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customer reviews
Cornelius’s Best Local Plumber
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“On time, fixed the issue, and great customer service.”
Michael Peterson“Great knowledgeable people. Did a great job and explained what was happening as they proceeded.”
Jeff Oram“Prompt response by a friendly, knowledgeable plumber”
Gene Beireis“Alex was very professional and knowledgeable.”
Michael Tolnai -
“Mick and Chris did an amazing job and were friendly and professional!!! We hope to see them again. Will recommend them.”
Carlyn Glaser“Bradley and Leesom were great, very professional, very explanatory, answered my questions and did an awesome job. Thank you”
Debra Bryant“Dean came out, knew his stuff, explaned all and was just the best. First time using this company but would definitely call again.”
chucknonverbal“Great and fast service for this repeat customer. Thanks again!”
Mariah Patterson -
“Quick and polite. Double checked their work Thank you”
Margaret nunnelley“Sarkinen Plumbing sent Roberto Cervantes, a terrific guy to help you save money installing a heat pump, my step in saving our planet. He did everything carefully and explained all details and is willing to take calls for further questions. Judy Ringenson”
Judy Ringenson“Great service, very professional and knowledgeable. Trusting. I’m so thankful I found this company!”
Brenda McKellar“Alex came out with a trainee. Quoted me a price. The price I was quoted was until problem pipe was cleared. No time limit. Professionalism was upmost. Making sure I understood what was being done. Cleaned up. The following day a service technician came out with a camera and showed us the interior of cleaned pipe. Looked like a brand new pipe…”
Douglas Winslow
Professional Plumbing Services
Residential & Commercial Plumbing Contractor
Hire a Local Cornelius Plumber
5-Star Plumbing Service Guarantee
We Deliver Same-Day Service When You Need Help Now
Tony Sarkinen started as an apprentice plumber and journeyman in 1991 and got his experience with several companies throughout Clark County. In 2003, Tony opened his own business which was built on hard work and exceptional customer service. He wanted a business where all his employees treat their customers the way he wanted to be treated. Tony Sarkinen has achieved those goals. Today, the Sarkinen Plumbing team continues to grow and serve the Portland, Oregon, and SW Washington communities in the same manner as when Tony began the company all those years ago. To ensure all work is up to industry standards, our technicians provide our signature 5-star plumbing service and follow our exceptional code of ethics.
Simply put, we are here to provide you and your family with incredible customer service. Sarkinen Plumbing provides quality service to our customers with name-brand reliable products. Our technicians have everything they need to conduct a fast, efficient, and clean work area no matter where the job. We guarantee our work from start to finish and follow up to assure everything is to your satisfaction.
READ MORE ABOUT USCornelius Plumbing Experts
Galvanized Pipe in Downtown Cornelius Is Long Overdue for Replacement
The homes clustered along Baseline Street and the residential blocks surrounding the downtown commercial district represent Cornelius’s oldest housing stock—properties built during the 1940s and 1950s when the community was a small agricultural town in the heart of the Tualatin Valley. Galvanized steel was the standard supply pipe material, and these homes have been running water through those same pipes for 70 to 80 years. The corrosion that has been building inside these pipes year after year has narrowed the effective diameter to a fraction of its original size, and the symptoms are unmistakable: weak showers that never seem to have enough pressure, toilets that take several minutes to refill after flushing, and water that runs rust-colored for the first few seconds every time a faucet is turned on.
Many downtown Cornelius homeowners have lived with these conditions for so long that they assume the city water pressure is simply low in this area. It is not—the municipal system delivers adequate pressure to the meter. The restriction is inside the home, in the corroded galvanized pipes that are choking the supply to every fixture. A whole-house repipe to PEX eliminates the bottleneck entirely, delivering the full municipal water pressure to every faucet, shower, and appliance in the home. The transformation is dramatic and immediate. We complete most downtown Cornelius repiping projects in a single day, routing new PEX through existing pipe chases and crawl space paths to minimize wall disruption. For homes where the galvanized lines have already started leaking, the urgency is even greater—every pinhole is a warning that the entire system is in the same condition.
