Like their name, the location is central and they carry almost everything you need if you're in the plumbing trade. I can be working in presidio heights or in the marina and this shop is convenient if I'm missing fittings. Saves me from going down to the larger supply houses across town. read more

Helpful staff. This hardware store opens at 7am. I found my plumbing supply here most of the time.

Central Builders is my place for all my needs for plumbing supplies! Elson and his staff are very knowledgeable on what they sell! They will tell you the pros and cons on products and are very helpful in explaining why and how! Totally different from the big box companies! read more

Fantastic team. Elson was very helpful in helping me find a new water heater. After going to many different stores, I have found a great team that I trust with my future projects. read more

Love this place. Ladies are very friendly and helpful. Elson is very helpful and friendly. Plumbers love this place regular civilians who don't know what they're shopping for might have a difficult time. At the end of the day they will always find a solution. Will shop again here read more

I have known this store for many years Usually there price 10-15% more then others plumbing supplier, but variety and choices of the product are much higher than any other places. I was looking for O-Ring 1/16 thickness and they had it the size that I needed. Some people may say oh just a O-Ring, but to find it i was going to so many places, Home Depot, Lowe's, Balboa plumbing, Chu supply, BW plumbing, Ace American on Bayshore, and not everyone had what i was looking for. Ended getting some from Amazon not everything as described. But Central Building Supply had it all along. I waisted days to get simple O-Ring for old faucet. Central Building Supply becomes my first choice to get part for difficult projects. Definitely recommend for plumbing needs read more

Elson and his magnificent team are all great people with the best knowledge in the game. I have come here for multiple home appliances. They are always efficient with helping out and are well-informed with their recommendations. I highly recommend trusting this shop. read more

Elson sold Elon Musk a sink. Four dudes asked Elson and his team for a portable sink and he brought them the perfect sink for the viral video! read more

I love this place. Their selection is pretty good and everyone is really nice. The wood section is my favorite and the guy who works there is the nicest! read more

First went to the ACE store around the corner looking for some gaskets for my toilet. They didn't have what I was looking for but they recommended I try this place that was around the corner. 5 stars for you too! I was very happy to find a plumbing supply store here and with so much inventory! The staff was helpful and knowledgeable.They had all the gaskets and the drain I needed. FYI: never put those clorox tablets in your toilet tank. They destroy the gaskets. NOT happy to learn that lesson the hard way read more

Walked into the store and looked around for some help, and no one acknowledged me while 3 of the 4 workers were chatting with each other. I figured I'll try to find the specific product myself, which I couldn't. Walked back up to the front and waited for some help before someone offered help. I asked where I could find their QuickFitting (brand) product, which he says they don't sell that brand. I mentioned I only came here because they are listed as a dealer on the QuickFitting website. He assures me they don't sell them, but they do sell Sharkbite and another generic push to connect fittings brand. He tells me the location of where I could find them. I make my way back to the aisle where I do eventually find the connect to push fittings, and learn the generic brand he was referring to was indeed the Quickfitting brand. At the checkout stand, I told the same guy that they do sell Quickfitting products, but he doesn't reply and just ignores me. I guess he doesn't like to be proven wrong? Due to the bad attitude, I decided not to support this local business and get the parts from Home Depot instead, which sells them for 20% less. + Good selection - Poor customer service - Not the greatest price read more

I used to work for a plumbing company in San Francisco and buying plumbing supply everyday from Central Builders. Then I got my plumbing contractor license and moved to East Bay and because no longer working in the City I had to buy plumbing materials from supplier in the East Bay and clearly realized that there is no plumbing supplier better organized than them: you can find everything, instead of many suppliers that have something but not everything....and the prices are very competitive. Nelson, the owner and Dan are very knowledgeable and smart. I have no doubt to state that Central Builders is the best plumbing supply in the Bay area. I highly recommend them. read more

They had a hard to find part I needed, and knew exactly what I was asking for! Also, and extremely important, they did not mansplain or condescend to me (a rarity!) I got what I needed in just a few minutes and my shower looks and works a billion times better. Their prices are not the cheapest, but they're worth it. read more

