Commercial plumbing service in Orange County
By William "Jay" Horsky Jr., Owner, Professional Plumbing, Inc. | Updated June 7, 2026
You manage the property. At 7:40 on a Friday morning, the restaurant tenant calls: the kitchen drain is backing up, and the doors are supposed to open at 11. Commercial plumbing service in Orange County is what turns that call into an open dining room by lunch.
Key takeaways
- Commercial plumbing service in Orange County covers water heaters, drain stoppages, sewer repair and replacement, gas lines, grease interceptors, repipes, ADA restroom work, and commercial fixtures, all handled in-house.
- In most Orange County commercial leases, the tenant is responsible for plumbing repairs, so read your lease before assuming the landlord will handle a problem.
- After-hours scheduling exists so your business does not have to close for plumbing work.
- Typical after-hours response time is one to two hours, and active flooding gets expedited.
- If another company has quoted you $2,500 or more, our free second opinion applies to commercial work.
In Orange County, we have provided commercial plumbing service since 1985 for property managers, facility managers, HOA boards, business owners, and commercial landlords. This page explains which commercial services we handle in-house, how the work runs day to day, and how to evaluate the next plumbing decision on your building.
By the numbers. Across more than 36,900 Orange County jobs since 1985, many of our commercial accounts, property managers, HOA boards, and multi-tenant buildings, have stayed with us for more than 20 years.
Why Orange County commercial buildings are different
Orange County's commercial buildings are older than they look. Behind the refreshed storefronts, many strip centers, small office buildings, and multi-tenant properties still run on the original plumbing from the era they were built. As a result, our crews see two patterns over and over.
The first pattern is aging underground pipe. In the Anaheim area in particular, we are running into more underground water line failures: older PVC water lines that have finally given up, and galvanized steel lines from earlier eras that have corroded from the inside out. A water line under a parking lot does not announce itself politely. It shows up as a wet spot in the asphalt, a hissing meter, or a water bill that jumped for no visible reason.
The second pattern is hard water. The Orange County cities we serve publish annual water quality reports showing tap water around 12 to 19 grains per gallon, a level the U.S. Geological Survey classifies as very hard (USGS hardness scale). Commercial fixtures feel that mineral load faster than residential ones because they cycle so many more times per day. Scale builds up inside flushometer valves, sensor faucets, and commercial water heaters, which shortens service life and causes the constant-running and weak-flush complaints every facility manager knows.
Neither pattern is a reason to panic. Both are reasons to fix problems while they are small, with a plumber who knows what sits behind the walls and under the slabs of older Orange County commercial buildings.
Commercial versus residential, at a glance
Why a commercial call runs differently than the same job at a house — the wrench work is only part of it.
| Aspect | Residential | Commercial |
|---|---|---|
| Systems | Standard tank or tankless heaters, tank toilets | Heaters sized to the business, flushometer toilets, grease interceptors, larger gas lines |
| Scheduling | During the day | Around your hours — evening and overnight so the business does not close |
| Code | Standard permits | FOG / grease rules, ADA fixtures, and the contractor must pull the permit |
| Billing | Pay on completion | Certificates of insurance, W-9s, and NET-30 accounts |
| Who is responsible | The homeowner | Often the tenant — most Orange County commercial leases put plumbing on the tenant |
Commercial plumbing services we handle in-house
We only list work our own crews perform. If a job calls for a specialty outside our scope, we say so and point you to the right contractor, because sending you to the right place is part of the service.
Commercial water heaters
We repair and replace commercial water heaters, tank and tankless. Commercial units are sized to the business: a restaurant, a salon, and a 20-unit building each need different recovery rates, and the right unit is a calculation, not a guess. We prefer Bradford White where the sizing allows, and we maintain direct relationships with supply houses and distribution centers across the region, so when a specific commercial unit is needed quickly, we can find it and keep your business running. For the full picture on water heater work, see our water heater service page.
Commercial drain stoppages
Commercial drains fail at the worst possible time because they are working hardest when the business is busiest. We clear commercial drain stoppages with professional cable equipment, and we schedule the work around your hours so the dining room, sales floor, or office stays open. Recurring stoppages in the same line are a signal worth taking seriously, since they usually point at a problem in the pipe itself rather than what went down it. Our drainage service page covers diagnosis in depth.
Commercial sewer line repair and replacement
When a camera inspection shows a broken, offset, or root-damaged sewer line under a commercial property, we handle the repair or replacement in-house. Commercial sewer work has a layer residential work does not: the line often runs under a parking lot or a shared drive, and access, traffic, and tenant operations all have to be planned around. We quote the repair in writing before any work starts, so the owner or manager can make the decision with the full picture.
