Plumbing reviews in San Rafael, California

American Leak Detection is a great company and we have used them many times over the years. They quickly send out highly skilled technicians (probably licensed plumbers) who we have confidence in because they efficiently find the leak and inform us what needs to be done. Within 24 hours the kitchen floor leak was repaired very neatly within minimal disturbance.

Representative was very professional and efficient.
He explained the situation thoroughly and completed the assignment promptly.

American Leak Detection has a great name and gives appearance of professionalism. However, my experience from the service from them is very disappointing.

The cost of leak detection of a pool is $495. If they come on site and find condition not good enough for them to perform leak detection, they charge $225.

I paid the $495.00 for the leak detection and they discovered the leak under skimmer. I hired contractor to fix that leak. However, the pool was still loosing water. I paid American Leak Detection again for $225 to come check again. This time they can't find any leak that they can detection and suggest that my pool plaster might be cracking (my pool was replastered 8 years ago). They say that they did their job by finding one leak a time and need to pay them if they find new leaks.

The sad thing is that they are not able to find the leak after this first round (paid total of $720.00) and my pool is still leaking water!

I was extremely impressed with the work that American Leak did for my neighbor's property. Ariel was amazing in helping to get the job scheduled quickly and went an extra step to fit my own schedule. The service specialist, Nicholas, was a very skilled professional with the right tools and deep knowledge of plumbing and the art of leak detection. It takes a very experienced specialist to sound out the location of the buried lines and to detect the location of the actual leak. And Nicholas nailed it! This is the company to call for leak detection, repair, and exceptional service.

Our Technician was friendly, ontime, and genuinely interested in resolving the cause of our excessive water consumption.

Easy to make appointments with Ariel, very professional and helpful. Arrived on time, found problem, had to return a few times to fix problem. Would recommend them for any leak detection work!! Friendly, professional and hard working.!

I hired American Leak Detection to find and repair a leak in my house, Andrew was at my house only for few minutes. He said he discovered the leak in one of the irrigation valve and he repaired it and the water pressure was back to normal. He said that there was no need to change the valve now, but later if I have another issue with it. I asked him to replace it to make sure the leak will not come back, he said it’s was a small job and didn’t want to do it.

I checked the water meter an hour after he left and the leak was still there. The utility company notify me of the amount of the leak again and it was still the same amount that we had before American leak service said it was repaired. It was clear that the leak was not discovered or repaired. I texted Andrew, he said I am glad that you were able to find and repair another leak and that he repaired the leak that I had at that time.
I hired another company, the technician replaced the valve at my suggestion as per Andrew suggestion but that did not take care of the leak. After further checking the contractor found out that the leak was not from the valve but from the flushing system of the bathroom toilet and he repaired it.
I called the office of American Leak Detection to give them an update. I was told that the leak that the second contractor repaired was another leak and will not take responsibility of their failure to detect and repair the leak. I told them I have the utility records and the second contractor invoices to prove my case but they were not willing to find out what happened and acknowledge their failure.

Don’t waste your money and time hiring such…. They will not stand behind their work!

This is in response to the company response that I should contact their office. I already contacted the office and as I mentioned before the manager did not want to do anything about it and did not stand behind their work and the work warranty on the contract.

Please take a look at the attached City of Palo Alto utility notice of increase in use that shows the entire story. We had shut off the main on 3/20 the day of repair until American Leak Co. showed up for repairs that day. Therefore the consumption was low but the orange color shows the continuous use. The leak was still present on 3/21 and 3/22 until we received another notice from the utility Co.and we shut off the main line again until we hire another plumbing company to repair it yesterday 3/25 and the the leak disappeared.

Please note that the contract that was signed on 3/20 states that American leak will make every effort to find the leak on the property. It was Andrew who said I found the leak and there was no reason to continue looking.

We had a long-standing irrigation system leak which our gardeners had been unable to solve. The technician from ALD arrived on time and was able to identify the issues in just 30 minutes. ALD provided his report a couple of hours later, which I have been able to send to the gardeners for action. Very efficient. I wish I had done this several weeks (and gallons of water!) ago.

