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Friendly Plumber
Category: Home Services Plumbing Plumbing [Edit]
895 24th Ave(between Cabrillo St & Fulton St)
San Francisco, CA 94121
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
(415) 242-8818
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 8 am - 6 pm
63 reviews for Friendly Plumber
63 reviews in English
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Review from James H.
San Francisco, CA
2/18/2011
Nice guys, fair pricing and good service. I would definitely use them again. One minor item, they turned off my furnace and did not reactivate it. I was able to go into a crawl space around 11pm and find and fix how they had done it. Some less technical would have spent a very cold Feb night missing a working furnace.
I got a nice follow up call the next day apologizing for the inconvenience around the furnace so it's all good.
Again would definitely recommend these guys! -
Review from Doug S.
San Francisco, CA
1/11/2011
I had these guys do a decent amount of plumbing work for me for a washer and dryer I purchased from Best Buy. I was able to quickly get an estimate appointment, and once I spoke with them I was comfortable enough to go ahead and schedule them to do my hookups (I was in a rush to get this completed before I had to return back from the Christmas Holiday).
What they did:
Remove old wash tub from laundry room
Install new wash tub with hot/cold water
Run hot/cold water to washer dryer location
Extend drainage lines for the moved wash rub
Extend hot water heater overflow line to wash tub
Run gas line to dryer
Install 2-feet of exhaust ventilation for dryer
Stack the dryer on top of washer
Summary:
They showed up 2 hours late, and did not reach out to me, relaying the fact that they were running behind schedule (I called them to ensure they were still coming). The total install was supposed to take about 4 hours; it ended up taking about 6-7 hours. Yes, they had to take a lunch, but they were still coordinating the delivery of the supplies they needed for my job when they were on-site.
Although, they may have seemed disorganized and a little lax in their notification of me about running late, I was extremely happy about the quality of the work that they did. I would much rather the job be done completely and to a high-standard than a shoddy job that only needs to be revisited at a later date.
Total Cost: $1.050 -
Review from Kathy A.
San Francisco, CA
11/6/2006
Another great experience from Robert. He handled our next set of repairs as quickly as possible, and that is no small feat considering we needed a new water heater installed. Try getting through that with no grief or extra charges, especially considering the narrow architecture of SF, and you'll know why I keep giving Robert 5 stars.
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Robert from Friendly Plumbing was great. He was on time, nay, 5 minutes early, and was straightforward, friendly, informative, and most of all...time efficient. I had a slow drain that I thought needed snaking. He explained what he was doing, informed me of the entire process and even recommended some DIY solutions should it happen again. He was out in 10 minutes, $50 under estimate. WOOT! I would recommend him wholeheartedly. -
Review from Annie W.
San Francisco, CA
9/8/2010
I had either a leaky sink or a leaky dishwasher and I could not for the life of me figure out which was leaking because water would randomly start leaking from underneath my wooden cabinets where I couldn't quite see the source. They are also right next to each other and the water pools around the cabinet bottoms so you can't see the origin. Argh!
I called Friendly Plumber and Sean responded promptly the next day right within the time bracket we agreed on and was so sweet and helpful. After some testing of the sink pipes and running of the dishwasher (patiently waiting for it to finish it's eternal cycle, I might add) he determined my dishwater's filter was clogged up and spewing gritty water back out. ...which really made a lot of sense and I kicked myself for not realizing it before. The boys in the house don't rinse their plates before putting them in, and I never thought of that being a problem until he pointed that out. D'oh!
Super professional and honest to boot! Despite staying almost 2 hours at my house to figure out what's wrong, I was only charged a modest fee of $120, and that was at my insistence! Sean was adamant in trying to find the problem even when both the sink and dishwasher stubbornly refused to show signs of its typical rebellion. That's really going above and beyond as a lot of people just give up and charge you $$75-150 for a visit even if it was only 20 minutes.
I will definitely be sending for them again! -
Review from dan l.
San Francisco, CA
8/17/2006
I called to find a plumber for a toilet emergency, and Robert actually talked me some suggestions for fixing it myself... and it worked!
Thank Friendly Plumber! -
Review from Roxane S.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 10/13/2008
Yay for Friendly Plumber!!! I reccommend then 500 billion + times over.
Robert is a super guys and gets the job done!!!
Choose them.1 Previous Review:
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10/18/2005 First to Review
Responsible, on time, fair pricing, and extremely friendly. I back them 100%
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Review from Adam J.
