Plumber in Fairfax & Sleepy Hollow, CA: Repipes, Water Heaters & Leaks
Galvanized pipe past its prime, water heaters due for the switch to heat pump, crawlspaces near the creek: that's everyday plumbing in Fairfax. We repipe older homes, install gas and heat pump water heaters, track down leaks and replace main water lines across the Ross Valley.
Serving Fairfax, Sleepy Hollow and the Ross Valley from San Rafael · Open 24/7
Plumbing services in Fairfax & Sleepy Hollow
Most Fairfax calls come back to the age of the house: worn-out pipe, aging water heaters and buried water lines that finally let go.
Whole-Home Repipes
Replacing worn galvanized supply lines
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Heat Pump Water Heaters
Planning, permits and rebate paperwork
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Main Water Lines
Service line and shutoff valve replacement
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Leak Detection
Hidden leaks found before anything is opened up
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Also: Tank Water Heaters · Tankless Water Heaters · Sump & Ejector Pumps · Emergency Plumbing · Boilers & Radiant
Fairfax houses are old, and so is the pipe inside them
Fairfax incorporated in 1931 but grew as a weekend and summer retreat, and many of today's houses started as cabins and cottages. The median Fairfax home was built in 1953 (Census), before builders moved from galvanized steel supply pipe to copper and plastic in the 1960s.
Galvanized pipe rusts from the inside out and is generally expected to last 40 to 50 years, so a 1950s line is decades past that. The symptoms creep up slowly:
- A shower that weakens to a dribble when someone opens another tap
- Rusty or brown water after the water has been off for a repair
- Leaks at threaded joints, often in a crawlspace nobody visits
Patching one rusted section at a time tends to chase the problem down the line. A whole-home repipe replaces it in one planned job, priced after a walk-through.
Fairfax neighborhoods we work in
Fairfax sits in the valleys of San Anselmo Creek and Fairfax Creek and climbs into the hills around them. Where your house sits shapes the plumbing questions.
Close to the creek
The streets around Bolinas Road and Broadway have flooded in major storms. When equipment in a garage or crawlspace here is replaced, we look at how high it sits.
Cabins and cottages
Cabins and cottages under a heavy tree canopy, many of them first built as summer places. We check the pipe, valves and water heater space before recommending anything.
Level streets, postwar homes
Oak Manor's flatter blocks are mostly postwar houses, now old enough for original pipe and valves to wear out. Deer Park and the hillside lanes add steep access.
Creek flooding, crawlspaces and sump pumps
The Town of Fairfax calls the 2005 storm its last major flood. It wasn't the first.
In both 1982 and 2005, Bolinas Road flooded from Town Hall at Park Road down to Broadway, and runoff pouring down Laurel Drive flooded homes on the creek side of Cascade Drive. The December 31, 2005 flood along San Anselmo Creek was declared a federal disaster; next door in San Anselmo, about 290 homes and 140 businesses were damaged. Fairfax sits in the county's Ross Valley flood control zone (Zone 9).
If water reached a gas appliance
Don't relight a water heater, boiler or furnace that sat in floodwater. Federal safety guidance (CPSC) is to replace any gas control valve that was submerged, because damage inside it may not show. We replace the controls or the unit and check venting first.
Water in the crawlspace or a lower level
A sump pump moves groundwater out of a crawlspace or basement; an ejector pump lifts wastewater from fixtures below the sewer line. We handle both. See sump and ejector pumps.
Plumbing trouble in Fairfax or Sleepy Hollow? We're open 24/7.
Water heaters in older Ross Valley homes
A water heater swap in a newer tract house is routine. In an older Fairfax home the space, the venting and the electrical panel often decide what's possible.
A recent Fairfax job
In March 2025 we installed a new 240-volt, 80-gallon heat pump water heater for a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in Fairfax. We pulled the permit and handled the rebate application, and a partner electrician ran the new circuit, about 80 feet from the electrical panel to the water heater.
A heat pump water heater pulls heat from the air around it, so it needs more room and airflow than a gas tank, a condensate drain and usually a dedicated 240-volt circuit. In an older house the panel can be a long way from the water heater, so we plan the electrical run up front.
- Look at the space and the panel
Room, airflow, drainage and distance to the panel tell us whether a heat pump, gas tank or tankless unit fits best. - Permit and electrical
We file the Town of Fairfax or Marin County permit. If a new circuit is needed, our partner electrician runs it. - Install and paperwork
Seismic strapping, expansion tank, relief-valve discharge and condensate piping, then the rebate paperwork for anything you qualify for.
Repair or replace?
A gas tank that won't light often needs just a part. Water from the tank body means replacement. Most tanks last roughly 8 to 12 years, so if yours is in that range, plan ahead, especially for a heat pump. Compare options on our tank, tankless and heat pump water heater pages.
Water heater and repipe pricing
Access, venting and electrical work move the number in every Fairfax house. You get a written estimate before work starts.
2026 pricing. Every home is different. You get a written estimate before any work starts.
The Bay Area gas water heater rule
Both communities fall under the Bay Area air district (BAAQMD), so its Rule 9-6 covers your next water heater.
