A subdivision's water heaters were installed within months of each other, same brand, same water, same attic heat. When two houses on your street replace tanks in a season, your street's cluster has started - your tank is not special, it is just later in the same queue.
This is genuinely useful information: a neighbor's tank failure is a free inspection report on your timeline. Ask them who did the work and whether the permit and pan were handled; good installers earn streets the same way bad tanks fail them.
Builders' original tanks are also often minimally sized for the house. The replacement conversation is the moment to fix sizing - a household that added teenagers and a soaking tub to a 40-gallon plan has been rationing hot water without knowing why.
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