Central Plumbing & Heating

Back in March 2017 my husband decided that he wanted to DIY remodel the bathroom. After many trips back & forth between Lowes & Home Depot with each employee giving us wrong information & wrong parts, I suggested that we go speak with a professional at Central Plumbing & Heating. Daniel Jenkins helped us pick out the correct piping & tub faucet set which came with everything you needed all in one box. He was friendly, patient, helpful & understood what my husband was asking for even though my husband didn't understand what he was asking for! We got home & attacked the plumbing in the wall once again, but this time armed with the correct materials. Everything fit together, we had no water leakage, & we had great water pressure. We returned all the incorrect items given to us by Lowes & Home Depot. So thank you Central for helping our bathroom remodel come together nicely & work correctly!

This review is for the plumbing sales department.  I always buy plumbing parts from Central, no matter how much more they might cost than at a big box store (although I don't actually know what if any price differences there are), because the sales staff are so helpful and knowledgeable.  (I'm a complete layperson, and non-handy, when it comes to home repairs.)

Adding to my first review, this update is for the store rather than the home plumbing repair service.

My spouse and I have been to the store a few times in the last several years. One time the spouse came home with a recommendedfaucet (after taking in photo and explaining the problem to the people at Central P&H) and it was one that would not work appropriately for our sink. By the time we realized it we could not return the $150.00 faucet.

The other times, what the store had to offer was way overpriced! They've got to be kidding. The only way they can stay in business with those prices, for items that we can find elsewhere for much less, is that too many folks in Anchorage are suckers.

We won't be going back. We'll get those plumbing items at the big box stores and/or online for a lot less $$$, thanks.

The people at the Showroom inspired me to sign up for Yelp and start writing.
I can't believe how rude they have been to my wife and I during our remodel. This place has the feel of a local home grown store, and has none of the benefits. They are slow, have no idea what their inventory is, treat you like an idiot if you are not a contractor, and are consistently wrong about their delivery dates of special orders. Not only are they wrong about the dates of delivery, they are aggressively rude about it. It would be hard for me to say anything positive, other than they are providing some kind of service, however dismal.

If you're a DIY, this is the place for plumbing and heating parts. They sell you the part along with the how and why you need to install and troubleshoot. Remember, you're paying for the knowledge and the part. Be thankful they're here for us.

I recommend extreme caution if you use Central Plumbing and Heating (CPH). Here's been my experience:

Recently we had CPH out to check a thermostat and zone valve. After a big show and tell of how the zone was now working, going up and down to the furnace room and then feeling the now hot baseboard heater,  the next morning zone was not working. When I went down to check in the boiler room, I discovered the new zone valve had not been connected to power, and I too could heat up the baseboard heater by using the manual override on the zone valve. The exposed wire had no signs that it had  ever been put in a wire nut. When the wire was  connected to power, the zone begin to work and has been working ever since.  Was this just an oversight by the plumber or was this some sham to get another call out ?

We've had some good plumbers by Central, but this experience has driven us to other plumbers.

I've shopped here several times mostly in their parts store. Every time I've been in there the staff has been pretty helpful finding what I need for my projects. I usually have a general idea of what I need and the staff will show me what options would be best.  
Customer service over the phone is good too. If they're too busy to answer at the time they always call me back later if I want them to. It's nice being able to call the parts counter ahead of a trip and make sure they have what I need and how much it'll cost me.

Great good people always there to help. I'm a DIY person. Every time I need something whether parts help on the project. Their always very willing to help, Never disappoint. Service has been great had an issue with the water heater install one time. I notice a damage on the tank the technician was honest enough to admit he was at fault and willing to replace it with a new tank. Since the damage doesn't affect the function, i decided to keep it but ask to see if they can discount the original price because of the damage. Right away she arrange the discount. Thank you!

Didn't show first day. Came totally unprepared second day to require a second trip. They charge for travel back and forth to their office. Great use of $160.  An hour worker. Total rip off. By design when you carry no parts.

Loved that CP&H has the items I require while the big box stores don't. CP&H had toilet seat that could replace the one on my ancient Norris toilet.

This review is ONLY for their counter service. The folks behind the parts counter are incredibly helpful. I love being able to go in there with just a broken part or a picture of a problem and they'll help me solve it. Several times a 75-cent part and a little installation advice saved me hundreds in plumber fees; once a $200 heat tape cord for my roof saved what could've been thousands in roofing repairs. You can't get this kind of service (or part availability) at a big box store. I love these guys.

I don't bother going anywhere else.
These guys are professional friendly and helpful.

Wasn't super impressed with this place. Needed a part for my kholer faucet and this place didn't have it. Had a stuck set screw in the handle and it would have cost me $72/hour to have a tech look at it. I declined. Maybe this place would rate higher if I needed a plumber at the house. Not sure.

I bought a toilet less than two years ago and it stopped flushing.  I was told to remove it and bring it in?  How is a 60 year old woman to do this?  No help here and sold me a faulty toilet and not willing to look at it without more charges?

The customer service and expertise that we have experienced at Central Plumbing & Heating this summer has been phenomenal!! Do I really need to update my five star review to be another five star review?? Probably not, but it's worth it in my book when they're so ridiculously helpful and all around awesome to work with!

