North Cal Water Filtration

Alex L.

I was moving into a brand new house, and badly wanted to avoid the mineral build up problems I had at my old place. So the water softener was one of the first I looked into setting up.

I found reviews on Yelp, and narrowed it down to Randazzo and North Cal. I called both, and Gage definitely seemed better informed on the topic, and was able to give me a solid quite based on the estimated hardness of the water in Santa Clara. Randazzo on the other, quoted me $1800 for a 2 person house. Jigga what? Even at a maximum of 20 grains per hardness, I'd be looking at around maybe 35,000 grains per cycle, which is easily handled by a 1.5ft unit. I'm not sure what Randazzo was trying to sell me that would cost over $2K...

Once Gage showed up, he did some sweet welding using a portable propane tank. The end job was really nice and cleanly done. Great stuff. If you want a water softener, Gage is your man.

Kiran D.

Our water heater was not heating up. Tried other folks...everybody is charging even for the inspection visit also.

Called Gage, he showed up in an hour. He told that he is not going to charge for inspection, but only for repair work. After inspection, he mentioned it is not a big issue...fixed it with no charge. He didn't charge anything as it was not a big work...kudos.

Lou H.

This review is a few weeks over due but my parents keep calling me to make sure I give Gage and his guys a good review. My parents needed a new water heater at their condo so I called around to a few places for quotes. I tried Home Depot but the quote was pretty outrageous (2x what it should of been) so I put this off.

I finally got around to Yelp and found North Cal so called them. Gage immediately gave me a pretty solid quote so I asked them to come over and check it out. Turns out a little more work was needed (which I expected since the existing heater was about 20 years old and everything needed to be brought up to code).

They came back a week later and everything went smoothly.

Here's why I'm giving them such a good review. Not only was the price reasonable and consistent. They were excellent communicators. Gage responded to me when requested. Always called me back promptly. Sent me the emailed quote when he said he would. Called my parents back to make sure they were happy (the thermostat was acting funny so they even came back to make sure it was working properly). Oh, and my parents who like to keep their condo clean loved how they cleaned up their work. These are awesome, professional guys - I'd use them for sure.

Fabien D.

I have been Gage's customer for the last 3 years, and he's been taking care of most our water issues and needs perfectly: Reverse osmosis filter system (works perfectly), installing faucets & shower system, checking the water heater, etc.
Gage is very thorough, clean and he always gets back to me within the day when I need help or work done.
He's a cool caring contractor, pity he doesn't do carpentry or electrical work, etc. Then he would be my go to guy all the time!! :)

Agnes J.

After moving in to a new house, I just found out the water hardness in my area is really bad (above 20 grains). It was very frustrating the first couple months where the white film (magnesium and calcium) was everywhere from the marble, granite, and the shower glass. Cleaning these film is very challenging on marble and granite because you don't want to use too abrasive cleaner which could destroy the surface of the stone.

After went through so many water companies (local and corporation) like Culligan, Haque, De Anza water, RainSoft (Home Depot) and so many more, I was very discouraged with the pricing they are giving and planning to look for alternative (Fleck or Clack) and have it installed myself.

During the search, I accidentally found Gage and I decided it to give it a try. I was very skeptical at first because of the pricing he was giving was so much lower than those companies. However, after extensive research understanding how the water softener works, it is pretty simple and it should not cost you that much and Gage gives pricing that makes sense to me. I am using 45,000 grain (1.5 cubic of resin) and a clack valve.

Although I was a bit skeptical at first, I am very tremendously happy with his work. In addition to all Yelper's comments (which are very true), Gage is very respectful, patient explaining things to you, integrity work, his work ethics and won't leave the work until you are happy with it. Not like all those over priced companies where they have to pay their salesmen, plumbers, operating cost, and employees just for a simple home water softening. It really makes sense for this people to install it for commercial use which requires specific needs but for a home need (3-5 household), all you need just a working unit (i.e. Fleck or Clark after some research) and a plumber who knows water softening. Gage delivers this and it is how he could cut cost here and gives you the saving (not commission).

