We've used John Owens several times and they have always served us well. This time we had Matt who is new to us, and he was great. Friendly, professional and gave us fair and honest quote. read more

Our boiler had a problem message being displayed and there was no hot water. Mat came to check things out. He was patient and clearly explained what the problem was and gave me several options on how he could proceed to remedy the situation. He quickly restored my hot water and cleared the problem message and saved me a lot of money. Thanks Mat! read more

I appreciate longevity in business and your response to my review. However, the job in question took less than an hour and no expensive parts. A bill in excess of $700 is unreasonable in my book. Time and materials pricing would address your concerns and be fairer to the consumer. My comments are only one person's opinion. read more

During the recent storms, my boiler stopped working. I was scheduled for service today but I found out that the road to my house was closed yet again due to more downed power lines. I was greatly disappointed and about to call JOS to ask to reschedule as soon as possible when I got a call from Matt. He had taken a miles-long alternative route through the National Park and was here to do the service! He found that the problem was a part that had failed after four years but was warrantied by JOS for five, replaced the part, and there was no charge. Thank you, this is superior service. read more

We would like to sing praises for Max Rosen-Bolich who came today to repair a blocked toilet and a 2nd leaking toilet. He reset the leaking toilet, then was very astute in helping to diagnose the fact that some previous work done by Ross Valley Sanitary District in late Dec. utilizing our clean-out had caused a sewage blockage impacting our entire house. He stuck with it until RVSD came, did a check of main pipes (which didn't clear our line), so then Max had to snake our lateral and he found the blocking material left behind by RVSD in Dec. This very personable, unruffled and experienced plumber solved our problem, thank goodness. read more

They came on a Saturday with no up charge for a weekend. The man was very friendly and did a good job. He cleaned up afterward, whipping down all surfaces. I recommend this company. read more

A fantastic experience with Alex, Randy, Tracy and the team at John Owens services. I got four AC bids to install new AC in our home in Novato and this was the best one-Alex explained thoroughly what we needed, answered my many questions and wasn't too "salesy" (which was awesome). He talked my husband through doing the electrical (he's an electrician) and they scheduled the install very quickly. In comparison, other area companies came out, schmoozed and then never even got around to sending me a bid. Randy completed the install in two days, was super communicative about what he was doing and was so pleasant with my kids! We had a heater setting issue after the install, JO services had not one but TWO people back in my house before noon the next day to fix it, thanks to Tracy's quick and kind action. Couldn't recommend more highly. read more

Awesome water heater repair! I'd like to highly recommend John Owens Services! I called early this afternoon with a concern about my water heater and they came right out. Duane was able to repair it, got everything fixed for a very reasonable price, while explaining before he started the work of the worst case scenario's. After he left I didn't know that the water heater could make noise while it gets the air out and I called them back concerned. He came right back out checked everything and told me that it was just the air bubbles. He also told me as well as the lady from the company if I have any concerns please don't hesitate to call. A great company with great customer service, both out on the job site and back in the office! Warmest regards, Felicia read more

I'm extremely pleased with the service and workmanship of John Owens crew. Grateful to Cesar and Ramiro for their hard work on our new radiant heat installation, spending hours and days under our home in a three foot crawl space l, always emerging with a smile on their face. John Owens walked the project before we began to explain the process of installing radiant heat, the mechanics of the system, as well as understand our needs. He also escalated our schedule for inspections and was responsive to unforeseen conditions. He called throughout to be sure we had what we needed and all was coming together. I'm so glad we chose John Owens services for our plumbing and heating work. Special shout out to Cesar and Ramiro for their smiles and "no problem" attitudes. read more

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No show on the appointment day. The guy called during our scheduled appointment time (after I had taken the morning off work) and told me he was sorry he was double booked. Then told me he doesn't need to even come to my house and can give an estimate over the phone. Pretty disappointed. I get they are busy but if they are that lazy with first appointment why would i trust them to do my work? Ryan clearly did not want the business. And by the looks of the reviews it seems this is not uncommon. read more

A week before Thanksgiving my radiant heat boiler died. I called many heating contractors, but the soonest anybody could come and check it was the end of November or beginning of December. John Owens is the only company that went out of their way to move some scheduling around and fit me in before Thanksgiving. They are professional, courteous, and very pleasant to deal with. read more

A technician was sent later in the day to do a job that ended up being more than just a routine maintenance call. Highly recommend, Timo - he is super knowledgeable. John Owens reached out to insure the job was done to our satisfaction - I highly respect a business owner who follows up personally. Recommend them for sure. Super responsive. read more

