Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Lisa E.

Great experience. I contacted Benjamin Franklin Plumbing about installing low-flow toilets and repairing several other bathroom fixtures. Danny came out to evaluate and give an estimate. He took a thorough look at all the plumbing, offered options for upgrades, and pointed out additional areas that could be repaired before they caused problems. The estimate presented each item separately so we could decide which portions to go ahead with, and there were discounts included since it was a large job.

On the work day, Danny and Edgar arrived promptly and got down to business. Danny stayed late to deal with a couple of unexpected trouble spots. He returned the next day to finish up work that needed additional parts, and he really went above and beyond to find a solution for a sink with non-standard hardware. Danny didn't collect any payment until the job was complete. There were no hidden charges, and the cost matched the estimate.

I will definitely call Ben Franklin again next time I need plumbing work!

Neeraja K.

We needed to get a solar water heater booster tank removed. We asked Benjamin Franklin plumbing to give us an estimate to do the job. The technician looked at the tank (this was on a Saturday) and said it will cost over $1200 to disconnect and dispose the tank. I asked him what it would cost if they don't have to dispose the tank as we can use our city services for that. Then he quoted $492. I was very surprised and asked why it costs over $700 to dispose the tank. For that he said that water may leak in their truck, insurance, disposal etc. He got another technician to help him out. Together they looked in the attic to see if the solar tank plumbing connections are there. They couldn't figure it out and said that they may have to look in the crawl space. They said that they didn't have the time to fix it that day and they will come with their solar expert on Wednesday.
The technician who gave the estimates on Saturday came very late on Wednesday and said that they were short of hands that day. He looked into the crawl space and said that he might have to come another day as it was getting late and if he starts the job at this time, it may go beyond 6 pm. Just at this point, his ""expert"" came to look at the problem.
This expert, instead of focusing on how to remove the solar water heater tank, he started saying that our gas water heater tank is not tied properly for earth quake; it is not installed on a raised platform etc. He was skeptical about our city inspectors who passed the inspection of the installation of the gas tank. He said that their company knows better. In addition, he suggested that we get a water decalcification system installed ($4000).
In the end, they said that it will cost $1850 to remove the solar water heater and properly install our gas water heater. We did not use Ben Franklin to do the job.
We got the tank removed by another plumbing company for less than $550 including disposal of the tank. There was no need to bypass any plumbing connections in the crawl space or in the attic. The job turned out to be a very straight forward one.
Our experience with Benjamin Franklin has been very bad. They used scary tactics to hike up the cost to do a straight forward job.

Traci H.

This company is the epitome of customer service. On a referral from a friend we called on a Sunday, expecting an answering machine, but on first ring a very friendly lady answered! She immediately set us with a window the next day for a plumber! He came out during the window, and looked at our faucet which was barely a year old in our remodeled kitchen. He was honest and told us we could fix it and told us how or if we were worried he could do it after we discovered the name of the item from the designer. We opted to try, as the repair was the cost of the faucet so we valued his comment! We ordered the part and we were able to fix it! They don't just do plumbing, they do electrical and heating and cooling too. They will be our building's go to now. I respected this candor, and true customer service.

Andrew M.

Toilet wasnt working and needed someone fast. Benjamin Franklin was able to come out within 2 hours which was great! Chris came out to my location and was awesome. Chris was extremely friendly and professional. Extremely happy with the service and professionalism as well as the price. Thanks Chris and Benjamin Franklin!

John B.

UPDATE 2: After continued problems with my shower installation, I called Bob to request a rebuild of the leaky shower walls. Bob kept his promise to make sure the job was done correctly once and for all. He sent service manager John W. and Tim to complete the rebuild. John W. did an excellent job diagnosing and fixing the problem. He and his team came out right away and took their time to make sure the job was done correctly.

The most important factor for me when hiring someone for a job is to have confidence that the company will stand behind their work. And although I got stuck with a less than capable project manager for the original installation, Bob made sure he did whatever it took to make it right and to his customers satisfaction. Great job guys, thank you!

UPDATE: thanks to Bob and Ryan for fixing the problems from this job. They were very regretful about the problems and came out quickly to fix everything, and even did a couple extra upgrades at no charge. They made things right, and I would certainly use them again for future work.

I recently hired Ben Franklin plumbing as part of a bathroom remodeling project. I was looking forward to working with them after getting a recommendation from a friend and also seeing the mostly positive reviews on Yelp. Unfortunately the overall experience was not a good one and I cannot recommend them to others. My 'project manager' was Peter G. who at least on the surface seemed capable enough but did nothing to remedy the problems during or after the project. Perhaps I just got the wrong plumber because there are a lot of positive reviews regarding other employees.

