They're good, honest guys. When I had an emergency, Chris showed up in the middle of the night and got it fixed. Whewww! I would recommend them to anybody. Prices are very resonable. Unlike a lot of other plumbing companies I've used in the past, Chris made sure everything was fixed before he left, I've had other plumbers came by and left "to pick up parts" ... for days. Good work ethics, good prices. What more can one ask for? Did I mention that they are one of the few (if there are any other ones out there) who cleans up afterwards. Yup. Nothing left behind. I'll probably use them for that alone. Highly recommended. read more

I had a problem with our furnace. Our heater stopped working on one of the coldest weeks! I called three different heating companies from yelp. No one answered except Athens! I spoke to Max and he was very helpful. He took my call right away, scheduled me in and before I know it... We got a working heater!! Max was very polite, professional, responsive and knowledgeable everything you can ask for in a time of misery... I just want to thank Athens for a great job done and to Max for being great! My family really appreciated it. Keep up the good work! Will read more

Athens Plumbing & Heating - Here's the new inducer motor he replaced for us, thanks a million! - Plumbing Near Me - San Mateo, California

As I indicated in a talk thread this morning (http://www.yelp.com/topic/belmont-great-way-to-start-the-day#llxwUnpC-a511kNHXgRx-A), I woke to cold water only today. Not happy. I was not sure who to call, so I started with Athen's, which had done very good work for me last year. Chris got back to me in a few minutes and setup an appointment for the afternoon. When he showed up, he checked out the water heater and got it working without much effort. So clearly I am not a water heater expert... He also went and checked on the toilet that he had installed last year (see below). He replaced a part in the toilet (for free - within a year - HELLO!!!) because it was not working just right. That pretty much amazed me - did it of his own volition, and for free. Nice. Try that from another plumber! When I get around to remodeling bathroom sinks and the toilets in my grand mansion (cough, cough), I am definitely going to ask Chris to do the work. read more

Yesterday I called another plumber for a slowly draining toilet. He quoted me quite a bit to come look and more if he had to snake it from outside. Not appreciating his attitude, I went to Home Depot, bought an auger and drain cleaner. Went home, tried multiple things to fix it to no avail. Normally I can fix things myself so I was a little irritated and pretty sure I wasn't using the auger correctly. So this morning, I've had enough of the stupid toilet and am perusing Yelp. After reading Chris' reviews I decided to call him. I called, it rang once and I had to hang up because a business call I was waiting for came in. He promptly called me back. WHAT!?! So glad he did. I explained the problem, and what I had tried. Then I told him where I live and the two ball park times that would work well for me today, but I was willing to do it over the weekend or next week. I have two toilets so it was more of an annoyance than an emergency. He said he could come by at lunch time today. He called me when he was 10 minutes away, I headed home. When he arrived, he was friendly and helpful. He had offered to show me how to properly use my auger which I completely appreciated. So he did. He showed me how to use the auger and he fixed the toilet, all VERY quickly. He also showed me using my own auger so I'd see exactly. He asked me if I wanted to try it, I declined (light pink shirt and going back to work). After he finished he took the auger outside and hosed it off. The price he charged me was MUCH cheaper than the other plumber who wanted to talk money before coming out. He was kind to my dog too. I would use him again anytime, he was friendly, helpful and wanted to show me how to do it myself going forward. So, for those of you who appreciate someone who will share their skills and knowledge - Chris is your guy! While I hope I don't have a plumbing issue anytime soon, I'm thrilled that I found him. Thanks Chris!!! read more

