I was referred to Duncan Plumbing by my quartz countertop and tile installer. Looking back, I should have trusted my instincts and called the Scotts Valley plumber I had successfully used in the past. I scheduled Duncan Plumbing to come out two days after my new quartz countertops and floor tile were installed. They were originally scheduled for Wednesday, but on Tuesday they called and said they had a larger job and needed to move my appointment to Thursday. I agreed, but made it very clear that Thursday could not change because I was having a full knee replacement on Friday. The plumber arrived on Thursday, and we walked through my list of projects. After reviewing everything, he went to his truck to prepare an estimate. When he returned, he started by telling me it would cost over $200 just to install a $35 bidet attachment on one of my toilets. At that point, I told him to forget all of the smaller miscellaneous items and instead provide pricing for only the essentials: Reinstall one toilet in the guest bathroom Reinstall the double-sink faucets and plumbing in the primary bathroom Reinstall the kitchen faucet and garbage disposal The estimate for just those three jobs was $2,000. I was shocked. Based on my past experience, plumbers typically charge an hourly rate, and this quote simply wasn't justified. I asked him to wait while I called my regular plumber in Scotts Valley for comparison. He said he would also call his manager. When I came back outside, he asked what my other plumber was going to charge. I told him I still needed to send photos before they could provide an estimate. He simply stated that Duncan's pricing was comparable to other plumbers and made no attempt to adjust the quote. It honestly felt like they knew I was under a tight deadline because of my surgery and were hoping I would have no choice but to accept the inflated price. I declined the work and told him I would be writing a negative review. Apparently that message reached management, because a woman from the company tried to contact me afterward to "make things right." In my opinion, making it right should have happened while the plumber was still at my house after he spoke with his manager--not after I had already sent him away. By the way, my previous plumber ended up going me a quote for the exact same work for less than half of Duncan Plumbing's price. Out of curiosity, I also researched typical plumbing costs using ChatGPT (see attached screenshot), and those estimates further confirmed just how inflated Duncan Plumbing's quote was. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Duncan Plumbing. I understand that every company has different pricing, but charging nearly double what another reputable local plumber quoted for the same work felt excessive and disappointing, especially given my time-sensitive situation. read more

Duncan Plumbing - What NORMAL pricing should be. - Plumbing Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Their team responded promptly to my semi-emergency issue. I always find their service friendly, timely, professional with proper explanation and correction of the issue. They're our go to plumbers when DIY just won't do! R. Farren Capitola read more

Zach is amazing. He called me when he arrived and we discussed past issues with the surrounding vegetation invading the lines. When he eliminated the main line as the issue he snaked the shower. Wow logic to eliminate other issues. read more

We were in need of a required, non emergency service. Scheduling was easy, staff very pleasant and accommodating. Jacy came out, gave us a quote and explained everything clearly. The job of replacing our pressure reducing valve, main shut off and thermal expansion tank was 1/2 day. Work was done efficiently, using quality materials and again explained how everything worked. Price was fair, service excellent, Jacy was great. read more

Duncan Plumbing followed up and showed real concern for customer satisfaction and outcome.

Recently, I got sick of my wobbly shower handle and decided to try to fix it after watch a YouTube video. It seemed easy enough. Unfortunately, the reality was that it wasn't easy to fix. So I called the experts. Duncan Plumbing sent Frank & Chase within a few days. They examined and repaired it without the need for any replacements. Those guys were very friendly and I knew my plumbing was in the best hands. Their receptionist is also very friendly and kept me informed. It's nice to know that there's a company I can rely on close by. read more

Zach came out to help clear a bathroom line that we've been having problems with. He was thorough and so professional. I was bracing myself for bad news but he reassured me that a snake was all that was needed this time. He climbed into the crawl space, took a bunch of photos and showed me how my plumbing works. He even allowed my dog to "help". We love Duncan Plumbing. read more

They have done several services for us, and the quality is excellent. Pricing is fair and comparable to other plumbers we've used. The only issue is they seem to overbook. They will set a date and time (2 hour window) then call 30 minutes before the later time and say they must reschedule as they are running over on a previous job. This is like the airlines overbooking flights then saying you are bounced off the flight due to overbooking. read more

