Lacayo-Colt Plumbing & Heating

Jason R.

I met with Rey to have him offer a proposal for a plumbing and HVAC job. His bid was higher than some, but my general contractor had a working relationship with him. When I reached out to him to start the job, he didn't respond to my email. I then followed up with a phone call to confirm if he was still available. When he answered, he said, ""I don't want to do your job."" And hung up... no explanation, no further interaction. I know that contractors are busy, but I still expect some level of professionalism. Rey was downright rude and unprofessional.

Art L.

Ray Lacayo was great - fixed a leak under our kitchen sink that I had been unsuccessfully struggling with for a couple of days. Next time I'll call him before trying to do anything myself.

Farhang O.

We used Ray at a recommendation of a friend. We found him a plumber who is very agitated, likes to you to work with his schedule and not flexible to work with yours and hugely expensive. His charge is $180 per hour. He surprised us with his bill, we should have agreed on the cost with him at the beginning.
I complained to my friend who recommend him. To my surprise he has also found them very expensive when he has a recent plumbing job.
If you use him, agree on the cost and schedule first and be ready tolerate his short temper.

Dennis K.

We've used Rey and team for the last 5 years or so. From toilet installations to a recirculating tankless hot water heater. Work quality is good and any issues that have come up have been resolved promptly.

I appreciate his informal nature (scheduling via SMS, etc), but can see why some reviewers might like a more formal communications. We'll be continuing to use him in the future.

Soo L.

Be very careful.
These guys installed the heating unit in our home. I had some retrofitting work done later. The retrofit workers disconnected some of the ducts (u can see them physically separated). I called Rey to take a look about reconnecting the heating ducts.
He hold me the main board was faulty & needed replacement, $900!

The retrofitting folks I hired was also a general contractor. He had his people reconnect the ducts. A year later, heating unit still works great.

R V.

Rey came and I was so impressed. Fixed problem. Was friendly and courteous. One month later, the shower he fixed would. Ot turn off. Called and couldnt get through. Tested and learned he was outta town. Asked for advice. Nothing. Found someone to fix it. Still haven't heard from Rey-out about $800 just with his work.

David R.

Rey came to my house quickly after I called him. Our water heater wasn't working and he went into the crawl space and immediately had it working. When I asked him how much I owed, he said no charge. Hard to find that kind of service. I highly recommend him.

Diana S.

Just talked to this guy about replacing the thermocoupler on my water heater. Couldn't give me a quote over the phone, even though I already know what is wrong with it (PG&E came out this morning and told me). On a good note he was willing to come out in an hour. However, he couldn't tell me if he had the part I needed replaced, and said if he couldn't fix it I could call someone else tomorrow. I was skeptical about the situation, given that he wouldn't give me a quote, and couldn't say if he had the part. So he told me bye and hung up. Abruptly. He really needs to work on his customer service.

R C.

Re: Lacayo-Colt Plumbing & Heating, Oakland, California

To whom it may concern: July, 2015

Best plumber in the World? I can't say, but THE BEST PLUMBER IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA is my belief. Rey Lacayo replaced our water heater--one that had been installed by one of the best-known of Bay Area plumbing companies--and made the difficult-access replacement quickly, perfectly and with corrections of the not-to-code earlier work as a natural part of the job, all on budget and only one day after we first called him! Very impressive, high-quality work--after years with big-name companies, I now have a plumber whose work I believe in.

A month later, our toilet tank apparatus failed after many years, and Rey found time on his lunch hour to make the repair so that we would not be inconvenienced for more than a few hours. Working inside the house, he impressed me with his cleanliness (shoe covers!) and his pride of workmanship, and he left me feeling relieved that I now have a resource I can trust for our upcoming furnace replacement and inevitable trenchless sewer line work.

For all my admiration of Rey's work, however, this letter of commendation falls short: it cannot portray the cheerful, upbeat spirit that Rey brings to his work, a wonderful presence that makes you take him most naturally not only as your new plumber but as a friend. I no longer dread having to call the plumber, and Rey leaves me with the sense that I will not be left stranded if I have a plumbing or heating problem some Christmas Eve. Enjoy working with Rey if you have any plumbing or heating problem--it is honestly and positively a privilege.

Sincerely,

R. Chapman
Berkeley, California

UPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER, 2015


We have used Rey Locarno and his plumbing company for every plumbing need we have had for the past four years--and in an older Montclair property, that has been a good deal of work--and I can say only that he remains our plumber of choice by a long shot.

We have just replaced our 40-year-old furnace through his company as well, and we got spectacular work done at a very reasonable price. The project involved relocating previous piping, building a platform for the newer, shorter furnace, and upgrading all our furnace venting to code.

Anyone who needs a smart and efficient plumber or heating contractor should consider Rey first. He is the most knowledgeable and competent in his field from my forty years of homeowner experience, and a great pleasure to work with.

NE T.

Rey came the same day we called to replace our busted water heater, beat the other quotes we got for this service by a wide margin and gave us great, friendly service. Highly recommend him!