ripped me off for a faulty/defective water heater day it was installed it did not work, contractor hired to install said defective rushed to buy second replacement same day it was installed and worked perfectly. contacted manufacturer to request refund as was full warranty didn't work from day one. spoke to c.service who then said would escalate to warranty dept. left messages several times no return calls. after many more attempts i finally reached warranty dept. they said would replace the water heater. i said don't want a replacement as i had rushed to buy a second replacement same day installed the faulty/defective one that worked perfectly. said only want my money back have no need for a replacement from them and needed them to retrieve or arrange disposal of the faulty/defective water heater as taking up unavailable space. they told me the corp. only deals in replacements no "monetary transactions they said. they tracked the model to their wholsaler told me to contact their wholesaler whom they had sold it to. tons of additional attempts to get a return call from the wholesaler to no avail, finally after week++ someone finally answered the phone. i explained the whole situation again and that the manufacturer had instructed me to contact them for refund. they refused, told me to contact central builders supply who sold it to me. keep in mind this is a warranty issue as it was defective clearly central didn't build it i argued they said tough, take up with central builders. i contacted them and explained again allllll the exhaustive efforts i had gone to trying to get a simple refund for the defective water heater. they said tough, get a replacement from bradford white it is not our problem. i re-iterated did not want or need a replacement as had bought and had a second replacement installed same day i'd bought the bradford and had the contactor install it, when he determined it was defective, i rushed to home depot bought a second replacement contractor installed it and it worked perfectly. said i have no need for another water heater therefore and no place to store a replacement for the defective water heater, they said tough, do what you gotta do but we won't refund it so take it uip with bradford white not us and hung up on me. i paid $682+ for the defective water heater, double the cost for installation to the contractor i hired who installed it, then removed it when determined it was defective and reinstalled the second replacement. in addition. i've had to deal with moving the defective water heater around that the contractor put o n a floor dolly so i can keep moving it around/out of the way while waiting for any of the three companies involved to pick it up or arrange for it to be disposed, etc. i am a 65-year-old petite woman with back problems and have no family/no one to help me without paying them to do so. so not only cheated out of the cost of the water heater and double the cost to install it, i am saddled with the "junk" water heater and the cost of the second replacement same day purchased the defective water heater. i recently told a neighbor what had happened. he advised me to file suit to recover the cost of the defective water heater, the cost of the double contractor costs, the cost of all the loss of my time trying to get any of the three companies to refund me chasing each one down trying to get any one of them to resolve it to no avail. i am going to take my neighbor's advice and file suit to recover all my costs/losses, court costs and interest from the date of purchase until they pay the damages owed me. i am going to name all three companies they can fight it out with each other. i no longer care. i tried to be civil as stuff happens, that's life. all they had to do was refund me the water heater purchase and i would have absorbed the rest of the double contractor costs, etc., but they all refused so i have calculated all costs for the defective heater, contractor costs, my lost time-i am a consultant at $180 spent ten+ hours trying to chase them down and with my credit card co. but central builders told them tough she signed the purchase so she can sue if she wants but we won't refund the purchase. ok then! i am also including court costs, interest from date of purchase-february 11, 2024 through july 30, 2024 estimated date they will pay my damages unless set farther out by the court then they will owe more interest. i will be filing the court claim for total damages and interest $4288.49. i am taking your advice central builders supply. you will receive the suit to recover damages very soon! read more

"Builder's supply?" Nope. "Plumbing supplies?" YES!! YES!! YES!!! Central Builders Supply is an excellent "one stop plumbing shop." When they started, back in 1989, they did carry construction supplies, but over the years, it evolved into a plumbing supply store "plus." Do not miss out on this resource and let the name mislead you. If you want quality materials at prices competitive with, and more often better than, the big box stores, go here. It's a family operation, where I have always received great customer service. When you get there, you will see that this is a store that is always busy supplying professional plumbers; however, it is open to anyone, and the DIY customer will receive great service, as well. They are not going to tell you how to fix it (if they are busy), but they will help you find the right parts. Just today, I watched a "non-pro" customer at the counter show one of the staff a photo on his phone and ask for the correct plumbing part. It was busy, and he was treated with respect and patience. The staff are all Asian, but don't be ignorant and assume nobody speaks English. It's SF; they're American; they have their sh*t together. They carry the parts that you won't find at the big box stores. SF buildings have unique plumbing systems, mainly because of the SF plumbing code, and old systems. Sometimes you simply can't fix the problem without, for instance, a certain cast iron part. This is where you can find what you need. They have all the modern components, as well. Plus, they can order special parts. More often than not, they also know where to send you, if they don't carry what you need. Central carries pipe (copper, cast iron, plastic ...), fittings, and fixtures. They have the sheet metal parts for venting heaters; they have faucets (Grohe, Delta, American Standard, ...), shower components, the repair parts; they have natural gas system components; fire sprinkler system components; they have too much to list. They have all of the parts to secure pipes and drains; bracket, brackets, brackets ... And tools; regular and specialty. Central is located mid-block, West side, on Filmore between Geary and Post. The front window has a display of all sorts of faucets. There is usually plenty of metered parking on Geary and on Avery/Boswell (the street behind). You can enter through the front or the back. I recommend this store for anyone who is seriously working on their plumbing. :) Check it out! read more

