about 20 minutes from our yard
Oakland has some of the oldest housing stock in the East Bay, which means the plumbing problems are older too — and sewer lateral compliance comes up on nearly every sale.
Friendly Services is a family-run, employee-owned plumbing company working out of the same yard on West A Street in Hayward for twenty years. We're about 20 minutes from our yard from Oakland, which is why we can usually be there the same day rather than three days out.
In that time we've built up over 100 reviews across Google, Yelp and Angi — most of them from people in Oakland and the cities around it. We're licensed, bonded and insured under CSLB #1156315, and our workmanship carries a five-year warranty, which is four years longer than most shops offer.
What that means for you day to day: someone answers the phone at any hour, the estimate and the trip are free, and you get the price in writing before anyone touches anything.
Large parts of Oakland were built before 1930 — Victorians and Craftsman bungalows in the flats, older homes throughout Rockridge, Temescal and Grand Lake. Housing that age has usually been through several rounds of partial plumbing work, which creates its own problem: a patchwork of galvanized, copper, and whatever the last person used, joined in ways that corrode where dissimilar metals meet.
Sewer laterals in the older neighborhoods are frequently original clay, running under mature street trees. That combination is the single most common reason Oakland homes fail a lateral inspection.
Oakland is served by EBMUD and sits within its regional private sewer lateral program. If you're selling or doing a major renovation, expect the lateral requirement to come up.
Oakland permits plumbing work through Building Services, and lateral work also involves the EBMUD compliance process. We handle both.
Neighborhoods
If you're selling in Oakland, get the lateral looked at before you list rather than during escrow. A camera inspection early turns a potential deal-delay into a known line item you can plan around. We do the inspection, the repair if it's needed, and the compliance paperwork.
What we do here
Common questions
Yes — we're about 20 minutes from our yard, and Oakland is part of our regular working area, not an outer edge we occasionally reach.
Often same day. We're based at 773 W A Street in Hayward, about 20 minutes from our yard, and we're open 24 hours a day.
No. Estimates are free and there's no trip fee, including when we come out and can't get access.
Yes. Work that requires a permit in Oakland goes through City of Oakland Building Services, and we file it and meet the inspector.
Our workmanship is warrantied for five years. Parts and fixtures carry the manufacturer's warranty, and we handle those claims for you. Drain clearing is the one exclusion, since roots grow back.
Nearby
We cover all of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. If your city isn't listed, call and ask.
Let's get it fixed
Free estimates, no trip fee, and someone answers the phone at any hour.