San Francisco, CA
9/24/2008
Hot water heaters aren't cheap in San Francisco, and neither is installing one. So, rather than a smoking deal, what you should expect for your money is reliability, prompt service, good advice, safety considerations, professional work and a guarantee. That description is Robert. It's hard to think of a more professional plumber. He spent an hour discussing different kinds of hot water heaters and which ones would best suit our family in terms of capacity, recovery, safety and efficiency. And he work was top notch, from soldering all the old pipes, moving the gas valves, putting in a new flue, and earthquake proofing it with triple straps and a custom bracket. Plus, that dude is really friendly!
There's another plumber on Yelp with more reviews than Friendly, but I had a bad experience with that outfit. They tried to pull a fast one on me, and then I went with Friendly. -
Review from Karen S.
San Francisco, CA
12/18/2008
I agree with the reviews that Robert is knowledgeable and knows that people want to save as much $ as possible on home repairs.
We had a leaky shower and got 3 estimates that all said cut the wall and replace the valve. Robert was the only one who suggested we buy the valve online (found a really good brand that was discontinued) and we could cut open the wall ourselves. He also knew we were on a time crunch and came in Saturday to do it AND had a great drywall guy come in to repair the wall. All in one day. Yay! -
Review from Alicia P.
San Francisco, CA
9/14/2008
Yay! For the Friendly Plumber! I called on a Tuesday and asked if I could get someone out asap the earliest I could get was Fri, but after the woman heard how long I had been without heat, hot water ect, she tried to work me in sooner, alas.. nothing, but I was ok with the earliest she had which was Friday.
Robert came right on time and was awesome! He knew right away what was up.. I told him that PG&E had been out to check out my situation and he was shocked that they didn't fix the issue a week ago when they arrived.. it was as simple as turning my earthquake emergency switch back on!! hahahah.. anyhow, no " real" plumbing took place but regardless I would still call them in a second! Everybody was suuper nice and helpful!! -
Review from kristoffe R.
San Francisco, CA
2/13/2008
We had a stopped-up drain in the bathroom. My own attempts at plunging, using Drano and even a snake did not unclog the problem.
Left a message for the Friendly Plumber on Christmas Day. He returned my call the next day and was able to schedule his visit that evening. He disassembled the p-trap, used a powered snake and was able to fix da sink.
I believe he is charging market rates and I paid the one-hour minimum after agreeing to his estimate. Prompt, courteous, and clean - I recommend the Friendly Plumber. -
Review from jane k.
Emeryville, CA
5/7/2011
i gave Friendly Plumber a call based on the helpful reviews from fellow yelpers. although i hired them to help out my parents and was not there to supervise the repairs they did, my parents told me they were very professional, fair with their pricing, and did an outstanding job.
we will definitely be using them again for any plumbing needs. -
Review from Trev C.
San Francisco, CA
2/19/2009
Wow. I called and asked how much it would be to snake out a toilet. Robert gave me a price but said "If it's not the toilet that's broken you can get an auger at the hardware store and do it yourself."
I can't believe he gave me a reason not to fork cash over. When I thanked him saying as much he laughed and said "I don't like wasting people's time." Fantastic. Hopefully I can take care of it but I'll be sure to give him a call if I ever need something. -
Review from Amelita C.
San Francisco, CA
10/8/2009
BUYER BEWARE
I would never recommend these people for anything and here's why: I had them in for a leaky bathtub faucet. They gave me a quote for work that was going to cost me about $600 for them to replace the tub and shower fixtures and another $500 for the contractor to rebuild the wall. I called a handyman friend to ask for advice. He changed the rubber gasket in the faucet for **less than a dollar** and the problem was solved. That was months ago and it hasn't leaked since.
Oh, and why was the faucet leaking in the first place? Because Atlas plumbing had put in the wrong kind of gasket a few months before that, probably knowing it would soon fail.
From now on, I call my friend first.
EDIT: Okay, I'll give more details about why I object so much. I think they should have seen that the immediate problem was with one small part failing because it was the wrong kind, rather than a serious failure of the system requiring complete replacement. The valve per se did not fail, the gasket did.
It seems that they did not look closely enough into the matter before making a very costly recommendation; that's my main objection, and to me, that's a very serious one. Regardless of their intentions, I felt as though they were trying to take advantage of me. It's like going to the doctor for a splinter and being told the whole finger has to come off.
