Berkeley Plumbing & Heating Company

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 Can' t go wrong and they are good at fixing outdated old-style turn-of-the century faucets, heaters, and relics of the by-gone era.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?

Cara R.

How difficult is a toilet rooting job? Took them 15 minutes, they charged their minimum hourly rate of $160 plus $15 for equipment. Equipment? Don't plumbing companies usually have rooter equipment as part of the job? Next we'll be paying for plungers.
Too expensive for a standard rooting job, which in my experience should be $125 at most.

Ed B.

Bradford White Water Heater (expensive unit, professionally installed) started leaking after 3 years (6 year guarantee). Called Bradford White and they gave me the name of Berkeley Plumbing and Heating as their plumber in my area. Made an appointment for the next morning (speedy) and the man showed up and spent 15 minutes confirming that I had a leaking water heater and it should be replaced. Gordon called that morning and said the heater was under warranty but now local laws required a lonox water heater which would be an additional $150 for the upgrade. Also, 4 hours labor at $160 an hour. I thought that very steep and he said it was ""inflation"". New water heater installed that afternoon which took approximately 1 and 1/2 hours. Was presented the bill and it stated 4 hours labor. Although 1 and 3/4 hours was actual labor, the balance was travel time. I live in the Oakland hills, per Google 9 miles and 17 minutes away. The installer had to traverse 30 level feet from his truck to my water heater unit.

stephen s.

We had a very unpleasant experience with Berkeley Plumbing. Gordon, the plumber that showed up, not only did a terrible job on a very simple job, he was very unpleasant to be around. He was rude, condescending, loud and mean to me, my wife, (the customer) and to his fellow coworkers. He yelled at his coworker in front of a large group of other workers, general contractor, painters and electricians, embarrassing him terribly for a mistake that was not his fault.
Because the story is way to long to get into here, i will just say that Gordon did a very sub-par job at his first attempt and needed to come back and do it again. Wasting my time, the painters time and of course the contractors time.
The Contractor was so upset with Gordon, he said he will never use Berkeley Plumping EVER! Nor will I or should you.

There are lots of great Plumbers out there that will show up at your job site and do a great job and will be nice and pleasant to you, Berkeley Plumbing is not that company. I wouldn't even use them in an emergency situation.