Lutz Plumbing Inc.

I buy all my fixtures from Suzie at Lutz. After my first visit, I knew I didn’t need a designer, she knows her stuff. She has enough in the showroom to show me quality difference and then we went online. I have a Victorian and needed polished brass, she found it. Perfect for my house, perfect customer service, super happy!

If I could give zero stars, I would. Lutz came to our house, was there for 60 seconds to tell us our hot water heater was broken (yup we knew that and could do nothing, that’s why we called) and charged us $ 100. Why did the come to tell us that? When I called to complain and say I wouldn’t be paying that amount for what transpired, I thought the issue was resolved. Nope. Now we have some scumbag collection agent calling our house for an improper charge. Nice.

The service was top notch.
ADVISORY! be sure to ask what the hourly labor cost is before they start. We were blown away when our bill showed up with charges of $ 172/​hr.
Won’t plan on using them again — too expensive

I was, and no longer am, a longtime customer of Lutz. Their people are kind and caring, but I have come to understand that they are overpriced and incapable of resolving problems that I now realize are simple and straightforward. I would not have known this if I had not been forced to call another plumber after Lutz came several times to fix the same problem without resolving it. When I brought in a new plumber, he was dumbfounded that Lutz had not run a simple test which, I might add, Lutz had told me they had run each time. It was the overfilling-​a-​tub test, which would have explained why water was leaking out of both tubs and through the floor to the ceilings below. I don’t know how many times I paid Lutz to fix this problem only to have it recur. When I brought this to Lutz’s attention, they ignored me, and when I responded with the information again, they insisted I pay the bill plus late charges. I have paid the bill, but I will no longer use Lutz.

The show room is well decorated with a variety of options for your bathroom needs.
Phil, at Lutz, was extremely helpful with showing us different products and in processing our order. He was patient in sending us numerous quotes to meet our tastes and budget. Moreover, Phil went out of his way to get us a brand new vanity even though we had paid floor model pricing.
In short, I highly recommend Lutz and Phil.

I love their showroom. Susie (I think she is the owner) knows everything about faucets and fixtures. I do not need a designer, just need Susie. Fixing up my East Bay Home, it’s worth the drive to come over and talk to her. Without the cost of a designer, I am getting high end stuff at Home Depot prices. Wahoo!

Lutz Plumbing is stellar. They were so helpful when I realized I could not finish my bathroom remodel on my own.
I first met with Susie who was extremely friendly and very patient with me and my 3 year old, whom I had to bring to their showroom. Phil ended up helping with the majority of the furnishings for my bathroom remodel. He immediately and completely understood my style preference and always had great recommendations. The most notable is the amazing medicine cabinet he suggested. I have four kids who are using the new bathroom and the added storage space from the med cabinet is invaluable. Phil also helped locate and deliver items quickly. I frequently needed items ASAP and he did a fantastic job delivering product in a very efficient manner.
I highly recommend Lutz Plumbing and I will use them again, without a doubt, in the future.

Lutz is by far the best plumbing service I have used in the Bay Area! Lutz came highly recommended by a friend of mine and I couldn’t be happier with the quality of their service and the ease with which I was able to carry out my transaction. They helped me choose a beautiful new Keuco fixture for my bathroom and installed it in a timely and caring manner. With Lutz being a family business, it is no surprise that they put their full pride and hard work into what they do. Keep up the great work Jerry, Susie, Phil, and the rest of the Lutz company and I will definitely be doing business with Lutz in the future!

I needed to buy a faucet set and get my faucet replaced. I called to find out what time they closed:
Me: «Hi — what time do you close?»
Lady: «For the showroom?»
Me: «Oh! What are the options?»
Lady: «Do you want to buy something?»
Me: «Well, yes… I need a faucet. But what else is closing?»
Lady: «Well, there’s the showroom and plumbing services.»
Me: «Oh, I need to get a faucet replaced so I need both. What time do they close?»
Lady: «Plumbing services are at all hours, you have to schedule.»
Me: «Ok. so I wanted to get a faucet today, then to get it replaced. What time do you close?»
Lady: «Well, there are no more appointments today.»
Me: «Uhh, ok… well I’ll just go somewhere else then.»
I never did get a time.

