Town of East Hampton
Water Heaters in Montauk, NY
A water heater in Montauk costs $800–2,500 installed for a tank, about $2,638 for a tankless and $1,200–3,500 for a heat-pump model, which PSEG Long Island rebates up to $1,200 in 2026; the fuel at the street decides which. Tell us about the house in Montauk; one licensed, insured plumber who installs heaters in Town of East Hampton calls within one business day.
Last updated · Reviewed by Wainscott Plumbing Co.
A water heater in Montauk is sized for a house that is empty in February and full in August, on whatever fuel reaches the street. We put Montauk homeowners in touch with one licensed, insured plumber who installs tank, tankless and heat-pump heaters in Town of East Hampton, and we publish the 2026 prices and the rebate.
Water heaters in Montauk: what's different here
Mid-century houses on the hills and at Ditch Plains, oceanfront and harbour-front houses with basements at the water table, motels and resorts with commercial plumbing, and a hamlet where 60% of the housing is counted vacant and the wind runs above the rest of the fork all winter.
On the ocean side of Montauk the water heater lives in salt air, which shortens a tank’s life and corrodes a tankless heat exchanger’s vent; plumbers who work the beachfront in Montauk spec the venting for it and the outdoor shower for a winter shutoff.
Montauk is a hamlet of the Town of East Hampton, permitted through the Town’s Building Department with its two sets of plans, licensed-contractor documentation, survey and a desk that ran 16–20 weeks behind in 2026; 4,318 people lived here at the 2020 Census with 59.8% of the housing counted vacant. The water table near the harbour and the ponds sits 2–8 feet down with hydrostatic pressure against anything below grade, and the hamlet’s downtown was moved three miles south after the 1938 hurricane flooded it; a Montauk basement is a sump-pump basement, and a storm surge is a sewer and septic problem before it is a supply one.
Permits in Montauk run through the Town of East Hampton Building Department; the plumber we put you in touch with handles the filing where one is required.
How it works
Tell us about the job once. One licensed, insured plumber who works Montauk and handles water heaters regularly contacts you within 1 business day. Free for homeowners, no spam calls.
FAQ
Water heaters questions
Tank or tankless: which water heater for a Hamptons house?
A tank if the budget and the basement are ordinary: $800–2,500 installed for 40–50 gallons, labor $150–450 for a swap, 6–15 years of life by one guide and 8–12 by another. A tankless if the house fills up on Fridays and empties on Mondays: $2,638 average installed ($1,404–3,901), labor $600–1,900 because the venting and gas change, about 20 years of life, and no tank to fail in an empty house. A heat-pump water heater if the basement is big and warm: $1,200–3,500 installed and PSEG Long Island rebates up to $1,200 on an ENERGY STAR model in 2026, the only water-heater rebate left after the federal credit ended in 2025. On a propane or oil house, which is most of the fork, the fuel at the street decides more than the brochure does.
Do I need a permit to replace a water heater or boiler in East Hampton?
Ask the building department, because it does not say online. The Town of East Hampton’s Building Department publishes its permit requirements — two sets of quarter-inch plans, licensed-contractor documentation, notarized signatures, workers’ compensation, a survey — and a 13-question FAQ that never mentions plumbing, water heaters, boilers or gas piping; its fees rose in May 2024 and its desk ran 16–20 weeks behind in 2026. The Village of East Hampton issues in two to four weeks. The general pattern for like-for-like equipment swaps that touch no structure or service is a lighter permit, but no Town page states it, so we do not. The code applies either way: a temperature-and-pressure relief valve set no higher than 210°F and 150 psi, and an expansion tank on a closed system. The plumber we send you to files what the department asks.
How does Wainscott Plumbing Co. work?
You tell us about the house once: where it is, what is wrong or what you want done, and when. We put you in touch with one licensed, insured plumber who works your town and does that kind of work, and they call you within one business day, sooner for an emergency. From there it is their quote, their schedule, their warranty. It is free for homeowners; participating plumbers pay us a referral fee for the introduction. We are not a plumbing company, and we do not sell your details; the one company we send you to is the only one that gets your number. If the job is really a septic installer’s, a well driller’s or a heating contractor’s, we say so first. We cover 9 South Fork towns and 6 kinds of plumbing work.
Services
More in Montauk
Emergency Plumbing & Burst Pipes in Montauk
What a burst pipe costs to fix ($200–3,000, about $500 typical), what the emergency call adds, the first ten minutes before the plumber arrives, and why one home in sixty files a water-damage claim every year.
Boilers & Heating Plumbing in Montauk
Boiler replacement at $3,600–8,400 (about $5,900) by type and fuel on a fork that burns oil and propane, radiant floors at $6–20 a square foot, the combi disagreement, lifespans, and why there is no boiler rebate.
Winterization & House Reopening in Montauk
Drain it or heat it: the 55°F rule insurers apply, what a winterization includes, the $580 shutoff and the $25 alarm, the temperatures the pipes will see, and the spring reopening.
Well Pumps & Water Treatment in Montauk
A well pump at $975–2,821, a pressure tank at $800–3,800, the iron and manganese in South Fork well water, what SCWA charges and is doing about lead and PFAS, and the softener price nobody publishes.
Remodel Plumbing & Gas Lines in Montauk
Repiping at $8,000–13,500, fixtures from $150 to $5,500 installed, drains and sewers, a gas line at $15–30 a foot for the range, grill and pool heater, the permits, and the outdoor shower nobody prices.
Book a plumber in Montauk
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