Commercial gas lines
We install, repair, and respond to leaks on commercial gas lines, including the larger-diameter lines that serve commercial kitchens. Gas work is one place where the permit conversation comes up early, and we walk you through it before the work begins. Our natural gas service page covers gas line work in detail.
Grease traps and grease interceptors
Restaurants and commercial kitchens in Orange County operate under the Orange County Sanitation District's FOG ordinance, which prohibits discharging fats, oils, and grease to the sewer and requires grease control devices for most food service establishments (Orange County Sanitation District FOG program). We service grease traps and grease interceptors as part of keeping a commercial kitchen's drainage working and compliant.
Commercial repipes
When a building's water lines have reached the end of their service life, we repipe commercial properties with our own crews. The decision usually arrives after the second or third leak in a short window, when patching has stopped making financial sense. A repipe on an occupied commercial building is staged so tenants keep water through business hours, which is a scheduling exercise as much as a plumbing one.
ADA restroom and fixture compliance work
We bring commercial restrooms up to accessibility standards: ADA-height toilets, wall-hung sinks with ADA-compliant faucets, grab bars, and the clearances that go with them. We also install ADA faucets at kitchen prep and hand-wash sinks. This work is common during tenant turnover and after a compliance review, and it is one of the higher-stakes places to get the details right the first time.
Commercial fixtures
Flushometers, sensor faucets, floor drains, mop sinks, and commercial kitchen fixtures are their own world of parts and brands. We work on the names common in Orange County buildings, including Sloan flushometers, Chicago Faucets, and Fisher kitchen fixtures, and we source parts for less common brands such as Zurn when a national chain's specification shows up here. The point is simple: whatever is bolted to your wall, we can usually fix it or replace it without a parts hunt slowing your business down.
Backflow preventers
We repair and replace backflow preventers on commercial properties. We do not perform backflow testing or certification. When a replacement requires a certification test, a certified tester handles that portion, and we coordinate the work so the device goes back into service correctly.
Who calls us, and how the work runs
Most of our commercial plumbing service calls come from property managers, facility managers, HOA boards, apartment owners, and the businesses themselves. In fact, most Orange County commercial leases put plumbing repairs on the tenant rather than the landlord, which surprises many first-time business owners. Check your lease before a problem starts, so you know whose call it is when something fails.
We work for the small shops and the large portfolios alike. One call might be a single water heater for a family-run storefront. The next might come from an owner with dozens of commercial properties and many buildings on each. Both get the same approach: a technician who shows up when promised, a written price before work begins, and a fix that holds.
The paperwork businesses need
Commercial customers ask for documents homeowners never do, and we are set up for them:
- Certificates of insurance. Provided as a matter of course.
- W-9s. Same.
- NET-30 billing. Available for commercial accounts, and not a big deal to set up.
- After-hours scheduling. We plan work around your business hours so you do not have to close. More on this below.
Response time, after hours, and emergencies
We answer the phone 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Typical after-hours response time runs one to two hours. When water is actively flooding a space or damage is spreading, we expedite, and on the worst calls we have sent everyone available to get the situation under control and the damage stopped.
When you call during business hours, you reach our office manager, who has been with the company for more than 25 years. If the situation needs a technician's judgment on the phone, William or a lead plumber gets on the line. We are not a "we will call you back next week" company. Some plumbing problems can wait, and some cannot, and we are built for both.
Long-term relationships, earned the slow way
Many of the property managers, HOA boards, and multi-tenant buildings we serve have been with us for well over 20 years. Here is William on how that happens:
"We've worked for some of these buildings so long that the original owners have handed them down to their kids, and we're still their plumber."
We do not sell maintenance contracts as the entry point. Instead, the first job is the audition, and the relationship grows from there.
Permits and inspections on commercial plumbing work
Permits add time and cost, and nobody enjoys the process. However, on commercial work the rules are firm, and two points catch building owners and tenants off guard.
First, if a restaurant has been flagged by the health department, the corrective plumbing work will involve permits. There is no quiet path around that, and pretending otherwise costs more in the end.
Second, in many Orange County cities, the licensed contractor must pull the permit. The business or owner cannot pull it themselves. For that reason, the permit conversation happens up front on every job that needs one: who pulls it, what it covers, and how inspection scheduling fits around your operating hours. We pull permits whenever the work requires them.
Real commercial plumbing service jobs in Orange County
These are real jobs our crews handled. Names are left out on purpose.
