Find a different company. I am posting this review because, incredibly, the general manager of Bellows Plumbing in San Rafael, Chelsea Schlunt, actually offered me money to NOT post a negative review. I have never needed to post a negative review, but I want to alert potential buyers to the frustration and needless expense I experienced. I hired Bellows to install a minisplit system in my home and studio. The mechanics of the system work well, the technicians were professional, but the design was flawed. The minisplit in my main room was placed in the wrong location, heating the kitchen area but not the living area. Additionally, the heat pump Bellows installed (42,000 BTU) was inadequate when the minisplits were operating at the same time (total of 48,000 BTU). The trouble with Bellows is how the joint owner continually denied there was a problem with the system's design. When I stated I was cold, she said, unhelpfully, she was cold too. Not a response either satisfying or sensitive to me as an older woman. Her suggestion: just purchase a thermostat for almost $1,000 dollars more, to make the minisplit work harder. A "bandaid" solution, not an economical solution. Furthermore, she is inconsistent and seems to have a problem keeping her facts straight. For example, each time I voiced a problem with the system, Chelsea insisted I pay for the visit as "service maintenance." She later referred to them as being "complimentary." My frustration led me to hiring another plumbing company to assess the situation. When I notified her of their discovery that the minisplit was indeed in the wrong place AND the heat pump's rating was inadequate to potential demand, that's the time she offered me money to NOT post a negative review. I did need to spend a considerable amount of money to rectify the bad design. Chelsea may attempt to rebut my review here, suggesting I have missed some details. She may suggest that I aired my grievance late (as I transitioned over time to use wood burning heat less, and the minisplit system more). Here is what no twist of language can refute: the system design was simply flawed from the beginning. I have built three buildings from scratch and remodeled two, and absolutely understand the value of accurate communications with contractors. I have kept detailed records of my dialogues with Chelsea over the course of nearly FOUR YEARS. Disregarding the ordinary terms of good business practice, she never specifically answered my grievance about the system's design. She could have easily pulled this out of the fire by just listening to the facts I relayed to her instead of resisting and trying to make me wrong. In the spirit of fairness, we could have achieved a resolution that would have turned me into a loyal customer. The opposite has happened. Buyer Beware. read more

We have used Bellows for duct work and furnace maintenance work. They are dependable and perform top notch work at a fair price. We would not hesitate to use them again in the future. read more

Our HVAC technician Dave did a great job repairing our system controller. Thanks Dave! read more

Ryan and Oscar from Bellows arrived on time, were very cordial and checked our furnace thoroughly for any defects. Will certainly use Bellows for our future furnace needs. read more

What a great company this is. They have done small tasks for me on my home's HVAC systems, but they recently installed a Mitsubishi mini-split in a space that had defeated two other well-regarded local installers. Their sales guy, Rob, was courteous and prompt, offering a quote 30% lower than either of the other companies (for the same product). Then their project manager quickly figured out a way to get this tricky job done. The permit took no time at all, and the installation took slightly less time than they'd promised. The installers were friendly and professional, checking with me about optimal placement of all components. They found a way to cut far less sheetrock than they had estimated, and they were very easy on plants as they picked their way through the garden to route hoses. All the while, their office team was knowledgeable and friendly. The new system works wonderfully so far. I recommend this team without reservation. read more

Our hot water gave out one evening when I tried washing dinner dishes. I figured we were about ready for a water heater replacement since it was 15 yrs old. But I needed a working water heater quickly. The next morning I looked through Yelp to identify possible places to contact to determine if we we should repair or replace. Using the functionality in Yelp, I was able to request a call for help from multiple highly regarded service professionals who could provide quick callbacks and estimates. Bellows Plumbing, Heating & Air was up to the task. They responded very quickly and fit us into their tight schedule to assess our situation that same day. After a couple of failed attempts to temporarily replace a bad part, our technician Will reviewed the different types, costs and delivery times for new water heaters with us. With Will's guidance and escalation to his boss, we are very happy to say that we received and had a new unit installed before the end of the following day with hot water once again! Well done! read more