Duncan Plumbing was excellent from start to finish. Denise handled the scheduling, invoice, and all coordination, and was so responsive and helpful through text, email, and phone. She made the whole process smooth and stress-free. Scott, the owner, came by to assess the project and it was clear he truly cared about doing the job right--not just selling me extra work. Frank and Isaac replaced an offset toilet flange and a 90-degree pipe fitting under the house. They were friendly, professional, and did a great job. Everything was clean, and they clearly knew what they were doing. I highly recommend Duncan Plumbing for honest, quality work and great service! read more

Shifty. Don't deal with them. I had a catastrophe. They didn't help at all. Also installed on demand. nothing but problems and they won't come out to fix it read more

TL;DR Duncan's egregiously high prices, while most likely not an issue for your Silicon Valley transplants and old money boomers, price out hardworking, middle income families. If your plumbing problem appears straightforward, or you don't want to flush cash down the toilet, call someone else, or look it up on YouTube. Sorry for the long post, but for the sake of being factual to a fault, I've supplied as many details below I have a Rinnai tankless hot water heater that recently crapped out due to a faulty venturi motor (found in the gas supply valve). While the part was under a limited 5 year warranty through Rinnai (who I have problems with separately from this review), it required me to call a licensed plumber in the area to come diagnose the issue and fix the problem. No issue here. One of their technicians came out and told us, in order to start working, they would have to charge a $435 diagnostic fee. While my wife and I felt the sticker shock run through, we have a newborn that requires us to have hot water. So we sucked it up and had him proceed. This led to a call with Rinnai and subsequent hard reset of the hot water heater, which corrected the issue. The fix in total took about 1/2 hour, but as Duncan always charges "Per Task" and not "Per Hour" they were able to walk away from this job with a total charge of $870/hour. (These are the times you say to yourself "Why didn't I become a plumber?") But it is what it is and we had hot water. No complaints.... Until the hot water stopped working 72 hrs later. According to Rinnai, Duncan plumbing should have ordered the gas supply valve replacement on their first trip out, but they did not. Instead of calling around to some other plumber, and to keep our limited warranty on the hot water heater in place, we called Duncan again to come back out and look at it since their fix didn't completely correct the issue. My wife argued that we shouldn't have to pay since their first diagnostic didn't fix the problem, (or actually diagnose anything to see if the part was indeed faulty), and they agreed on the phone, but tried to charge us again once a plumber showed up. This would have been another $435 dollars, but was able to correct the mix up. This plumber proceeded to do nothing as Rinnai was not open at that time. Duncan came back out the following Monday, same guy as the first time, and said this time they would have to charge us to do anything, which was essentially diagnosing the problem (which the error code indicates the problem), and ordering a part, all for another $435 dollars (At this point, if we would have agreed to all potential charges, we would have payed a total of $1305 for a $1200 heater, to not even FIX it yet). We did not agree to having any more diagnostic work being done, and instead settled on having them order the part (which I imagine they would say they did for free, but I would say should have come under the initial $435, but I won't argue getting them to order it for "Free") After the part was ordered, they sent us an estimate for installing the new part for $821 ($937 with a membership discount of $116. Thank goodness that initial $435 got us something!!) To reiterate, at this junction, if we had agreed to all charges assessed, we would be in the hole $2126. This is roughly $275 dollars less than two new Rinnai tankless heaters (at the time we bought them anyways). While my wife and I do fine financially, we thought this was absurd. It appears that charging "by task" , along with their Diamond Certification, gives Scott Duncan 'carte blanche' to set prices of tasks aggressively high, to the point it appears exploitative. At this point, we declined the work, as we would have found someone else to do it for cheaper, but asked for the part since they called for it ( and since we needed a licensed plumber to do so) . Their response was that they couldn't do that since they would be ultimately responsible for the installation of the part regardless of who installed it. Strike 3! Alas they kept the part. We denied the service and told them to send the part back. I bought the part online for $190 dollars, followed a step by step YouTube video to remove the old, busted gas supply valve and install a new one. Took me about 1/2 hour to complete. I also knew how to perform this repair beforehand calling Duncan, and was aware of the amount of work required to install the new part, and this is where the "by task" pricing really only works out for you if you have a massive issue with unknown variables that requires an unforeseen amount of hours to fix. Damn the Gatekeeping of plumbing work!!! Overall, a limited warranty is not worth keeping when a plumbing company wants to charge you almost twice the cost of the heater itself to assess and fix a problem you yourself could do for a 1/10th the cost in less than an hour. read more