The parking lot that almost ate the jackhammer
A commercial property owner in the Anaheim Hills area called about water coming up through the parking lot. Here is William telling it:
"We managed to break a hole in the asphalt, only to almost lose our jackhammer in the hole instantly. We decided we needed to back up a little bit and slow down, because it seemed like there was a massive hole underneath the asphalt. Well, there was. It ended up being an old cesspool tank where the lid had collapsed. We handed it off to a contractor that deals directly with septic tanks and cesspools. It was going to be cheaper for them to do it, and they could do it properly, where we don't have the knowledge base to deal with it effectively and still protect our customers' wallets."
That handoff is the point of the story. When the right answer is a different specialist, you will hear it from us, along with why.
The restaurant that never closed
A Huntington Beach restaurant's commercial water heater began leaking and slowly flooding the kitchen while the restaurant was still serving. Closing meant losing the weekend. So we sourced the correct commercial unit for their volume, prepped the installation during the afternoon while the kitchen kept working, and then swapped the water heater in the late evening after the last seating. The restaurant opened the next morning on schedule, with hot water and without having lost a single service.
Six cleanout covers in Costa Mesa
During a commercial restroom remodel in Costa Mesa, we replaced six urinals, installed new wall-hung sinks with ADA faucets, and converted a toilet to ADA-accessible. The walkthrough with the owner was set for the morning after completion. The evening before, one of our plumbers noticed that a single urinal cleanout cover did not match the other five, so he went out, bought six new matching covers, and installed them that night. Here is William on the walkthrough:
"The owner went to point to it right away and all of a sudden realized that we had already fixed that problem. It was the only problem he found the day before. That started a now 25-year-long relationship, because he understands that we will take care of anything that is not correct. No matter how small the detail."
We provide commercial plumbing service across Orange County, including Newport Beach and Fountain Valley.
What commercial plumbing service costs
Commercial plumbing service pricing varies with scope, access, materials, and code requirements, so a useful number cannot be quoted sight unseen. What stays constant is the process: we look at the job, and you get the price in writing before any repair work begins. After-hours calls carry a minimum charge, and that minimum is applied to the repair.
Commercial quotes from other companies can vary by thousands of dollars on the same job. If you have gotten a quote for a job of $2,500 or more and would like a second opinion, we do them for free. The customer needs to have a written estimate from the other company. Call or ask for details.
One more cost note: our one-year labor and workmanship warranty on materials we supply applies to commercial work the same as residential.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between commercial and residential plumbing?
Commercial plumbing involves larger, more heavily used systems: bigger water heaters, flushometer toilets instead of tank toilets, grease control for kitchens, and larger gas lines, plus code requirements residential work does not carry. The bigger difference is operational, because the work has to happen around business hours, tenants, and inspections.
Who is responsible for plumbing repairs in a commercial building, the tenant or the landlord?
Responsibility depends on the lease, but in most Orange County commercial leases the tenant is responsible for plumbing repairs inside their space. Many business owners assume the landlord handles it and lose time during an emergency finding out otherwise. Read the maintenance-and-repairs clause in your lease now, before anything fails.
Can plumbing work be scheduled so my business does not have to close?
Commercial plumbing work can be scheduled around your operating hours, including evenings and overnights, so your business does not have to close. We have replaced a restaurant's water heater after the last seating so the kitchen lost no service. Tell us your hours and we plan around them.
Do you provide certificates of insurance and W-9s?
We provide certificates of insurance and W-9s as a matter of course, and NET-30 billing is available for commercial accounts. If your company requires specific document handling, tell us at the first call and we set it up once.
How fast can you respond to a commercial plumbing emergency?
We answer the phone 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and typical after-hours response time is one to two hours. Active flooding or spreading damage gets expedited. On the most serious calls we have sent every available technician to stop the damage first and then sort out the repair.
How much does commercial plumbing cost?
Commercial plumbing cost depends on scope, access, materials, and code, which is why we put the price in writing before any repair begins. A flushometer rebuild is a different magnitude than a sewer line under a parking lot. A quote of $2,500 or more from another company qualifies for our free second opinion.
Do commercial plumbing repairs need permits in Orange County?
Many commercial plumbing repairs in Orange County need a permit, and gas, sewer, and remodel work usually does. In many Orange County cities only the licensed contractor can pull the permit, not the business, so we handle the permit conversation up front on any job that needs one.
Why does a flushometer toilet keep running?
A flushometer toilet usually keeps running because hard-water scale and worn internals keep the valve from sealing, so it runs long or cycles on its own. A rebuild kit with the right parts for the brand, usually Sloan here, normally fixes it.
Do restaurants in Orange County need a grease interceptor?
Most full-cooking restaurants in Orange County need a grease interceptor. The Orange County Sanitation District's FOG ordinance bars food-service establishments from putting fats, oils, and grease into the sewer, so most must run a grease-control device. We service grease traps and interceptors and can tell you what your kitchen needs.
