History

The entrepreneurial spirit of the SageWater founders has inspired our people over the years.

It’s how we’ve evolved from an insurance restoration company in the D.C., Maryland, and Virgina region to the national leader in revitalizing critical plumbing and mechanical infrastructure in multifamily properties. Read more here about our history.

1988 – Founding

Phoenix Renovation founded in Virginia by Peter Page and John Ellis to perform insurance restoration.

1995 – Polybutylene Settlement Projects

Selected as one of the first six contractors nationwide for a major class action settlement to repipe single family homes and multifamily properties that were built with pipes made of polybutylene.

Phoenix Renovation begins doing business as Plumbing Express as it pivots to focus on the polybutylene pipe replacement work.

Innovation: pioneered processes to rapidly replace plumbing infrastructure while residents remain in place.

2000 – SageWater Brand is Born

Spurred by a class action settlement, expanded to operate nationally as we supported multifamily apartment owners in replacing faulty water-heater dip tubes in 100,000 units.

Phoenix Renovation begins doing business as SageWater to focus exclusively on delivering turnkey pipe replacement solutions nationwide for multifamily apartment and condominium building owners and operators. Expanded repipe services to address all aged and defective piping (not just polybutylene).

Kept Plumbing Express for serving single family homes with plumbing and repiping services.

2009 – Hawaii Market Entry

Established Hawaii headquarters in Honolulu.

Early projects remedied plumbing construction defects in high-rise condominiums while residents remained in place.

2009 – Yellow Brass Fittings Settlement Project

At a peak clip of 65 single family homes per week, and as part of a class action lawsuit in Clark County, NV, replaced domestic water piping systems that failed due to incompatibility with yellow brass fittings used during installation.

2010s – Multifamily Specialization

Retired the Plumbing Express business and consolidated resources under the SageWater brand to focus exclusively on multifamily and condo markets.

Expanded repiping services to cover more water-based plumbing and mechanical infrastructures—i.e., added Drain, Waste & Vent (DWV), and hydronic heating and cooling to domestic water systems solutions.

Major growth in Hawaii, where we rapidly expanded across Oahu to replace DWV infrastructure failures in occupied AOAO/condominium communities.

2015 –Foundation Hold Down Settlement Projects

Selected for the first among multiple class action settlements in Hawaii to repair foundation hold down systems—i.e., infrastructure designed to protect single family homes from hurricane damage in coastal regions. Projects from these settlements are continuing.

2020 – Recapitalization and Expansion

Transitioned to private equity investment funded growth, enabling accelerated innovation in service delivery models and expanded capabilities to better meet market needs.

2022 – Added Forensics, Engineering, and Preconstruction Capabilities

Completed first Pipe TEST (Technical Evaluation of System Threats) forensic analysis, introduced to help clients make data-driven decisions about aged and defective plumbing and mechanical infrastructures (July 2022).

Added engineering design and fire sprinkler system solutions.

Formalized company Vision, Purpose, and MERIT Values.

2024 – Southwest Expansion

Acquired AMA Repiping, based in Phoenix, AZ, to strengthen the region’s access to SageWater solutions (February 2024). Absorbed the multifamily business into SageWater and focused AMA Repiping brand on single family homes in Atlanta, GA.

2025 to Current Day – Accelerated Growth

David Schanuel elevated to Chief Executive Officer, providing strategic direction and leadership to accelerate the company’s growth.

Expanded mechanical capabilities.

Refreshed SageWater branding to better reflect our current business, enabling multifamily owners and operators to protect their investments and improve the quality of their residents’ lives by delivering plumbing and mechanical infrastructure solutions.

Learn More About Us

Our Culture

People call our client properties their home. That’s why, from the very beginning, we’ve believed that ensuring customer satisfaction is critical. It’s how we’ve fostered a culture grounded in MERIT.

Culture

Corporate Responsibility

We support all our stakeholders, from employees and clients to the communities and planet we call home. Learn about our commitment to ethical business practices, sustainable solutions, and making a meaningful impact where we live and work.

Corporate Responsibility