live in a place for 10+ years, which we do.

I'm happy with the house. It has a good layout, ample space that will meet our needs and we can afford it. And it is in good condition. And there are no major holes in the yard. No bizarre additions that would make you wonder, "They used this room for ???" It is a just a normal house that fits in with the neighborhood. I feel SO lucky to have found a normal house I can afford, in the "right side of the tracks" in the city I wanted, in the school district I wanted, even with a fruit loop for a realtor. :yay:

I'm know there will be things we have to buy and fix. Of the things mentioned above, the city gives us our trash cans because they use a special kind of truck. We live in SoCal, so no snow shovels. And the blinds come with the house. We will need a lawnmower.

Anyway, I owe MUCH thanks to everyone who followed my saga and read my novella posts. You all kept me from buying something I didn't really want and to hold out for something I did. I am really grateful for all the advice, sympathy and support I got here over the last year! Many, Many Thanks!

[Snow mom]

Wow, so it's official? :yay: That's great. As far as the water heater goes, I'd weigh where it is (and what will get destroyed if it does leak) before you decide whether to replace or wait. Our water heater is smack dab in the middle of our house and on hardwood. We don't have a basement or garage so it really has the power to destroy. That being said, I intended to replace it when we moved in (it was 12 years old and the inspector recommended replacing it) but never really got around to it. We haven't had any problems with it in the 4 years we've been here. We do consider it a ticking time bomb, but really the major impetus to replace for us is reclaiming the space it occupies in our tiny cottage house. If your water heater is in a basement I just wouldn't put anything of value near it that could get flooded out and would put it on the "to do in the future" list. I believe they sell alarms that you can hook up to the catch pan below the water heater to alert you to a leak before it becomes a small lake in your new house. Congratulations on successfully finishing the house hunt.

[trales]

When it does die, you can take the top off and use it as a rain collection system, since it has a spiget on the bottom. You can spary paint it a nice color, and use it to water your lawn to lower your water costs.

Good luck, congrats on the home.