I have driven behind their trucks for years and read about all the services they offer. When I went to Yelp to look for a heating contractor they were the first name I recognized. Firstly they have live people on the phone. I had an appointment the next day for a furnace blowing cold air. Randy the Technician was knowledge. He diagnosed the problem to the pressure switch. He quoted the repair, and had the part on the truck. He was out of the house in less than an hour, All in all a great experience. The next day someone called from their office to check that all went well. I highly recommend them read more

I have an emergency and was told they would be here and they cancelled. Thanks for wasting our time and not doing anything. You suck

Excellent service! Technicians were on time, courteous and professional. Caesar was a real go getter and super star as we have an old house. Amazing work ethic and excellent results! We will not hesitate to recommend you! read more

Should be no stars. I had a bad experience awhile ago, but decided to give them another chance as they had done a good job previously. I have a toilet issue and they made an appointment to come today Thursday between 12 and 2 PM. When no- one showed up by 2 I called. The receptionist told me "John Owens personally canceled the appointment and doesn't want to do business with you any more". Mr. Owens or no-one from his company had the courtesy to call me to tell me that. In the meantime we got text messages confirming our appointment so we waited for someone to show up. I guess if you criticize John Owens he doesn't try to resolve the problem, instead he just tries to get even. Stay away from this company. read more

Very bad experience. John Owens originally qouted a furnace and duct work job at $11,801. I also received a quote from Ongaro. I chose John Owens. Big mistake. When the John Owens service team came to install the furnace and do the duct work, they said the work would cost $18,586. Later they said they had provided an incorrect original quote but that it didn't really matter. They ran a charge against my credit card for $8,000 dollars for a half complete job and have been unresponsive since then. Watch out folks. These guys are not to be trusted. read more

John Owens installed all new HVAC system, A/C, and tankless water heater for us in our mid 1960's house and the entire process went very smoothly. It took about eight working days. Esgar was the primary technician and he was very courteous, kept us informed on status, cleaned up daily, and overall did great work; I'd recommend asking for him. John Owens wasn't the lowest quote we received, but when they explained why they wanted to do more work compared to other estimates, it made sense to us and I think the more competitive bids would not have heated/cooled as well as we'd expect. A totally HVAC renovation might be one of those things where picking the lowest bidder might not always be the best idea. John Owens also warranties the system for five years. read more

We purchased a home in Kentfield and the HVAC system did not work whatsoever. The 1st floor was unbearably cold and the 2nd floor unbearably hot. The third floor was more or less comfortable. I called a few different HVAC folks, all of which came out and provided estimates. John Owen spent 2+ hours doing 'diligence' and was able to completely and very simply explain the issues with our system. Luckily the furnace itself was ok however the ducting needed to be completely reworked and the 2 zone system converted to 3 zones. John happened to be the most expensive however 2-3 of his guys spent 3 days re-organizing and adjusting every duct and every outlet in every room until our house was completely comfortable. If you want a cheap plumber or HVAC contractor don't call John however if you want the best who will get it right, on time, on budget and care for your home like it was your own call John. I wouldn't hesitate to call him for any of our plumbing needs. read more

John Owen's tech Chris came to fixing our AC which was no cold air came out. He is very nice polite. his is skillful and knowledgeable his work. he explain the problems. What cause it. We very happy to having him to fixing our AC. Thanks Chris for great help. read more

We had a great experience with Chris from John Owens Services. He came out to make sure our AC system was in good shape for the summer and was super friendly (even with our kids and cat!) and super professional. He explained everything thoroughly, and even showed me what filters I should buy for the next time I needed to change it. The appointment was easy to schedule and Chris was on time and super efficient. Great experience! read more

John Owens' technician Chris just descaled and inspected my tankless water heater. Arrived on time and clearly knew his craft. Price was exactly the same when Owens performed the same service more than 36 months ago. Apparently they haven't heard of inflation. read more

I got a quote for a Rinnai direct vent heater from John Owens. John told me that he would order it from Ferguson Plumbing supply in Corte Madera. John quoted me $2203 for the heater (Rinnai 8000 BTU direct vent model EX08) and $945 for the labor and materials install including a run of 45 feet of flex gas piping. Total quote was $3148. I have used Ferguson myself in the property management business for years - so I sourced the heater (Rinnai 8000 BTU direct vent model EX08) directly from them for $1191.49 incl tax and shipping. So I got the exact same heater for about half the quoted price. Then I called John Owens to find out why they had not returned my calls about installing what I had purchased. They told me they only install heaters and systems that they supply. I feel that 100% mark-up is excessive, especially when the labor was already quoted. I understand contractors typically add 10% to 15% for disbursement on supplies. I did not like this attitude in the least because not everyone in Marin has money to burn. I think John Owens should have quoted a labor price that was fair to me and them - and let me have the freedom to save some money on the heater unit itself. read more