Two stars: One star for actual job, and one additional star for Athen's (Greg and Chris) effort to make it right--which also could have been better. The long and short of it is that my water service line split. I called three plumbers and Athen's Plumbing was the first on the scene. They had a good Yelp review, so I just went with them. As I understand it, John, the Athen's plumber that came out, no longer works with the company; however, John, and the job in general, was not managed very well, or at all. As for the experience, John spent the better part of two full days to repair my water service line, none of which was clearly explained to me. Two major factors played into the two-day job: John was not prepared by way of materials or equipment, and he clearly made it up as he went along (a management issue). John went to Home Depot at least 3 times the first day. Not sure how much copper he went through in all his redesigns, but I saw at least three different designs. The final design is here: http://static3.px.yelp.com/bphoto/5h1uKuBVKQ_xVfj9PDk56w/l http://static3.px.yelp.com/bphoto/ixA48VUtOpV-xwTXK8b1sw/l Not only is the craftsmanship poor, but notice the two other holes (yes, at one point my home had three), a hole in the vent, and a hole (now "patched") below the vent and just above where the pipe is now. One of the designs even had a nice little tee. I wonder what happened to it. John also had to cap a pipe in my laundry area: http://static4.px.yelp.com/photo/JMK7JqpyfGL6LVI6HPdvIg/l Apparently, according to John, he would not have had to cap the pipe had he known the valve was there, or something to that effect. This is just further evidence that he made it up as he went along (again, a management issue). As for equipment, John did not have a drill or a suitable flashlight (another management issue). He asked, and I let him borrow one of each. I really wish I hadn't, but I really wanted my water line to be fixed as quickly as possible. As you might imagine from the rest of my experience, John beat up my brand new drill. After I was presented with the bill ($1600, originally quoted as $1500-$2000--read into that if you'd like), I double-checked the work, even crawled under the house. At that point, I noticed that the new pipe had not been secured (again, evidence that the management had not done their job). I arranged to have Athen's Plumbing come out and finish the job before paying the bill, which they did. In the end, Athen's Plumbing replaced my drill and knocked $150 off my bill--which I thought was a start. As I was eager to put it all behind me, I just let it go. Lastly, I paid to have a Diamond Certified plumber come out and inspect the work by the Athen's Plumbing crew. The plumber chuckled at the craftsmanship, but said it should hold. read more

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I made an appointment with Athens to get a quote on air conditioning. At the appointed time, Athens did now show up. I texted. No response. I waited longer and then I called. He (don't know his name) answered and told me only then that he wasn't licensed to install air conditioning. "Why didn't you tell me that when I made the appointment" I asked. "Because I didn't know that then", he replied. So I came home from work early to meet Athens and he didn't know if he could do the job! He checked with someone, found out his license didn't cover it, and decided it wasn't worth his time to call, text or show up for the appointment. But I guess he thought it was worth my time to come home and wait for him. Two thumbs down!! read more

I decided after initially calling Athens that since I had eventually planned to replace a troublesome toilet anyway, I'd do that first before having Chris out to snake the toilet and the drain. I called him back and left him a message to cancel our appointment. Not only was he understanding about my change of plan, he called me back to give me advice about what to look for when buying a new toilet and some installation advice as well. Most people would have just written me off and forgotten about me, but he took the time to follow up with suggestions. It's a rare thing anymore! read more

These guys are GREAT! I called Athens to solve a backed-up toilet based on the other Yelp! reviews. Chris took my call (no answering service), scheduled an appointment immediately (they had a cancellation), came out and had it done in about 10 minutes of arriving and one hour after I called! Because I had already paid the service call minimum, Gregg asked if he could look at the furnace for me (no extra charge) given the upcoming heating season. He took a quick look, verified all was fine, but suggested that the filter needed replacement. I showed him that I had an inventory of the replacement filters (my husband just had not had time), so he replaced it for me while he was there. Chris and Gregg are customer oriented service people. Give them an opportunity to help you. read more

The Good- very detail oriented, works on weekends,friendly, reasonable price The Bad- juggles multiple jobs, left my job to take care of others - resulting in job taking 2 days and keeping me waiting around and didn't fully complete job. He made promises he'd be right back, multiple trips to pick up supplies (he first offered to pick up supplies and arrive 10:30 Saturday am, then to save time I picked up supplies he ordered, he arrives Saturday am and says some supplies missing and will be back in 2 hours, returns over 5 hours later, stays 30 min. longer and has emergency yet says for me not to go with another plumber, then comes back Sunday late morning and doesn't finish until about 5 PM again with breaks to help other clients and pick up supplies, and at end leaves job without draining gas water heater as agreed for maintenance & and did not turn gas water heater back on. Said he would call Monday after another job to come back for water heater and never called or texted.) This job was to replace pipes and faucet for laundry tub and install new laundry tub. read more

I am a Realtor, and we do a lot of inspections. Chris and Greg from Athens Plumbing came out and did a Sewer Lateral Inspection for me. They were not able to get the video device into the sewer line, but they were really creative, and they did the inspection from the sewer vent on the roof. I know this was A LOT more effort, and I think this is an indication of their customer service. I would use their service again. read more

I called them after reading all of the good Yelp reviews. We had a broken sewer pipe under house. It was bad. I left a message.after hours and got a call back within 15 minutes. Steve was out the next day. Our problem was far more severe and gross than we expected. Steve and his guys kept a sense of humor and fixed the problem (which was quite a process), efficiently and completely. They fixed a few other issues that they found and my house was left as clean as when they arrived. They clearly know what they are doing and take pride in their work. Steve went over all the costs so we knew what we were getting into beforehand. We knew it was going to be a big job, but for what they had to do, we feel their prices were more than fair. I highly recommend these guys. As a homeowner, you need to have professionals that you can trust and call when emergencies arrive, so I am very happy to have found these guys, read more

