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Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling in Columbia, PA

Aging cast-iron drain piping in an older home, ready for replacement by Tom Falk.
Serving Lancaster County since 1961 (65 years) PA HIC #PA026729 Licensed master and journeymen plumbers 4.9★ on Google (57 reviews)

Columbia is an old river town, and it wears its history in its pipes. The housing runs from tight downtown row homes - some well-kept, some pretty rough - out to median-age developments and a few newer pockets on the edges, so no two service calls out here look quite the same.

Old plumbing, honestly worn

A lot of what we do in Columbia is repair work on plumbing that’s simply had a long life - corroded supply lines, failing shutoffs, and drains that have carried their last load. On the older homes we do a fair amount of repiping and remodel work, replacing systems that have rusted past the point of another patch.

Columbia water is its own problem

The water here is worth knowing about. Beyond the usual county hardness, Columbia’s water can carry a higher chlorine level - and chlorine is rough on the resin inside a standard water softener, breaking it down early and cutting years off a unit you expected to last. So when we set a softener around Columbia, we put a carbon pre-filter ahead of it to strip the chlorine first and protect the resin. It’s a small step a lot of installers skip, and it’s the difference between a softener that lasts and one that doesn’t.

Heating and cooling too

We keep a handful of HVAC maintenance customers in Columbia and handle furnace and AC work alongside the plumbing - same crew, whichever you need.

Questions we hear from Columbia homeowners

My last water softener didn't last as long as it should have - why?

Around Columbia, chlorine is a likely culprit. The water can run higher in chlorine than most, and chlorine slowly destroys a softener's resin bed. We install a carbon pre-filter ahead of the softener to remove it first, which is what lets the softener reach the lifespan you paid for.

Do you do heating and cooling in Columbia, or only plumbing?

Both. Plumbing and water treatment are the bulk of our Columbia work, but we service and replace furnaces and air conditioners here too, and keep regular maintenance customers in town.

Reviews from Google

What your neighbors say

4.9 out of 5 on Google, across 57 reviews.

“Fantastic company! They have done plumbing repairs and have installed a new HVAC system in my house. They listened attentively to my concerns and answered with feedback and suggestions in a way that I understood the whole process.”
Susan Frese, Google
“Tom Falk plumbing has helped us for over 20 years. Their response to calls is very prompt, and needed work is explained and then done efficiently. Recently Jeff proactively replaced our very old main water shut off valves. A few years ago they solved a complicated problem with a century-old bathroom drain pipe. Work areas are carefully cleaned when they're finished. Highly recommended.”
Carl Pike, Google
“I wasn’t actually there to meet the guy(s) my dad was. They were late but that’s because their scheduling system didn’t put me on eventhough there was a verbal agreement over the phone. Nevertheless, I recieved professional service and my old AC unit was repaired in a very timely manner and it’s working great! Thank you!”
Matthew Denlinger, Google

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Serving Columbia and nearby

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Call (717) 872-2850