Get a free repiping estimate
Sewer Lateral Root Intrusion Under Cornelius’s Tree-Lined Streets
The established neighborhoods in Cornelius are shaded by mature trees—Douglas fir, big-leaf maple, and a variety of ornamental species planted when these neighborhoods were developed decades ago. Those trees are now large enough to send root systems well beyond their canopy drip line, and the path of least resistance for a root seeking moisture and nutrients is into a sewer lateral through a compromised joint or crack. The sewer laterals in Cornelius’s older neighborhoods were installed with the housing—40 to 80 years ago—using clay pipe, early PVC, or ABS, connected with mechanical joints that were never designed to resist root penetration over the long term. Decades of soil settling, freeze-thaw cycles, and the persistent pressure of root growth have opened pathways that roots exploit aggressively.
The cycle is familiar to many Cornelius homeowners: drains start running slowly, a plumber snakes the line and restores flow, but within six months to a year the slowdown returns because the roots regrow through the same entry points. Breaking this cycle requires identifying and sealing the entry points permanently. Our approach starts with a camera inspection that maps every root intrusion location and assesses the overall structural condition of the lateral. For pipes with isolated root entry at one or two joints, hydrojetting clears the roots and a trenchless spot liner seals the openings against regrowth. For laterals with widespread joint deterioration, full replacement with solid-wall PVC eliminates root pathways entirely and provides decades of maintenance-free drainage.
Schedule a sewer camera inspection
Copper Pinhole Leaks in Cornelius’s Mid-Century Homes
The neighborhoods surrounding Forest Hills Golf Course and extending into South Cornelius were developed primarily during the 1960s and 1970s, when copper was the premium supply pipe material of choice. Copper served these homes well for decades, but after 50 to 60 years of continuous service, the pipe is reaching the end of its natural lifespan. Pinhole leaks develop when localized corrosion eats through the pipe wall from the inside, typically at elbows and tee fittings where turbulent water flow concentrates the corrosive effect. A single pinhole may seem minor—a fine spray barely visible in a dark crawl space—but the cumulative water damage from even a small leak running undetected for weeks can saturate insulation, rot framing, and create mold conditions behind walls.
When a Cornelius homeowner calls about a second or third pinhole leak in their copper supply lines, we have an honest conversation about the system as a whole. Each patched pinhole is a temporary measure when the corrosion is systemic—the rest of the pipe is in the same condition as the section that failed, and more leaks are inevitable. A whole-house repipe to PEX replaces the entire supply system with material that will never corrode, provides consistent water pressure throughout the home, and eliminates the ongoing cycle of repair-wait-repair that many mid-century Cornelius homeowners have been living with. We complete most repiping projects in one to two days, and the investment typically costs less than two or three more years of chasing individual leaks and repairing the water damage they cause.
Request a repiping assessment
Water Heater Service for Every Generation of Cornelius Housing
Cornelius’s housing stock spans eight decades of construction, and the water heater challenges in each era reflect both the age of the equipment and the physical constraints of the installation. In downtown 1940s homes, water heaters were often placed in basement alcoves or utility closets barely large enough for the compact tanks of that era. Modern replacement units are larger, code requirements have added expansion tanks and seismic strapping, and the venting clearances specified by current standards may exceed what the original space provides. In 1970s homes near Forest Hills, the original water heater location is usually adequate but the gas line sizing and venting configuration may need updating. In Laurel Woods and other newer subdivisions, the physical installation is straightforward but the builder-grade unit installed during construction is reaching its predictable end of life.
We tailor our water heater service to the specific situation in each Cornelius home. For tight downtown installations, we evaluate whether a wall-mounted tankless unit can solve both the space problem and the hot water supply issue simultaneously. For mid-century homes, we assess gas line capacity, verify the B-vent is properly sized and routed for the new unit’s BTU rating, and install all code-required safety components. For newer homes, we replace the failed builder-grade tank with a quality unit featuring a powered anode rod, thicker tank walls, and a proper expansion tank. Every installation meets current code regardless of the home’s age, and every unit comes with our workmanship guarantee in addition to the manufacturer warranty.
Get a water heater quote
Drain Cleaning and Prevention in Cornelius Homes
Drain cleaning calls from Cornelius addresses follow seasonal and age-related patterns we have observed across thousands of service calls. During fall and early winter, the first heavy rains saturate the Tualatin Valley’s clay soils and raise groundwater levels, which can overwhelm older sewer laterals through infiltration at deteriorated joints. The increased volume in the municipal sewer system can also create backpressure that slows drainage from homes with already-compromised lateral connections. For homes with cast iron drain stacks—primarily in the downtown and Forest Hills areas—the internal corrosion that narrows these pipes means that even a modest increase in system load pushes drains over the edge from slow to stopped.