Do you test and certify backflow preventers?
We repair and replace backflow preventers, but we do not test or certify them. Testing and certification require a certified backflow tester, which is a service we do not offer. When a replacement requires a certification test, we coordinate with a certified tester so the device goes back into service correctly.
If your building has a plumbing problem
What to do. Before you call, a few minutes of preparation speeds everything up:
- Note which fixtures or areas are affected and when it started. One slow floor drain is a different problem from three restrooms backing up.
- Find out who holds repair responsibility under the lease, tenant or landlord, so authorization does not stall the work.
- Take photos of the problem and send them when you call. A picture is worth a thousand words on a plumbing diagnosis.
- If another company has already quoted the job at $2,500 or more, gather the written estimate before calling for a free second opinion.
If you would like us to come out. We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Estimates are free during normal business hours, Monday through Saturday, for work we can see and price on site. If finding the problem requires diagnostic tools or testing, the diagnostic work is quoted before we begin. The repair is then quoted in writing before any repair work starts. After hours, the visit carries a minimum charge that is applied to the repair.
We give a two-hour window and call when the truck is on the way. If the problem turns out to be something simple, we will tell you that. If it is a sewer line under the parking lot, we will walk you through the options and the cost on each one.
For commercial plumbing service inquiries, request a quote or contact us and tell us about your property.
Commercial plumbing across all of Orange County
We serve commercial properties throughout Orange County, not only the areas listed here. Pick the office or service area nearest you for local details:
Have a question?
If you are trying to understand a plumbing problem at your building, weighing your options, or comparing quotes, you are welcome to call. The number is (714) 964-3519.
During business hours you will reach me or my sister Liz. After hours, our AI assistant can answer common questions or take down your information, and I will follow up the next business day. In the event of an emergency, our AI assistant can connect you directly to a plumber at your request. If you leave a message instead of asking for a transfer, we still get a text notification right away. If the message is flagged urgent, we will try to call back as soon as possible.
There is no obligation to schedule service. We like talking to people in our community, and sometimes a phone call answers what an article cannot.
William "Jay" Horsky Jr.
Owner, Professional Plumbing, Inc.
If something is flooding or you smell gas, act first
First, if water is actively flooding a kitchen, restroom, or tenant space, shut off the fixture stop or the building's main water valve and move people away from the wet area. Second, if anyone smells natural gas, do not flip switches or relight anything. Get people out, call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 from outside the building, and then call us at (714) 964-3519.
Once the immediate situation is under control, the rest of this page walks through what commercial plumbing service covers, how we work with businesses and property managers, and what to expect on response, billing, and permits.
Residential and specialty services
We work in homes across Orange County too, not only businesses. That includes drain and sewer service, water heater service, slab leak repair, plumbing repair, gas line work, and fixture installation. Comparing vendor bids on a large job? A free second opinion is available to you. Request a quote or contact us to talk it through.
About the author
William "Jay" Horsky Jr. owns Professional Plumbing, Inc. He founded the company in Orange County in 1985 and has run more than 36,900 plumbing jobs across the area since then. The company has been licensed by the California Contractors State License Board since 1987 (CSLB license number 517514, classification C-36, current and active), incorporated as Professional Plumbing, Inc. in 2001, and is a 2026 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics finalist. It operates from offices in Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, and Newport Beach, and serves homeowners and businesses across Orange County.
What our commercial customers say
Real reviews from our Google Business Profiles across Orange County.
★★★★★
“We have had the pleasure of working with this plumbing company for over two years at our property in Santa Ana, and they have consistently provided outstanding service. The entire team is professional, knowledgeable, reliable, and always willing to go above and beyond to assist with any plumbing issue that comes up. Recently, Chris has been coming to our property more often, and he has done a wonderful job. As a property manager, it is important to have dependable vendors you can trust, and this company has been exactly that for us. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for honest, experienced, and hardworking plumbing professionals.”
— Fabiola Pineda, verified Google review, 2026/05/08
★★★★★
“I work for Meadowlark Golf Club and when I called, Jay, the owner, and his entire team were fantastic! I ended up calling three days in a row for different plumbing issues, and every time Jay answered the phone he was friendly, helpful, and got someone out to me the same day. Nick, who came out to service one of the calls, was pleasant, professional, knowledgeable, and took the time to clearly explain everything he was doing. It's rare to find a company that's this responsive and genuinely cares about their customers. I highly recommend them and will definitely use them again in the future!”
— August Nguyen, verified Google review, 2026/06/14
★★★★★
“Nick, Oscar, Dustin and Vince are the best. We trust them with all our plumbing needs, residential and commercial.”
— Paul Seely, verified Google review, 2026/06/09