I am a regular customer of Bellows, because I am always impressed by their responsiveness, professionalism, and quality of work. As a maintenance club member I had a Bellows technician (Josh P.) come out and do a regular flush of my water heater. While he was here and the water heater was clearing out he did an inspection of my bathrooms and kitchen. I mentioned to him that my shower head was leaking, but I'd been told previously that without a name and model of the valve cartridge the entire shower plumbing would need to be ripped out and new plumbing installed (which would have included removing a significant amount of tile). Josh took it as his personal mission to find the cartridge and get it replaced (without destroying my bathroom). Within a couple of days he'd located the correct cartridge and replaced it. I am very thankful for his enthusiasm and willingness to take on (and solve) a tricky problem. read more

UNDEPENDABLE and EXPENSIVE I made an Appointment with Bellows Plumbing for next day 2-4 pm. They charge a 150$ to just show up They called me back the next day at 3:30 and tried to reschedule me 4 days later. I wouldnt recommend these guys if you need someone dependable. read more

Bellows replaced a 30 year old water heater for me. They were one of the few that agreed to offer an initial quote over the phone, plus a free assessment visit. The initial quote was $3500. At the visit, they saw the additional work needed to get things up to code in my house and bumped it up to $5100. I think the final quote was fair, and was competitive with my other bids, but the original quote was optimistic. Keep that in mind if you have an old house. The staff who installed the heater were courteous and professional. The installation was done with care and was finished quickly. I am happy with my new water heater read more

I have been in real estate trade for over 25 years and have hired hundreds of tradesman during that time. Unfortunately, I've never had much luck finding a dependable or reasonable plumber until I started working with Bellows. I've hired them to clear drains, install shower valves, repair wall heaters and a new furnace in my house. They have always been professional, punctual and did great work. I would definitely recommend Bellows to any of my friends or family. read more

A few years ago Bellows replaced an old and rusting away furnace in our new-to-us home and we were happy with their work. This year, I decided to give their annual inspection/tune-up plan a try and today Ryan came by to inspect and tune our AC Unit and furnace. Ryan took one look at our AC and immediately identified a major problem--the prior homeowner had constructed a housing that covered the top blower, which was stressing out the system. He tuned it up, took a look at our duct work, and gave us some do-it-yourself fixes that we can do to optimize our system. Already the AC is twice as cold as it was and Ryan told us that we should start seeing savings in our (insane) electric bill as well. While there are some possible fix-it items, there were no hard sales, no scare tactics, and personable service. I was really happy with my choice. read more

Service tech was very competent & nice !! But we used independent plumber to install new water heater at 30% less. But I do trust Bellowes!!! read more

This company is great... totally professional and reliable. My furnace went out on a Sat night. I called and reached someone on Sun. A new replacement unit had to be ordered, and even with supply chain problems, they received the unit and installed it on Mon, one week later. Estimates and billing were done immediately via email, and making payment was quick and easy. Definitely call these folks! You won't be disappointed. read more

My excellent experience with Bellows continues. It was time for my annual tune up of my mini-splits and Dave, the employee who came to do the tune-up, was very thorough, considerate and proactive in trying to make sure that he addressed all of my questions and that I understood the nuances of the equipment. He was a very friendly and attentive person which is what I have experienced overall with Bellows. read more

So far, so good! Everyone from Bellows has been very friendly and helpful in the project estimation and setup phase (installing a new mini-split system in our Eichler). Our system hasn't been installed yet, but the Bellows team has set up this whole project seems for success in a very professional way. Also, their quote was the best of the four that we received - and this, for top-of-the-line Mitsubishi equipment. We also really like that they're a Diamond-certified installer. I'll post an update once my job has been completed... read more

I was very pleased with the service we received. It was easy to schedule, they showed up right on time, did a good job diagnosing and fixing the problem. Dave kept me advised the whole time, explained everything and clearly set out my options. I will use them again and I highly recommend them. read more

Our water heater had a slow leak, who knows how long it was happening before we noticed it. Unfortunately it is located in a closet between the bathroom and the bedroom. We had three plumbers out before calling Bellows. All three of them said it was questionable if it would pass code/inspection and it was basically going to be an expensive nightmare to move it - if that could even be done. Thankfully I found Bellows via Yelp. Jose Rivas was the lead plumber they sent out. Unlike the other plumbers he was completely unfazed by the situation. He laid out our options and explained what was involved without any of the dramatic scare tactics or hyperbole the others used. An hour after he left, he emailed detailed estimates to me. I really liked he sent 4 versions with varying options such as extended warranty, etc. I also liked that they had an online approval process. Everything was clearly documented and email confirmed. Once I approved the work I really appreciated Bellows took care of everything, from the minor drywall repairs to fix the water damage to the permit with the city and then after work was complete they even scheduled the inspection. It relieved a tremendous amount of stress to know from start to finish the details were being taken care of. Jose was EXCELLENT at patiently answering all my questions and explaining things to me throughout the process. I could not be happier with my experience and the end result!!! read more

Thanks to Max and his team for the terrific work prepping and installing our new laundry sink. Very professional looking results.

