Why we added plumbing, water, excavation, and remodeling to an HVAC company
My dad did HVAC only. I wanted my own business unit to be proud of, and a deep freeze in 2023 showed me a hole we had to fill.
I added plumbing, then water treatment, excavation, and remodeling, for a few reasons. I wanted to build my own business unit I could be proud of, the way I was proud of my dad for starting the company, and plumbing helps balance out a seasonal HVAC business. As I worked with more subcontractors, I realized I wanted to bring that work in-house so we could deliver the same high standard in every service line.
The winter of 2023 deep freeze pushed it over the edge. Customers whose mechanical problems we fixed still could not get their drywall repaired six to nine months later, so we built a team to do it for them.
Why expand past the HVAC your dad started?
There were a lot of things that drove this. The first one is honest and personal. I wanted to feel like I had my own business unit, something I started that I could be proud of. I was extremely proud of my dad for starting his own company, and I wanted to be able to be proud of myself the same way. That is a big part of why I added the plumbing trade to the company.
The more I grew in the industry, the more I understood that plumbing also helps balance out a seasonal HVAC business. Heating and cooling has its big swings with the weather. Plumbing smooths that out. So it was both a personal goal and a smart business move at the same time.
How did water treatment, excavation, and remodeling get added?
As we started adding excavation, water treatment, and remodeling, a lot of that came from passion. These were things I was already doing in other businesses outside of the heating, cooling, and plumbing company. But the more subcontractors I worked with, the more I realized I wanted to bring things in-house. I wanted to be able to deliver the same high standard in every business line, not just the ones we started with as a family. When you sub work out, you are putting your name on someone else’s standard, and I was not comfortable with that.
The hole I kept seeing
There was a recurring problem. We did plumbing work, but when it came to something like changing out a bathtub, it always seemed to be something we could not really offer at the standard we held everything else to. That never sat well with me. Same thing on stack repairs. We would open up a wall, fix the plumbing, and then have a hard time referring anyone good to close it back up. Reputable repair drywall contractors are genuinely hard to find, because that piecemeal work is an art, and the people who are good at it already have all the clients they want.
What did the winter of 2023 change?
This is the moment it all came together. In the winter of 2023 we had an Arctic blast combined with low gas pressure across the city. It was brutal. We fixed people’s mechanical issues, and then we kept noticing something over the next six, nine, even twelve months. Their homes still were not put back together. When we asked why, the answer was the same over and over: they could not find contractors to come do the drywall repairs.
That bothered me. These were good customers who valued good service, and they were stuck. So I said, hey, these are good paying customers who value good work, they cannot find anybody, why do not we build a team that can do it for them? And that is exactly what we started doing, bringing the same quality of work to every business line we offer.
What does this mean for a Pittsburgh homeowner?
It means you have one company that can take a project from start to finish at the same standard. If we run a new line into a finished space, we can close the drywall back up and make it right. If you have water damage, we can cut it out, fix it, and get you running. The point was never to become a designer remodeling outfit. The point was to fill a real hole, both in our business and in what our customers could actually get done.
If you want to see where that growth landed, here is our story, and you can explore our bathroom remodeling and water treatment work.
The quick version
- I added plumbing partly to build my own business unit I could be proud of, the way my dad built the company.
- Plumbing also helps balance out a seasonal HVAC business.
- Excavation, water treatment, and remodeling started as passions, then came in-house so the standard stayed ours.
- The winter 2023 deep freeze left customers unable to find drywall repair for six to nine months.
- We built a team to fill that hole, bringing the same quality to every service line.
I wanted my own business unit I could be proud of, the same way I was proud of my dad for starting this company. That is honestly where it started.
Then the winter of 2023 hit, and months later our customers still could not get their drywall repaired. These are good people who value good work. So we built a team to do it for them, at the same standard we hold everywhere else.
David WahlCEO & Master Plumber, Wahl Family
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Call 1-855-GET-WAHLFrequently asked questions
Why did Wahl expand beyond HVAC into plumbing and remodeling?
A few reasons. I wanted to build my own business unit I could be proud of, plumbing helps balance out a seasonal HVAC business, and I wanted to bring work in-house instead of subbing it out so the standard stayed ours. The winter 2023 deep freeze, when customers could not find anyone to repair their drywall, pushed remodeling over the edge.
What happened during the winter of 2023?
Pittsburgh got an Arctic blast combined with low natural gas pressure across the city. We fixed customers’ mechanical problems, but six to nine months later many of their homes still were not put back together because they could not find contractors to do the drywall repairs. That gap is what convinced us to build our own team for it.
Is Wahl a full design-and-build remodeling company?
Not exactly. We are a one-stop shop for projects that make sense for a mechanical company, like closing up drywall after we run a line, fixing water damage, and handling bathroom remodels start to finish. If someone wants a fully custom designer experience, a dedicated design firm may fit better, but for practical, high-quality work we can take it from demolition to finish.
Why bring work in-house instead of using subcontractors?
Because when you sub work out, you are putting your name on someone else’s standard. The more subcontractors I worked with, the more I wanted to control the quality myself so we could deliver the same high standard across every service line, not just the ones we started with as a family.
Does adding plumbing really help an HVAC business?
Yes. Heating and cooling demand swings hard with the seasons, while plumbing work is steadier year-round. Adding plumbing helps balance out the seasonal nature of an HVAC business, which was one of the reasons I added the trade in the first place.
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, since 1980. HVAC, plumbing, water treatment, sewer, and bathroom remodeling, all under one roof, all done the Wahl way.