Affordable Water Heaters and Plumbing, Inc.

Affordable Water Heaters did a good job for a very fair price, communicated the price and and scope of work clearly and understandably, provided the American-​made water heater tank and parts required to bring the unit up to current City of L.A. code and did a quick and extremely neat job. As a bonus, they increased the guarantee of the water heater from 6 to 10 years. They SPECIALIZE IN WATER HEATER INSTALLATIONS and came out as promised within 1 ½ hours of my phone call (several other general plumbing companies told me they were swamped around the Xmas holiday and couldn’t do any water heater repairs for several days). My installer named DANIEL was well groomed, fluently English speaking, sounded honest and was well trained. His supervisor gave me the repair bid by phone which I negotiated slightly downward (because I was laid off over a year ago and on a tight budget), they accepted my counter offer on the spot then immediately started the installation QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY (and it was more than just a switch out because the tank’s housing and connectors needed to be brought up to code). Their PRICE WAS REASONABLE FOR A LICENSED CONTRACTOR. I know because I got similar bids from the company that installs Home Depot’s water heaters as well as a Unilocal!-highly-rated general plumbing contractor that I have used before and Affordable Water Heaters was MORE AFFORDABLE ($ 125 less than other bids for the same scope of work).
Over the years for both work and personal use I have had to deal with many plumbing companies and Daniel was one of the most professional plumbers I have dealt with. Affordable Water Heaters is based in Santa Clarita, but services the entire greater L.A. area (I live in Los Feliz) and that is why there are multiple business addresses on Unilocal!– mostly in the Santa Clarita area. My 40 gallon water heater failed «unexpectedly» (it was an inexpensive 5 year guarantee, non-​energy efficient model that I bought 17 years ago when I first moved into my home). It was way past its life expectancy and I knew it would fail eventually, but figured why replace it so long as it keeps working. Well it finally did and the tank ruptured which caused some temporary flooding under part of the house closest to it and an area of my back yard which required me to rent water removal equipment and industrial floor fans from Home Depot – so in retrospect it might be better to replace your water heater after 10 years so you don’t have to go through the added hassle I did. By the way, in reading some of the below negative Unilocal!reviews, I suspect some of those customers just resented spending money alltogether, I doubt if any got other bids or estimates for comparison as I did, but when something is going to cost hundreds of dollars or more, I want to get a decent price, good service and good quality as I did with Affordable.

Please, do yourself a favor and DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! They charged several times the fair market price, or in other words what is reasonable and customary for the work done. Thus it is extremely ironic they call themselves «affordable.» That is a gross misrepresentation to the public and a fraud. They charged $ 400 to replace a thermocouple which wasn’t even the issue. They refused to provide itemized prices for parts and labor. We had to hire another plumber to complete the work.

Really?! So, these are the guys listed on stickers they send out with emergency shut-​off instructions, so you feel okay to call them when you have an issue. DON’T. My tenant called them and since it was Sunday, I agreed to the $ 99 trip charge for a pilot light that wouldn’t stay lit. I figured thermocouple, so knew what the cost should be. The guy arrives and gets on the phone with my husband and quotes over $ 500 bucks! I drag my finger across my throat because no way am I paying that plus the trip charge. When my husband tells him to forget it, the guy suddenly wants to talk to his office to see if they ‘can work with’ us on the price. We tell him to get lost, and the next day an honest guy shows up to do the work for $ 250. LIARS AND THIEVES.

Friday, September 4 water heater goes out. Pilot won’t stay lit. Called this company as they were referred to by manufacturer label. Guy shows up, replaced thermo cupling (sp?) and does some other work to the tune of $ 497. Next day, not hot water. We call again, assured us that a repairman would be out on Sunday, September 6. No a stinking word all day. We called hourly only to be fed a song and dance. Called today, and was told that a repair person would be out between 8 and 10 am. Today is Monday, September 7. Three days without hot water. It is now 12 noon and no one in sight.
I called the office dispatch to express my concerns and was told the following:
1. they are understaffed with only one tech for the entire service area:
2. it’s a holiday, so forget about getting anyone there until MAYBE after 3 pm and that’s a big maybe:
3. that they have taken cold showers, so I should just be patient. (seriously, no concern for the paying customer who has waited days for hot water after the repair… I’ve got words for this… I’ve got words…)
Sorry folks, but for just under $ 500, I expect those repairs to work. For the same amount of money, I could have replaced the water heater myself. I don’t expect three days of song and dance about how the company is having a bad weekend. Not my concern. I paid in good faith, signed a contract, lived up to my end of the deal. So, resolve your issues. Hire in the help you need, hire temps, do something to resolve the unhappy customer’s concerns. But for goodness sake, if you say you are going to show up or you are going to call, do so! We have things to do and can’t be sitting around for days on end waiting for some mystery repair person.

iwas at work and my wife woke up to a flooded garage, well at leaste there was water all over. she called the number on the water heater“affordable water heaters” yeah right $ 2800.00 later it was fixed. after looking at the work the tank is leaning there was a leak on top of the heater workmanship was piss poor. i work in the trades and would be ashamed to say i installed this water heater, where is there pride in there craft i guess there isn’t. once all the work is redone to my satisfaction i will never repeate n e v e r ! ! ! call them again! if you are reading this and need a water heater find a local contractor and have it done right!