Ok I'm sure these guys know their stuff. But they got an ego trip that is sky high. I'm no plumbing expert, and I think most homeowners aren't. So we go to the "plumbing specialty store" (not Home Depot or Lowes) to get help with a plumbing question. I mean it looks like all they sell is plumbing stuff. I was "helped" by some guy behind the counter who seemed would rather spend his day cracking jokes among his co-workers than help customers. I explained my situation that I needed an angled piece of plumbing thing to connect my handheld shower spray to the hose. The guy looked at me as if I was some plumbing rookie and had no idea what I was talking about. *Of course I didn't, that is why I went to their store to get help!!!* So in the end, it turns out that what I needed was a specialty item and they didn't have it. He pointed out some other parts that would work, but had other issues (like it would crack the spray or something). The sell the same brand plumbing faucet that I have at home, so they probably could have ordered it for me. However I wasn't worth their time. Unless you are a plumbing expert, or speak fluent Cantonese, don't bother going here. read more

I bought 3 water heaters here. Elson helped me get all the accessories I needed for the installation. I needed a part for the tub faucet of my cast iron tub, found it! I'm glad his store is closer than the big box stores & have unique parts I need for my 100 year old Edwardian building. I notice most of his customers are professional plumbers. Obviously, he knows I know little plumbing / mechanical knowledge. But, he says I can return anything I don't use. Good to find someone I can trust. read more

Chose this place solely on reviews indicating these guys were a great help; my experience-far from it. Walked in at 4:30 with a simple pipe-and-fitting proj to make 3 curtain rods. They closed at 5:30. Three employees behind the counter helping no one, and not one offered assistance. Never working with pipe before, I approached the counter to be sure I was going about it the right way and was reluctantly greeted w/ a bothered sigh. I was quick and to the point all the while remaining friendly despite the guy's mood. I provided an image of the finished product and call outs indicating the exact parts needed, plus, being a designer, I was able to sketch a quick layout so I could get the employee's expertise. He was and pointed down the aisle I had been looking on for 15 mins already, telling me "the parts are down there." I had been in his direct line of sight the entire time. He rudely told me to hurry b/c they closed soon-- even though there was 45 mins before closing. The experience went on like this. In the end, it seems that unless you are male and/or a professional plumber or similar, you will not be treated well. It makes me sad to be pressed to go to a big box store instead of my local shops. At least at the big box, they expect manners from the employees. read more

I go here when I'm buying a critical piece of plumbing and need it to work for me. I also go here for any large project. I don't go here for anything unrelated to plumbing pieces. If you want the fancy shower handles and kitchen sinks, there is a designer plumbing supply next door. Yes, they have some faucets and other chrome stuff, but they are more about the stuff that delivers fluid to it. They know what they are talking about, and the quality/value/selection here is unsurpassed, compared with other places nearby. They specialize in plumbing supplies. If you know what you need, they know what they have. Nothing more, nothing less. Customer service can seem short at times, but I'm just grateful they're still around. It's hard to find this type of value in SF anymore. Anything here that seems too good ends up getting shut down by a sycophant. read more

Avoid this store. Condescending and overpriced, wrong parts. Twice I have been sold parts that were wrong despite bringing in the broken/worn part I needed to replace. The clerks are more interested talking amongst themselves and visiting friends. I am not a plumbing expert, so needed some advice on the correct replacement parts. What I got was a lot of condescending remarks and generally dismissive attitude. The part I was assured was the correct part was for a completely different assembly and twice the price of what turned out to be the correct part from another store. Avoid this store. read more

After an earlier plumbing problem required me to go to five stores seeking a replacement part, I have learned that Central Builders Supply has what I need. My first visit, a staff person was quite helpful in finding the part. Now that I know what I need, I was able to find it myself. If you live in an older house or apartment, then this is where you can find those plumbing supplies. Parking is on the street, but there were plenty of spaces. It's all metered. read more

Went in to get help replacing a dryer vent. They didn't want anything to do with me. Very rude and just assumed I was only looking for a product. Unless you are a professional who knows exactly what you need, I highly recommend staying away from this place. And even if you are a professional, I'd recommend spending your money somewhere they are more friendly. read more

I was going crazy trying to locate the right valve piece to fix a leaky faucet in the bathroom. After taking it apart, I brought it to Central Builders Supply, which was just a few blocks away from me smack in the middle of the city, and they had the exact same piece for a very reasonable price! The place is very well organized and is pretty much the mecca if you're looking for plumbing type of hardware (i.e. you need something more specialized than what you might find at your local hardware store). Great prices, great selection, well organized! read more