This review is a continuation of our earlier post regarding the unprofessional conduct of an ALD technician and the continued harassment that followed.
Our initial feedback was written responsibly — to alert ALD’s management to serious lapses in service quality and professionalism within their local team, and in the genuine belief that it would prompt corrective measures to protect the ALD brand and future customers.
Instead, what we have faced since then is a chain of coercive and intimidating communications — including demands for payment of a disputed $250 invoice for a service never rendered. When ALD requested a discussion and review removal, we clearly informed them we were overseas until 11/27/25 and available to connect after 11/28/25.
Despite this, during the Thanksgiving–Black Friday weekend — when no professional entity conducts follow-ups — we received an aggressive, inaccurate, and poorly worded email, quoted below:
Quote :

This is an urgent follow-up regarding your delinquent balance of $250, charged on 08/27/2025. You previously indicated you were overseas and committed to contacting our office on the 28th to resolve this matter. Your voicemail confirmed this intent:

"Hi Ar-l, this is regarding your emails to Dr. R-hi for 2-in-6 Palmetto. I hope you received my last mail. I'm overseas back on 27th. I got a quick moment to make a call. I believe you're out for lunch. I probably will discuss the issue once I return after 27th. Let me know if 28th is a good time to connect. Thank you."
Despite this, you have neither followed up nor attempted to resolve the issue. Additionally, you have chosen not to remove your malicious fabrication posted online and have ceased contacting our office as previously agreed. These actions are in direct conflict with your stated intentions and the contractual terms you accepted.
We now require immediate payment of the past due balance. Failure to remit payment will result in escalation, including formal collection efforts.

Please confirm when we can expect a cashier’s check for $250 and provide the tracking number by the end of this week 12/5/25

UNQUOTE :

This correspondence reflects an alarming lack of professionalism, judgment, and basic customer courtesy. For a company that markets itself on ethics, trust, and technical expertise, this conduct is deeply inconsistent with those values.

The issue was never about the invoice — it’s about dignity, accountability, and respect.

One hopes ALD’s senior leadership intervenes to restore the credibility their frontline has eroded.

All that glitters is not gold.

All That Glitters Is Not Gold – A Word on American Leak Detection (ALD)
..............
Their appointment window was 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The technician, Mr. Dominiq, arrived at 1:47 PM—late, unprepared, and without any proper leak-detection tools or gear. Instead of beginning the job, he offered excuses about needing the water turned on. In our housing complex, it takes about 10 minutes to coordinate the water supply. Yet, he did not even wait 11 minutes. Instead, he chose to walk away, threaten us with “visit fees,” and effectively blackmail a client in distress.

ALD’s business model seems less about service and more about extracting fees from vulnerable homeowners—taking advantage of urgent situations without delivering real solutions. This is not only unethical but deeply exploitative.

Clients deserve transparency, fair dealing, and genuine care—values you are far more likely to find with smaller, local outfits who actually respect their customers and understand what it means to be in crisis.

American Leak Detection is a cautionary tale: all that glitters is not gold.

American Leak Detection first found the source of our plumbing leak and gave remedy suggestions, then they also came back the next day to replace a malfunctioning pressure relief valve. Both techs (Jonathan and Trevor) were professional, efficient and friendly. Highly recommended service providers.

We had an excellent experience with American Leak Detection today. Jonathan Law came out to our house and was absolutely fantastic. He was professional, communicative, and incredibly fast. Within minutes, he had isolated the exact location of our leak, clearly explained what he was doing, and gave us confidence in the next steps. The entire visit took just 15 minutes, and he made the whole process seamless and stress-free.

American Leak Detection's service out of the North Bay location is first rate. I had a nasty leak in my concrete foundation. Trevor and Greg located the leak - with some extended effort - and provided a solution. These guys were friendly, efficient and very helpful. At a time when outstanding service is very rare to experience, I am so grateful for the terrific service I received from American Leak Detection. I highly recommend them for any issue, from simple leak isolation, to complex jobs requiring creative, out-of-the-box thinking.

We had a leak in our kitchen area. We have a concrete slab foundation with radiant heating lines going thru it. There are all kinds of information out there on how to go about this, and what to worry about. But in the end we went with American Leak Detection to at least understand where the leak might be.
They detected the leak in a completely different place to a very high degree of accuracy with their pressurized gas testing. They put a sticker, and I think the leak was right below it. Pretty amazed at this.

They suggested a couple of options to fix it (leak-by-leak by drilling thru the concrete) or do additional manifold testing. We went with the leak-by-leak repair option knowing the risk that there may be other leaks uncovered after this. But luckily after this one was fixed, it was confirmed that there were no more leaks by the water meter.

They did a really clean and prompt job with the whole work, and even gave a discount since it took a shorter time than they had initially expected.

Thank you Dominic and Paul!

Good and honest

T h e VERY best!

Service was quick and excellent.

Very professional. Nice people to work with. Reasonable prices

Professional quality service. Technician came on time and did a great job.

Had a plumbing emergency. They came out the next day. Had it knocked out in a couple of hours and they were fair in their pricing. I'd use them again.

Wonderful service, quick to come out and very reasonable. Being far away and having someone trustworthy to work on my rental is a wonderful relief.

James was a gift. He was very patient, knowledgeable, and efficacious. I will definitely call Testa plumbing in the future, and I will ask for James.