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Hot Water · TanklessEndless hot water, zero tank
A tankless water heater conversion in Burlington, Oakville or Hamilton lands at $4,200–$5,000 installed for a 199,000 BTU Rinnai or Navien replacing a tank, or $3,500–$6,500 across the full range with venting and gas-line work counted. Sized against winter inlet water, it runs 15–20 years and never runs out.
A tankless water heater fires only while water flows, so nothing keeps 50 gallons hot around the clock — that idle loss is the $80–$200 a year a tankless saves over a standing tank. We install and service Navien, Rinnai and Bosch gas units, replace failed ones, and do the annual descale. Most conversions here swap out a 40 or 50 gallon gas tank in a basement mechanical room.
Hard water is the tankless issue in Halton and Hamilton. Lake Ontario water scales the heat exchanger, well water in Flamborough and north of Waterdown scales it faster, and scale is what turns a 20-year unit into a 10-year one. Every install gets isolation valves so the annual descale flush ($150–$300) takes an hour instead of a teardown — hard water and tankless in Hamilton and Halton explains why we treat it as the design constraint.
The honest part of the quote is the gas line. A 199,000 BTU tankless draws roughly five times the gas of the tank it replaces, and the half-inch line that fed a 1970s Tyandaga or Stoney Creek tank won't carry it — upsizing the run adds $400–$1,200. Venting is the other line item: condensing units push PVC intake and exhaust out the rim joist, and the old chimney gets capped. Both are measured at the free assessment so the written number is the whole number.
Sizing is about simultaneous flow, not house size — two showers and a dishwasher at 6:45 AM is the design case. Winter inlet water off Lake Ontario is cold enough that a brochure's warm-climate flow rating means little here; we size by fixture count against a February inlet (what size tankless you need). Typical conversions land at $4,200–$5,000 installed, and we say plainly when a big household needs two units — or is better off keeping a tank.
Tankless makes sense when
- The last shower of the morning runs cold in a household of four or more
- Your tank is past 10 years — the conversion premium is smallest when you're replacing anyway
- The mechanical room is tight and the tank blocks a basement finish
- You're on Flamborough well water and want scale handled from day one
- Your existing tankless goes hot-cold-hot or shows an error code — that's a repair, not a replacement
How it works
We check the meter capacity and line size, find the venting route to an outside wall, count fixtures, and ask how mornings actually run in your house. The assessment is free.
Unit, venting, gas-line work, isolation valves, condensate and removal of the old tank on a single quote — no install-day add-ons. Financing figures included if you want them.
Tank out, unit mounted, plumbed and vented, gas pressure-tested, then commissioned at full fire with flow and temperature checked at the farthest tap. Book the assessment.
Brands: We install Rinnai, Navien and Bosch, and service all major tankless brands.
Common questions
Is tankless worth it in Ontario?
For four-plus-person households, yes: hot water that never runs out, $80–$200 a year in running costs, 15–20 years of service against 8–12 for a tank, and the floor space back. For one or two people in a Bronte or downtown Burlington condo, the gas and venting work eats the savings — a tank wins. Is tankless worth it in Ontario runs the numbers.
Will it keep up in February?
Sized correctly, yes. The unit must lift near-freezing inlet water to shower temperature in the moment it crosses the heat exchanger, so winter is the test a warm-climate flow rating never mentions. A properly sized 199,000 BTU unit carries two winter showers at once; a third simultaneous draw is where a second unit — or a tank — enters the conversation.
What maintenance does a tankless need?
An annual descale flush ($150–$300): descaling solution circulated through the isolation valves for about 45 minutes, plus a clean of the inlet filter. On well water, do it twice a year. Skipping it is how a heat exchanger scales shut and a 20-year unit dies at 10 — it's included in our maintenance plans.
Does a tankless need a bigger gas line?
Usually. A tank burns 30,000–40,000 BTU on a half-inch line; a 199,000 BTU tankless typically needs three-quarter-inch from the meter, and occasionally a meter upgrade that Enbridge Gas schedules separately. Upsizing adds $400–$1,200 and goes into the quote after we measure. Does tankless need a bigger gas line.
How long does installation take?
One working day for a tank-to-tankless conversion, including gas and venting. Add time when the vent run must cross a finished basement in a Millcroft or Glen Abbey house to reach an outside wall, or when Enbridge upgrades the meter first. A straight swap of a failed tankless onto existing gas and venting is a half day.