Chris Wilson Plumbing & Heating

Exceptionally skilled and trustworthy staff. Jason explained the problem (leak in the main water line) and kept me in the loop and the proceeded to fix. It was not an easy job but he made it look easy and he was very kind. Chris Wilson Plumbing is the place to call.

These people are far too expensive for their work and I don’t trust what’s going on because within a two year period, they have changed the circuitboard in my forced air heater three times! Each time they order a brand-​new one and it costs me between $ 650-​$ 750 per time. This seems very fishy, and I would not call them first ever again. After they left, my thermostat was flashing that the filter needs replacing and when I called the same man back one hour later& he refused to come out and take a look at the filter, even though it cost me $ 750. I think it should’ve been done on the front end.

I was never contacted by Chris Wilson Plumbing after I posted my Unilocal review. I guess their motto is «Take the Money and Run».
I finally decided that maybe I should try someone who installed solar hot water systems. I requested consultations from 2 local companies I found online and, in spite of asking twice, didn’t hear from either one of them.
Then I called the guy who had replaced the recirculation pump in the system. I knew he was retired, but I tried the number on his sticker on my solar storage tank. The number went through to Andy at Santa Cruz Solar.
The guy who had retired was terrific and I figured he most likely wouldn’t leave me with a roach, so I talked with Andy. I described the problem over the phone. Andy told me that it sounded like the check valve (which prevents backflow in the recirc system) wasn’t working. He told me how to test that. I reported back that I couldn’t find a check valve in the recirc system. I had *specifically asked* Chris Wilson Plumbing several times if it might be the check valve. They looked at the only one they could find, which was NOT in the recirc loop, and said it ‘seemed’ OK. They never looked for or found the one in the recirc line, which was very close to the pump AND to a place in the system where they actually worked. They didn’t know what they were looking at!
So Andy and his son came over. It WAS the check valve, a tiny fitting-​appearing thing which had stuck open (they found after they got it off). Andy replaced it with a $ 60 solar check valve which is attached with unions at either end, so it can be easily removed for cleaning and inspection. 1.5 hrs of work (they had to make some bends to fit the larger, new check valve into the space where the tiny one had been) and $ 219 (INCLUDING the $ 60 part!) later my problem is FIXED completely. Fast, reliable, accurate, friendly, helpful… where do I stop. Call Santa Cruz Solar!!!

Water heater pilot light went out. Could not get it back on. I called this company on a Sunday morning at 0815. The gentleman on call, Steve, returned my phone call within 5 minutes and politely explained that he would be willing to look at it. He sounded very knowledgeable on the phone, and he was at my house within 30 minutes. Within 5 – 10 minutes he had the water heater pilot light burning again. Turned out that the earthquake switch had been activated on the natural gas unit in the front yard. It amazed me that he had the presence of mind to check that. I highly recommend this company.

This company is the best. They came out to solve a huge problem with my sewer line. Very professional and the team was amazing. They have practically lived here for two weeks. I am so pleased with both response and resolution.
Great humor during a very difficult time! Thank you Steve and team!
Salli James

The heater was not working due to my negligence when installing the filter. Called these guys, they discovered my error and we also had them install a new thermostat. The trouble is the heater ran all night and the house never really got warm. We called them back and they cannot come back for several days. Not thorough, over priced on labor and we will not be using them again.

This plumber stands behind his work. Our kitchen sink backed up and a technician cleared the problem. When it recurred five weeks later, I called the office asking for a discounted follow up call. Chris Wilson himself returned me call and said his best technician would come out and take care of the problem for NO CHARGE. Joe and his assistant spent two hours clearing the lines and were very nice and professional.

ELDER ABUSE ALERT!!! These clowns quoted my 87 year old father in Seaside a price for a gas line replacement that essentially came down to $ 300/​hour for labor! This is for one guy and does not include materials. Then, they only finished half the job and said they couldn’t come back and finish for a couple of days. No hot water, no heat, no gas cooking for an 86 year old senior citizen. We had to hire another plumber to come out on an emergency basis and finish the job. These guys are absolute jerks. DO NOT USE CHRIS WILSON PLUMBING!!!

Absolutely the BEST. Can do intelligent, complex plumbing jobs, including removing and installing new sewer line under thick concrete. They obtained County permits without a glitch, and have a positive, long standing relationship with County inspectors.
During multiple jobs they have proved themselves to be reliable, responsive, knowledgeable.
Prices for rooter rooting type jobs are comparable to other plumbers, quality is superior.
I’ve had a lot of experience with other plumbers in Aptos, and Chris Wilson Plumbing: Steve, Joe and all of them are right up at the top of the experienced Pros. (How can they be so enthusiastic about plumbing work??? !!!)