Our drain cleaning service in Cornelius starts with diagnosis. A camera inspection through the main drain line reveals whether the problem is inside the house—a corroded cast iron section, a grease buildup, a foreign object—or in the lateral between the home and the municipal main—root intrusion, a bellied section, an offset joint. Treating the right cause is essential because the correct repair for a cast iron restriction is fundamentally different from the correct repair for a root-filled lateral joint. For recurring drain problems, we develop a maintenance plan tailored to the home’s specific conditions: annual hydrojetting for root-prone laterals, periodic descaling for corroded cast iron, or targeted replacement of the most deteriorated sections. The goal is always to break the cycle of emergency calls and give the homeowner a drain system that performs reliably year-round.
Schedule drain service
Why Cornelius Homeowners Choose Sarkinen
Upfront, Fair Pricing
No hidden fees, no overtime charges. You get a clear, written price before any work begins. Same rate day or night.
Licensed in WA & OR
Dual-state licensing (WA #SARKIPI946MF, OR #170052) means we serve the entire Portland-Vancouver metro.
24/7 Emergency Service
We answer the phone day and night. A licensed plumber is dispatched immediately — at your door within 60-90 minutes.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Every repair backed by our workmanship guarantee. Background-checked, drug-tested plumbers who treat your home with care.
Serving Every Cornelius Neighborhood
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Meet Our Team of Professionals
Carlos
Plumbing Helper
Ciro
Plumbing Technician
Dylan
Plumbing Technician
Matthew F
Plumbing Technician
Mick C
Plumbing Technician
Mike
Plumbing Technician
Robert
Plumbing Technician
Sebastian
Plumbing Technician
Tim
Standard Shop Technician
Ricky
Camera Technician
Marco G
Camera Technician
Alex G
Drain Technician
Leighton
Drain Technician
Chris D
Drain Technician
Michael W
Drain Technician
Cornelius Plumbing Questions & Answers
We serve Cornelius directly and dispatch to Cornelius addresses with the same priority as Hillsboro, Beaverton, or any other city in our service area. You will not experience longer wait times or deprioritized scheduling because of your Cornelius address. Our typical emergency response time to Cornelius is 45 to 75 minutes, and we schedule routine service appointments throughout the week.
Almost certainly, yes. In a 1950s Cornelius home, low water pressure is typically caused by severely corroded galvanized steel supply lines that have narrowed internally from decades of mineral buildup. The municipal system delivers adequate pressure to your meter—the restriction is inside your home. A whole-house repipe to PEX restores full water pressure to every fixture. We complete most Cornelius repiping projects in a single day and the difference in pressure is immediate and dramatic.
If your home was built between 1978 and 1995, it may have polybutylene supply lines. Poly-B is a gray, flexible plastic pipe typically found at the water meter, under sinks, and in the crawl space. It’s marked with ‘PB2110’ along its length. We offer free identification inspections that check all accessible locations and provide a definitive answer within 30 minutes. If poly-B is confirmed, we provide a same-day repiping estimate.
Seasonal drain backups in Cornelius are typically caused by one of two things: root intrusion in the sewer lateral that worsens when rain saturates the soil and swells the roots, or groundwater infiltration into deteriorated lateral joints that overloads the pipe’s capacity. A camera inspection identifies the specific cause and lets us recommend the right fix—whether that is root removal and spot lining, section repair for infiltration-prone joints, or full lateral replacement.
Standard 50-gallon tank water heater replacement in a Cornelius home typically runs between $1,400 and $2,200, depending on fuel type, installation complexity, and whether code upgrades like expansion tanks or seismic strapping are needed. Tankless units range from $3,000 to $5,500 but provide unlimited hot water and a 15-20 year lifespan. We provide a written, firm quote before starting any work—the price we quote is the price you pay.
Schedule Your Cornelius Plumbing Service
Licensed in Oregon (#170052). Same rate day or night. Call now or book online.
- Vancouver 360-369-3586
- Portland 503-925-3504
Vancouver Location
Proudly Serving
Portland and Vancouver
from Wilsonville to Longview &
Hillsboro to Gresham
UBI # 602-521-027
OR Contractor Lic# 170052 (CCB)
WA Contractor Lic# SARKIPI946MF
OR Plumber Lic# PB115
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4.6 stars - Based on 227 Reviews
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Contact Information
Sarkinen PlumbingVancouver
9502 NE 72nd Ave
Vancouver, WA 98665
Phone: 360-369-3586
Portland
Phone: 503-925-3504
Hours of Operation
Monday - Sunday 24-hours