My wife look on line when our 10 year old water heater dicided to start making noice and spring a leak we Called Chris and he came oven this afternoon Did a great job very clean replaced the old water heater. Professional I recommend Chris and Max any time very well priced and got in and out left the place very clean. we are very happy with the service. That is what I call great service at a fair price. read more

* Came on a Sunday in short notice and fixed the issue quickly and easily * On a Sunday morning a few weeks ago I had water coming out of the base of the toilet. After taking the toilet off and seeing standing water in the pipe, I suspected I may need a snake. Since I have only a single bathroom I knew I had to get a plumber in quickly. Chris came by with only a few hours notice and got the clog out. Great experience and I would recommend his services. read more

This review is just for a service call - no work done. I called Chris around 7pm, even though I knew his hours were closed. I left a message, and amazingly (as other Yelpers have noted) he called me back that same evening! He scheduled a time with me for the next day, but we were unable to meet (no one was at fault here -our time just didn't work out.) Thank you Chris for calling me back. I will call you again the next time I need a plumber! read more

We called them because our toilet kept over flowing when we were moving out of our house. So we called athens and he came out within the hour and fixed the problem as well as only charging us for a half hour worth of work and he was there for over an hour! Saved the day... read more

I called Athens about my leaky water heater and was half expecting to hear i would need a new unit. I talked with Chris on the phone and he was pretty sure it was a bad pressure release valve and nothing more. He said he would pop by later that day with the needed part to take care of the leak....and he did! Wow, what a relief. Chris took care of the problem in no time and my water heater was as good as new. Chris even called back the next day to make sure everything was running smooth. Athens is like no other. I recommend them highly. read more

I would give Chris at Athen's a 6 if available. Our hot water heater gave out on a Saturday and we first decided to go through our homeowner's warranty, who said that they'll have someone contact us in the next 48 hours for an initial quote. 48 hours for just a quote??? We decided to suck it up and called various plumbers in the area. One wanted one hour's pay for just a quick look to confirm that the heater was dead, which was obvious by the leaking water on the garage floor; one told us of the heater that they use to replace, and we didn't like the model, and he didn't have 'access' to other models, and then we called Athen's on Sunday morning. Chris quoted us a price range over the phone ($200 range due to unknown factors such as need for seismec (sp?) upgrades, etc.) and said that he'd be there as early as 8:00 am on Monday morning. Chris showed up, completed the work, and it looks better now than the old unit ever did. If/When we have other plumbing problems, we're definitely going to use Athen's again. read more

Called them on short notice for a kitchen sink blockage which I could not resolve with my 6ft snake. John was there in about an hour and took care of it very professionally. I got him to fix a few other minor plumbing tasks as well and his prices were really reasonable. I highly recommend these guys. read more

My water heater had sprung a leak in the evening the day prior, and nobody in the building had hot water. My landlord not jumping on the issue, I decided to get it handled myself. My sister works at Ferguson so I was able to get all the materials for the job myself and at a great price. The next morning in a panic I called a couple recommended plumbers from Yelp. Non of the other plumbers that called back that morning wanted to do the job if they weren't able to get the parts themselves. I found that odd. They were going to have to pick them up from the Ferguson warehouse. So its not like they weren't going to be able to tell if it was or was not a quality product. Athens got back to me within 20 minutes after leaving a message. I informed Chris of the issue and he was at my house within the hour. There are a total of four units that share the water heater and the way they are piped is not normal. So what he had to work with was very confusing and difficult. But they hung in there and got the job done. The old plumber trying to make a buck did a bunch of unnecessary crazy piping. Chris installed the water heater and also fixed the air hammering that had been going on and driving people in the building crazy for the longest time. And as a very kind favor to me he also installed a shower head I wanted instead of the current one. He was punctual and kind. He is also VERY fair with his prices. I kept his card so if I am ever to have a problem again I don't have to worry about it, I can just call Athens! read more

Chris came over for a leaky faucet at our place and quickly found that the water heater needed to be drained based upon the color of the water in the pipes. He fixed the leaky faucet and threw in the hot water heater drain for free since I am a repeat customer. He also tightened the loose kitchen faucet that had a very hard to reach access point. Overall Chris never fails to deliver and always gets the job done on time. I keep him as the "Plumber" contact on my phone. read more