Bellows has been great for my heating and air maintenance! Dave Andrews has been exceptionally helpful, punctual, communicative, and professional. My old units are still running well and we are grateful! read more

We are very happy with the quality of service and level of craftmanship delivered by Bellows. They did a great job of replacing are aging air condition unit with a heat pump exchange, along with additional duct work that was necessary. The entire experience was positive! Most recently, we needed work done on our 5 year old furnace and our technician Will Calderon went above and beyond to get it fixed. Will ran into some complications as the previous furnace had issues, and Will just would not give up until he fixed it!. Saved us from having to get a new furnace! We are signed up for their maintenance program, which is not something we would have done with any other company. read more

Long story short - I needed some work done Bellows sent a technician - Dave Andrews. Not only was Bellows prompt to get the service scheduled - Dave was personable, answered all of my gazillion questions (poor guy probably felt like he walked into a vortex and couldn't get out) worked efficiently then took the initiative to explain what he had repaired and why. I have had other technicians from Bellows but Dave exhibited confidence, patience and did a superior job - thanks again! read more

Review update: I believe in honest Yelp reviews and Chelsea's description of what happened is not honest or accurate so I felt the need to respond to ensure the Yelp community has the information they need to make the best decisions. The Bellows' team never told me the heat wouldn't work overnight during the installation and if this were common sense I wouldn't have scheduled this work in the winter when I didn't need to have an AC system working during this time. The installers also "forgot" to tell me the heat wouldn't be working overnight when they left on the first day and when I called out of concern for our baby's safety Bellows' told me they would get the heat working first thing the next morning which they didn't do- the heat did not come on until almost 5 pm on day 2 of the installation. My family spent 2 days with no heat in our house during very cold temperatures. It actually is common practice to make it right with a customer by offering a price concession when your company makes numerous mistakes and communications errors during their work and Chelseas chose not to offer anything to try and make it right for their mistakes. Finally, the installers didn't clean up their work very well and left numerous debris near the installation site including a nail or screw that my dog stepped on. Original Review: We had Bellows replace our AC system. The salesperson Pete was very friendly but failed to tell us that our heat wouldn't work for 2 days during the winter with a baby in the house. The General Manager then refused to apologize for not letting us know about this and said it was common sense. They also didn't do a good job cleaning up the site and left a bunch of trash including some nails on our lawn. read more

Did not offer a plan or alternative to leaking gas line. Did not inform me how to test for leak. Didn't seem prepared. Spent about one hour looking at situation. My invoice included charge to come to my property plus one hour labor. $290.00. I received no plan other than busy up concrete and look for a gas leak. read more

Ryan did a great job checking out and servicing our 2 air conditioners. He was on time, polite and answered all our questions . He made some recommendations for the future. I appreciated the advice without any hard sell. Highly recommend! read more

Ryan helped us out and he was incredibly professional and answered all of our questions. He spent extra time to make sure our heating system worked evenly from all of the registers. Thank you Ryan! read more

I want to extend an extra thank you to Ryan who was here last week to do the annual inspection on my furnace. Bellow's installed the furnace a year ago & I've been very happy with it! (The annual service is part of a policy I purchased from Bellows). Ryan was here on time, very thorough & conscientious in checking everything, vacuuming up any accumulated dust; inside & outside the unit. He obviously takes price in the service he provides & enjoys his job. Besides that; he's a nice guy! Thanks again, Ryan! I highly recommend Bellow's all the way around! read more

No emergency services available Please stop pretending that u are there in case of an emergency. Absolutely not read more

My wife and I had Bellows replace our furnace/air conditioner and water heater with heat pumps. Their bid was very competitive and after meeting with their representative, we gave them the job. We could not be happier with the results. First, the people at Bellows were courteous, friendly, and answered all our questions quickly, and in layman's terms. When they did the work, their people were focused, hard working, and knowledgeable. The took time to explain everything they did. Second, there was a minor glitch with the water heater that Bellows handled quickly. Even though it was over a three day weekend, Casey, one of their representatives came to our home to work on the system. The next day the technicians adjusted the system to work perfectly. Bellows is an outstanding company that is competitive, customer friendly, and dedicated to a high quality service to clients. They are a remarkable firm that will provide top notch service. read more