Fast, came right away after they had a cancellation. Guy was here an hour and a half to clear drain line and reset toilet. Did a nice job was very thorough and very personable to deal with. I would use them again. I suppose somebody else might be cheaper, but they got the job done in an emergency. read more

Duncan Plumbing are our hero's !! They responded so quickly to pricing and their servicing availability. My husband is disabled and in a wheelchair. We had to have a our entire house completely repiped. Initially my contact with Amanda and Gray whom were very courteous and personable did great follow up with me. I was able to meet and converse with Scott, the owner, when I dropped in. They're all very busy yet took the time for me. Nick, whom did the estimate and along with Matt, both labored and completed the entire job. I felt they were more than fair. It was a huge deal for us. We were up and running with~in three days once the project started. Nick was extremely conscientious of the work they were doing and very communicative on the whole. The experience was painless, quick and thorough. I really appreciate your crew Duncan Plumbing and thank you so, so much!! Michael & Kristine Whalen read more

Nick was professional and provided detailed information about the repair that was done. He replaced my water heater thermocouple. I would highly recommend Duncan Plumbing. read more

Follow up to May 17 posting. There was a misunderstanding between me and Duncan plumbing on the 99.00 inspection. It was a video inspection not a clean out of sewer line. Duncan offered a refund of the 59.00 Saturday extra fee which I paid in cash. I took the refund. Thank you Duncan Plumbing. read more

Great folks!! Should have called them first!! Don't be distracted by other "Plumbers" that you may find on Craigslist or any other online source. These guys are the "Real Deal - experienced plumbers who know how to deal with a wide range of unexpected and non-ordinary situations. Eric (the Service Manager) is very experienced and knew how to deal with a offset Toilet Flange, without breaking up the concrete holding it!!!! Can't say enough good things about these folks!! Thanks for your assist. Eric P. Aptos read more

I am a retired General and HVAC contractor so I am very attuned to honesty, integrity and superior service when I experience it. I am responsible for my 97-year old Father, a World War II Veteran with some dementia, on a fixed retirement income, who lives in Scotts Valley. When a question regarding the water quality at my Father's house was raised by one of his care-givers, Duncan Plumbing was recommended to me. I contacted Grey at Duncan Plumbing and he was able to quickly dispatch Frank, a Duncan plumbing technician, who performed a survey and then called me. The problem involved some periodic sediment in the cold water line and Frank assured me that for a house of this age and construction, this was unfortunately a normal circumstance. What impressed me about Frank and Duncan Plumbing was the fact that they could have easily created a false pretense about the plumbing, and even with my experience, I was in no position to confirm it myself due to my living some distance from my Father. That aspect alone has earned my trust and I would not hesitate to engage Duncan Plumbing again in the future. But the story doesn't end here. When I contacted the office afterwards to arrange payment, Grey told me that since Frank only inspected the system, but didn't actually have to make any repairs, there would be no charge for the service call! As a retired business owner, I know a good business arrangement fairly benefits both parties. Since my attempted payment was refused, my only alternative is to publish my story where potential customers might see it. I am very appreciative of, and highly recommend, Duncan Plumbing! read more

Duncan plumbing is the best in town and Chance did such a good job and helped fixed the problem!!! 5 stars!!!

This is a response to business' comments to my initial review. I thought yelp was suposed to be a safe place to share facts about interactions with businesses, to assist consumers in decision making. I shared my facts. Owner responded, in what seemed to me, a vindictive way, stating personal information about me, untrue details and disparaging comments referring to the plumber that did the work for me. My fixtures are Delta mid priced, not designer. My home quality and ownership is of no relevance, and in fact your comments are untrue. 'Tucked into' means secured. I was first given a verbal quote. Then when I looked at detail I saw $99 extended warranty at the bottom. I did not expect this in a plumbing installation where I had my own parts. I did not ask you to make my plumbing good for the next few decades. I'm surprised and disappointed that you would make negative comments referring to a fellow plumbing company. Why are you choosing to pick on me? Is anything I said untrue? I've done many yelp reviews as a service to other consumers. The majority are very positive And always true. read more