Over several years we have had Lutz Plumbing deal with toilets — they only sell what they consider highest quality — and then asked them to get us a new water heater. Jerry Hotarek came out, analyzed our situation, asked us what we needed, and finally recommended an on-​demand water heater. he had it positioned where it is silent and forgotten, but with the controls readily accessible. His crew performed efficiently and well, took out the old tank heater and gave us new space in the basement. Recently I asked Jerry to bid on another job where we had a bid from a company we knew and had used. He told us that he knew the company well, that they did excellent work, and that while he would be pleased to do the job, we would get what we wanted from that company. He was right. More importantly he did not undermine the competitor but rather gave him a five-​star rating. That kind of honesty is priceless! Only highly competent and fine people play the game that way. It is why we would trust Jerry and his team with any job.

We needed to replace an old leaky toilet in our condo in SF. Our building is a little unique insofar as practically all the toilets in the building are one type (back flush), but not ours. Susie was very helpful and responsive to help us pick out the right kind of fixture for our situation, doing it all remotely by emailing pictures of the toilet from various angles. Scheduling was easy and efficient, and the price on the toilet itself seemed very fair. We were not on site when Lutz came to install the toilet, which was no problem. The installer from Lutz cleaned up beautifully — no sign he was there except for the new toilet! From start to finish, it took less than a week to identify the issues, the options, order, schedule and install the toilet. We would use these people again in a heartbeat.

What a 1^st class experience. The staff at Lutz plumbing is professional, honest and pays attention to detail. The shower in my master bath needed to be replaced and Susie helped me pick out something sensible yet high quality. She made it elegant and affordable. The plumber that came to install the new shower from Lutz was knowledgeable, fast and clean.
Thank you to all the wonderful staff at Lutz plumbing. I feel comfortable recommending all my friends and family to you for 100% of the plumbing needs!

Crooks!
Called in to get prices on particular set of bath fixtures. They had the best prices. Spoke to slimy saleswoman woman who acts like she has something better to do. Whatever. I call back later ready to order. I speak to a nice guy confirm the prices and call back with the credit card and I get slimo again. She takes over the order and says she will email me the invoice. She charges the card then emails me at the end of the day. I told her clearly I want to see the itemized prices beforehand. «Sure, sure», she says. I got the email at 530 pm with prices 50% more than originally quoted. I called back right away and she acts all indignant and claims the prices she originally quoted were not in the proper finish (a lie), then she said that it is a good thing I called her right away or there would be a restocking fee. She really tried to pressure me into just buying the items because she already ordered them and tried to convince me I had made a mistake. I know I didn’t make a mistake because everyone else selling these fixtures charges less, even in my finish.
Better get it in writing if you do business here!
And don’t deal with SUZY

I am adding to my earlier review (see below) — as a result of this review the owner assures me he has changed his pricing approach — now stating that the part I was seeking is available at $ 8.80 instead of $ 18. I would still arm yourself with pricing information from the web site of your plumbing manufacturer before picking up the part locally — but obviously the convenience, speed and lack of shipping cost with getting a part locally counts for a lot. I am improving the number of stars in my review too — as I believe in giving local merchants a chance to fix issues which I feel this one is trying to do.
Earlier review «just went here to buy a genuine Kohler part for my Toilet — the part was about $ 7 on the Kohler web site. They had the part and wanted over $ 18 for it! I asked why and they said they „flat rate“ their parts. I walked out as I consider this a rip off. It’s also a really dumb business practice. I travel specially over to get a genuine part rather than a knock-​off, walk into a nice showroom and get told they are going to ream me by more than double the part cost. Not only do they get this bad review but now I would never consider going to this showroom to buy more significant bathroom stuff as I felt like they had this attitude to their customers that it was alright to rip them off. I found the part at a nearby genuine Kohler dealer, Ferguson’s on 3^rd for $ 6.30»

I recently purchased a fancy kitchen faucet from Lutz Plumbing as a anniversary gift for my spouse, I know, quite a gift, but he has always wanted a unit with a detachable sprayer, like the ones you see in school (and prison) cafeterias. Finding the right one was a challenge, the variety of faucets produced is only second to the total number of Beanie Babies every made.
After making an appointment, although Lutz does take walk in traffic, Susie assisted me with the various selections. The showroom is small, but there are various catalogs to look through. Susie knew where each of the hose faucets were located, so it did not take too much time to find the right one. It was a little difficult, given that I prefer to see the actual model, rather than looking through catalogs, however, I already had something in mind and quickly made a decision. If you need to see the actual faucet, Home Depot/Lowe’s and the other plumbing showrooms near Lutz have larger showrooms, however, service was an issue with the big box retailers and the other showroom around the corner did not install.
Susie was always on top on answering email questions and following up. The faucet is now installed and while a follow up service visit was needed to better secure the unit, we are very happy with our experience with Lutz.