We had them install a new furnace. All of their staff was courteous and professional. The estimator was very informative and talked extensively about options. The installers were very neat and clean. We didn't have to do any cleanup after they left. The new furnace and smart thermostat work great and the furnace fan doesn't make any noise. We couldn't be more pleased. The pricing was competitive and the service was excellent. read more

This review is a long time coming. In 2019, Jason from Bellows came out to spec an HVAC system for our home and recommended the Mitsubishi heat pump system. Their team came out and did an efficient installation, including some clever problem-solving with rerouting registers upstairs, as well as bringing in an electrician to update our electrical to accommodate the Mitsubishi system. When the first heat pump began performing irregularly, the Bellows team was highly responsive and accommodating, quickly coming out to help resolve the issue. It became apparent after a couple of visits, though, that they needed to bring out Mitsubishi technicians, who confirmed the pump was failing. Bellows immediately replaced it at no cost to us and the system has been running flawlessly. We are toasty in the winter, and cool in the summer! At every turn, Chelsea, Jason, Patrick and their amazing team of installers and technicians have been responsive and professional and helpful, and we couldn't be more grateful. Bellows is a top-notch business who know their stuff! read more

Hansen exerted outstanding professionalism at every point in the installation. He treated myself and my wife respectfully, went over all the project's many details expertly, asked questions appropriately, and left us with a product we will definitely fully utilize. Thanks Hansen! read more

Bellows - Living room unit - Plumbing Near Me - Novato, California

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We had our annual air conditioning maintenance appt today and our tech was Dave Andrews. Dave did a great job---he was timely, courteous and professional. He had excellent customer service skills and did a good job representing Bellows. I was very happy with his work and the time he took to accomplish it. Additionally, we had our annual on demand hot water heater maintenance and plumbing inspection today. Will was our tech for that and he did a good job too. Overall I have always been happy with the customer service provided by Bellows and the techs they send out. Keep up the good work! read more

Very fast and affordable. I have used them several times and will again whenever I have hvac issues

We recently had mini splits installed in our house. We looked at different vendors, but were impressed with our engagement with Bellow's and their professionalism, responsiveness and overall knowledge of their product and service. I appreciated the communication throughout the process and how easy everything was. The on-site teams were incredibly professional, kind, clean and efficient. The office teams were also very helpful, responsiveness and courteous. All in all, this was a seamless experience and I would highly recommend Bellows!\ read more

Thank you, Bellows, for refunding service fee. To modify my earlier one star review I'd like to follow up to share that Bellows did refund the service fee and their agent did assist in helping me find the correct size filter for the air purifier they installe. read more

Had a great experience using Bellows Plumbing, Heating, and Air for my furnace that broke down. They had their technician Neil Skilling come by, diagnose the issue, and repair in a timely manner. I was very impressed by the professionalism and will definitely be using Bellows again in the future. Thank you! read more

Just had our mini split units serviced by Ryan. He was on time, very professional and friendly. We will definitely work with Bellows and Ryan again! read more

Josh and Sean were friendly and professional. The installed the split heat pump/AC unit in our home and the work was first rate. We are very pleased that we went with Bellows. I'm looking forward to our next project, the gas generator next month. The entire team, from Pete to Kenta (initial estimates and job scope) to installation and job completion with Josh and Sean, we are very pleased with. read more

Bellows installed a new heat pump (heating/cooling) system for me. I have to say heat pumps are the only way to go moving forward because you can heat and cool all in the same unit. Bellows was hands down awesome to work with. Super on top of it and super professional. Their installation team was truly great to work with. Thank you thank you. I also have to say no other HVAC contractor was able to source very high equality equipment. Bellows knew their stuff and was able to get me the units I wanted. I definitely recommend them for HVAC installs. I have already shared their information with a number of my friends. read more

I wanted to update my review as Chelsea (the owner) contacted us immediately to get a better understanding of what happened. She was great, acknowledged that we had every reason to be dissatisfied with our experience so far, and made every effort to make sure the work was finished to our satisfaction. She sent Dave out (the original technician), he finished the outstanding work and we were very happy with how the company responded to our complaint. read more