Maybe it was an honest mistake, but I'd rather have a plumber who investigates the simple solutions first. To me, this would demonstrate that that they have my interests in mind.
(Just for accuracy's sake, it was more than a free estimate I got. I paid about $75 to have the faucet capped to stop the leak; I am not complaining about that, it was my choice. I can imagine that an alternate temporary fix he could have offered for a similar price would have been a new gasket, but it was never mentioned because he never looked.)Comment from Robert M. of Friendly Plumber 11/9/2009
Comparing a licensed, bonded and insured company to your… More » -
Review from James T.
San Francisco, CA
1/6/2006
Found this plumber from Yelp! and scheduled/ordered products and installations all day. Took the day off and he was a no show.
I don't have time for this. Robert seems like a great guy but did not call to say he would not make it. Can anyone refer me to a reliable plumber? I need 10-15K worth of work done. -
Review from Jamie W.
San Francisco, CA
1/6/2007
I tried to use Friendly Plumber after finding him in Yelp! I called and left a message on two occasions - letting about 2 weeks pass between the two contacts. How many callbacks did I get from him? ZERO.
If there were 0 stars, that's what he'd get from me. Even if he is just too busy with other jobs, professional courtesy should be to call me back and say he's too busy, find someone else to do the work. -
Review from Matsuo U.
San Francisco, CA
4/16/2010
11 years ago we called Friendly Plumber (install a commercial grade water heater in a 5 unit building) and haven't stopped calling since.They are expert at fixing plumbing problems (both BIG and small), installations, Robert has done a huge variety plumbing work for us:
--- sewer line replacement
--- fix a botched installation (by another plumber) on a high end shower (6 body sprays, 3 shower heads, steam, wrapped in Italian glass tile) I am pretty sure there is no one else that could have fixed this problem without messing up the tile.
--- install a (re) circulating pump to get hot water fast to the top floor of a 4 story building
And all of the less exotic plumbing issues: back-ups, faucet replacement, toilet installation, and so forth. Expert at diagnosing problems and fixing them.
Integrity & Honesty, and truly the Friendly Plumber. The best ! -
Review from Sal C.
San Francisco, CA
6/8/2009
I was referred to Friendly Plumber by my neighbor when my kitchen sink, bathtub and sewer backed up.
I called and found out that they don't work on stoppages, so that's what they mean by stoppage, but they did refer me to another rooter company who had really good customer service too.
I did though use Friendly Plumber to put in a new sewer for my house. I'm a relatively new homeowner, so it was important for me to be able to trust my contractor.
I got several bids for the job and was at first convinced that I should try to find a company who offers the pipe replacement without disturbing the ground. After talking with Robert, he informed me that the city doesn't always allow that type of plumbing, it wouldn't be up to code and would never pass inspection. Strange, the other plumber before him said that he does it all the time in the city and he highly recommends it. I called the Department of Building Inspection's Plumbing Department to make sure because I really hate being on the fence with conflicting recommendations, but I was told with all authority that yes, in my area, that was definitely not allowed. Can you believe this? What if I went with that guy and in the end my job wouldn't pass?
Anyway, I promptly called Friendly Plumber back and they were able to squeeze me into their schedule. Robert re-routed the path of the pipes to avoid having to dig-up my ultra-cool espaliered apple tree, which I appreciate. He was very professional throughout the entire process and I'm very thankful for my neighbor for the last minute recommendation. Thanks Larry, I owe you one dude!!!!!!Comment from Robert M. of Friendly Plumber 8/28/2009
Hi Sal, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your… More » -
Review from tony l.
San Francisco, CA
4/1/2007
I had him over for three things.
-Fix an extremely noisy pipe.
-Fix hot water pressure on a faucet
-Give estimate on leaky faucet
-Give estimate on bathroom remodel
He arrived on time and was super friendly. He did a great job of clearly explaining my options. Unlike other contractors that I've come accross, he didn't seem like he was out to make a quick book. On the contrary, he was trying to steer me towards cheaper options when feasible.
He ended up fixing the noisy pipe. He chuckled at me when I told him about the hot water pressure issue. "Have you tried turning that knob down there," as he pointed under the sink. Of course I had! But just in case let me give it a turn and... Oh shit. Yeah, good call. That's why you're a plumber and I'm...
Anyway, I'll call him back for our remodel once we start that project. -
Review from Crystal C.