We woke up to find, right before a holiday weekend, that our kitchen floor was wet! It turned out there was a leak under the kitchen sink. I think we must have called just about every plumber on yelp in the San Mateo area. Not only was Athens one of the few plumbers that picked up our call, he re-arranged his schedule to come to us earlier the same day so that our leak would be fixed before we left town. What a great guy! He showed up right on time, did a great job, cleaned up our gunky pipes to boot, and he charged us a fair rate. Can't ask for more. :) read more

The owner Chris called and emailed to apologize profusely for our negative experience, explained that the gentleman (cousin?) who filled in on his behalf is no longer working with them based on our and other feedback received, and offered a full refund as a gesture of goodwill (which we did not take him up on). Upgrading rating based on Chris' responsible follow-up. read more

Very satisfied with Athens after the first call. Had a semi-emergency: sump pump needed attention ASAP, faced flooding danger. Athens picked up my call on first ring, said they could get me up and running that day. I called at noon, they said they would get there by 3 or 4. They arrived 2:30, calling first to let me know they were on their way. They not only fixed the issue perfectly, but gave a ton of advice to avoid future problems. Their cost was industry standard for a service call. Sure, they are not very corporate, but they get the job done and are very satisfaction oriented. I will use them again. read more

Horrible experience with Athens. My husband wrote up a review for Athens but Yelp conveniently removed it (thanks yelp). Basically, what should have been a simple job to repair the main water line in the front yard turned into a three day nightmare with two holes unnecessarily put in the front of my house, mind you, the holes were drilled into the front of the house without consent from either my husband or myself. I would not recommend Athens Plumbing. read more

After calling a couple other plumbing companies from referrals, we decided to call Athen's Plumbing due to Yelp. A couple of the other companies were going to charge us a significant amount JUST to come out for an estimate. We talked to Chris from Athen's on the phone and he said either he or Greg was going to check out the problem and just charge us to fix it, no estimate fees at all! Greg ended up coming to our place and checked out the situation. The master tub was leaking into the room directly below. He told us the possible causes and checked the cheapest, easiest one first. And that was the problem. Our worry was that the P trap or another part of the drain was leaking and we would have to replace the whole drainage system. Luckily, it was just a poor seal around the overflow drain done by the previous owner and the tub spout was too short and pouring right into it. All in all, Greg did a great job and saved us a ton of money that other places would've undoubtedly charged us too much for. He explained everything thoroughly and gave us a wonderful price. If we have any other plumbing or heating issues, we'll definitely be calling Athen's! read more

Chris replaced my 20+ yo furnace with a new one on the Thanksgiving holiday. He is very professional and the cost is very reasonable. Highly recommended. read more

Chris was responsive, courteous, and thoughtful. I asked him to install a WiFi thermostat, but our furnace was too old to support it. Rather than charging me for the visit, he simply offered his availability for any future work we might need. I really respect that! You'll be our first call when our ancient furnace finally bites the dust. Thank you! read more

Athen's does it again! We got back from vacation to a flooded bathroom and called Chris in panic on a Friday night. He told us that he was booked the next day but would try to squeeze us in in the morning. He came through for us and ended up coming. He replaced one of the tubes underneath the sink and told me that he'd replace the other too because if not, we definitely would be calling him again within the near future. I believe him and know that he wasn't trying to con us because the part was very inexpensive. If he was in it for the money as opposed to the reputation, he would have waited til it busted and had us call him out again to earn the extra hourly rate. They don't disappoint. Thanks Chris! read more

FYI folks, their license is expired, I checked with the contractor's license board online. Such a shame since they replaced our water heater, received great service from them and wanted our heater checked. Oh well... read more

OOps; I broke the porcelain on the toilet into a thousand pieces, can you blame me? The thing had been running for years and no plumber in the land was able to repair it. So I gave it a shot and ...ooops. I found these guys on yelp and yes, they are reliable, sapient and kind. They installed an efficient new one for me in no time. Even when they had to come back after a faulty part "popped", they were quick and courteous. They guarantee their work so I'm not worried. I would recommend them to anyone who needs the job done and done well. They hauled my old toilet out as well. Ask for Chris he'll hook you up. read more

Great job! The pipe feeding my lawn irrigation system had a crack and was leaking badly -- spraying water from the crack. Chris came over, looked at it and told me the guy who installed it did it wrong. He was able to replace the faulty pipe connection and this time do it correctly. He charged me a very reasonable rate. Chris is a competent plumber and I'd recommend him to anyone. read more

