Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating

Sonia Y.

Our experience with Ethret was very different from that of previous reviewers. For this reason, we felt compelled to write our own review:

A few weeks ago, our shop's underground plumbing had to be replaced. We went through yelp and requested estimates from several businesses. Of all our selections, Ethret gave the lowest estimate-practically half of the others'! We also noticed they were located close to our shop. We were shocked to see their low ratings and deliberated, but ultimately took a leap of faith and signed a contract with them.

When they began the job, however, it became clear that the replacement would take more trouble than expected. They spent a much longer time and effort making it right.

Ethret didn't charge us any extra money for their extra time. Instead, they stuck to the original estimate and finished the job within a week and got a certificate from the city. In addition, the manager and employees were very kind and accommodating every step of the way.

As it stands, Ethret currently has very low ratings and reviews on yelp. However, we were very satisfied with our experience, and we hope this review might encourage you to take Ethret into consideration.

Alan F.

Bozos. I went to their store on Gilman to get a replacement faucet stem and they were closed - 2 pm on a Friday. I called Monday morning and they said they would be open at noon, so I went by at about 10 minutes after and they were closed again. I called them on the phone and they said their counter man was at lunch from 12 to 12:30. I ask you, why did they say they would open at noon then?

Christopher K.

We called Ehret on a Saturday because they were the only heating service we could find that would come on the weekend, our furnace was acting up (turning off at low temperature) and we had a house-sitter coming for a week on Tuesday. The fellow who came was polite, discovered that our filter needed changing (my bad) and said that the problem was probably also due to a bad controller board. He then claimed that a new controller board for a 20+ year-old Carrier furnace would be so expensive to replace that it would not be worth it, and offered to install a new furnace for $2800 including parts and labor (nothing about the make and model, just a price). I was suspicious. That night with an internet search I found that I could buy a replacement controller board, over the counter, in Oakland, for $110 + tax. Replacement controller boards for other old furnaces were equally inexpensive and a competent, knowledgeable (and honest) service person should have known this.

Linda D.

Ehret just came out to unplug a toilet. They ended up scraping the bowl so badly it left all kinds of damaged black marks. Then when I asked the technician if he could get rid of the black marks, he said ""oh no, I forgot to tell you the machine leaves those scrape marks"". I have a brand new $800 toilet that is now ruined. Do NOT EVER CALL THIS COMPANY.

Paul G.

They get two stars because they had the part I needed - a hard to find shower handle from an old ""American Standard"" fitting. Unfortunately, they charged me waaaaayyy too much. They sell the part for $40 (!) - a replacement shower handle for $40!!! I needed two, but I only purchased one from them, because once I had the upc code I was able to find the part on-line for less than half what they were charging. From the upc I learned that the ""list price"" on the thing was only $20 - and the internet site was selling it for $16. Ehret was marking it up 100% over list price!!! These guys are crazy - be very skeptical of their pricing.

Howard H.

I've use Ehret for 28 years for my triplex in Berkeley. I have been very happy until my last two experiences. They seemed to have changed owners in the past few years, and obviously changed employees. The current employees are not as experienced. Most recently I had an usual kitchen drain system that needed replacement. Instead of a ""Can Do"" attittude, the employee told me it simply couldn't be done. I had to show him how it could be done. He was not skilled or experienced in plumbing systems.

Jen C.

Very frustrated with and feeling insulted by Ehret, but relieved I looked elsewhere before falling prey to a ridiculous, inflated estimate! My tenants called saying their bathroom sink was clogged, would not drain and that the pipes below the sink were also leaking. Called Ehret, because in my experience they have always been pretty quick to respond and I like these tenants and want them to be happy. The plumber came fairly quickly, great. I met him at the house. Once he saw the sink and pipes, though, I could tell he was not happy because this wasn't going to be a routine, easy job--the house is very old, and consequently the pipes are very old. No easy clean-out, non-standard couplings and sizes. When he said the snake wouldn't work (he never tried) he said the only way to fix it was to take everything apart, but he ""couldn't guarantee the work."" Based on his attitude, I knew already I didn't want him to do any repair work, so I asked him what other options there were. We decided together to try to use a blast of air to clear the clog before he started taking piping apart...this didn't work and made a huge mess. Then he said the only way we'd be able to clear the clog would be to cut into the cast-iron pipe outside the house in order to snake it, because he didn't want to start taking the piping under the sink apart--he said if he started the job, he'd have to finish it, etc. etc. etc...then he said because the pipes were so old, and the house was so old, they'd have to test for lead blah blah blah. ""Let me go call the shop and I'll write you up an estimate."" So he did, came back, handed me the estimate and when looked at it, I literally laughed out loud and said, ""F*** that!"" He wanted $1,800 to fix a clogged bathroom sink and leaking drain pipes. Seriously??!!! That was that, I wanted him to leave. I said ""There's no way I'm paying that.""
He got a bit gruff and insisted on payment for the visit, which was never of issue. I paid him his $137.50, he left, then I called my handyman who came over the next day. He showed up and within 10 minutes had detached the drain pipe from the wall fitting and snaked the line down to the sewer lateral (this unit is on the second floor). He left, went to the hardware store, came back and within one hour of first showing up had fixed everything...for $213.
Ehret was a waste of my time, waste of my money and I felt too that during the plumber's visit, he sized me up and he chose to deal with me as an ignorant, gullible, easily intimidated female. I am, in fact, an owner of multiple properties and a real estate agent who deals with many projects on behalf of my clients. I definitely felt this was a company fishing for a big paycheck at the expense of someone they believed to be both in need and ignorant. (On top of all this was an irritating and repeated sales pitch for some enzyme product which he insisted would have prevented this problem all along--couldn't be the fact that the house is over 100 years old. Of course I'd have to buy a year's supply...)
I will no longer be calling Ehret, or referring my clients to them.