San Francisco, CA
1/28/2008
Robert was so friendly on the phone!!! I have no idea how friendly he is in person, because he called one hour after our first scheduled appointment should have begun (my husband left work early to meet him at our house) to reschedule for this morning....and again my husband took off work and again Robert was a no show and NO CALL. Lame.
PS- Scroll down and check out these reviews. Most are from folks with no photo that have written 5 reviews in 2 years. I'm just saying.... -
Review from Amy P.
San Francisco, CA
2/5/2010
My landlord is one picky bastard. I love him for it and when he recommended that I call Friendly Plumber to come out and fix my sink I had no doubt in my mind that they would do the best job possible.
Rob was professional, courteous and left me with some helpful advice that can potentially help prevent another late night disaster.Comment from Robert M. of Friendly Plumber 2/5/2010
Dear Amy, Thank you very much for your kind and funny… More » -
Review from Paul N.
San Francisco, CA
1/29/2011
I called Friendly Plumber based on the excellent reviews I'd seen. I suspect many of these reviews were written when they were a one man shop, now have expanded due to demand generated by Yelp. I got charged $220 for less than one hours work, replacing a sink trap. When I called to ask about this, the owner explained to me that it costs him $80 just to dispatch someone on a call. I said I still thought $220 for less than an hour was exorbitant. He agreed to refund part of this money on 12/20. It's now January 29th and I have yet to see any refund.
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Review from Craig D.
San Francisco, CA
11/9/2009
Just got done with my first visit from the Friendly Plumber. After fully disassembling my bathroom drain to retrieve a ring my wife dropped, I discovered the pipes were damaged and in need of replacement. I figured I could handle this up until the point I discovered the pipe into the wall was frozen into place. I decide this was one of those points where it would be easy to do serious damage so I decided to call in a professional.
Friendly Plumber was able to squeeze me in the same day. They arrived at my house and were not bothered by the fact that I had started the job on my own and bought replacement pipes. My decision to call in professional help was vindicated by the fact that they really had to whale on the pipe to get it out. Less than an hour later, I had a working sink again. I couldn't ask for a better experience.Comment from Robert M. of Friendly Plumber 12/15/2009
Dear Craig, Thank you very much for the kind review you… More » -
Review from Quang N.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2011
We called these guys up to give us an estimate on a leaky shower faucet we had. The guy came 2 hours late without notifying us. Granted it was extremely rainy that day so being late is understandable, but a courtesy call would be great. The house visit estimate was 40 dollars, and then he told us that it would be 320 dollars to fix the problem minus 40 bucks if we decided to go with them (subtracting the house visit). Our landlord didn't like that price so we went with someone else. Needless to say, we got it fixed by another company for a total of 167 dollars. Far cheaper elsewhere.
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Review from Steven C.
Mountain View, CA
3/25/2011
03/11, Friday:
Called for an estimate. Came over, checked everything, said will email quote over weekend.
03/16, Wednesday:
No email. Called. Was told "Send me an email first - I'll reply tonight". Sent email.
03/23, Wednesday:
No response. Confused and disappointed with the unprofessionalism. Called another plumber. Got everything fixed the next day.
Shouldn't have wasted time with FP in the first place. -
Review from Joe W.
San Francisco, CA
12/30/2010
Plumbing service was 4 stars.
The drywall person (Andrew) that they recommended did more talk than sanding. poor job. I think he used 1/2" drywall where 5/8" was needed. -
Review from Chuck K.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 3/24/2011
I've used these guys before and they were great. I wrote them a 5 star review at the time. Now that I need more plumbing work, I rechecked their Yelp reviews and found lots of 1 and 2 stars. Since my 1st experience with them was so good, and this was only a faucet replacement, I decided to avoid the hassle of finding another plumber and called them again. Bad decision. They didn't show up and, worse, they didn't call. I can understand that circumstances can arise to make them late, but I'll never understand (or forgive) not getting a call. It's s so easy to do and should be standard business practice. These guys dropped the ball. It takes more than being "friendly" to be professional.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/1/2010
Robert is the real deal as described by other Yelpers! He came out on a holiday weekend to look at… Read more »
Comment from Robert M. of Friendly Plumber 1/4/2010
Dear Chuck, Thank you very much for your positive review.… More » -
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Review from Paul B.
San Francisco, CA
10/24/2009
I'd give 6 stars if I could. I wanted to get a new toilet and looked on Yelp for a good plumber. Rob's high reviews are deserved. I called him and and he talked me through how to determine the right size to order. I ordered, a few weeks later arranged for him to install.