Earlier this summer, we purchased everything we needed for gas heat and a wood stove for our new workshop build at our house.  During our research and pricing, we were told about an annual sale, so we put it on our calendar and purchased everything earlier than we needed to.  Saving money is a good thing! As we were finally getting to installing the beautiful wood stove and opening boxes, an 18 pipe was dented and I was so worried they wouldn't replace it... however they did without question.  They were so apologetic for not opening the box before they sent it home with us and causing us inconvenience.  

We got everything installed and decided we wanted to add some extra support and brace the pipe on the roof.  I called to get a quote and availability; they had what we needed in stock and were also cheaper than what Home Depot had on their site and we didn't have to wait two weeks for it to ship.  We walked in and were greeted by both first and last name... AWESOME! There was playful banter back and forth and all was wonderful. We walked out with what we needed, a 5% military discount and smiles all around!

Hubby and I are very disappointed with The Warm Guys.  We hired them to install a tub.  While the price was not unreasonable, we had to call them back twice to finish the job.  The dispatcher seemed very apologetic and almost had my sympathy until the plumber shows up for the second fix and charges us for an hour's worth of work!  At $145, my heart turned a little sour.  Especially since he was given explicit directions the first go-around.  I would not recommend them.

Experienced guys, Helpful in finding the right part for critical plumbing, which can't be done online or at a big box store!

Ouch - heater died this morning.  Have to give Kudos to Central Plumbing. They had a very capable repairman (Gene) here within 90 minutes and our heat was back on before noon.  They're not cheap but their work & service are excellent

They charged me $440 to install a dishwasher. When I inquired about their hourly rate I was told it was $160 per hour. Pretty standard. The guy was there 2 hours. That is $320 in my book. When I asked about the higher rate they told me they charge for travel time. It takes 10 minutes to get to my house. A $120 for a 10 minute drive?!? The labor was almost more than the dishwasher. The guy who put it in was very nice and professional. I don't have an issue with him or his work. That being said, Central Plumbing won't be my first call as it has been in the past. Scot Coberly, Anchorage, AK.

Calling a plumber is never a fun thing to do, but getting ripped off just adds to the pain. Getting charged at least one hundred dollars just for TRAVEL is unacceptable. It's almost as if these guys are laughing in your face. Charging for travel in a city that can be crossed in an average of 10 minutes usually, is balls to the walls absurd. Central Plumbing and Heating does not come recommended for any job, big or small, in my book.

We talked to Mark on your sales counter ( our go to guy ) about a noise problem we've been having in our hot water baseboard heat pipes for 20 + years . We've had multiple plumbers over the years try to fix it with no luck. We had an idea what might be the fix & went in and talked to Mark who was friendly, helpful & knowledgable and spent 15 minutes discussing the problem and set us up with some parts to fasten the pipes to the joists in the crawls;ace in a different manner. An hour of fun in the crawl space & pegged the thermostat and quiet as a mouse. You can think your saving money going to the big box stores , but there's no substitute for getting expert advice to solve a plumbing problem that's baffled the experts for years.

If you think you can do your own plumbing, but you have a couple of problems, the people at Central Plumbing will answer almost any question you can give them.  They will help you out until you and they are sure you are on the right track, and if your problem is solved with a $2.98 part, that's fine with them, and golden for you.

But if your plumbing problem is greater than you can deal with, the plumbers at Central will take care of you and do it well.  

Good plumbers are not cheap, and Central is good...so expect to pay a bunch more than $2.98, but you can be sure that the job will be done well in a reasonable amount of time.  No heartburn here.

Went to Central Plumbing & Heating several days in a row for a bathroom repair issue.  The only person I would go back there for to speak with was Robert.  He was extremely helpful and took the time to help figure out which parts would work for what we were doing.  Another guy didn't even both to help answer my questions or look at the piece I brought in to find a match for.  If Robert wasn't helping me, I'd rather just go to Home Depot or Lowes for the same customer service...

We bought a Renai heater from a person that never had it installed. Didnt get any exhaust pipes or parts for installation so went to Central Plumbing & Heating and they provided everything I needed and even ordered a part that I didn't have and everything looks like it's going in just great thanks for the big help guys

Excellent customer service all three times I've been. Their staff is friendly and happy to answer questions. I was a little bit intimidated going into a plumbing store, but all the people I spoke with were wonderful.

I have decided that I don't like plumbing. Nothing good has ever come from a call to a plumber... well, nothing good for the wallet, anyway.

We used Central a couple times for a few things. One time, the fellow was waiting for parts, so he took his lunch hour all cozy in our house and at the end of the job, proceeded to charge me for that hour!

I understand that plumbers are always expensive. But the last time they came to the house, looked at the pipe - one drip per minute, looked at me and said, I can't do anything - have the water company turn the water off. He then charged me for a full hour and left ($150 or so). About 2 minutes from the time he got there to when he left, and we only live 2 miles from the business.

I then called another plumbing company - he came out FOR A FREE ESTIMATE - and fixed the drip in the pipe (had to cut the pipe and resolder, or something) within an hour and without having the water turned off. I could crack myself in the head for not writing down that company's name! I'll repost if I ever figure out the awesome plumbing company.

I highly recommend you avoid Central - they thoroughly stink.

I had a small drip under a sink as well as  from a bath faucet. They sent  Kit to my home and he was the best plumber I've ever worked with. He was on time. He was tidy. He was super  polite and respectful towards me and my home. He offered good advice and he will be the tech/plumber I will request for future work:).