The good: they were fast. They came right out for an estimate, started the job promptly and stayed more or less on schedule during the project. I'll give them one star for this and one star for doing a decent job on the major project which was to install new drain lines and a new shower. That part of the job went well and I haven't had any problems since the install.

The bad: part of the job was to install a new washer and dryer. When he installed the washer he neglected to remove the shipping bolts, as stated clearly on the installation instructions. I was ignored when I asked him what happened with that. So I removed the bolts myself and am hoping no major permanent damage was done to the washer. The washer and dryer stand was incorrectly installed as well, another job I had to fix myself. While trying to install a new bathroom exhaust fan, he caused a short in the wiring, thus destroying the fan. Worse yet he blamed my electrician who was there at the time and offered to help. Then he told me it was a 'customer supplied' fan so he wasn't responsible for breaking it. The new shower door he installed leaks but again not his problem, it's the shower door's fault. Had to ask him 3 times to fix the sink drain which was installed incorrectly and leaked. Finally, he incorrectly installed an attic fan and once again blamed the fan. He refused to come fix that as well. On top of all of this because it was the holidays, I gave him a nice gratuity despite all the problems, hoping that at the very least he would come and follow up on any problems. Didn't even get so much as a thank you from him.

This was a $10k job which I realize is cheaper than hiring a real professional to do it right and I take some of the blame for this because I wanted the job done quickly. Should also mention that I was charged an extra $500 during the project for a new shower valve. You would think that would have been part of the estimate and not some BS add on charge especially when it was something that had to be done right in the middle of the project. And for $10k you'd think I'd get some sort of follow up from management to get my feedback on the project. Nothing but a comment card in the mail with room enough for a sentence of feedback. The whole thing just felt really amateurish and next time I will hire a professional contractor for any job this involved.

Kathleen S.

Javier from Ben Franklin plumping responded to my house for a leak under my kitchen sink. Ended up being a gasket in my disposal was put on wrong and causing the leak...! He took it apart and put it back right! But the best part was he didn't charge me anything!!! When does that ever happen?!?!? I was over the moon and so very grateful. That never happens and I won't forget his kindness! I'm forever a Ben Franklin happy happy customer!

Emily M.

They did amazing work for us, including coming out on Christmas eve to help with a plumbing emergency! They were quick, communicative and efficient. I think they may be a bit more expensive than some but you get great quality work from quality people. They worked super hard in some awful weather too. Very impressed with their service.

Megumi S.

Benjamin Franklin, THANK YOU!!!

Our building have a gravity recirculation line and after a hot water heater change (which they do a great job on---I've been with them for over 5 years) the recirculation line was not working properly and we were not getting hot water as before.

Because we don't have a pump in place, every trouble shooting were failing to fix the problem (they cannot diagnose properly without constant flow but my building is a TIC and any cost issue like ""adding a pump"" was getting voted down for years).

I was getting complaints from everyone (and I am not a building manager...just a resident trying to help out) and not able to take hot shower in days. I was quite honestly losing it....

John, the regional manager hooked me up with Ryan (Thank you! He is simply AWESOME!) and they installed a pump (FREE OF CHARGE as I've been a long time customer and the timing of the problem coincided with the tank change), now we were able to purge out all the rogue air bubbles. He also checked to see if any of the units' one-handle spouts/cartridge (highest suspect was my shower cartridge)were mixing hot and cold--apparently it happens occasionally if something like a tank change dislodges a piece of sediment and clogs it up (Then one failed valve like this will affect ALL THE HOT WATER IN THE BUILDING)
He took it a part and did some testing. (it was apparently not the cause but was a little loose--which can cause the problem like this too, he said. )
Ryan also kindly purged 2 other tanks (it was due for annual flush) too!
Now we have HOT WATER!!!!!! Yaaayyy!!!!

Anyone looking at a negative review, you gatta give them a chance...they always show up on time (Actually, Ryan showed up even earlier) and they take customer service very seriously as you can see.
I would know, I have been with them for several years now.

Also, I believe they are the only company (please correct me if I am wrong) in Northern California that carries hot water heater warranty like they do. (If we weren't with them, we'd be screwed...tanks under warranty installed by some other plumbing company has the warranty from the tank company, not the plumbing company--you take it off and bring it to tank company's warehouse to get a new one. What?! I don't have time or truck for that!)

Now we even have an UPDATED system courtesy of Benjamin Franklin because they take the customer service to heart.
Bless you!!!!

Vinit P.

first of al, they charge $60 dolars just to come in and look at the issue. When I called again the representative on the phone kept asking me to cal my insurance even after explaining to her that I even do not have quote from you guys. When I finally received a quote it was way overpriced. $2000 for fixing the leak.
I would never recommended them to anyone.

Jay S.

Good luck with getting appointment and then keeping appointment on time. Rescheduled heating appointment for 3 months and nothing to work on.

I have disconnected service and no one even returned call for the same