This place is great. I just went in the first time today. I called and got excellent response and service and they had the item in stock. Then I got there and see that they have everything you need and lots of it. Nice and close and great people. read more

These guys ROCK!! I was refered to these guys after another wholesaler on the peninsula dropped the ball so many times it went flat. Ellsion the guy who owns it, or manages it, or who just picks up the phone, and gets shit done, was awesome, and he was able to get my stuff handled. He told me a date, and like my plumber told me, the date came, I got a call, and my tub that I had waited a month for from the other idiots, was in just as promised. I am a developer in the city, and these guys will be my new go to supply guys. Thanks for the bailout!! Ryan read more

Hmm, no brand on the sink. What the hell kind of valve is this? Not a Delta, Price PFister, what the hell? Take it to Central! Every time I go in there it's like I'm issuing them a challenge of random obscurity with no helpful information to speak of. I think they couldn't meet the challenge once...in 5 years. read more

I am by no means a plumber, however, my plumber (who is fan-fricken-tastic) recommended this place to buy my Toto toilets. The guys that work here are so nice, very helpful and they have incredible prices! You can't beat them anywhere! That was hands down the best recommendation I have ever been given! read more

Good selection for most of your plumbing needs. Just make sure you know what it is you need and don't expect any help finding out what you might need. Be prepared for allot of eye rolling and shrugging if you ask for any advice. This place is NOT too DIY friendly. read more

As a local real estate developer, I have used Central for projects in San Francisco over the past two years. Although their prices are higher than our regular outlet in the south bay, I had opted to support a local business. Unfortunately, my loyalty to Central was not reciprocated. My latest encounter with Central had left me very disappointed, and it will surely be my last. I had brought in a vintage sink with the goal of finding a like-kind model that was to be used in a recently completed bathroom. A week later, we had received the wrong model, and consequently, missed a very important deadline for our plumbing system. I reordered the correct model, with the assurance that I would be able to exchange the incorrect sink. Upon trying to return the sink, I was rejected because of the packaging. I was later told over the phone that it was my fault that the mistake of ordering the wrong sink had happened in the first place. I am very dissatisfied and surprised that a local plumbing supplies store would treat an account that had been worth thousands of dollars so carelessly over a $120 sink. I will absolutely not be using Central Builders Supply for upcoming projects, and recommend to any plumbing and general contractor to look elsewhere! read more

I needed to wrap some heating pipes with fiberglass tube insulation. After calling Home Depot and Lowe's I had abandoned hope that anyone in town would have the insulation I needed in stock. I was incredibly delighted, and surprised when the friendly folks at CBS said they had them. I popped over and a sales person spent a huge amount of time making sure that I got the right size insulation for my variety of pipes. Who knew that you measure a pipe from the inside, not the outside - they did of course. On top of all the great customer service, they delivered my insulation to my door for free. So then why the lower rating? When my fairly expensive insulation showed up at my door in two boxes, one of the boxes was slimed up on the inside with bird sh$&! WTF?? Obviously the box they used had been sitting outside, and was coated inside with a healthy dose of poop and feathers. It was dry but some had rubbed off onto my nice white insulation. Not only was I disgusted, but I couldn't believe the disregard for me, or my large purchase being placed in such a container. 5 * stars for the friendly, helpful customer service, delivery and product selection 1 * star for the bird sh&^ attitude read more

Wow. Went in to this place to look for bathroom vent cover, which I was told they didn't sell (no biggie. I just went to Home Depot). I decided to walk around the store to see what types of products they sell. I walked up and down the aisles and saw lots of pipe attachments and other plumbing type items. As I was walking from the back toward the front I happened to glance up and saw their upper rafters wall lined with several photos of scantily dressed, full-busted women in provocative poses. You know, something you'd see in a sleazy soft-porn magazine or something. This was not something I would ever think appropriate for a hardware store. Hey owners, keep your low opinions of women to yourselves! WTF? As a woman, I was quite offended and felt I was in some sort of undercover freak joint. I couldn't have exited that "store" fast enough! Just bad vibes all around. I won't EVER go in there again! Just not cool! read more

I went into store last Saturday to get a Delta single shower handle for my son , met the owner, then was referred to Ace Hardware around the corner to get a free long hex key for the tiny set screw that is difficult to reach with shorter key. While this may not be the type of place for Plumbing Lessons 101, if you go here you will find that almost all of your household needs can be met between the plumbing and hardware store just around the corner on Post Street. It's also worth it to take a look at the bottom of this review page and click Yelp's "6 filtered" reviews, which are all positive as well. I can't imagine why Yelp's algorithm happens to filter almost half of Central's reviews (8\6)? read more

