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Hire a Local Camas Plumber

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 USMost plumbing companies in the Portland-Vancouver metro treat frozen pipes as an occasional fluke. In Camas, they are a seasonal certainty. The Columbia River Gorge channels arctic air from Eastern Oregon and Washington directly through the city, driving wind chill temperatures far below what communities just ten miles west experience. When those easterly winds sustain 30-40 mph for days at a time, every pipe run in an unheated crawl space, attached garage, or exterior wall becomes a candidate for freezing. We have responded to more burst-pipe emergencies in Camas during Gorge wind events than in any other city in our service area.
The fix is straightforward but requires a plumber who understands Camas conditions specifically. Self-regulating heat tape on exposed crawl space runs, closed-cell foam insulation on all accessible pipe, and frost-proof hose bibs replacing the standard models that builders install are the foundation of reliable freeze protection here. For homes on Prune Hill and in the Captain William Clark Estates area south of SR-14, where wind exposure is most severe, we also install wireless temperature monitors in crawl spaces that send an alert to your phone when conditions approach the danger zone. A hundred dollars in prevention saves thousands in water damage cleanup.
Schedule freeze prevention service
The residential blocks surrounding NE 4th Avenue and the old paper mill contain some of the most charming homes in Clark County. Many were built in the early 1900s when the Crown Zellerbach mill was drawing workers and families to the area, and the plumbing inside these homes reflects that era. Galvanized steel supply lines were the standard, and they were built to last decades. The problem is that decades have turned into a century. After that long, galvanized pipe does not just corrode on the outside—it builds up layer after layer of iron oxide and mineral scale on the interior walls, steadily narrowing the pipe diameter until water pressure drops to a fraction of what the home needs.
Homeowners in downtown Camas often tell us they have gotten used to weak showers and slow-filling toilets, assuming that is just how old homes work. It is not. A full-house repipe from galvanized to PEX restores water pressure to modern levels, eliminates the rust particles that discolor tap water, and removes a major source of potential water damage. We complete most Camas repiping projects in a single day for homes under 2,000 square feet. The PEX lines run through existing pipe chases and crawl space routes, so wall damage is minimal and the home’s historic character stays intact.
Learn about repiping services
Prune Hill, Green Mountain, and the elevated neighborhoods east of Lacamas Lake were developed during the housing boom of the early-to-mid 2000s. Builders working these steep lots had to install sewer laterals with multiple bends, grade transitions, and longer-than-typical runs to connect homes to the city main. At the time, the PVC pipe and fittings met code. But twenty years of soil creep, root growth from Douglas fir and big-leaf maple, and seasonal ground saturation have taken their toll. Joints that were tight during installation have shifted, creating offsets where debris catches and roots find entry points.
A sewer camera inspection is the only way to know what is happening inside a hillside lateral without digging up the yard. Our technicians feed a high-definition camera through the line and walk you through the footage in real time, pointing out root intrusion, offset joints, bellied sections where water pools, and any cracking. For Camas hillside homes, we recommend this inspection every two to three years as a baseline, and annually if previous inspections have shown early signs of root activity. Catching a root-filled joint at the camera stage costs a fraction of what it costs to excavate and replace a collapsed lateral after sewage is backing up into your lowest-floor drains.
Book a sewer camera inspection
Camas draws its municipal water from a combination of wells and the Lacamas Lake watershed, and the mineral content is high enough to cause real problems inside water heaters. Calcium and magnesium dissolved in the water settle to the bottom of the tank every time the burner or element cycles on, forming a layer of sediment that thickens each year. That sediment acts as an insulating blanket between the heat source and the water, forcing the unit to work harder, run longer, and consume more energy to deliver the same hot water output. In Green Mountain and North Shore homes, where builder-grade water heaters are standard, we regularly see tanks fail at the five-to-seven-year mark specifically because sediment accumulation was never addressed.