John is fantastic. He's incredibly intelligent and thorough, and what I most appreciate about him is that he's a problem solver and he's constantly thinking about different approaches to solve the issue. Literally, between the two weeks time between evaluation to doing the work, he came up with multiple solutions, and seemingly, each one was a better, more elegant solution. Just to provide some context, we have a reasonably sized home with a single furnace, and essentially, our downstairs (where most of our bedrooms are located) was barely getting any heat, which meant our bedroom and that of our children were ice cold (especially once it started to get cold). I had three people come in and take a look--one contractor never responded, another one proposed a solution, but they didn't seem particularly confident (and this one is very highly rated in Southern Marin). John was the third, and he sent me a high-level proposal the same afternoon he saw our home. Again, I was very impressed with his competence, intelligence, and communication skills. He delivered within budget and more or less within the timeframe he said he would (he came back a week later to make sure everything was ok, but he didn't charge me more). One time he arrived a few hours later than he said he would arrive, which created a slight snag, but now, especially when compared to other service providers, I'm nit picking! Just wanted to be fully open to the Yelp community. And you should read the filtered reviews as well. I'm thankful when I was looking for someone to solve our heating issue that his reviews weren't filtered yet, as I used those for the basis of finding John! read more

John Owens and his capable crew deserve at least ten stars. I converted my little house in San Francisco away from a traditional hot water heater and into the 21st Century with an on-demand hot water unit, and replacement of a long dead wall heater with Rinnai products, and I couldn't possibly be happier with John's expert service and the Rinnai units. I was able to easily make the appointment via email, and John arrived on time with his incredible knowledge and skills, and his jolly personality. We discussed various options for my house and after a thorough review of the existing heaters, the gas lines and the electricity box, John provided a complete estimate and that was the price upon installation. They even took away the old units for recycle/disposal, and left my house neat and tidy. They also take care of registering the units with Rinnai for warranty. Talk about service with a smile! On installation day, John arrived early with his team, with all the tools and parts and whatever else they might need right there on hand in their well-stocked company trucks. I really admire John's professionalism and prompt service, and I highly recommend him. It is obvious that he loves what he does, and I respect that he shares his knowledge by employing and training other people. So here are TEN STARS FOR JOHN OWENS SERVICES!! read more

I contacted John Owens Plumbing Service for a suspected leak. My leak has somehow stopped, but I found Mr Owens courteous, responsive and helpful. Perhaps next time I'll have an opportunity to use his services. read more

John was super responsive, even came down early before a job he already had scheduled to help us out. He had our furnace back working in no time at all and he highlighted things we may want to consider replacing soon but left that decision up to us. Great person and awesome service! read more

I had a VERY BAD experience with this company today. BEWARE! My thermostat needs replacing. I was told the service call would cost $67, which seemed reasonable. But the woman at the front desk couldn't tell me the cost of the thermostat replacement or give me an hourly rate. The workman, after determining that the thermostat did, in fact, need replacing, said the cost of installing a simple (not smart) thermostat would be . . . drum roll . . .$348 plus the $67 service call! I checked the cost of the thermostat online---about $80--- and installing it would take about 15 minutes at most. The serviceman, apologetically said he couldn't come down in the price. So I sent him off after writing him a check for $67. He was very kind and clearly embarrassed but at the mercy of his company's policy. Upon doing some research, I discovered I could buy a smart Nest thermostat for $129 that one can install oneself AND get a sizable rebate from PG&E. I called John Owens to register a complaint. The man on the phone was aggressively defensive and told me that their costs of maintaining an office, trucks, phones, paying workman's comp and salaries led them to charge the kind of prices they did. Price gouging is what I call it. read more

John and his team installed a complete radiant heat and hot water boiler for my new construction project. The system is great!. He was very knowledgeable and helped design a system that worked for my house and the needs of my family. He provided options to save money and engery. John and his team are very professional. I received a text message letting me know everytime John and his team would arive. John was very flexible and always willing to find solutions to problems. He never complained about the work that other contractors did that made his work more complicated. John, was by far the best experience of my entire new construction project. I would recommend John and his team for any plumbing, heating or HVAC project read more