This is the best place I ever been for plumbing supply and fixture. No BS. I had been to other plumbing supply house that they either don't know their shit or no service but not Central. They really know what they were talking about. Especially the guy call Dennis, he is very funny and very helpful that every time I go Central, he will be able to get my shit ASAP with a SMILE! read more

Best plumbing supply in the city. Thats it. They have everything you need, if its not in stock or its some obscure part (crazy outdated valve stems) they pick up the phone and find it. They have even helped me find random parts over the phone with emailed pictures of what i was looking for. Best customer service ever. read more

This rating is really the average of two recent visits. I need to somehow combine two type of drain set-ups to make my bathroom sink work. On Monday, I went in and explained my situation. First, there was a lot of confusion, then I was told nothing can be done, better just buy a different sink/drain set-up. I showed them some instructions from a UK DIY site but was told no plumbing store has any of those pipe fixtures illustrated. Very frustrated I went back to do more online research and formed some more ideas. I went in there this morning because the vessel sink drain they did show me on Monday was quite nice and price is very competitive with online sources and I can get it right there and test out sizes and such. This time, since I have already more or less figured out what I need, they were able to find the "coupling" that I could use to connect the top of one of drain set-up to the bottom of the other drain set-up. I walked out of the store feeling like an accomplished engineer! So I guess my take is that they are extremely helpful if what you want is relatively conventional. They do have lots and lots of gadgets, pipes, and things and much closer than the big box stores. And by the way, I did go to Home depot (daly city) for the other piece of this bathroom puzzle and the gentleman manning the plumbing islet went all out to help me figure out a way to connect certain two pipes. read more

Terrific prices, great selection, and excellent follow-through. Not a glitzy showroom, so know what you need before you go. They'll whip out a binder with the manufacturer's brochures, quote you a price, and give you an accurate timeframe for arrival if they don't have it in stock. read more

Real deal...reliable & honest...can't beat that! This is a no b.s. place...they just get things done. Elson is completely knowledgeable, and can provide the best ideas/solutions...he's about keeping the customers happy & coming back! They even have a hardware store around the corner for paints & other supplies...super helpful...no need to truck outside of the city limits to get home necessities..especially if you are not a contractor, plumber & don't understand what you need...he will help you. A great 1 stop shop for a new home (like me)...and need help figuring it all out...and checked their prices...AWESOME...especially in this crazy economy its great to know there are honest businesses out there who still care about "people." Great tubs, shower stuff, toilets, fixtures...and paint.!!! 1 stop shop rocks. read more

I bought a Kohler wall mount sink some time ago (from a different company), and the required Concealed Arm Carrier was supposed to be a separate purchase. Only thing is they don't tell you where to find it. I've contacted several plumbing supply stores for advice on what I really need for a successful installation, and whether or not this extra $150-200 part is actually necessary. It's driven me nuts to say the least, and today I finally found some help. Dan at Central Builders Supply informed me that I could stick with the hanger, which was included. And because I'm not installing the sink in a commercial building there's no reason for the weight support that a Concealed Arm Carrier offers. I really appreciated his knowledge and honesty, and I'll make my first trip over to Central Builders Supply when I'm in their area. read more

The customer service was awesome! Been trying to locate very specific items and they made it happen. The plumber I hired was completely wrong about tjings and these guys helped save me a ton of money! So happy I found them. read more

It will be 4 years in January 2011 that I have been buying supplies from Central on account as resident manager for Fillmore Plaza Apartments across the street. I knew nothing about plumbing 4 years ago and little by little I've learned from these guys. I replaced my first toilet last year with the owner pointing out the distance from baseboard (I measured wall above toilet -wrong!) to middle of flange, and so on and so forth. They have a little attitude and can show impatience if you are asking for a walk down the isle (again) to find a $10 dollar item, and yet this is exactly what I needed to speed up the learning curve. I had a hot tempered Irsh friend go in with me last year and I said listen these guys cater to contractors and can appear impatient if they are busy with larger accounts, so please watch yourself. My friend ended up yelling at the owner who in return was polite and calm and cool along with everyone else behind the counter. I went back the next day and apologized and never brought my friend in again. Free consulting is what makes things go smoother for contractors, but these guys will come through for the small, inexperienced customer every time if you if you just show a little respect and patience when they are busy. I know how Yelp works and the only reason why I'm writing this is to thank Elson and his team from my wife and I for helping us through the learning curve. Good, honest, people that deserve a lot of respect for the help and time they give back to the community via customers like my wife and I. Thanks and Merry Christmas. read more