- Gas storage water heaters rated 75,000 BTU/hr or less (most home tanks) made after January 1, 2027 must be zero-NOx, in practice electric, usually a heat pump. A proposed amendment could push that to 2028.
- Gas tankless water heaters, larger heaters and home gas boilers are covered for units made after January 1, 2031. The proposal would move that to 2033.
- It applies at sale or installation. Working gas units can stay, and repairs are allowed.
The Board votes on the changes November 4, 2026. Our 2027 gas water heater rule guide covers the details.
Rebates in Marin
Fairfax and unincorporated Marin are served by MCE, and Local Plumbing is an MCE participating contractor. Some programs have ended or filled: TECH Clean California has had a waitlist since November 2025, HEEHRA closed in February 2026, and the federal 25C credit doesn't cover equipment installed after 2025. We'll check what's available and help with the paperwork.
Main water lines, shutoffs and hidden leaks
Old houses come with old service lines and old valves. In May 2025 we replaced a main water line in Fairfax, and in June 2025 we replaced a main water shutoff valve and two angle stops. When a shutoff won't turn, a simple repair turns into a scramble.
- Water bill jumped with nothing wet in sight? A buried line can leak for months unseen. We meter-test, then use acoustic and thermal leak detection so we dig in one place.
- Several leaks on an old line? We price a water service replacement alongside the repair so you can compare.
Sleepy Hollow: County permits and Eichler radiant slabs
Sleepy Hollow is the unincorporated valley north of San Anselmo, reached by Butterfield Road. It had 2,401 residents and 868 housing units in the 2020 Census.
From dairy land to a neighborhood
The valley was dairy country until after World War II, when Lang Realty began building houses there. The median Sleepy Hollow home dates to 1956, so aging pipe and valves come up here too.
Marin County, not a town
Sleepy Hollow permits come from the Marin County Community Development Agency, which offers online permits for replacements such as water heaters. Fairfax permits come from the Town, which issues them Monday through Thursday mornings. We pull the right one.
Eichlers and radiant heat
Sleepy Hollow has a small Eichler enclave: about 15 homes built in 1972 and 1973 on Catskill Court and Katrina Lane, plus a few earlier custom Eichlers, the first from 1956. Every Eichler was built with radiant heating tubing set in the concrete slab, and those systems are now around 50 years old. When a slab loop leaks, we pressure-test zones and use thermal imaging to find it before opening a floor.
Boiler or radiant floors elsewhere in the Ross Valley? See boilers and radiant heat, radiant heating repairs and our Eichler radiant heat page.
Water and sewer in Fairfax & Sleepy Hollow
Marin Water supply
Both communities get their water from Marin Water (MMWD). It's soft, about 3.5 grains per gallon from local reservoirs and about 6.5 from the Sonoma supply, so in Fairfax it's age and rust, not scale, that wear out pipe.
Ross Valley Sanitary District
RVSD serves both. It requires a sewer lateral compliance certificate when a home is sold, for remodels of $75,000 or more and when a bathroom is added, with a district-witnessed pressure test. Local Plumbing doesn't do lateral work, but we can refer you to contractors who do.
Fairfax & Sleepy Hollow plumbing FAQ
How can I tell if my Fairfax house still has galvanized pipe?
Check exposed pipe at the water heater or where the main enters the house. Galvanized is dull gray with threaded fittings, and a magnet sticks to it. Copper is reddish-brown and a magnet won't stick.
How much does a repipe cost in Fairfax?
It depends on house size, bathrooms and access. We price repipes after a walk-through; call (415) 234-0370 for an estimate.
How much is a heat pump water heater in Fairfax?
Heat pump water heaters typically run $6,500–$12,000 installed, before rebates. Older homes may need a new 240-volt circuit, which our partner electrician runs.
Can I still replace my gas water heater with gas in Marin?
For now, yes. Small gas tanks made after January 1, 2027 have to be zero-NOx (possibly delayed to 2028). Existing gas units can keep running.
Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Fairfax or Sleepy Hollow?
Yes. In Fairfax the permit comes from the Town; in Sleepy Hollow it comes from Marin County. We file it either way.
My water heater was in floodwater. Is it safe to turn back on?
No. Have it checked first: a gas valve that sat underwater should be replaced, even if the heater still lights.
Do you do sewer lateral tests for a home sale?
No. The Ross Valley Sanitary District requires a lateral compliance certificate at sale, and we refer that work to contractors who specialize in it.
Serving Fairfax, Sleepy Hollow and the Ross Valley
Downtown Fairfax, Cascade Canyon, Oak Manor, Deer Park, the hillside lanes and Sleepy Hollow, plus neighboring San Anselmo, Ross and Kentfield.
- Phone: (415) 234-0370, call or text
- Open: 24/7. Emergency service available.
- License: C-16 & C-36 Lic #1091739
- Reviews: 5.0 on Google, 340+ reviews
Book a Fairfax plumber
Weak pressure, an aging water heater or a leak you can't find? We'll give you a straight answer.