I know I might have jumped to conclusion because I only have it installed for a week but so far, I am very satisfied with the unit. I could tell the difference right away (especially me who is very picky on things). And in the past one week, I don't even need squeegee anymore and the bathroom is still clean. It took only a day before to get the white film to show. The drinking water also tastes good.

For Gage's work, he promised me 3-4 hours for installation but it ended up lasted over 6 hours because of the complication of my place. He was patiently working and was not charging more for the complexity. The work quality is great. I am very satisfied and
I opened Yelp account just to write this in return for ending my frustration.

Chris L.

Best price but honest and workmanship is superior. Gave tons of advice on how to make all my water systems last longer.

James K.

I have been a customer of Culligan for many years, purchased a very expensive top of the line system that is rated for industrial. Sad part is after 7 years they no longer make replacement parts for it and after a few attempts in repairing my water softener at a tune of $400 each time, the unit failed again.
I was thinking of order another water softener from Culligan but remember Gage rating on Yelp, also I remember he came out to look at my Culligan water softener and was very kind and apologized that he can not buy parts or secure any information for the model I owned.
Long story short, Gage just installed a Clack WS1 10x54"" mineral tank with 60,000 grain capacity water softener for a quarter of what Culligan charged me 7 years ago.
I'm hoping that this system will function properly but Gage ensure me that it will and to call him if I h ave any issues with my water softener.
If I have problem with my water softener, I don't doubt Gage will make it right and this was the reason why I selected him over Culligan, not for the price but more for the service he provides.
Thank you Gage for a job well done!

Gary L.

Gage and Rene did an excellent job to install a new water heater in my home. 5 stars for their hard work. Good communication from start to end, punctual, rock-solid installation, good price and most importantly no attitude like some other ""water heater only"" company. Will definitely ask you guys help again in future.

M G.

If you are looking for someone to install an RO for your kitchen or a whole house water softener, Gage is your guy!

I was referred to Gage by a friend, who had a good experience with Gage as well.

He is very prompt, professional, courteous and fair. Above all he definitely stands by his work, long after he has left the site.

Read on, if you want to need to know more about our specific install.

Gage installed an RO and a Whole-house water softening system for us. He showed up, for both his initial appointment and installation, at the scheduled time. His estimate was much much better than what a few others (e.g., Valley Plumbing) had given us - almost 1/2 in some cases. He was very clear in communicating the breakdown of the services and parts so that there was no confusion (he also gave a rough estimate on the parts). One thing that stood out, while he was giving an overview of how he will do the job, was his keen eye towards aesthetics. Like, he wanted to run the outlet under a ledge on the outer side of the house instead drilling through interior walls (which is what others had suggested), he said he would also match and paint any pipes that were on the outside (near the main water line). He could have easily convinced me to just let the water drain out into the sewer inlet in the center of my side yard but instead he found a sewer cap sticking out on the side wall, further away from the softener to connect the drain.

On the day of installation he showed up with everything that he needed to complete the install and had to (I think) make just one more trip to Lowe's only because of the peculiarity in how the plumbing at our house is. He didn't waste anytime during the install. For the kitchen RO he even drilled a hole through the cast iron sink that we have. In the process of moving our kithcen faucet to another hole than it originally was, the faucet somehow started dripping - Gage came back the next day and got a repair kit to fix that faucet all in the name of learning how to do it - of course fixed it too. With the RO system installed and working fine he moved on to get the softener installed. This was an impeccable job! He even came back the next day with a can of paint that matched our exterior color and painted the copper pipes that were now sticking out on the outside of the house as inlet&outlet. After he was done, he gave me a full rundown on how the water softener will work, when to add salt and other tips. I am quite impressed with Gage's work ethics and integrity.

BTW we had already ordered our own systems but I am sure the one's that he offers are equally good; he is quite knowledgable in this area.

K M.

We were extremely happy with the service. Gage did an excellent job of explaining to us the type of system that we need. Also gave us options and after the installation he checked back a couple of times to make sure everything was working well. Reasonably priced as well. We would definitely recommend him to anyone.