Water heater specialists
Parma, Ohio
Water heater replacement in Parma.Hot water tank replacement and installation quotes for Parma, OH.
Parma is Cuyahoga County's classic 1950s suburb. A huge share of its houses went up in one decade, which means a huge share of water heaters sit in similar basements with similar vents — and they age out in waves.
- 1950s housing
- Direct-service Cleveland Water
- Plumbing permits
Photo: Blervis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Parma water heaters
Built in a hurry in the fifties. Replaced on a cycle ever since.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates put Parma at about 79,870 people and 36,157 housing units.[1] About 39.4% of those units were built from 1950 to 1959.[1] Add the 1960s (another large group) and you have the typical Parma ranch or Cape: a basement, a chimney, utility gas, and a water heater that is on its third or fourth generation.
About 88.5% of Parma housing units were built before 1980, and only about 10.4% date to 1939 or earlier — a very different picture from Lakewood or Cleveland Heights.[1] The install problems here are less "pre-war double on a narrow lot" and more "postwar basement, original-style vent, and a tank that has never been flushed."
Parma housing by the numbers
The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates) describes the homes water heaters serve in Parma.[1] These are survey estimates with margins of error, so treat them as approximate.
| Measure (ACS 2024 5-year) | Parma |
|---|---|
| Population | 79,870 |
| Housing units | 36,157 |
| Built before 1980 | 88.5% |
| Built before 1960 | 58.4% |
| Built 1939 or earlier | 10.4% |
| Built 1970–1979 | 10.2% |
| Built 1950–1959 | 39.4% |
| Built 2000 or later | 3.6% |
| Owner-occupied (of 34,287 occupied units) | 72.4% |
| Home heated with utility gas | 87.2% |
| Home heated with electricity | 9.8% |
| Bottled/LP gas · fuel oil | 1.9% · 0.0% |
Heating-fuel figures describe how homes are space-heated, not water-heated, but they are a useful signal of where natural gas service is already in the house.[1]
What that means downstairs
Gas is the default. About 87.2% of occupied homes use utility gas for space heat — the highest share among the suburbs on this site.[1] Like-for-like gas tank replacement is the usual conversation. About 9.8% of occupied homes are electrically heated and may be better suited to an electric tank or a heat pump unit.
Owners, not mostly renters. About 72.4% of occupied units are owner-occupied.[1] That is a planning-friendly number: more households can replace a rumbling 12-year-old tank before it floods a finished rec room.
Direct-service Cleveland Water. Parma is listed as a Cleveland Water direct-service community.[2] Hardness is the same system-wide figure Cleveland Water publishes: 105–130 mg/L as CaCO3, averaging 117 mg/L.[3] Sediment on the tank floor is a Parma story as much as a Cleveland story.
Permits in Parma
The City of Parma says permits must be approved and acquired before any work starts, and that contractors must register with the Building Department first.[4] The city publishes a Residential Plumbing/Sewer Permit Application and states that, per state regulations, the applicant must be a state-certified plumbing contractor who is also registered with the City of Parma.[4]
Applications can go through Parma's CitizenServe portal. The Building Department's listed contact on that page is 440-885-8030.[4] Installers who already work in Parma will know the registration step; if you are comparing quotes, asking "are you registered in Parma, and is the plumbing permit included?" is a fair question.
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