Duncan Plumbing did such an excellent job of repairing my leaking bathtub, I can't praise them enough. The job turned out to be more complicated than anticipated and they handled it well, effectively, and efficiently. The cost was more than fair. All around it was a pleasant and stressless experience for me....and how often can you say that about a plumbing problem. I highly recommend them. read more

Duncan plumbing have been lifesavers for my business. Scott and his crew are responsive, professional and have great communication skills Definitely 5 stars!. read more

Service was very good, however the prices charged were very high based on the cost of the toilet quoted and installed. Felt as though we were conned by the tech to get and extra maintenance service that would give us a discount and pay for itself. Very smooth approach and I would not recommend Duncan Plumbing or use them going forward. I called to complain and expressed my dissatisfaction on the sales con and they basically ignored my experience even when I told them I felt I was conned with the whole sale. read more

My wife and I have struggled with understanding our Radiant Heating since we first purchased our home. It seemed to work fine, but we wanted to be certain and wanted to know if it could be improved. Upon a friend's recommendation, we called Duncan Plumbing and their California Radiant Heating Service. We had great service from a competent and friendly receptionist. She also put Scott--the Manager, on the phone so he could understand what we needed. He was great. The next morning, Eric arrived and we couldn't have been more pleased. He listened to us and then began looking over our system--explaining some of the mysteries and then got going on a deep inspection of everything. He checked on all aspects--the boiler, the valves, the fittings, the manifold, the thermostats and gave us reassurance that the system was doing fine. He readjusted some temperature settings after determining that our radiant lines were buried deep in the slab and would function better at a slightly higher temp. He gave us suggestions on how to improve our energy savings and yet keep the house comfortable. My wife and I were impressed at how thorough he was and how he was able to make this maze of things understandable. He pointed out some things that could be improved, but assured us the system could also function fine without the improvements. There was no up selling. We were so glad we called Duncan Plumbing/California Radiant. What a relief. read more

I waited a long while to review my service experience with Duncan Plumbing. They were polite on the phone. The service person was schedule quickly. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. He explained everything as he worked. So far, the final solution is still working well. I am very happy with the out come. read more

Overpriced! Called Duncan for a leak detection. Told me there was no leak, but charged $700 for a piece of pipe. The leak on the property was later detected by another company, fast and for half the cost. Called recently for an estimate on installing a bathroom sink faucet that I provided. They don't give pricing over the phone so I asked the plumber once he was here and before he performed any work for a quote. Answer $565!! I got the job done by another company at less than half Duncan's price. read more

Our Outflow was majorly compromised by roots. Duncan made sure that the work to eliminate the problem was done right and that we were well served. Pricing was upfront and very reasonable. I highly recommend Duncan. Friendly, understanding, hard working group of people. Exactly what you need when the plumbing goes bad. Thank you Duncan Plumbing! read more

Great Business, Great Plumbing Company! Great communication and great customer service. Work was done with care and with effort to make sure it was done well. Cannot say enough about how please I am with Duncan. They helped me out and did not over charge on a holiday. Thank you everyone at Duncan! Call them when you need a good knowledgeable plumber. You will not be disappointed. read more

The technician was friendly and helpful. However, their prices are high. There was some attempt at up selling. The technician did a good job and there are no leaks after replacing the bathroom faucets. I have updated my review because they reached out and helped the situation. read more

Have previously used two different plumbing companies in Santa Cruz. That said, Romero and Oscar @ Duncan Plumbing we're top notch. Went above and beyond. Will use Duncan anytime I have a plumbing issue going forward and would give them my stamp of approval. read more

Duncan Plumbing saved me from insanity yesterday! They were fast and efficient and came 20 minutes after my call! George and Ramiro wore their masks and were very professional. Anytime I need plumbing and YES it is usually an emergency they show up and do the job RIGHT! I trust their work and their work has never failed me! I HIGHLY recommend Duncan Plumbing Santa Cruz for ALL your plumbing needs!! read more

