Bay Area Plumbing & Heating

Sheila C.

Really disappointed. The new air condition and heating system hasn't cooled in the summer or heated in the winter for a complete season since it was installed in 2008. And I've been charged annual repairs of over 1,000 each year to repair it and it still doesn't work. No, I don't want a new $800 thermostat this year to make it work. I'll find another company to work with.

Tim N.

One month, $1000, and five meetings later, still a leaking ac unit. I had a leaking ac unit which did not cool the house during the summer. I was 99% sure I had a leak and it was confirmed in our first meeting. This company has extremely untrained representatives who are always unsure and unprepared of the problems. They were lacking equipment for most of the meetings and were unclear of the major problems. It was only until the last meeting that I finally knew a potential source of my problems.

The first meeting went relatively smooth with the company sending over a representative diagnosing the problem which was, obviously a leak. He pointed at the refrigerant pipe connected to my ac unit and explained that there should not be any air bubbles and that it was the result of a leak. He explained the multiple solutions I could do to find the leak and I went with the adding a dye to our unit to find the leak. Only problem was that he did not have any dye with him.

I let this slide because he seemed like a nice guy, the second meeting was when they came over to put the dye. I was expecting only one more meeting which should be when they fix the issue, but instead I have to put up with three more useless meetings which just cost me more money.

The third meeting involved a guy coming over to find the leak after adding the dye two weeks ago. Forty minutes later he says he could not find a leak, and concludes it is not the ac's fault for a weak cooling system in our house. This was extremely unbelievable. At this point I have already spent approximately $400 when adding the dye only to find out a leak could not be found. I decide to have another come check a week later which brings me to our fourth meeting.

The fourth meeting started out on a positive note. A new guy came over spotted two leaks which at first seemed to be the saving grace, only to find out he did not bring any tools and another meeting is needed for him to come fix the unit.

I immediately call the company and the next day the same guy shows up with his tools and began working on the ac unit. Three hours later I was notified that the two leaks found the day before was fixed, but there was a third leak which he just discovered. This third leak was a major leak that could only be fixed by replacing the part. He charged us $600 for fixing two leaks and now is asking for another $800 to replace the part.

To my dismay he said that replacing the part might not even fix the problem and recommended to replace the entire unit which would be about three grand. This infuriated me because I just threw out 600 bucks to fix two minor leaks only to have to replace the entire unit to fully resolve the problem. I decided to just give up on them and think of alternatives as I grew tired of their constant reschedules and delay to fix a problem. This company has no value for its customers and deserves the lowest rating possible.

Sf girl A.

If I could give a negative star, I would. We were referred to these folks by our tankless hot water manufacturer, Noritz. They came out, misdiagnosed the problem and gave us a $2,400 repair estimate. What did they do wrong? Everything. When I called Noritz because I doubted their diagnosis, Noritz agreed with me and mentioned it was strange that the repair person never called Noritz to troubleshoot the problem. Further, I got another estimate from my normal plumber for the same repair they recommended at 1/3 the cost (and trust me, he isn't cheap!). The kicker, we (the service repair person and I) fixed the hot water heater after I called Noritz again. The fix: a higher flow shower head for $25.

They are either lazy, incompetent or fraudulent. None of these are really traits I want in my plumber.

Rosemary P.

We have had Lance and his team at our school twice and are highly satisfied. He installed air conditioning in two of our buildings giving us the best pricing, showed up on time, completed excellent work in the time quoted. There were no unexpected additional charges, workers were respectful and thoroughly cleaned up after completing their work. I recommend this organization and only regret running out of buildings or we would call him back!!!! We learned of Lance through a referral and so glad to have had the chance to enjoy great workmanship and professionalism. Way to go Bay Area Plumbing and Heating!

Daniel F.

6 years after my Radiant Heating system was installed in a brand new home construction, leakage in the system throughout the home caused by faulty piping, poor installation by the Radiant Heating contractor, the entire poured gypsum floor became saturated with water, wicking up walls, growing mildew, attracting insects, horrid situation, bottom line the entire home had to be scraped out, exotic wood and tile finishes, baseboards, cabinets, all had to be removed because the mildewed poured floor was saturated with water, dead.

