Came home yesterday to a cold shower and a puddle in the garage, so the water heater has officially retired after what I can only assume was a long and loyal service. Now I'm in the slightly panicked phase of getting quotes and I've already had one that felt high but I have no baseline to compare it against, which is the annoying part. The guy was friendly enough but kept pushing a bigger tank than I think we need, and when I asked why he got a bit vague about it. I found https://www.kitchenbathpaloalto.com/locations/palo-alto/plumbing/ while trying to read up on what a replacement actually involves around here, and it made me realise there's more to it than just tank size, like whether the venting and shutoff valve need updating too. Has anyone replaced one of these in an older house and did you end up needing extra work beyond the unit itself? Also curious whether people went tankless and whether it was worth the extra cost, because I'm hearing very mixed opinions and I'd rather not be the guinea pig.
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