They may or may not do excellent work once they arrive. But they made me wait through 2.5 hrs of a 3 hr time window and then said they could not do it that day, and gave no opportunity for reschedule in the near future. I understand that work may take longer than expected, and they may on a given day be shorthanded. Then offer a next-day reschedule (with definite time and discount). This is what airlines do when they overbook. Not to do this simply means sloppy business practice. Crossed off my list. read more

Wow, very impressive! From the start, the phone reception was friendly and so very helpful. She immediately got Miguel to come out and replace my water heater.. it was very cold, 2 days before xmas and I had an inspection, quote and installation within hours. I was in no mood to wait days for help. Miguel very clearly explained all the options, prices and details making it possible to make an informed decision. His professional approach was both knowledgeable and so helpful, he suggested some cost savings tips, enrolled me in the member program and also gave me a considerable senior citizen discount. He is a gem of an employee...I will make every effort to ask for him in any future issues. I have not used this company before, but I am now a devoted customer thanks to Miguel..... read more

Company picked up phone and sent plumber out quickly. Professional company. The team was cordial and professional and kept me posted on all progress before and after job completed. read more

Duncan plumbing are bunch of crooks, they charged me $520 to flip the breaker back on. Which did not fix the problem. The never diagnosed the problem and sat in thier truck in the driveway for an hour to run up the bill. Not only did not fix problem but they run up the bill. DEWARE of Duncan plumping they most differently are crooks. read more

Of course our toilet started acting up on a Friday. I contacted Duncan Plumbing and got an immediate response and an excellent quote! They were at my home within hours. Nui the technician was knowledgeable and explained what was going on. It was repaired under an hour and I wasn't left broke . I highly recommend Duncan Plumbing and would 100% use them again. I even got a super sweet coffee mug read more

Duncan Plumbing - Plumbing Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

MIguel was very, very nice! The knob in the tub wasn't working; it didn't bring the water up through the shower instead out of the tub spout--a small issue but very annoying! Miguel came out at the time promised and fixed the problem. He was careful to explain to me what was wrong and was gone in an hour. read more

I highly recommend Duncan Plumbing. They installed a high efficiency Rheem hybrid electric hot water heater for us and are backing it up with 10 years parts and 2 years labor. They were extremely helpful during the entire project and now we are no longer using natural gas heated water and able to use electricity generated by our solar panels to make hot water. Duncan Plumbing did a great job. Very prompt in all communications, appointments, estimates, answered all questions, etc. Jorge was especially helpful and friendly. We'll definitely be calling Duncan Plumbing for any future plumbing needs. Oh yeah, they also took care of all permitting with the county and showed up on time and stayed here for the inspection sign off. There were no problems and we're very satisfied with their work. read more

I have used them quite a few times in some emergency situations and they have always come through with a quick response time. I would say not the cheapest but I would also say plumbing is not really the best place to skimp on price. They are very responsive in the office to dispatch crews and we have used them for a leaky toilet to full-on digging up lines in the driveway to repair. read more

I work with a lot of plumbers as a vacation rental manager. I had a great experience with Duncan Plumbing yesterday. They had availability to send someone out immediately to a half hour away to unclog a dishwasher drain line just before the Thanksgiving holiday as our renters were arriving. He was fast and efficient and our renters were pleased it got taken care of quickly and competently. He even called me as requested upon arrival, again after he diagnosed the problem to get approval for the cost, and then again after completion to report on status and allow me to pay remotely. This was important under the circumstances, and so many others say they will but never do. The dozen other plumber companies I called had no availability after hours, and could only schedule future dates. I feel very lucky we connected with Ramon and his availability was just right. It's possible that at another time they would be too busy (high demand area) but this was a great experience. I'm very glad he was motivated to do this relatively small job and at a reasonable price, at the end of what was likely a long work day during a holiday week. read more

I was house and dog sitting for friends, who were out of the country and about five days into my three week housesitting the water heater pilot went out. I called PGE to come relight the water heater and they said I probably had a thermocoupler that needed replacing. I called Duncan plumbing on the recommendation of a friend who is working with them and they scheduled me for an appointment a couple days later but they also said they would put me on the first available if someone canceled. A few hours later, they called me back and said they could have some technicians here the same day. Jed and Isaac showed up and we're very professional diagnosed the problem, which was exactly what the PG&E man had said, and fix the problem quickly and without too much expense. read more