I did not want to ever have to go through this kind of reconstruction again, and my search for a reliable, long term Radiant Heating Contractor was paramount. I scoured the Bay Area, spoke with and met on-site many Radiant Heating Contractors in the Bay Area, and Lance of Bay Area Heating met the task with the right price, a 'can-do' attitude, schematic diagram of piping for new installation, all of the right stuff - - the installation also had to include a new Triangle Tube Boiler to replace the cranky, sputtering Munchkin Boiler, also only 6 years old.

With the home completed last year, I was a now a satisfied long-term customer, with a new efficient Triangle Boiler, a 5 year warranty, and toasty warm floors.

Scott B.

After our old radiant heating system in our Eichler home died, we faced a heating challenge. We were in a rush to get radiant heating installed prior to the release of my child from tan extended stay at the hospital. We initially talked with LaChance Radiant Heating, but ultimately went with Bay Area Plumbing and Heating as they were more familiar with Runtal side board heating - which we liked for color and configuration perspective.

Verdict? We should have gone with LaChance Radiant Heating. They are awesome. Bay Area is so-so.

Facts?

1 - We had a fully functioning heating system installed prior to my son's arrival at home. Caveat - we had to push and prod to make deadline.

2 - However, I was not impressed at all with the installation team. We pointed out the dangers of some of the proposed placement of pipes to one member of the team. He agreed the placement made no sense, but indicated several times that he was only following orders. Ultimately, I had to call Lance - and I had to personally design the flow of the pipes, which Lance indicated was the right one. Ridiculous as I am the least handy, DIY man that you will ever meet.

3 - When we did have a perceived problem with our actual boiler, we called Bay Area again. The guy who came out was once again not impressive. He wound up relying on the word from a phone call and recommended a 1000 dollar repair - or a 10000+ replacement of the boiler. We called LaChance for a second opinion. There was nothing wrong with heater. Nothing.

4 - We had the work inspected and found short cuts in the insulation of the pipes.

Recommendation? Go with LaChance Radiant Heating.

JF W.

Took 2 weeks to hear back from them. Then on the appointed date, they were a no-show, no-call. (I stayed home from work to meet him.) I called the office back, and apologetically, they were happy to reschedule.

The second time, again the estimator was a no-show at our appointed time. I called the office and got the cell-phone of the estimator that was supposed to arrive at our house. He assured me he was on his way, but would be a couple hours late. (It would have been considerate if he had called in advance to let me know.) We rescheduled for 12:00pm that day. Again, a no-show. I called back at 12:50pm to find out where he was. He assured me he was on his way. I told him not to bother. Three strikes and you're out.

V B.

As a retail customer, this is as good as it gets. I have used Lance, Suzie, and the rest of the team 3 times now. Furnace repair, Furnace install, Air conditioning install. Fair prices. Super-knowledgeable, practical, super-service...and most important: if it's not right (and there is something that can be done about it) they will come back and ""make it right"". And not dodge your phone calls...which is standard operating procedure for most contractors. I would not bother with anyone else.

B D.

BAPH and Dantes reached a negotiated settlement acceptable to both parties, and this matter is now considered closed.

Langley E.

Lance and team did an amazing job redo- ing the heating for my 1920/30s Mt Carmel area bungalow. As part of a remodel, I wanted to update the ducting to improve energy efficiency and lower my Pg+e bill (and the giant sequoia in my back yard makes me a poor candidate for solar, so that wasn't an option).

Lance came out for a site visit and we discussed options. Radiant heating sounded supercool but was outside my budget so we opted for a zoning system instead. He guided me toward a very affordable package and I was still able to add Internet enabled thermostats and come in on budget, which was important to me since I travel quite a bit and wanted to be able to control the hvac system from my iPad.

The guys who work with lance were also very clear and easy to work with.

Bay area plumbing is a first class operation and I'd highly recommend the team to anybody.