Licensed & Insured · CA LIC #982663
Open 24/7 · Mon-Sun
Pacifica, San Francisco, Burlingame, CA · Serving the Bay
PACIFICA, CA • LIC #982663 • 24/7
We answer the phone day, night, weekends, and holidays average response under 60 minutes.
A pilot that will not stay lit, water that is lukewarm rather than hot, a heater that groans and pops, or hot water that runs out far sooner than it used to. Most of those are repairs rather than replacements. We diagnose and fix water heaters across Pacifica, San Francisco, and Burlingame, usually the same day.
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The symptom points fairly reliably at the part. A pilot that will not stay lit is almost always a failed thermocouple or a dirty pilot assembly, both inexpensive. Lukewarm water on a gas unit is often the gas control valve or the dip tube, and on an electric unit it is usually the upper element or thermostat. Popping and rumbling is sediment on the tank bottom boiling under the burner, which a flush addresses. Hot water running out early points at a broken dip tube or heavy sediment loss of capacity.
The one symptom that is not a repair is water on the floor from the tank itself. If the shell is leaking, the glass lining has failed and the steel is corroding through. Nothing fits that. Water at a fitting, the drain valve, or the temperature and pressure relief line is a different matter and often repairable.
So we diagnose before quoting, and we tell you plainly when a repair is not worth it on a unit near the end of its life. Book a free estimate any time, no obligation.
Thank you again for another job well done, and thank you for responding right away. I will continue to recommend Works Plumbing because they respond right away and get the job done efficiently.
Deomen L., San Mateo, Google review
Every water heater repair comes with upfront pricing, licensed and background-checked technicians, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Works Plumbing holds California contractor license #982663, carries full bonding and insurance, and holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
We are a plumbing-only shop, which means the tech at your door has spent years on this exact work rather than splitting time across three trades. Our crews are drug tested as well as background checked, and dispatch is staffed by real people around the clock. No surprises, no commission-driven upsells, no pressure, ever.
If your pilot keeps going out, try this before calling: look at whether the area around the heater is dusty or lint-heavy, particularly if it shares space with a dryer. Restricted combustion air and a dirty pilot assembly cause a surprising share of pilot failures, and clearing the space around the unit sometimes fixes it. If it still will not hold, the thermocouple has gone and that is a quick repair.
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It is rarely serious and usually cheap. The most common cause is a failing thermocouple, the safety device that senses the pilot flame and shuts the gas off if it does not detect heat. When it weakens it starts shutting the gas down while the pilot is actually lit. Replacement is quick and inexpensive. Restricted combustion air and a dirty pilot orifice cause the rest. Either way, do not keep relighting it indefinitely without finding out which.
On a gas heater, most often the gas control valve or thermostat, or a broken dip tube letting cold water mix at the top of the tank instead of delivering it to the bottom. On an electric heater, a lukewarm supply almost always means the upper element or its thermostat has failed, because the lower element alone cannot keep up. All of those are repairs, not replacements.
Sediment. Minerals settle out of the water and build a layer on the bottom of the tank, and once the burner is firing through that layer, water trapped underneath boils and pops its way out. It is not dangerous immediately but it is costing you efficiency and it is overheating the tank bottom, which shortens its life. A flush usually resolves it, and an annual flush prevents it.
It depends where it is coming from, and we will find out before quoting. Water at the drain valve, a supply fitting, or running down from the temperature and pressure relief discharge line is usually repairable. Water weeping from the body of the tank itself is not, at any price, because the internal lining has failed and the steel is rusting through. In that case the honest answer is replacement, and we will show you why.
Usually yes. We run stocked trucks out of all three of our locations in Pacifica, San Francisco, and Burlingame, so there is generally a van already working near you rather than one dispatched from across the county. Our average on-site response for emergencies is under 60 minutes, and dispatch is staffed 24/7 including weekends and holidays. A real person answers the phone, so you will know within minutes whether we can be there today.
Yes, and there is no obligation attached to it. We come out, diagnose the actual fault, and give you one flat price covering parts and labor before any work starts. If you decide not to book, you owe nothing and we will not chase you with follow-up calls. We would rather you had an honest number to compare than feel cornered into a decision at the door.
Three Peninsula locations put a stocked truck near you, from San Francisco down to Atherton, covering 22+ cities every day.
Combined across our Pacifica, San Francisco, and Burlingame locations.
“I had a backed up kitchen drain and David from Works Plumbing came out and cleared the line in a matter of minutes. Very professional and very knowledgeable. Definitely recommend!”
“Great professional and quick service! Shamir was friendly, efficient, and professional. He fixed the leaking problem in my sink and garbage disposal in under an hour. Highly recommend!”
“Thank you again for another job well done, and thank you for responding right away. I will continue to recommend Works Plumbing because they respond right away and get the job done efficiently.”
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A real human will answer, dispatch a stocked Works van, and get someone at your door, usually in under an hour. No phone trees. No robots. No “we’ll get back to you Monday.”
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