I agree with the negative reviews for this company. I never deal with any company thats called afforadable, cheap, thrifty, discount because most likely they are all crooks. My husband noticed our water heater pilot light went out around midnight. The next morning he called these guys without telling me and then has me deal with them after the work has already started. I would have never called them myself because having worked in property management I have a vast list of reputable vendors who I trust. Job was quoted one price basically to replace thermocouple and a valve. I thought it was way over priced because one of my vendors quoted me ½ the price. I spoke with Omar who said he was, the owner of Affordable Plumbing and he came down a little on the price but wouldn’t match the competitors quote. My hands were tied cause otherwise I’d be stuck paying the $ 99 for them to come out and do nothing. I OKed the work and left to take my son to school. When i got back 15 min later the tech tells me that the thermocouple was not the problem it was the thermostat that it will be $ 350 no wait $ 400. Yeah turns out he also had my husband sign a waiver of right to cancel when I was gone. Needless to say Im still sick to my stomach and $ 400 poorer. I could have showered at Ritz for that and just did the work myself. The water heater is 7 years old and the parts were still under warranty. Unfortunately my water heater had already been taken apart and they said it would still be $ 400 to install everything if I went to get the parts myself. What? Does $ 400 an hour sound affordable to you? What a scam!

Terrible, terrible, terrible. Do NOT use these folks. They charge literally 3x what other plumbers charge. I learned it the hard way by agreeing to their proposal BEFORE checking Unilocal.Huge mistake. Buyer beware!!!

So when the water heater goes out you’re pretty much at the mercy of faith and who can get there. I was amazed at how many companies I called and sat on hold with until I hung up and called another supplier. Had my water heater replaced 10 years ago and noticed it leaking out of the top so I needed to replace it but not right away. I had a little time to shop around Found out I now needed a stubby water heater due to code changes that costs twice as much as a regular water heater. The only challenge I found with Affordable is they won’t provide any type of estimate over the phone. I had another company come out and provide an estimate first. Affordable was #2 and they matched the first quote so I knew I was in the ballpark. Their differentiator is that they claim to use a commercial water heater that is more durable than what the big box stores provide. A week after installation I received a receipt for the job and instructions to call the city inspector so they can come by and confirm it was done properly.

WARNING: ABSOLUTELY STAY AWAY!!!
Earlier this year, the water heater on my six-​year-​old, new-​construction home went out.
This company’s sticker was on my heater. The sticker was official-​looking, like it had been installed by the utility company or perhaps a home builder. I called the number on a Friday night. And I got a call back in 5 minutes. They sent a guy –Andrew — the next morning, Saturday before noon.
Andrew quoted $ 3,860, all-​inclusive. He called his office to have me speak to a manager to see if pricing could be better. The person at the office told me over the phone they could bring it down to $ 3,240.
Completely outrageous. I didn’t use Affordable Water Heaters.
Instead, I had a local contractor install a brand-​new Whirlpool 50-​gallon water heater for $ 800, all inclusive.
Affordable Water Heaters is a predatory company, end of story.
Due to my line of work, I’ve seen repair estimates on more than 200,000 homes all across the U.S. This company should have been shut down with this kind of business practice.

Three weeks ago my old water-​heater stared leaking. Called Affordable, around 1:00pm they said they would be out in a hour. Between 4:00pm and 5:00pm they showed up (to late foe me to call another plumber). They quoted me a little over $ 2,300 for a 50 gallon water-​heater. The tech asked if I was a veteran and a senior I said yes. He gave me a so called discount of $ 200. The install took a few hours I signed the papers and paid the tech. To my surprise a few days later I noticed the tech installed a 40 gallon water-​heater. I called them up they said on tape (phone conversation) the tech was quoted for a 50 gallon water-​heater but the paper I signed said 40 gallons. I asked Affordable for to lower the price they said no, the 40 and 50 gallon water-​heaters are the same price. They said even though on tape the tech said he was installing a 50 gallon water-​heater I signed for a 40 gallon. Watch what you sign.
My neighbor just had his water-​heater replaced. The tech started off with a $ 2,300 quote. When it was all said and done he only paid $ 1,500 for a 50 gallon water– heater.
I was ripped off.

