Monkey Wrench Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric

James B.

Our main line coming off the water meter had a small leak, and over time, started to overflowing out of the water meter box onto the sidewalk. Heather, who answered the phone, was pleasant and helpful. Daniel was assigned to the job. He was nice enough over the phone as well, and told me that I was looking at $500 for him to clamp the line and it would go up from there depending on the work performed.

I reluctantly agreed for him to come back the next day since the water had been leaking for some time and I just wanted to get it taken care of. He got to our home within 30 min of his stated arrival. So far so good. He then started to dig a trench from the line all the way to the side walk. At that point he asked if I had work to go to or if I was going to just hang out there with him. Hm. I let him know that I wanted to see what condition the existing line was in, and determine with him what the best course of action would be.

Once he dug all the way to the sidewalk, we noticed that most of the line was new copper piping, and only about the last 18"" or so tying into the meter was an old galvanized pipe that needed to be replaced. You should've seen the disappointment on his face when he saw the new copper line. He had been asking me about our sprinkler lines, telling me how much work it was going to take to navigate through our lawn to the house. It was very evident that he was disappointed at the scope of the actual work required.

After a few minutes, he came back to tell me that it was going to cost $750 to replace about 18"" of piping. I told him that that was ludicrous. He then said he doesn't have to continue the job, but I would still owe him $500 as that's what it costs to get him out to the job site. Not having any options, I opted to let him finish the work. The entire work took about 1.5 hrs from start to finish. I will never use them again - hope you don't make the same mistake I made either.

Sheri H.

We have had a number of plumbing ""challenges"" of recent, including a water heater that others could not fix, a smell in the dishwasher that others couldn't find and a smell in a back bathroom that we also couldn't locate. Not only did they resolve all of our problems, they gave us solutions that were economical and logical. All of their personnel have been professional, courteous and personable. We have gone through a number of plumbers over the years..but the search for a reliable plumbing company is over.

Janet M.

I received two warnings from DWP that my water consumption was 6 to 8 times higher than it should be, so I called a plumber to look for a leak. The plumber from Monkey Wrench found a tiny faucet drip, but nothing that could cause the water usage issue. Nevertheless, he charged me $300. I called another plumber and he found the leak (a broken pipe in the sprinkler system), fixed it, and charged me $225.

JP R.

I scheduled an appointment to convert my propane gas hose to natural gas. Staff was prompt and helpful. The technician came and told me it was a simple job. He grabbed my tools and was able to unscrew the hose from the grill. He did a great job and I'm happy with the service. But, it all happened so fast that only after he completed the job was I able to ask for the price. And it was expensive. I informed the company and they promised to make sure all technicians inform customers of price before doing the job. I advice everyone to keep an eye for this. Overall, I like the company and would call them again for future jobs, but I will make sure that the price is explained before feeling like I have overpaid after the fact, again.

A C.

Sometimes you gotta shake your head at the sheer gall of some people. Are they simply completely lacking in any degree of ethics/morals or are they just deluded and think everyone in the world but himself is a moron?
When the tankless water heater began to leak, my tenant got this clown joint's name from the Noritz website. The technician (ie highway robber whose name starts with R) came and incredulously with a straight face quoted $1795 to replace the heat exchanger/isolation valves and the filter. OMG. ARE YOU CRAZY?
The exchanger, mind you, is still under warranty and HENCE FREE. The valves are $75.
So this is his rate for labor??

Then as with all sociopaths, he just cannot stop. He goes on to say tankless heaters lasts max ten years. This is very different than the 20 years I've been told by everyone else. He goes on to suggest my 8 year old heater can be replaced all together for a mere cost of $5698. A similar brand new tankless heater sells online for $1200. .

This guy must have some skills to warrant those labor prices.

To put this into context, I of course then turned to yelp. I call and discuss the problem with another highly yelped plumber (Curtis Watanabe) who says changing out the exchanger is standard for a skilled technician, should cost no more than $250. Another plumber (RH Plumbing) quotes me $800 MAX for heater installation if I were to replace it.

I am waiting for the written estimate from this rip off artist so I can forward it to the BBB.

Paul B.

Marty came over very quickly after I call.
Did a great job at leveling a wobbly toilet.
Fast friendly service. Nice price too.

Abdulqadir H.

On Tuesday, June9th as per telephone appointment with Monkey Wrench Plumbing to re-inspect the electric heater between noon time to 4:00pm I went to the property in Long Beach. After two hour waiting I called them & was informed that the Manager had cancelled the appointment after reading my reviews dated June5th on YELP!!!!. He wanted me to first remove the comments from YELP. Can anyone explain the negative response of Monkey Wrench Manager? The telephone number he called me registers a caller's number on ""no calling list"". He had told me that he will call me the next day after talking to Whirlpool Repairs directly. Manufacturer Whirlpool Customer Service had told me that any defective part or repairs found in the water heater will be fixed by the Monkey Wrench whom they have given the job.
Wednesday June10th. It is now 4:45pm but the Manager has still not called me back. I gave them a reminder call at 2:00pm. The receptionist told me that my message will be given to him. They have still not repaired my water heater & charged $148.00 for just coming to the location address!!!!. They cannot make their services conditional to a client's comments on YELP about their
bad customer service & non professional service.

Kristine Y.

I have a Takagi T-K3 tankless water heater. It worked fine for 7 years then 2 weeks ago it stopped working, started working again, and then after it stopped working the second time, I went on Takagi's website and found Monkey Wrench on their list of approved plumbers. I checked them out on Yelp and since the reviews were good, I called them.

Mary was able to set up an appointment for me the same day! Ryan (one of their experts in tankless water heaters) came out, and he was able to correctly diagnose the issue with my tankless just by listening to my description of what was happening. Once he opened the unit up, it was exactly what he said it would be. Unfortunately, Takagi was closed due to Good Friday, but Ryan was able to get the part I needed the following Monday, and have my water heater back up on Tuesday. He was extremely knowledgeable, courteous, and explained everything that was going on.

Throughout this whole process, both Mary in the office and Ryan the plumber called and updated me on my appointment and part status. Monkey Wrench's prices may be a little higher than other plumbers, but the customer service was top notch, and Ryan's expertise was worth every penny!

Jayne M.

I am an out of town Landlord and need to rely on COMPETENT, HONEST people to call when household problems occur. When anything plumbing related comes up, my go to people are the folks at Monkey Wrench Plumbing. When you call, Mary or Heather answer right away and expedite getting a plumber out ASAP. Tenants don't always describe problems in knowledgable terms, so these guys get back to me with specific answers. They go the extra mile to make sure the problem is completely solved no matter how complicated. I've used them a couple of times now and can't thank them enough!!!

Jerome J.

Really impressed with my first experience with this plumbing company - that was recommended by the water heater supplier at the first place. I must say that I got an excellent service. The guy (Marty) was there on time and did a very clean job. Mary was very helpful when I called. I would use this company again :)