Adrian M.

Called, told them our basement flooded with about 3.5 in of water which had caused the water heater to go out. They said they could come out and drain the basement and restart the water heater.
The guys come out, look at the basement and say, ""Well we didn't bring any boots, and we don't have the equipment to drain it. We'll call emergency services for you though, and they'll have the stuff to drain it. That will be $177.00 please""
Yeah, 177 dollars to literally do nothing. Then when emergency services get there, they tell me that it will cost $700 dollars to drain, it will take about 3-4 hours to finish draining, and that I have to pay $177 per hour for them to be there while it's draining. So I said no way, and told them to leave.
I went to home depot, picked up a water pump for a hundred bucks and drained the basement myself in an hour.
On top of everything else, the workers manners were just plain unprofessional.

Suzanna W.

BIG CLOG, whole house. So, I called Ehret Plumbing after many recommendations over the years. I had done some investigation myself (25' worth of snake) so I knew when I called that they were going to need the long snake, and told the person answering the phone to have them bring it. She told me it would be 137.50/hr with a 1hr minimum.... I just wanted the problem fixed, so we could shower, flush, wash hands, etc. resuming life as we knew it..), I spoke with the technician who said he was coming right away. After 1.5hr, he arrives, and I send him down to the basement- telling him I spread a tarp out on the ground beside the clean-out so he wouldn't get wet (from the overflow). 10 minutes later he reappears, saying he couldn't find it.... so, I take him downstairs to the clean out. He said he would need a second guy as he would have to get the long snake (Hey wait, didn't I say that in the beginning, when I called?!!?) and went to sit in his truck. The second guy arrives 45 minutes later (tick tock time M $$)and they both go down to the back of the house, with the snake on a rolling cart obviously not very happy, huffing and puffing all the way. After giving them ~20 min to get set up & figger things out, I go downstairs to see how it's going. They have not even started. Yet. Seriously, not even to take the cap off the clean-out) Anyhow, now they start work. They huff and puff, one guy sits, while the other guy snakes. After about 15 min of this, they give up, and say that they can come back tomorrow with the camera (which costs almost double per hour) and locate the clog. He arranges to come back in the morning, tells me that I will need the camera to find where exactly the problem portion of pipe resides, and that I will most likely have to replace the entire pipe, from house to sewer main which will cost between $10-12,000 and charges me for 2 5/8 hrs of labor. I think I feel a tear rolling down my cheek... and he says ""I'm sorry, it's the company, not me. If it was me on my own, I wouldn't charge you at all"". So I decide I will just pay him, and write my very first yelp review in the morning, warning everyone to *NEVER USE EHRET PLUMBING*.
After cooling off a bit, I call my very fabulous handyman (who was there earlier with the 25' snake, that didn't reach the clog-which was why we called Ehret in the 1st place) who fixed the problem for $300 flat, including the piece of pipe. I won't go into how here (this post is getting looooong) but common sense and a long snake was all it took. *sigh*

Frank M.

Can't say much good about these guys. I work in their neighborhood and twice my boss has hired them because we want to be neighborly, but both times they did sloppy work, were late, and left a mess behind them.

The second time I had to literally lead the plumber back to the pile of broken drywall, dried caulk, and dirty rags that he left on the floor after he said he had already cleaned up, and he nearly had a tantrum when I told him I would not sign off until he cleaned up his mess. And both times their work was functional but very ugly, including a toilet that was mounted at nothing close to a right angle from the wall behind it.

I don't know if we got a price break or what but if I had to call a plumber in West Berkeley it would not be them.