Excellent customer service! Responsive to customer’s needs. As a repeat customer, I highly recommend to others.

This crew has been to my place a few times, and I won’t have them back.
1) fixed a drip in the business end of a faucet but left a quite noticeable leak around the base, that required replacement. Repair, then replace? Seriously what the hell is that?
2) claimed that my furnace could not be relit due to old equipment and tried to sell my landlady a new furnace. A 2^nd plumber came out and fixed it in 5 minutes with no replacing of parts.
Left me with no heat for nearly a week, and a cold week at that, while they tried to convince my landlady to buy a new furnace that was in no way a true urgency. I therefore cannot stand this company.
If you have a similar experience with them, talk to me, we can file a complaint together.

What can I say, but Larry is amazing!
I haven’t been able to use my bath tub since we bought our condo 2 years ago. The previous plumber had tried to fix the diverter and ended up completely stripping the pipe and giving up. My friend recommended Lutz so I took a chance and wow did it pay off. He came the first day but couldn’t get a grip on the damned pipe and didn’t want to waste my money on him trying when he knew it wouldn’t help.
So, he took the part we were trying to install and went back to the shop to see if he could find the right tool. He called me later that day to say he thought he found what he needed and could come back tomorrow.
He did and it worked!!! After 2 years I know can use my bath tub… He is so nice and professional. I almost hope i have another plumbing need just so I can see him again.

To his credit, the president Jerry was helpful and took the time to timely return my phone calls and answer my questions.
The worker guy… if I’m being charged by the hour, I expect you to work during that time and not stand there and tell me that you can’t fix my problem, for the exact same reason that I told you I was having the problem! Also, seriously, they charged me $ 15 for «equipment,» which was the snake he used! They reuse those things all the time, seriously, you’re charing me for that, on top of the useless hour?

Why don’t more people Unilocal plumbers?
It can’t be for the lack of funny things to say — honestly it could be a gold mine in the right hands. Those hands however, are not mine.
I have no funny for Lutz — only LOVE! Here’s a little story to explain why:
Once upon a time, a lovely young lady named Hannala was leaving her apartment at 6:30 a.m. to go to the hospital for surgery. Right before she left, her mother (who was visiting) rinsed out a coffee cup in the kitchen sink. Water spurted from a pipe IN THE WALL next to the sink!
This was awful! Hannala was stressed out! What if that leaky pipe leaked all over her kitchen? What if the water had to be turned off while she was recovering from surgery?! This TOTALLY SUCKS!
Hannala called her FABULOUS landlord, who in turn called Lutz Plumbing.
Even though they were all booked up, the fantastic people at Lutz did not make Hannala wait for her pipe to get fixed. They called later that day and said they would fix her leaky pipe disaster in between appointments. They were guessing around somewhere in the afternoon — maybe 1:00 to 4:00. At 3:00, Lutz Plumbing called to ask if it was ok for their plumber to come by. «Yes! Yes, PLEASE!» said Hannala.
Enter The White Knight or perhaps more accurately, Yuri the Plumber.*
What Yuri the Plumber lacked in clear, understandable English he more than made up for in plumbing acumen and kind demeanor. He immediately determined that the pipes in Hannala’s circa-​1900 building were as old as, well, the building. They were literally rotting away and would have to be replaced DOWN TO THE GROUND LEVEL.
This was not a job that could be completed that day.
Just as Hannala (in her Vicodin-​induced haze) was about to TOTALLY FREAK OUT, Yuri pointed out that he could patch the bad pipe and then come back tomorrow to fix it permanently.
This was no ordinary patch job. Hannala’s mom washed some dishes. Then she ran the dishwasher. Then she filled the sink and soaked a pan. The pipe did not drip.
The next day, Lutz called to ask if Yuri could come by at 10:00 a.m. «Yes please!» said Hannala.
Yuri showed up at (you guessed it!) 10:00 a.m. He replaced the old rotted pipe with new, pretty, copper pipe ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE GROUND.
Hannala’s kitchen pipes are now as good as new — most likely because they ARE new!
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I don’t know what Lutz charged my landlord, but she’s not the type to throw money around (actually she’s really, really thrifty) so I’m going to assume that the cost was reasonable. All I know for certain was that they communicated clearly and frequently, treated me, my mom, my apartment and my time with respect AND Yuri is a god of Plumbing! I HIGHLY recommend them!
I should also mention that my parents are landlords of three old rental houses and this is DEFINITELY NOT my first experience with a plumber. I know good plumber from bad plumber and this is absolutely the former.
*Not his real name