Bloomfield Township, Essex County
Water heater installation in Bloomfield, NJ
Bloomfield's water is soft, its permit fee for a water heater is a flat line in the township's own ordinance, and plenty of its houses hold more than one household.
Bloomfield homeowners replacing a water heater can use Newark Water Heater to reach a local plumbing company and have a price in hand before the old tank is drained. Before asking, count the heaters in the basement: a Bloomfield two-family may have one for each floor.
Two households, two water heaters
Bloomfield is a town of mixed houses. By the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimate, 41 percent of its homes are single-family detached houses, 13 percent are in two-unit buildings and 15 percent in buildings of three or four units. That puts more than a quarter of the town in two- to four-family buildings.
A house like that may have a heater for each unit, side by side and sharing one chimney, as in the photograph above. If both went in together, they are the same age. Ask for a price on both, even if you only replace one now, so you know what the second swap will cost when it comes.
About 38 percent of Bloomfield's homes were built in 1939 or earlier, and another quarter between 1940 and 1959. Where a gas water heater in a house that age vents into a masonry chimney, there is one more piece of paperwork. When a gas unit is replaced, the state accepts a chimney verification, Form F-370, signed by the installing contractor instead of taking the vent apart for inspection, and it will not accept that verification from a homeowner (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.20(d)).
Bloomfield's permit and its $90 fee
In New Jersey a replacement water heater of like capacity is minor work (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17A(c)2). Minor work still needs a permit, but it may go ahead once the construction office has been told, before the permit itself is issued (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(b)2), with the application following within five business days.
Bloomfield runs its own construction office, the Construction Department inside Community Development, and the state's roster of municipal code officials lists it as the township's own agency. The township's page offers a construction permit application to download and directs you to the state's site for the standard forms. Inspections are booked by phone; online inspection requests are listed as coming soon.
The fee is set by Ordinance 25-12, adopted on 19 May 2025. For a water heater in a one- or two-family house it is $90 per unit, which is also the minimum fee for any one subcode. The township adds a plan review fee of 20 percent of the permit fee. For a larger building the water heater line is $100 per unit. Our New Jersey water heater permit guide sets out the state steps in order.
Soft water, courtesy of Newark
Bloomfield's own water quality report explains an arrangement most residents never see. The township buys water from the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission's Wanaque reservoirs but cannot physically draw it, so it trades that water with Newark. The result, in the report's words, is that all of Bloomfield's drinking water comes from Newark's Pequannock watershed.
That makes Bloomfield's water soft. The 2024 report gives hardness as 43.9 parts per million and says residents do not need treatment to prevent it. On Rinnai's hardness table for its tankless units, anything under 60 mg/L counts as soft and needs no treatment and no scale flushing. Water this soft is one less argument against a tankless water heater. A tank still collects sediment, though, and A. O. Smith's manual recommends draining and flushing a gas tank every six months whatever the water.
Selling a Bloomfield house with a new heater
The Bloomfield Fire Department's FAQ says anyone selling a home in the township needs a Continuing Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Department, and that this certificate also covers smoke and carbon monoxide detector compliance. The same FAQ notes that state law requires a carbon monoxide detector in every home, installed outside the sleeping area. A gas water heater is one of the appliances that detector is there for, so check it when the new heater goes in.
Choosing the heater and the price
PSE&G supplies gas and electricity in Bloomfield, which makes its post-purchase rebate on heat pump water heaters available here. For a straight swap, a New Jersey installer's December 2025 price page gives North Jersey, meaning Bergen, Essex and Union counties, $1,400 to $1,900 for a gas tank and $1,100 to $1,500 for an electric tank. Our page on water heater installation in Newark explains what sits inside those numbers.
If the heater is leaking now, turn to water heater repair first to shut it down safely, then decide between a part and a new tank.
Bloomfield at a glance
| What | Figure | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| Construction office | Construction Department, Community Development | Township of Bloomfield |
| Permit fee for a water heater in a one- or two-family house | $90 per unit | Ordinance 25-12, adopted 19 May 2025 |
| Minimum fee for any one subcode | $90 | Ordinance 25-12 |
| Water hardness (Newark's result, reported by Bloomfield) | 43.9 ppm | Bloomfield 2024 Consumer Confidence Report |
| Homes built in 1939 or earlier | 38% | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 |
| Homes in two- to four-unit buildings | 28% | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 |
Questions about water heaters in Bloomfield
How much is the Bloomfield permit fee for a water heater?
Ordinance 25-12, adopted on 19 May 2025, sets the plumbing fee for a water heater in a one- or two-family house (use groups R-3 and R-5) at $90 per unit, and the minimum fee for any one subcode at $90. Other buildings pay $100 per water heater. The same ordinance adds a plan review fee of 20 percent of the permit fee.
Can I request a Bloomfield inspection online?
Not yet. The township's Construction Permits page says to call to schedule an inspection and lists online inspection requests as coming soon. It points to an online portal for checking a permit that has already been filed, which needs registration.
Is Bloomfield water hard?
No. Bloomfield's 2024 water quality report says all of its water comes from Newark's Pequannock watershed system, reports hardness of 43.9 parts per million, and says residents do not need treatment to prevent hardness.
Is a two-family house in Bloomfield treated differently?
The fee is the same $90 per water heater for one- and two-family houses. What changes is who may do the work. The state's exception for doing your own plumbing covers a single-family homeowner on their own home (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.15(b)2i), so a two-family house needs a licensed installer.
What should a water heater replacement cost in Bloomfield?
Bloomfield sits in the North Jersey band on a New Jersey installer's December 2025 price page: $1,400 to $1,900 for a gas tank replacement and $1,100 to $1,500 for an electric one. The township's $90 permit line is a small part of that; venting and gas line work move it more.
Township and state sources for this page
- Township of Bloomfield, Construction Permits, read September 26, 2026
- Township of Bloomfield, Ordinance 25-12, construction fees (PDF), read September 26, 2026
- Township of Bloomfield, 2024 Consumer Confidence Report (PDF), read September 26, 2026
- NJ Department of Community Affairs, listing of municipal construction code officials (PDF), read September 26, 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year summary files, read September 26, 2026