The Plumbing Ministry

Andrew S.

Plumbing Ministry replaced a sewer lateral and did some drainage work on a house we purchased as part of closing. In the process, the found a french drain that was formerly tied to the sewer that needed to be tied to a drain. Rather than leaving it in some working state, they left it buried and open. They were scheduled to come to run this out to the sidewalk but failed to show up and could not be contacted the entire day. In the mean time, the open drain pumped water into the soil around the house causing the basement to flood. I could not get them to contact me despite many pleas for help. This was not just an emergency flooding (that they caused), it was also the day they were supposed to be there to take care of it, so it is inexcusable they did not show up or contact. I would never use them again.

Tim J.

We hired The Plumbing Ministry to replace our sewer lateral (trenchless) in the Oakland hills and couldn't be happier with the result. They were the lowest of three bids by a significant margin, but did a high-quality job in a short period of time and dealt with unexpected complications without complaint or extra cost. Louis is a friendly, very knowledgable professional and took care of all the permit hassles (including the EBMUD compliance certificate). Highly recommended!

David W.

I had water pouring into my basement and called out 5 different plumbers to try to figure out what was going on. The plumbing ministry came to my house on his day off and was the most honest of the bunch - he told me he couldn't figure out what it was but it didn't look like it was my water heater (which most of the others said it was). He was the only one who was right! It turned out to be an EBMUD main leak in the street.

Two words: honest, trustworthty

King B.

The Plumbing Ministry has helped my family out with a # of jobs from a Sewer Lateral replacement to fixing a broken kitchen sink pipe. I've met a few of the guys and they've all been incredibly professional and very knowledgeable.

Louis is very responsive and has always been very straightforward to work with. His pricing is also very competitive.

I highly recommend their work and have had a wonderful experience with Louis and his company.

Su K.

I am a Senior Property Manager and had the Plumbing Ministry out to my home to fix a broken pipe. I want to warn everyone who is thinking of using this business that these guys are highly unprofessional!! They show up when they want, they don't tell you what the plan is and they are impossible to get a hold of. DON'T USE THEM, THIS IS FAIR WARNING!!

elizabeth e.

This guy is great. He was able to unclog our pedastal sink instantly, when the last 2 plumbers that came out said it couldnt' be done without taking the sink apart.

T J Y.

Yeah, yeah.....another 5 star review. Everything they say about Louis' being on time (3 minutes early), efficient, friendly,hard working and competent has proven true. And reasonably priced.
Just cut and paste all those other 5 star reviews here, and I don't need to type any more.
Sorry the Queen of Alameda won't be inviting him to the ball, but he did a great job in San Leandro.

Matthew P.

I was referred to Louis by Michael Your Plumber in Berkeley whose phone message said he was no longer able to take new customers (at least this was the case a few months back) and mentioned a couple of alternatives, including Louis. We have now used Louis twice for relatively small plumbing jobs in the past few months. Both times they have been very prompt, professional and open about what we need and the cost. The first time (on a weekend, even) Louis gave me a quote on the phone, then charged slightly LESS than that when he was done with the work because he was able to finish the work a bit quicker than he expected. And his quote was already about 1/2 as much as another company had given us, and that company had given the quote at our house after seeing the jobs that needed to be done. The second time there were two other guys who came and they were also very clear about what the job would cost before they did the work.

Based on these two experiences, I'm happy to continue going with these guys.

Suzy G.

NOTE: Many of the reviews for this company are from real estate agents who are not invested in either the cost nor the actual need for repairs. Most of the other positive reviews include the phrase, ""they found out I needed to replace blah blah blah..."" No one EVER says, ""he found that nothing further needed to be done."" One reviewer even mentions that his first inspector said there were no problems but the Plumbing Ministry magically found that repairs needed to be done. Those are red flags to me. The Plumbing Ministry tried to get me to pay thousands of $$ for work that a second opinion proved was not necessary.

Here's my story, I call it A Tale of Two Plumbers:

We're selling our house in Alameda and we needed to get a sewer lateral certification, per city code, before the close of escrow. Our agent hires The Plumbing Ministry. The day Luis arrives there are other inspectors and contractors running around and it's very clear we're selling the house. He says nothing to anyone, films the sewer line, and gives me a dvd of the inspection. I pay him $150 on the spot.

Fast forward 6 weeks - it's only days til closing. I learn that this is NOT AT ALL what the city needs and Luis KNEW THAT at the time. He acknowledged this on the phone and then said, ""well, that's not what she asked for - she just asked for the dvd."" He was difficult to get in touch w/ and then rude and sullen on the phone. He then emails me a quote for $2000 to have my sewer replaced and updated. He never actually said anything to me about whether the work needed to be done or whether he was just making shit up. Never discussed it at all.

I call up BONAFIDE PLUMBING last night and he explains thoroughly what the city is asking for. He then immediately makes a call to a contact in the permit department and determines that the certification was done before I owned the place and that it's still effective. He picks up the paperwork I'll need for the sale and drops it off this morning at my house. $115. It was worth every penny to get my needs met so quickly and to be communicated with in such a professional fashion.

When you ask for a termite inspection, you expect a pest report, not a guy saying, ""yup, you have termites."" When you ask for a tune-up you expect the mechanic to point out that your hoses are about to blow. When you complain about sore boobs you expect your doctor to check for cancer, not give you tylenol.

Moral of the story: it's the job of the professional to know more than you do about what you need and to advise you of the best course of action!

I got that from Bonafide Plumbing. I did not get it from The Plumbing Ministry.

Wiley R.

We experienced an unusual plumbing problem, and needed prompt assistance. Unfortunately, it was rather late in the afternoon, and I began to wonder whether anyone would be willing to answer the call that day. When Louis showed up just after 5 p.m., it was like an angel had descended upon us--with a plunger and fiber optic camera in hand!

Louis was professional, intelligent, and used state-of-the-art technology to efficiently diagnose our problem. In the end, this saved everyone time (and us, money). What might have been a three hour job, he did in about 45 minutes. Rather than leave--as others surely would have done--he stuck around and fixed a number of minor problems, since he would have had to charge us the full hour regardless. I thought that was really kind of him, especially given the late hour of the day.

If you're looking for an honest, yet knowledgeable plumber, call Louis at The Plumbing Ministry.