FAQs for Plumbing Services in Northern Utah

A 100% satisfaction guarantee. If the work is not right, we make it right. We explain what we are doing before we start and get your agreement, so there are no surprises on the invoice.

Call (385) 449-0144 or book online.

Yes. Rare Breed is fully licensed for plumbing and HVAC in Utah, license #11166591-5501, and insured. Owner Court Lundberg is a Master Plumber and sits on the board of the Utah Plumbing and Heating Contractors Association. Every technician is trained and background checked. You can look up any individual plumber on Utah DOPL before you let them in the door, and we would rather you did.

Call (385) 449-0144 or book online.

We run a 2-hour arrival window rather than an all day window, and we are available 24/7 for true emergencies out of our Sandy, Bountiful, and Orem shops. Call (385) 449-0144 and we will give you the honest ETA, not a number designed to get you off the phone. If the job ahead of yours runs long, the office calls you before your window closes.

Seven counties: Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber, Summit, Tooele, and Wasatch. We run out of three staffed shops, Sandy at 8763 Sandy Pkwy, Bountiful at 270 S Main St. Suite #113, and Orem at 1197 S 1480 W. Not sure whether you are in range? Call (385) 449-0144 and we will tell you straight instead of booking a visit we cannot make.

We diagnose the real problem, show you what we found, and give you a clear quote before any work starts. If a repair is all you need, that is what we recommend. When we put a camera down your sewer and it is fine, we tell you it is fine. We would rather earn the next ten years of your business than oversell one visit.

Estimates for a replacement or a new installation are free. Repair work is different: diagnosing a repair takes a licensed technician, time, and tools, so a repair diagnostic carries a fee. We tell you that fee when you book, not after we arrive, and after hours calls are priced differently from daytime calls. Once the technician has diagnosed the problem you get a price for the repair before any work starts, and you decide.

Yes. For larger jobs like water heaters, HVAC systems, and repipes, we offer financing through Synchrony Bank so a big job does not have to wait. The application happens on Synchrony’s own site under their terms and approval process. Ask us when you book.

Yes. Book online any hour, and our office confirms the appointment with you. If it is an emergency, call (385) 449-0144 instead so a person hears about it now.

We diagnose before we quote. A gauge goes on the water before anyone says repipe, and a camera goes down the line before anyone sells a liner. Our technicians explain the work before they start it, and they tell you when you do not need something. That is the whole pitch.

Yes, especially on a home built 50 or more years ago. A camera inspection runs a few hundred dollars and can flag a repair that costs tens of thousands. People usually only look when they are buying or selling, which is exactly when these problems surface. It is cheap insurance. Watch for Orangeburg, the tar paper pipe used during the WWII metal shortage. If somebody snakes it, it comes apart.

Not from low pressure alone. First we ask whether it is one fixture or the whole house, and whether it is hot only or hot and cold. Then we put a gauge on it: static pressure should sit between 50 and 80 psi, and it should not drop more than about 10 psi with one bathroom faucet running. We check the pressure reducing valve and the angle stops before anybody says repipe. Frequent leaks and discolored water in old galvanized pipe are the real signals.

A recurring clog is usually a pipe problem, not a clog problem: improper slope, buildup in the deeper lines, or tree roots. We put a camera down to find the real cause. One thing we will always tell you: stop pouring chemical drain cleaner down it. It is an acid or a base, it sits on the pipe, heats it up, and eats the pipe away. We have been in plenty of houses where the copper or cast iron was completely eaten out.

For many homes, yes. You get unlimited hot water and no shower order, and modern units have fixed the old cold water sandwich complaints. The upfront cost is higher because the flue and gas usually have to be redone, but the warranty runs about 15 years against roughly 6 on a tank. A tank still has one advantage worth naming: about 50 gallons in reserve if the city cuts water off, and it does not need power to heat.

Undetected slow leaks and pressure problems caused by hard water scale. Utah has the hardest water in the country, and it collects in the water heater and the fixtures until something fails. A softener and a yearly look at the system prevents most of it.

A licensed, full scope plumber. Our plumbers do far more than fix faucets: sump pumps, pressure regulators, main shutoff valves, gas lines, meter upgrades, and water service replacements.

They help, and they reduce insurance risk. A smart shutoff valve, upgraded fixtures, and a clean install all signal that the house was cared for. Court runs a smart shutoff at his own house, and it has caught two floods.

Furnaces heat air. Boilers heat water, which is then circulated through radiators, baseboards, or radiant flooring. Boiler systems give quieter, more even heat with less airborne dust.

They can be, especially in a well insulated home. Radiant heat transfers warmth directly into rooms and surfaces, which reduces heat loss and cold spots. We size each system to the home rather than to a rule of thumb.

Yes. We install smart thermostats and zoning that give you control over each space, even with radiant or baseboard heat.

