Santa Cruz is the heart of the county. It's a vibrant coastal city on Monterey Bay, home to the Beach Boardwalk, and the UC Santa Cruz campus. It has a famous surf culture, and neighborhoods that range from historic Victorians to beach bungalows and hillside homes. As our home base, Santa Cruz is where Benjamin Franklin Plumbing® does its best work.
We carry one of the most trusted names in American plumbing, a brand named Forbes' Top Ranked Plumbing Company of 2024. The people answering your call are your neighbors, based right here in Santa Cruz. We're The Punctual Plumber: if we're not on time, we pay you $5 a minute, up to $300.
Every Santa Cruz home has access to our full range of plumbing services. The menu is the same across our entire Santa Cruz County service area, and each service links to the national brand page with full details:
Around-the-clock emergency service dispatched for Santa Cruz homeowners facing burst or leaking pipes, sewer or septic backups, water heater failures, storm flooding, or no-water situations. We are available day or night, weekends and holidays.
Water softeners, filtration, and treatment for the county's varied water. The county features the harder groundwater of the Soquel and Scotts Valley basins, the surface water of the San Lorenzo watershed, and the iron, minerals, and sediment found in mountain wells. This service can help in improving taste, protecting fixtures, and extending appliance life.
We offer pipe repair and whole-home repiping for aging galvanized and cast-iron pipe in older coastal homes and mountain cabins, and 1980s–90s polybutylene. Our services include water service line and leaking pipe repair, with seismic-conscious workmanship.
Water heater repair, replacement, and installation, including tankless systems, a popular, energy-efficient upgrade in California, installed with code-compliant seismic strapping.
Non-destructive leak detection, leak repair, and slab leak detection, finding hidden leaks that waste precious water in drought-conscious Santa Cruz County, plus low-flow fixture upgrades.
Sewer line repair and replacement and trenchless options for aging laterals invaded by redwood and tree roots, often with minimal digging to protect forested and coastal yards.
Water pump service for the private wells common in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We also do septic tank inspection and service, sewer camera inspection, and backflow-prevention testing and certification for homes off the municipal grid.
Sump pump installation and repair, plus drainage work for the crawlspaces and low areas that flood during the region's wet winter storms.
Drain cleaning and hydro jetting with camera inspection, clearing grease, roots, and buildup from coastal and mountain drain and sewer lines.
Boiler service for the homes that have it, plus faucets, toilets, showers, sinks, bathtubs, and garbage disposals repaired and installed, plus outdoor plumbing.
Commercial plumbing service for the shops, restaurants, wineries, and businesses across Santa Cruz, Capitola, Scotts Valley, and the mountain towns.
Santa Cruz's coastal, historic character shapes its plumbing. The city draws about 95% of its water from local surface sources, the San Lorenzo River, North Coast creeks, and Loch Lomond. Its water is relatively soft, and treatment is mostly about filtration for taste and sediment, though some homes benefit from softening. Santa Cruz's historic Victorians, beach bungalows, and older homes commonly carry aging galvanized, cast-iron, or polybutylene pipe worth repiping, and the university and rental-heavy neighborhoods bring steady repair and fixture work.
Santa Cruz's homes sit on raised, crawlspace, and some slab foundations near the coast, not basements. Crawlspace plumbing, leak detection, and moisture management matter, and salt air corrodes coastal fixtures. Water conservation is a constant priority in drought-conscious Santa Cruz County, making leak detection and low-flow upgrades valuable. Mature trees send roots into aging sewer laterals. In this earthquake country, seismic-conscious work like water heater strapping matters.
As the hometown team based right here in Santa Cruz, we know the city's coastal homes, older housing, and water. We offer repiping, leak detection and conservation, water heater service, sewer-root and trenchless work, water treatment, and commercial plumbing. Our stocked trucks fix most issues in one visit.
If we're not on time, we pay you $5 for every minute we're late, up to 60 minutes or $300. See our guarantees.
We are independently owned and operated. We live and work in Santa Cruz County, from the coast to the mountains, and hire from the community.
High standards, respect for you and your home, and honest, up-front pricing you approve before any work begins, no upselling.
Our vehicles stay stocked with parts, so we finish most plumbing services in a single visit. We clean up after ourselves, shoe covers and all.
We've built relationships with lenders so you can restore your plumbing comfortably. Ask about your options for larger repipe, sewer, and water heater projects.