The install went great but there was a leak in the tank. I got a new valve assy from the mfg and he came back to install it. Also gave me great references for other trade professionals for other work I needed. I'm sure I'll hire them in the future!Comment from Robert M. of Friendly Plumber 11/8/2009
Dear Paul, Than you very much for the nice review! I wish… More » -
Review from Kirsten M.
San Francisco, CA
11/15/2008
I picked Robert at Friendly Plumber because the Yelp reviews and because I really like to patronize local businesses when I can (I mean I can call a plumber from anywhere in the city but I like to support my 'hood and keep the good businesses here). Anyway, I called at 9am and had an appointment for that late that afternoon. He came as promised and with little drama or nonsense had my blocked toilet (yuck) fixed and done in 15 minutes for a very, very reasonable cost. He even gave me suggestions as to how to avoid his return and we had an interesting discussion about Yelp and its business model too. He just runs a good show and is a really nice, smart guy to boot -- I would recommend him to anyone.
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Review from Melissa S.
San Francisco, CA
8/12/2010
I'm not going to give them 1 star because its not their fault insurance is expensive. Called them based on reviews here. They are not covered by insurance to do work in buildings with more than 4 floors. Just wanted to let people know ahead of time.
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Review from annie s.
San Francisco, CA
5/3/2007
I can't say enough about Robert and Friendly Plumbing. He did seem to forget our first appointment too (see previous post) but came 20 mins after I called, and was very honest about our broken toilets (get new ones, it's about the same price as fixing them!). He came the following day to check on a leak, and then the day after that to install them. He was reasonable & friendly. Will definitely use them again!
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Review from Vic A.
Novato, CA
12/2/2005
Robert was indeed friendly and very professional. He gave useful advice and provided several pricing options to resolve the plumbing issue. Friendly Plumber is who you need to call for any plumbing troubles.
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Review from Suzanne J.
San Francisco, CA
8/25/2007
Robert was friendly and prompt. He installed a hose bibb for me and advised me a different way to take care of an exposed gas pipe that saved me $300.
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Review from Bob R.
San Francisco, CA
7/31/2008
Robert came to the house to help me fix a toilet. Helped me figure out the right approach and did a terrific job. He's a star.
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Review from Jo M.
Oakland, CA
11/2/2007
Look no further, Robert rocks and he really is a friendly plumber. We had a really tricky job which involved crawling through a dirty attic and tons of perseverance to find a gas pipe buried underneath the floorboards...two other plumbers gave up...Robert didn't give up and he finished the job. He's a really, really nice guy and you should call him with your job.
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Review from hunter w.
San Francisco, CA
3/12/2006
Responsive, helpful, did the job for a fair price, came as promised on a saturday afternoon. Would definitely use him again.
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Review from Chirpy M.
San Francisco, CA
1/5/2009
Rob is absolutely the best. He's done a bit of work in my place, which had shoddy plumbing to begin with. He replaced my shower valve and patched up the wall. It works and looks as good as new now. He also fixed my water heater on short notice while I was out of town. I couldn't ask for a more dependable and friendly plumber!
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Review from Zac A.
San Francisco, CA
7/23/2010
I didn't use them, so this review is just based on phone interaction. Very friendly and responsive. Gave me some helpful advice over the phone. Someone was a little quicker on the response time, but just based on phone interaction, I would definitely give these guys a shot.
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Review from Angie S.
San Francisco, CA
1/19/2009
Robert the friendly plumber was such a pleasure to work with. It's so hard to find good contractors in this city and before I found him (on yelp) I had had 2 other plumbers come out and neither could figure out what the problem was and how to fix it (there was a sewage smell coming from the toilet). Within a week of Robert coming, he replaced my toilet for a very reasonable price and we no longer have any problems. He was very professional and I highly recommend him.
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Review from Sean Q.
San Francisco, CA
2/1/2009
These guys are what service should be. I had a small project and some repairs to be done. I told him what I needed done and he asked what I wanted as well. We worked out a fair price and they didn't leave until I was satisfied that everything was right. This is how all my projects should be. Thanks guys!
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Review from louda l.
San Francisco, CA
12/22/2006
Not only were they fast and honest, but they WERE friendly! They got that nasty hairball out of my sink and used the most cost effective method they could. The gentlemen that came over also gave me a great introduction to plumbing 101.