Unusual noises, cold zones, or a jump in the energy bill all point at a boiler losing performance. We run diagnostics on both the mechanical health and the efficiency before recommending either one.

Yes. A yearly tune-up checks pressure, bleeds air, tests the safety controls, and cleans the burners. On a boiler the safety controls are the part you really do not want to skip.

Often yes, especially during a remodel or an addition. We retrofit into existing systems where the layout allows it, and we will tell you when it does not.

It is easier on it. Hydronic systems do not blow dust or allergens around the way forced air does, because nothing is being pushed through ducts.

At least once a year, before the season it has to work in. Regular maintenance extends the lifespan, keeps efficiency up, and on a furnace it is a combustion safety check as much as a performance check.

That is usually airflow or zoning, not the thermostat. Duct runs that are too long, too small, or leaking will starve a room no matter what the thermostat says. We measure before we recommend anything.

Repairs fix a failure. Upgrades change how the system runs day to day: airflow, energy use, noise. Both are worth doing at the right time, and we will tell you which one you are actually looking at.

It can be, when it is the right system for the home. In much of Utah a high efficiency dual fuel setup performs very well. We look at elevation, insulation, and climate zone before deciding whether a heat pump or a traditional furnace is the better long term choice.

Yes. Dirty coils, loaded filters, and leaking ductwork all move dust and allergens around the house. The duct and the filtration are where we work.

It depends on layout, insulation, and sun exposure, not just square footage. We run a load calculation. An oversized system short cycles, never dehumidifies properly, and wears out early.

Utah has the hardest water in the country, and that scale is what cakes the bottom of your water heater and kills faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines early. A real, salt based softener protects all of it. One honest warning: a saltless softener does not soften water. No salt, no soft water. We will size the right system for your home and we will not upsell you.

Yes, and it varies by city and by season. Herriman runs around 40 grains in summer off the wells and closer to 20 in winter. Draper is roughly a third of Herriman’s summer number. Bountiful water is acidic, Ogden is different from the rest of the state. You cannot go by what your neighbor across the valley has.

Visible scale, soap scum, dry skin, or cloudy dishes are the common signs. We test your water and size the system to what is actually in it instead of guessing.

Softeners remove hardness minerals, calcium and magnesium, through an ion exchange with salt. Filters remove sediment, chlorine, and contaminants. Plenty of Utah homes want both.

Not as softeners. A conditioner can keep some scale from sticking, but it leaves the calcium and magnesium in the water, so the water is still hard. No salt, no soft water. If somebody sells you a saltless softener, that is what you are buying.

Both do different jobs. A softener treats the whole house and protects the pipes, the water heater, and the appliances. Reverse osmosis is point of use, at the kitchen sink and run to the fridge, and it removes things like fluoride, arsenic, nitrates, and chlorine. A softener protects your home, an RO protects your family. RO is not a whole-home system, and anybody selling it as one is selling you the wrong thing.

Yes. Salt levels, filters, and valves should be checked yearly. It is one of the things built into the Herd Protection Plan.

Because it is trapped. Modern, tightly sealed homes hold on to dust, pet dander, and VOCs that an older leaky house would have shed on its own.

Measurement. We look at particles, humidity, and airflow before recommending anything, because the fix for a duct problem and the fix for a filtration problem are not the same.

No. Filters trap particles. Purifiers use UV-C or ionization to neutralize pathogens. Here is the honest part: we do not install air purification or air treatment equipment. If that is what you want, we will point you to somebody who does. We work on the duct, the airflow, and the filtration.

If you are replacing filters far more often than the label says, seeing visible dust settle right after cleaning, or noticing allergies indoors, the filtration or the duct is the place to look.

Often it is the highest return job in the house. Leaking or badly run duct wastes the capacity you already paid for, and no new furnace fixes it. We would rather fix the duct than sell you equipment to cover for it.

10% off every repair, a reduced service call fee, priority scheduling for routine, emergency, and after hours work, and the yearly maintenance built in: an annual water heater flush, a full plumbing system inspection, a secondary drain line and camera inspection, water quality testing, and a boiler tune-up when your home has one. Full detail is on the Join the Herd page.

It depends on the home and the systems covered. Call (385) 449-0144 and we will price it for your house rather than quoting you a number that does not fit it.

Plumbing, HVAC, water heaters, and water treatment. If you have more than one water heater, a tankless unit, or a boiler, those are added at a small yearly rate rather than being left out.

You get priority and a reduced dispatch fee, at night and on weekends.

The plan stays with the home, which is worth something when you sell. If you are staying inside our service area we will help move your benefits to the new address.

It is worth it if you would otherwise skip the maintenance, which is most people. Most of the expensive calls we run are things a yearly look would have caught. If you already flush your own water heater every year, you may not need us to.