Plumbers in Harrisburg, PA, Every Question We Get, Answered Honestly

Most plumbers in Pennsylvania charge 45 to 200 dollars per hour, but we use flat rate pricing instead. You get one written price before work starts, with no hidden costs and no hourly meter running. The price you approve is the price you pay.

In the Harrisburg area, drain cleaning usually runs about 169 to 398 dollars, with an average near 276 dollars. A simple sink clog costs less. A main line clog, tree roots, or hydro jetting costs more. We quote a flat price up front, so you know the cost before we start.

Installed, a standard 50 gallon electric heater runs about 1,400 to 1,900 dollars, and a 50 gallon gas heater about 1,400 to 2,100 dollars. Tankless units cost more. The final price depends on the unit, the venting, and any code updates your older home needs.

It depends on the damage and the method, so a camera inspection comes first. A spot repair costs less, trenchless lining often runs a few thousand to around 9,000 dollars, and a full dig and replace costs more. We show you the camera footage and give a flat price before any digging.

A whole home repipe with PEX or copper usually runs about 4,000 to 12,000 dollars, based on the size of the home and the number of bathrooms. It replaces failing galvanized or lead lines, restores water pressure, and clears up rusty water for good. We give a flat price after we see the layout.

Capital Region Water bills you for water, again for sewer, and adds a separate storm water fee based on the hard surface on your lot. A hidden leak can raise all three. If your bill jumped with no change in use, you likely have a leak. We can find it and fix it.

We tell you any after hours fee before we send anyone out, and it is built into your written flat price. There are no surprise charges added at the end. You always know the full cost before we start the work.

Yes. We answer the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays. When you call with a burst pipe or a sewer backup, a local plumber picks up and comes out the same day. Plumbing does not wait, so we do not make you wait.

Yes, around the clock, every day of the year. A flooded basement at 2 in the morning or a backed up drain on a holiday gets the same fast response as a weekday call. You reach a local plumber, not a call center in another state.

Call right away for a burst or frozen pipe, a sewer backup, sewage in the basement, no water in the house, a leaking water heater, or the smell of gas. These can damage your home or your health fast. Shut off your main water valve and call us.

A drain that clogs again within weeks has a deeper problem, not just debris. It may be tree root intrusion, a cracked or sagging line, or buildup narrowing the pipe. A snake only punches a hole through it. We run a camera to find the real cause and fix that, so it stops coming back.

When the kitchen sink, toilet, and washer all back up together, the blockage is in your main sewer line, not one fixture. Common causes are a root mass, a collapsed section, or a sagging pipe. This gets worse with every flush. We camera the line from the cleanout to find it.

Much of Harrisburg runs on a combined sewer that carries waste and storm water in one pipe. Heavy rain overloads it and can push water back through your lowest drain. We camera your lateral to rule out a blockage, and we can install a backwater valve to keep sewage out during storms.

Hydro jetting uses high pressure water to scour grease, scale, and roots off the full inside of the pipe, not just punch a hole like a snake. It is the right choice for repeat clogs and heavy buildup in older lines. We camera the pipe first to make sure it is safe for your line.

Yes, always. For any sewer or drain job, we send a camera down the line first so you and we can see the exact problem. We base the price on what is really there, so you never pay for digging or work you do not need.

You are. Capital Region Water says the homeowner owns the sewer lateral and the water service line from the house to the city main. These pipes can be 100 to 150 years old. If the blockage or break is in your lateral, which it usually is, the repair is your cost, not the city's.

Many older Harrisburg homes have a house trap, a U shaped fitting on the sewer line near the basement wall. It catches debris and is a common spot for repeat clogs and sewer smells. We can clear it, and in some cases replace it, to stop the backups for good.

For any home built before 1980, yes. Older homes often have clay or Orangeburg sewer lines that crack and sag with age. A camera scope before you buy can turn a hidden problem into a seller repair. Found after closing, that same problem becomes your bill.

Most often it is old galvanized steel pipe. These lines rust shut from the inside over many years, which chokes the flow to every faucet. The lasting fix is to replace the worn pipe with PEX or copper. We test your pressure and show you what is causing it.

Brown or rusty water, often worse in the morning, is rust breaking loose inside old galvanized or cast iron pipe. It is common in homes built before 1950. We find the corroded lines and replace them, so your water runs clean again.

You cannot tell by taste or sight. Lead service lines were common in homes built before 1986. Capital Region Water is mapping lead and galvanized lines across the city. We can inspect your service line and replace it with copper if we find lead.

City water from the DeHart Reservoir is on the softer side, and water across the metro tends to be moderately hard, around 8 to 9 grains per gallon in many areas. That is far below very hard markets. Here, the bigger threat to your pipes is age and corrosion, not scale.

Repiping means replacing the old pipe in your home with new lines. PEX is a flexible pipe that resists the freeze and thaw of Harrisburg winters and will not rust like galvanized steel. It is a strong choice here, and copper is also available if you prefer it.

Shut off your main water valve first to limit damage if the pipe has split. Open a faucet so water can flow as it thaws. Do not use an open flame. Then call us. We thaw the line safely, repair any break, and insulate the pipe so it does not freeze again.

Insulate pipes in outside walls, crawl spaces, and unheated basements. On very cold nights, let a faucet drip and open cabinet doors so warm air reaches the pipes. Keep your heat on even when away. We can insulate exposed lines and add a shutoff for added protection.

Shut off the main water valve right away to stop the flooding, then call us. We answer 24/7, even on holidays. We repair the burst section, check for other weak spots, and insulate the line so the same pipe does not burst again next winter.

A standard tank heater lasts about 8 to 12 years. Sediment builds inside over time, lowers efficiency, and corrodes the tank. If yours is past 10 years and rumbling, leaking, or sending rusty hot water, it is near the end. We can tell you whether to repair or replace.

Age over 10 years plus any of these: popping or rumbling sounds, rusty hot water, water pooling at the base, hot water running out faster than before, or the unit never keeping up. A newer unit with one bad part can be repaired. An old tank with sediment should be replaced.

Both work well here. A tank heater costs less up front and is simple to service. A tankless unit saves space and gives endless hot water, but costs more to install. We size either one to your home and your budget and explain the real difference before you decide.

Many small repairs do not. Bigger jobs usually do, such as water heater replacement, new fixture runs, and sewer or water line work. We check what your job needs, pull the permit, handle the inspection, and include any city fees in your written price.

No. Pennsylvania rules let owners do permitted work only on the home they live in. You cannot pull a permit or do the plumbing yourself on a rental or a home you are flipping. We do the licensed work, so your property stays legal and rented.

Yes. Focht Johnston Plumbing uses licensed plumbers and carries insurance for your protection. We have served Harrisburg since 2011, and plumbing is the only work we do. You can also find our reviews across Yelp, Nextdoor, and Google.

No. We are a local plumbing company based at 500 Hurlock Street in Uptown Harrisburg. Plumbing is all we do, and the people who answer your call know this city. You are not dealing with a call center or a brand that also sells heating and cooling.

We serve the city of Harrisburg and the towns around it, including Camp Hill, Lemoyne, Enola, New Cumberland, Mechanicsburg, Hershey, Hummelstown, Steelton, Paxtang, Penbrook, and Susquehanna Township. We cover Dauphin County ZIP codes from 17101 through 17113 and more. Not sure if we reach you? Just call and ask.

In most cases, the same day. We keep our trucks stocked with common parts so we can finish many repairs in one visit. For a true emergency, we come out around the clock, even on holidays. Call (717) 500 8923 and we will head your way.