Berkeley Plumbing & Heating Company

Dan S.

Our usual handyman was out of town so we called Berkeley Plumbing and Heating to fix an old two sided wall heater that wasn't heating on one side. They came out and after spending about 50 minutes trying to remove the heating assembly, gave up, saying heaters that old had to be ""taken apart from the top down."" They recommended just getting a new heater and still took our check for $176, even though they didn't fix anything. When our handyman came back to town, he was able to remove the heating assembly in about 20 minutes because he's actually worked on these. He cleaned the heating element and reinstalled it, charging only $125 - it works as good as it ever did. We tried to get at least a partial reimbursement from Berkeley Plumbing and Heating but they refused. I haven't used this company for any other services and don't know how good they are with plumbing issues but I certainly wouldn't recommend them for issues with wall heaters. A rip off!

G T.

I was charged for 2hrs of work nearly $400 at a very slow pace plus travel time when the job took only 1hr and 20 min. Sadly i need it to install 2 bathroom sinks they told me no they won't do the job(i thought all plumber can do these) because my sinks looked modern? I never heard such excuse. since i was paying by the hour i had to run around and find jobs for them especially when they advertise 100 years of experience?

Diana S.

I called for quote to replace a broken thermocoupler on my hot water heater. The manufacturer recommended them bc they have the part in stock and the part is under warranty. However, Berkeley Plumbing quoted me double what everyone else has = $352. They added on an hour for travel time because I'm in Oakland and they're in Berkeley. Any advantage getting the part for free was erased by them charging me twice as much as everyone else. I'll pass.

Hannah F.

I have not been impressed with Berkeley Plumbing and Heating. To begin, they were not prompt in returning my call (because they had to check in with my landlord, but used the wrong number to contact him even though I had given them the correct number in my message) nor were they apologetic about it. When the technician did come, he was rude and defensive and accused me of arguing with him when I said that his explanation of the banging in our wall furnace didn't make sense to me (from a physics perspective). What happened to treating customers with respect?

Lena T.

Excellent service! I have an old shower from the 1920's that was leaking, I called Berkeley Plumbing, receptionist very helpful and friendly. Stormy came out and was really friendly, fast and helpful! Reasonable rates and fixed it in less than an hour! You have a loyal customer from now on!

Matt G.

Gordon (long term friendly employee) and Tim (owners son) are awesome, prompt, knowledgeable, and on time. I have used them for several emergency and non-emergency plumbing problems associated with ERI company rentals (I leased as a UCB student and graduate researcher). Can' t go wrong and they are good at fixing outdated old-style turn-of-the century faucets, heaters, and relics of the by-gone era.

Been using them for over six years....a must have for renters in old units. Seem affordable too. Can't speak to the cost as the landlord covers it -probably a blessing!

Vinnie J.

So in a series of stupid events my deoderant fell down my toilet and got flushed. I called Berkeley Plumbing and walked down the street because their phones were out, and as I walked in, I was greeted with kindness and immediate help. With no appointment or anything Tim (who's family owns the business) walked over to my apartment and fixed the problem very quickly. An issue that big was fixed in a little under an hour and I have seen no ill effects today.

Today Tim came over and checked to make sure everything was ok today. Super helpful and great service.

Rob M.

I went in with the valves from a 50 year old kitchen faucet that a place in West Berkeley had rejuvenated. It had leaked almost from day one from the place in West Berkeley, even after I brought it back once and bought yet more parts. I took it into Berkeley Plumbing and one of their plumbers must have spent 20 or 30 minutes with me finding all the small parts to rebuild the valves. It wasn't cheap (about 45 dollars out the door), but cost less than I had been charged elsewhere and works better than ever. As the guy at the counter said, that faucet is like having a 1930's rolls royce (maybe he said Cadillac). It is rare to find this kind of KNOWLEDGABLE service today and I'll keep going back.

Thanks Berkeley Plumbing.

Barbara T.

My bathroom fixtures are old. Gordon was able to fix a leak in the bathroom sink, despite out of date parts being needed. This saved me from buying a new sink, with the many complications and expenses that that would entail.

Ranney g.

We were without hot water due to an inoperable on-demand out door mounted water heater. The appointment was 2 days later. The technician inspected the innards, poked at a couple of contacts with a tester. Did not remove, pull, alter, or expose any components. He then pronounced the circuit control board ""blown"" and as evidence pointed to dubiously (to me) browner areas on the sealed board. He also unequivocally stated that it was not cost effective with labor, etc to replace the board and that I needed a new heater.
After research and consultation by phone with Tankless Only and with guidance by very helpful customer service by Takagi itself I was able to diagnose, remove the circuit board, remove the fan motor (the culprit) and dry it out, and reinstall both in a couple of hours. Myself. Waa-Laa, It now runs fine without having spent a nickel. That is, except for the $160 ""advice"" from Berkeley Plumbing. Incidentally, the ""expensive"" circuit board costs about 220 from Takagi and is held in place by a single accessible screw. I am not an engineer/tradesman/etc. Tools needed-2 screwdrivers. So, what do you think?