Run away! A year ago, my water heater started leaking a small amount in the garage and my roommate called a few places on Unilocal because I was traveling abroad. He had Affordable Water Heaters and Plumbing Inc. (San Francisco… but the invoice has the Santa Clarita address and this company has 3 and 4 Unilocal listings per area trying to dodge past bad reviews) come out and replace the unit. When I got back, I saw how badly he had chosen. They charged $ 1400 to spend an hour replacing a 40 gallon water heater that would have been under $ 400 at Home Depot. That’s $ 1000 for an hour of work! To make matters worse, when I applied for the $ 200 PG&E rebate, I found out the «high efficiency» EnergyStar water heater they sold us wasn’t on the list of approved water heaters (even though others from the same manufacturer were). I hit the Google and it turns out the water heater they sold us was discontinued in 2011 or so. Anyway, I called them a few times to ask why they didn’t install something on the approved-​rebate list and nobody ever called back. I’m not even bothering with the «why did it cost $ 1400» issue because that’s just our own dumb fault for not shopping around. Like I said… Run!

After The Gas Company was unsuccessful at getting our pilot light to stay lit, we desperately needed someone to fix it so we could finally have hot water again (after 5 days of no hot water! Ugh.). I called several water heater/​plumbing companies & Affordable was the nicest, most responsive & most accommodating of all of them! A few of the companies never even called me back. The gentleman on the phone at Affordable was so kind & was able to customize a time slot that afternoon that worked for my busy day. (One of the other companies I had called couldn’t get me an appt. for like 2 – 3 days!).
As promised, the technician, Byron, gave me a courtesy call when he was 30 minutes away so I didn’t have to sit at home & wait. It was so convenient & easy. He actually arrived at my house sooner than expected & kindly just waited for me.
Byron was fantastic! He was extremely kind, personable, and very knowledgeable. He easily diagnosed the problem & was able to fix it in a timely manner. Since I am somewhat clueless about these things, he was sweet enough to be willing to conference in my husband from work & re-​explain everything to him. He was so great!
I would highly recommend Affordable Water Heaters & Plumbing to anyone & would use them again in a heartbeat! Hopefully we won’t have any problems with our water heater for a long long time, but if we do, they are my first (& only) call!!!
Thank you!

When your water heater goes on the fritz and you’re leaving town in a few hours, there is very little time to shop around for a good plumber or the best price to get the unit replaced — wives (and girlfriends) want hot water NOW! I found Affordable Water Heaters and Plumbing, Inc.‘s phone number on my existing water heater, and though these guys did a good job replacing the unit, their price was way out of line with what several of my neighbors paid to replace their water heaters. I asked for an invoice (which they did provide after I called their office), and was told that their company policy is to provide a «lump sum quote,» as they do not «charge by a material and hourly rate.» My home is a newer home (2001; already well up to code!), and yet they included $ 932 in code requirements as part of their estimate, of which $ 595 was later credited back to me as «a discount.» $ 2,400 is about $ 500-​$ 800 more than what others in the area paid for a similar high-​end 75-​gallon water heater replacement, so I’d recommend shopping around for a better price before giving these guys a call; a cold shower or two is well worth the savings.

Came home from vacation to a cold shower! Called Affordable Water Heaters and they scheduled me in right away! The tech was courteous and helpful and fixed my problem quickly! Had one minor miscommunication issue but it was handled smoothly and courteously by customer service. I recommend this company, and I would definitely use then again!

Seven years ago, they installed a new water heater at my home. The plumber was great and the work product was excellent. By all the reviews, most would agree. However, my pilot light kept going out so naturally, we called them to diagnose the issue. They said the heater was overheating and the control unit had to be replace at a cost of 425.00. However they recommended that we replace the water heater due to its age for 1475.00. I didn’t have the money so i broke out the owners manual and to my surprise, the first item on the troubleshooting list said to check the filter. I did and found it full of dust. I took a wire brush to the filter and the pilot flame increase two fold. We don;t have any problems with the pilot light going out. I called just to inform, not to complain or seek a refund of our call-​out fee, just to let them know it was a bit disconcerning that the plumber did not identify the problem and clean the filter. The response I received was defensive and even after saying I wasn’t looking for reimbursement the tone did not change. I was told «it is more complicated than that and if they would have cleaned the filter, they would have owned the unit»??? In any case, the plumber was courteous and professional, i just think before jumping to replacing parts or entire units at great cost, identifying simple maintenance failure would have been preferred. I am sorry I got the response I did. i would have thought my comments might have been more professionally received. Here is one for ya.“well i found that the filter was clogged due to a lack of maintenance. I cleaned and I think that will solve the problem as the flame was starving for oxygen. Let’s see if you have anymore problems, if you do, we will come back and start replacing parts” «Also, I would recommend your husband regularly check the filter as many homeowners do not know it even exists» Thank you kind plumber. I will recommend you to all my friends and am happy to pay you the 99.00 fee. Hopefully it works! Have a great day! Now that is what I would have done as a experience plumber. I don;t want to suggest it is about selling parts and heaters but something is amiss?

IM SO HAPPY!!! my water heater broke and i called affordable water heaters and they came out the same day and fixed it for aloooot less than i thought it was going to cost. THANK YOU THANK YOU!