Slow, over-priced, try to con me into things I don't need, didn't come back to finish the job. **note I'm a real customer in a real house, this isn't a fake review like i suspect many of the others are** I've been having a simple water heater issue that should have been easily fixed by any competent maintenance service. I I called John Owens and they sent someone to my house within 3 days. When that person arrived he proceeded to nit -pick at my heating and cooling system which is less than 6yrs old (not a great first impression). Then he told me it would cost about $1000 to replace a sensor and do a cleaning ( afterwards I researched the sensor part which cost $40 on several websites). Being that I'm not a plumbing specialist I agreed, he charged me for a diagnostic fee and said he would come back in a couple days to finish the job. No one called, no one came back. A few days later I followed up with the company to see if they'd return to finish the job. They said they needed to order the parts and would call me back shortly to schedule the work. They never called and never came back. Overpriced, unreliable, unresponsive. I would never pay these people to come to my house again. read more

I had a small bar sink that was leaking. I hired a plumber about a month ago The plumber that I hired through John Owens charged me $67.00 only for him not do work to fix the sink because he couldn't see the leak even though the bottom of the sink was loose and can visibly see the water leaking lightly. The plumber said that the leak was not visible and therefore it wasn't necessary to fix it. I had to hire another plumber who saw the leak and fixed the problem. In the meantime I was charged $67.00 to come out to do nothing. Stacy, the office manager promptly called me back and issued me a refund for the initial fee. read more

Thank you Temo for coming back at the day's end when the A/C was fixed but a fuse blew. Quick, thorough and knowledgeable scheduling, diagnostics, and service. Highly recommend! read more

The young man (Chris) who came to my house to service the heater was very nice & very professional; if I need heater service in the future I will definitely call them again. read more

When my furnace stopped working in very cold weather, I called this company in the morning. The call was answered immediately, the questions gave them good advance information, and I was given a time slot that afternoon. The service man texted when he was on his way, with a picture of him and the van. He was prompt, efficient and able to fix my problem. I will call again if I need their services. read more

Mike was so helpful in getting our hot water heater replaced. He at first spent all day trying to save us $ by fixing it. When that didn't work he came back the next day with a replacement. They didn't charge me for parts and a whole day of labor when he tried to fix it. He was there exactly when he said he would be and very polite and competent. Highly recommend their service. I need to get them back to service my furnace every year. read more

I was so impressed with John Owens Services! It is probably the most professional home repair services I have ever used. They give you a 2 hour window for the repair and stick to it. They also text you and your tenant when they are on the way. They diagnose the problem and call you with the cost to fix it. Best of all, they don't price gouge you! Highly recommended! read more

Our boiler died and we tried calling other companies but had no luck. I found John Owens Services online and filled out the contact form on their website after normal business hours. Early the next morning I received a call from a woman *(maybe Beth?) who was very helpful. She scheduled a technician to come out that morning. Soon thereafter we were very fortunate to get a visit from boiler technician Temo Keilt, who was incredibly knowledgeable about our boiler and had it up and running in no time. We could not have been happier with the service we received! When we expressed interest in exploring other heating solutions, Temo patiently explained the pros and cons of different systems. He definitely knows his stuff! Thank you Temo & John Owens Services for saving us from the cold on such short notice!!! read more

An excellent experience replacing the A/C unit and furnace at my rental property. The company I've used for twenty years that installed the old equipment, and maintained it annually, gave me a bid that was very high. I did some research, asked around and John Owen came highly recommended - now I understand why. Everyone in his office was friendly, helpful and super-understanding about coordinating the work with the tenants. They handled everything including the scheduling of the systems test and permit inspections. I have learned that going with the long-established, Marin family dynasty companies can mean hyper-inflated pricing, at least in my case it almost did. Instead, John Owen installed the same exact equipment that the other company proposed at a price that was SIGNIFICANTLY (bold and underlined) better. Heating and cooling equipment that's not working is a real hassle, but I strongly urge you not to panic and go with the first bid you get from a big name company, and at very least get a second opinion from John Owen. I am walking away from two pre-paid annual maintenance plans with the other guys, from now on John Owen Services is the only HVAC company I'll work with. Great people, great communication, great workmanship, great pricing. read more

Always responsive, efficient, knowledgeable all at a reasonable cost. Thank you for coming out on time today. -Brad

Furnace went kaput on an October morning! Husband called several places, but only John Owens Services were able to come out to San Anselmo the same day. Chris arrived to give my husband an estimate. He was friendly, knowledgeable and professional. We liked his estimate and went with them. The next day CHRIS and GABE came out to replace our 1970's 100K BTU furnace with a 80K more efficient unit. Both of these young men were friendly, professional, and efficient. Thank you! We have heat! read more