Lipp WM Hydronics

Helge S.

Don't ever call these guys for service unless you are rolling in money!

I ended up paying $145 for what was promised to be a FREE service call.

I was promised a free service call because I had recommended the heater they installed in my house to a neighbor. The time came when I thought it would be good for them to come in and have a look at my heater. When I called up they confirmed that the service call would be free. There would have to schedule it at a time that was convenient for them. Then I did not hear from them for almost two months.

The call came on a Saturday morning. It was William Lipp, the owner himself, who would be over in a short time. He checked for leaks, adjusted the water pressure, dusted the heater and then bent the knees and scratched some dirt at the bottom of the heater and vacuumed it as well. I was happy with my free service call. This was what I had expected. Then he showed me the bill: $145. I asked for an explanation, but the only answer I got was ""I work my a** off on a Saturday"". After that I lost my interest in arguing about the broken promise.

I called the office for an explanation, but none was available. They 'promised' to call back....

Then I remembered that 20 or so years ago I had a similar experience with that company. I had asked for someone to come and clean the heater as I was told it needed that from time to time. The guy came and told me that because my heater was old he did not want to do it, as he could break some parts that would be difficult to find. He nevertheless charged the $75 fee. They could have mentioned this at the time of the call and saved the trip. But it became better. The technician also wanted to look at my thermostat. He thought, the batteries needed replacing with he did. I thought, it was nice of him that he felt guilty of charging the whole fee when he had not done anything, and he wanted to make up for it a little by replacing the batteries. Was I wrong! At few days later a bill came that charged an extra $5 for changing the batteries (a minute or less job) plus they asked a premium amount for the batteries.

Todd Y.

My radiant heat was not coming on I've been told by several radiant heat plumbers our heating system needed to be replaced. A neighbor told me about Lipp Hydronics and they came out the same day. Bill took one look at our system and said it just needed a few adjustments and cleaning.

Bill is extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and I highly recommend him.

David C.

My radiant heat was not coming on. I called and the owner called me back the next day on his cellphone. He walked me through the entire process of fixing it myself -- over 20 minutes. I've never had someone suggest I could do it myself and not have them come over and charge. This was great. They didn't charge me a dime, alhough I want to send in some money anyways.

Man D.

Installation of my new boiler was flawless and heat in my house is working great! Bill was courteous and honest with what it would take to remove the existing boiler and install the new one. They were in and out within 2 days and the bill was reasonable. Overall, I would recommend his boiler installation services. I believe he also does repairs and maintenance work on existing boilers. Hopefully this new boiler doesn't require any for a long time! =)

Jim F.

I live in an Eichler with a concrete slab floor and both infloor radiant heating and plumbing below the floor. Friday night figured that I have a hot water leak between the kitchen and bathroom. On Saturday Bill answered my call, helped me troubleshoot, and had Hector on sight within an hour. Three hours later the pipe was fixed and the floor patched, and we were able to go on with our holiday weekend.
Pricing was based on a fixed rate per hour, and there was absolutely no upsell.
Repair was clean, competent and timely.

John M.

I owned an Eichler house in Palo Alto. Three years ago the owner of William Lipp came to repair my boiler that was not working. He told us that we had to buy a new boiler for around $6,000. We couldn't afford it. For the next three years we heated with space heaters. Our electric bill shot up about $300 a month. When we were ready to sell the house, a different boiler expert, from Craigslist, inspected the boiler and $25 later, told us that it should last another 25 years. Lipp's an opportunist crook!

Eric S.

Bill and son have taken care of our Eichler's radiant heating system for four decades including a complete upgrading of the furnace. We have always been satisfied with their work and their billing. Communication has always been clear, friendly, and complete.

Huzefa K.

We have radiant heating in our house. Unfortunately, one of the room was not heating up. We had recently moved the boiler connected to our radiant heating system and since the system was not properly flushed after the move, that one room was not heating up. We had 3 companies come over and have a look at the system and were given quotes ranging from $1500 to $2000.

Finally, I found Bill's information from a friend of mine. I was told he was an expert when it came to radiant heating. Sure enough, Bill and his son came over to our house and within 2 hours flushed the whole system out. Also, he found and fixed a minor gas leak. Now the whole house heats up perfectly.

Both Bill and his son were very pleasant to work with. They were knowledgeable and professional. If you have any plumbing needs and especially radiant heating related work, I'd highly recommend you to these guys.

Dale P.

Mr. Lipp came to my rental house, where the radiant heat had stopped working. He told me I needed a new boiler, without even examining the old one. He said the price would be $8500. I asked him how much the boiler itself cost, and he said $3000, and I asked why the labor was so high, and he said, ""You have to watch and you'll see...it usually takes three days to install it."" I did not hire him and the problem turned out to be sediment in the lines. We flushed it out and the system works fine. I saved $8500. I do not recommend this person.

Billy G.

By far the most experienced and knowledgeable plumbers I have ever hired. Neat, clean and extremely detailed. Great knowledge of Eichler home plumbing systems. Bill is the best !