Water heater, finally popped, after pulling the heater, the 40 year old pipes finally needed replacing, tried replacing that section to find all the pipes where bad, and found some just ready to go rusted all through, complete re-​plumb with aquapex and copper, job looks amazing, very quick, done in a day including main. highly recommend them, thank you Chris, Anthony, Rob, and Drew we now have clean water.

These guys were fast and professional, which was nice. However, they weren’t able to fix the problem, and charged me a $ 38 «service fee» for coming out, even though they didn’t get anything done. That would almost be forgivable, but the price quote they gave me for replacing a single drain was more than $ 1700.00. This didn’t sound quite right, so I called a competing company (Big Angelo) and got a quote of $ 450.00 for the same job. The other company also came out and tried to fix it, with no charge for coming out or giving me a quote on the job.
TL;DR: Nice guys I’m sure, but very overpriced. I’d stay far away, unless you enjoy the «auto-​mechanic feeling» of having someone tell you that you’re going to pay an absurd amount of money for a relatively short job.

I have a rental property in Monterey and engaged this company twice for plumbing services. I have to say that their service is rather hit or miss. I called them the 14^th to schedule an appointment at 9am on the 17^th. I was promised a technician of my choice, and was also told that the technician would give me a call on the 15^th between 3pm and 4pm. Unfortunately, the technician never called. I called in yesterday and was promised that they would follow up. When I called this morning in, a lady informed me that the technician assigned for the job could always change, so nobody would be able to talk to me beforehand. They didn’t even have the courtesy of informing me about this in advance nor apologize for the waste of my time. As a result, I cancelled the appointment and switched to a different company.
I am not a professional plumber, so I can’t comment on their service, but I feel strongly that their company has some communication issues and does not know how to deliver on the promises made.

Good service which should be expected… but watch out for hidden costs they don’t tell you about over the phone:
$ 15 truck fee… I’m guessing they charge for drive time because as I explained over the phone the job was minor… didn’t need the large truck they drove.
Hourly rate… it starts when they arrive. For some reason the 30 min job cost me an hour and a half.
Had my owe parts but they insisted they use their parts (which for some reason cost more then my parts)

Its been almost a month since this happened, so unfortunately I cannot remember the technician’s name. I wish I could because he was really great!
My water heater started leaking all over the place, and after some disastrous attempts at fixing it ourselves, we called Chris Wilson. The technician was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He gave us a detailed description of the repairs needed, quotes on parts and labor, a few tips to save money, and various other options. Even though we didn’t sign off on a repair right that second, he was very friendly and courteous, he even cleaned up all the mess our leaky heater had made. I felt it was well worth the diagnostic fee!

To Chris’ credit and professionalism, he contacted me directly to hear my concerns and graciously offered to refund a portion of my invoice, making his bid extremely competitive. Thanks!

At first the quoted us for the wrong part and then overcharged us. We called and questioned why the service cost so much and they realized it was their mistake. Sent a refund check, but still seemed expensive. We asked for a breakdown of the cost, but never got a return phone call.

Seems good. They came out within a couple hours to assess. Found that there was a leak in a galvanized pipe, so the whole thing had to be replaced. That was a bit expensive, but no way around that. Basically, I’m just happy to have running water again! Thanks.
Oh, they do want payment upon completion, but they take credit cards. This is a plus for me.

I had my toilet inspected for poor flushing.
The person who came to evaluate it was very nice and professional.
The price seemed a little steep, $ 217 for an evaluation. But as far as I know that is pretty standard in the industry. He was here for a total of approx 1 hour after all was said and done.
When they tried to sell me a new toilet, I asked if their prices were competetive. He said yes. (wanted $ 654 for toilet and including installation… installation alone is $ 211) However, I did not sign up on the spot to get a new one installed and then proceeded to find the same toilet for $ 150 cheaper on a quick internet search (includes shipping).
I felt this was a little bit of price gouging but again as far as I know this may be standard. It would however pay to do your own research.
Hope this helps

Last week I had my heater serviced by Chris Wilson Plumbing and Heating. It was a very pleasant experience — from making the appointment with the bright young woman working at the office to the service call itself with the efficient, knowledgeable technicians. They were fast, did a clean, thorough job and I am very happy with the price. I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the area!

When my hot water heater broke a few weeks ago I asked some of my neighbors for referrals to a good plumber. Two of the three recommended Chris Wilson Plumbing so I contacted them a Monday. They scheduled Troy to come to my home the same day. He was prompt and was able to order a replacement heater for install the next day. The price was fair. I liked the fact that a week after the work was completed, I noticed a slight dripping from the water connection to the heater, so I called back to Chris Wilson to tell them about the problem. Troy came back out the same day to troubleshoot and fix the problem. I would definitely use them again… but hopefully I won’t have any plumbing issues for a long time!