I had two leaky toilets. He fixed one and seemed to be confident that the 2nd one was an easy fix until I pointed out the leak afterward on the second one. He blamed it on the toilet without giving a good diagnose of the problem. So I think their service is ok for an easy fix but giving a harder problem, they might not be the one. I expected better given the feedback that I saw on Yelp. read more

*Fast, efficient, flexible, personable, knowledgeable, clean, fair, and honest!* My background: I always prefer DIY, but I always draw the line when it comes to electrical, plumbing, and roofing work. Saturday morning: We had a lingering clog in our main sewer drain that backed up the first floor toilet to a c-r-a-w-l, so I decided to make calls to several companies based on their Yelp reviews. Since we preferred to have someone come in that morning, I hung up whenever I reached a recording or voice mail. Athens was next on my list and I hung up after reaching voice mail. I was about to dial the next plumber when Chris calls me back saying he received a missed call from my number (who needs a phone service when you have this fast of a response...from the owner himself?) Chris said he was doing a few jobs that day, but that he would rearrange his schedule to accommodate me and call me back. He called me back to confirm 5 minutes later. I was busy the entire weekend, but since he had easy access to the clean out, Chris said I didn't need to be present and that we could easily work out a way to forward my payment method since he was in the area almost every day (how cool is that?). Fast forward to service: Chris and his assistant, Johnny, determine that the source of the blockage is tree roots and spend most of the afternoon snaking the main sewer line (~100 ft) 7 or 8 times until they're positive that the drain is clear. Chris also recommended picking up tree root removal solution and continue treating every 3 months to keep roots at bay. He even offered to pick some up for us at the local HD, but I didn't want to keep them any longer since they were already ~4 hours into it (all that snaking takes a lot of time). Summary: I will not hesitate to contact Chris again for any plumbing work I need done. No doubt. He's reliable, down to earth, and trustworthy. Thanks!!! read more

Quick service! I called and they were able to come out the day of within a few hours. Ended up not being anything huge and they didn't charge. read more

Chris at Athens is F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. The house we live in has abominable sewage issues and often has issues. Chris is highly responsive, dedicated, very fair, and communicates the issue and the solution in great detail and gets the job done. I trust him to the point that I have no problems leaving our house key for him when I am not at home. I would recommend him to anyone. read more

Gave Athens a chance to bid on a dual project involving a water heater replacement and a kitchen gas line extension. Max P came out on time and provided a very attractive estimate given that the two portions of the project could be completed in a single visit. Despite some very unfriendly environmental conditions (I was having a flooring company demolish my home's wood floor) and running into some unforeseen issues associated with the location of the gas line, Max stuck with the job without a single complaint and worked creatively to extend my gas line - even staying late to complete the job. He also brought in a helper to complete the water heater replacement and worked to ensure all new supply and drain piping was up to standard. I can't thank Max enough for his dedicated efforts. He really understands what customer service is about. read more

Very nice, really but only fixed my issue temporarily. He snaked my main line but didn't go far enough. Only fixed it for a week before a TON of sewage started to backup in my tub. When I tried to call Athens as I though at least some of his work would be warrantied, he didn't answer. He operates on texts as well but it isn't helpful when he doesn't respond to an emergency issue. Also, no call nor text back even the next day. A call or text stating he was busy and couldn't take the call would have been nice. Also, my screwdriver was missing after he left. Which was my only one. read more

Greg is my "heating guy" at Athens and he treats us like we're his only client even know they are busy. He is always on time and picks up his phone by the second ring. I came home after being gone for a week on vacation with my family. My furnace was not working and the house was cold. Nothing I did was working so I called Athens. Greg picked up even know it was 7:30PM. He fixed my problem over the phone and didn't charge me anything for it. I would definitley recommend Athens and do for anyone needing to make sure their heating and plumbing works. Athen's is one of the few companies in the "home repair" business that treats you like a client. read more

These guys were great. I called on Friday and they agreed to come late after they finished another job (it actually was Chris' day off). They installed a pot filler for my wife which was a little tricky because the high end back splash was made out of metal wrapped ceramic tiles. While one guy was working on the pot filler the other fixed my rocking toilet. All for the service fee of $125 plus the brass part for the installation $138 total. I was VERY happy with the attitudes, the skill level and final results. We went through (at my request) other area's of the house that needed attention and they are giving me quotes for the work. This was really my first experience using Yelp to find a good trade. I will continue to use both Yelp and Athen's. Athen's was honest, knowledgeable and fair on the price. What else do you want??? I will be having these guys back and recommend them to anyone who needs plumbing services. read more

Excellent service and advice. Helped reduce the cost of the installation with a local purchase (and relationship), and started working on a long-term plan to fix the "real" problem. read more