A leaking tank is not a repair job. It is a replacement, and the sooner it happens the less it costs you in water damage.
A tank leaks from the inside out: the glass lining fails, bare steel corrodes, and water finds the thinnest spot in the tank wall. There is no patch for that, and no amount of tightening fittings fixes it, because the fittings were never the problem. How long a tank lasts before that happens depends on water hardness, how well it has been maintained, and the quality of the original unit — not a fixed number of years anyone can promise you.
A proper replacement is more than lifting the old tank out and setting a new one in its place. Current code often calls for an expansion tank where one was not required when the old unit went in, and a T&P valve discharge line that actually terminates where it is supposed to. Sizing matters too — duplicating whatever capacity was there before ignores whether that size ever actually fit how the house uses hot water. All of that gets addressed at replacement, not left for the next call.
Describe what the tank is doing and get matched with a licensed plumber who can tell you what it actually needs.
Get Matched With a PlumberA quick description is enough — we will follow up to narrow it down and get someone out.