We answer the phone around the clock, every day of the year, vital during a burst pipe, a sewer or septic backup, or storm flooding.
Background-checked, drug-tested professionals, licensed in California, with liability coverage and workers' compensation, and backed by a brand named Forbes' Top Ranked Plumbing Company of 2024.
Santa Cruz plumbing follows the coastal calendar. Check for hidden leaks to conserve water. Flush the water heater yearly. Watch older homes for repiping needs. Protect coastal fixtures from salt-air corrosion. Before winter storms, check drainage. Strap and service the water heater for earthquake safety.
Call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing® of Santa Cruz at (831) 236-5045 anytime, day or night, or book your appointment online. Meet the Santa Cruz team behind every visit. We proudly serve Santa Cruz and communities across Santa Cruz County, from the coast to the Santa Cruz Mountains, on time, every time. Learn more on the Benjamin Franklin Plumbing® national brand site.
Learn more about our Santa Cruz-based plumbers.
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When you need plumbing repairs now, we’ll be there. Our 24/7 home plumbers are available to address your emergency plumbing service needs day or night.
Whether you have an emergency burst pipe, a water leak, or an overflowing toilet, we’re here to help. And we don’t just fix the problem, we take preventive measures to stop it from happening again.
Linda Burns
I highly recommend this company. They were quick and responsive in scheduling my service, and the plumber they sent out was fantastic. Sometimes it’s hard to find a plumber, but search no more. Use them! I certainly will use them again. Most importantly, their prices are very reasonable and competitive.
W P
Outstanding experience! A polite young man Mr. Amado handled a small repair for us, and everything went seamlessly. Scheduling through the call center was quick, communication was stellar, and the pricing and workmanship were top-notch. As someone who has worked in the service industry for a long time, I truly appreciate the commitment to customer service and communication training shown here. The quality of work still needs to stand the test of time, but the overall experience was 10 out of 10. I won't hesitate to use them again!
Brian Ridenour
Daniel was great!! He was very prompt and explained the workings of the new water heater. The company is awesome. Now you could find a cheaper water heater and cheaper labor but I tried one of those water heaters from the big box store and it failed after only 4 years. The ones that Benjamin Franklin sells are MADE IN THE USA instead of a foreign country. Give them a try, you won’t be sorry!
Dennis Sen
10/10, no doubt about it. Lucas was prompt, professional, and knowledgeable. We had an issue with our water heater that left us without hot water or heat this fall. He quickly diagnosed the problems, explained his findings in excellent detail, and got everything fixed. He also went the extra mile in a couple of ways I didn’t expect, which I really appreciated. I’d absolutely recommend Lucas!
Refind Vintage
We had our water heater repaired and had a new water filter system installed after the technician suggested it. He was friendly and factual. After his visit we had to have another repair man to set the water heater temperature. Now it is working fine.
Suzyn Purdy
Christian was a very kind and pleasant young man. He did an exceptional job replacing my kitchen sink faucet and incinerator. He was thorough and helped to get the smell out of our pipes I would recommend him for any job.
Larry Murphy
Our plumber, Jared was efficient and understood our issue quickly! Very respectful of us and property and we highly recommend this company.
Jeremiah Fisher
A full gas water heater installation -- quick install with courteous service. Jon Hare and Luke Stelly gave excellent advice and were finished with the install in less 3 hours (including purchasing the unit itself)! Thanks!
Tammy Spencer
Luke was awesome! I am so happy that I picked your company to do my repair! I will be using your company again. Thank you for your awesome service! I would highly recommend your company to anyone needing service done at their home!
Paula Thompson
The guys were personable, have plumbing experience and seemed knowledgeable of the situation.
The City of Santa Cruz draws about 95% of its water from surface sources, so it's relatively soft. Treatment is mostly filtration for taste and sediment, though some homes still benefit from softening. We test and advise.
Historic Victorians, beach bungalows, and older homes often have aging galvanized, cast-iron, or polybutylene pipe. Repiping restores pressure and water quality. We do it with care for an older or historic home.
Yes. In drought-conscious Santa Cruz County, we find and fix hidden leaks and install low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets to cut your water use.
Yes. We install and service water heaters with code-compliant seismic strapping and flexible connectors, important in earthquake country.
Yes. Our emergency plumbers answer around the clock, every day, from our home base right here in the city, backed by the On-Time Guarantee.
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