An annual water heater flush removes this sediment before it can cause damage. The process takes about 30 minutes, and we combine it with an anode rod inspection to check the sacrificial rod that protects the tank lining from corrosion. If the anode rod is depleted, replacing it for under a hundred dollars can add three to five years to the water heater’s useful life. For Camas homeowners considering a new installation, we often recommend tankless units that heat water on demand and are far less susceptible to sediment problems—a smart long-term investment given the local water chemistry.
Schedule water heater service
Between 1978 and 1995, builders across the Pacific Northwest installed polybutylene supply pipe in thousands of homes. Camas was no exception. The North Shore and Fallen Leaf Lake neighborhoods, along with portions of the Lacamas Shores area, contain homes from this era that may still have polybutylene running behind walls and under floors. The pipe is gray, flexible, and connects with copper or plastic crimp rings. It was marketed as the pipe of the future, but it turned out to be a slow-motion disaster. Chlorine and other oxidizers in municipal water cause micro-fractures in polybutylene that grow invisibly over years and then rupture without warning, flooding rooms and saturating crawl spaces.
The challenge with polybutylene is that it shows no external symptoms before failure. Water pressure stays normal, there are no visible leaks, and the pipe looks fine from the outside. Then one morning you wake up to a flooded kitchen or a saturated crawl space that has been leaking for weeks behind finished walls. We offer free polybutylene identification inspections for Camas homeowners who suspect their home may be at risk. If we confirm poly-B, we provide a detailed repiping quote to replace the entire supply system with PEX. Most Camas homes can be fully repiped in a single day, and the peace of mind alone is worth the investment.
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No hidden fees, no overtime charges. You get a clear, written price before any work begins. Same rate day or night.
Dual-state licensing (WA #SARKIPI946MF, OR #170052) means we serve the entire Portland-Vancouver metro.
We answer the phone day and night. A licensed plumber is dispatched immediately — at your door within 60-90 minutes.
Every repair backed by our workmanship guarantee. Background-checked, drug-tested plumbers who treat your home with care.
Services in Portland
503-925-3504
Camas receives its water from the city’s municipal system, which draws from wells and the Lacamas Lake watershed. The water hardness is moderate compared to well water systems, but it’s hard enough to cause mineral buildup in water heaters and leave deposits on fixtures over time. If you’re noticing white scale on your showerheads or your water heater is making popping noises, a water softener or descaling system is worth considering. We can test your water hardness and recommend the right solution for your home.
Homes built during Camas’s 2000-2010 growth wave are now at the age where builder-grade components start failing. Your top priorities should be: (1) a sewer camera inspection to check your lateral for root intrusion or settling, especially if you’re on a hillside lot, (2) flushing your water heater annually since original units are nearing end of life, and (3) checking under sinks for any signs of corroded supply line connectors, which were sometimes installed with brass fittings that degrade over time.
Because we maintain crews specifically assigned to the East Clark County corridor, we can typically reach Camas addresses within 45-60 minutes during business hours and within 60-90 minutes after hours. Our dispatch is 24/7, and we never charge extra diagnostic fees for emergency calls. If you have an active water leak or sewage backup, call us immediately at 360-369-3586 and we’ll prioritize your call.
Absolutely. Camas sits right at the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge, and when cold east winds blow through in winter, exposed pipes in crawl spaces, garages, and exterior walls can freeze much faster than in more sheltered parts of Clark County. We recommend heat tape on vulnerable pipe runs, insulation on all crawl space plumbing, and keeping cabinet doors open under sinks on exterior walls during Gorge wind events. We offer winterization inspections every fall to identify and protect at-risk pipes before the cold hits.
Yes. We service commercial properties throughout downtown Camas, including restaurants along NE 4th Avenue, retail spaces, and office buildings. Commercial plumbing requires different expertise—grease trap maintenance, backflow testing, high-capacity water heaters—and our commercial division handles all of it. We can also set up preventive maintenance contracts to keep your business running without unexpected plumbing interruptions.
Licensed in Washington (#SARKIPI946MF). Same rate day or night. Call now or book online.