Charleston plumbing · Family owned & operated
Second generation, still family run, still local — not a corporate franchise. Water heaters built in America, free estimates, and a two-year labor warranty on every job.
What we do
Sixty-plus years has taught us exactly what we're excellent at, so that's all we take on. Here's the work, and here's what it starts at.
Our specialty, and the one place we won't compromise: A.O. Smith and Rinnai units, built in America. Sized properly, installed to code, and warrantied for two years on labor.
Thermostats, elements, valves, thermocouples and anode rods. If a repair is the honest answer we'll say so — we'd rather fix your heater than sell you one.
Kitchen, bath, laundry and main lines cleared properly — not just poked open so it backs up again next month.
Faucets, toilets, disposals, shower valves, hose bibbs. Repaired where that makes sense, replaced with quality that matches the rest of your home where it doesn't.
Whole-home repipes and water line replacement. Every house is different, so every one gets walked, measured and quoted in person.
Kitchen and bath remodel plumbing, from rough-in to the last fixture. We work to your schedule and your contractor's.
Leaks, running toilets, bad pressure, the noise you can't place. Emergency calls included — if water is going where it shouldn't, call us.
New construction — by choice. We could do it. We'd simply rather keep the crew on service, repair and remodel work, where sixty-plus years of experience actually shows up in the result.
Water heaters
A water heater is the one appliance that can ruin a floor, a ceiling and a weekend all at once. So we stock two brands and no others: A.O. Smith for tanks, Rinnai for tankless — both built in American plants.
Why we hold this line
Replacements start at $2,350 installed. You'll have the exact number in writing before we order anything.
Signs yours is on the way out:
A.O. Smith · the dependable default
Lowest cost back to a hot shower, without dropping to a throwaway unit to get there.
Rinnai · endless hot water
Higher upfront, longer life — and nobody in the house ever gets the last shower.
Pay the way that suits you
Afterpay splits a larger job — a heater replacement or a repipe — into instalments, approved on your phone before we begin.
Established
1957
Charleston, South Carolina
Our story
Picks Plumbing started right here in the Charleston area in 1957, and it has been a family business every day since. Today it's run by the second generation — the son of the man whose name went on the first truck.
We're locally owned, not a corporate franchise buying up local names and running them from a call center three states away. When you call, you get the family. And we're the ones who have to stand behind the work — in the same town, to the same neighbors, next year and the year after that.
Not corporate, not a franchise. Charleston-based since day one.
Passed down, not sold off. The standard came with it.
We'll tell you when a repair beats a replacement, even when it costs us.
How it works
No phone tree, no callback queue. We'll tell you honestly whether it can wait until morning — even when that answer costs us the emergency call.
We put eyes on the actual problem rather than pricing it blind over the phone. A guess helps nobody.
The number comes in writing, with the alternatives if there are any. Nothing starts until you say go, and the quality parts stay in the quote.
Tested before we pack up, workspace cleaned, and the labor warrantied for two full years.
Reviews
I had my water heater replaced same day, when everywhere else told me 2–3 days!
Losing hot water was no fun for our summer vacation, but these guys took care of us fast! I'm so grateful they saved me! I know who to call in the future.
Service area
We keep the radius tight on purpose — it's the only way to be the local plumber rather than the one driving in from an hour out. Not sure whether you're in it? Call and ask.
Check your addressQuestions
No. Estimates are free with no obligation, including the bigger ones we come out and quote in person. A service call — where you want us to diagnose and fix on the spot — starts at $135, and you'll know that before we pick up a tool.
Water heater replacement from $2,350 installed. Drain cleaning from $225. Water heater repair, fixture work and general service calls all start at $135. Repipes and remodels are quoted free, in person, because no two houses are the same.
A.O. Smith tanks and Rinnai tankless — both built in American plants, and both a step up from what's stacked at the big boxes in tank weight, lining and parts availability. We don't offer a cheaper import option, because we wouldn't put one in our own house.
All three. We're fully licensed and insured — ask for the certificate any time. Every job carries a two-year labor warranty as standard, not as an upgrade sold at the door: if our workmanship fails inside two years, we come back and put it right at no charge. Parts and units keep their own manufacturer warranty on top.
Yes. Burst pipes, no water, an active leak, a failed water heater — call us and we'll get to you. Say it's an emergency when you ring and we'll move on it.
We don't — by choice, not for lack of ability. We'd rather keep the crew on service, repair and remodel work, where our experience genuinely changes the result. Remodel plumbing on an existing home is very much our work.
Cash, check, card through Square, Zelle, Venmo and Afterpay. Afterpay splits a larger job into instalments and is approved on your phone in a few minutes before we start.
Since 1957, right here in the Charleston area, family owned the whole way and now run by the second generation. Locally owned — not a franchise, and not a corporate chain trading under a local-sounding name.
Free estimate
Fastest way to get help is a phone call — you'll get a person, not a menu. If you'd rather type it out, send this and we'll come back to you.
Call us (843) 860-0176