Service area
Russian Hill plumber for flats, apartment buildings and designer bathrooms
Residential plumbing, HVAC, and remodel service on Russian Hill.
Lutz Plumbing Inc., the oldest plumbing company in San Francisco and licensed since 1929, serves Russian Hill flats, apartment buildings and houses with leak repair, drain cleaning, water heater, radiator and designer fixture service.
Russian Hill is north of our 17th Street shop and next door to North Beach, where Lutz Plumbing opened in 1929, and our work there is often in flats and apartment buildings.
Lutz Plumbing serves Russian Hill for residential and commercial plumbing, HVAC and heating, hydronic and radiant systems, and wellness work, water filtration, steam, sauna, and hydrotherapy. We are the oldest plumbing company in San Francisco, family-owned and licensed since 1929 (CA Contractor License #503971), and our trucks are dispatched from our shop at 3123 17th Street.
Whether it's an emergency, a planned replacement, or a full bath or kitchen remodel through Lutz Bath & Kitchen, we handle it. Call (415) 621-4292 Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, to book the earliest visit a crew can make, or request service online and we will follow up to schedule it. After hours, leave a voicemail and a dispatcher calls back for genuine emergencies.
Russian Hill plumbing is often multi-unit, pre-war and steep
Victorian and Edwardian flats, 1920s apartment buildings, a scattering of Victorian houses, and mid-century and modern rebuilds share Russian Hill's steep blocks. Much of the housing is multi-unit, which means shared drain stacks, shared water service, boiler rooms that heat several homes, and a leak on one floor that shows up on the floor below. On the steeper blocks, reaching a basement or mechanical room often means stairs.
In the pre-war buildings, the original galvanized steel supply and cast iron drains are often still in the walls, and heat often comes from steam or hot-water radiators fed by a boiler in the basement; Lutz Plumbing services the radiators and replaces the boilers behind them. Drain cleaning includes a camera inspection, which matters where one stack serves several kitchens, and the same camera can follow a backup out to the side sewer, the line to the city main.
Common Russian Hill calls are leaks that have reached a neighbor's ceiling, slow or backed-up drains, water heaters in tight closets and garages, running or weak-flushing toilets, and radiators that stay cold or knock. For a burst pipe or sewer backup in business hours we dispatch when a crew is free; after hours, leave a voicemail and a dispatcher calls back. Lutz Plumbing also serves multi-unit residential buildings, for scheduled maintenance and emergency response.
TOTO NEOREST and small-bath steam showers on Russian Hill
A remodeled Russian Hill flat fits a lot into a small bathroom: a TOTO NEOREST or WASHLET, Kohler or Duravit fixtures, a thermostatic shower system, sometimes a steam generator. Lutz Plumbing installs and services TOTO NEOREST and WASHLET toilets in Russian Hill flats and apartment buildings as San Francisco's only factory-trained Authorized Service Representative for TOTO, and the Kohler and Duravit fixtures and steam generators beside them.
- TOTO NEOREST in older bathrooms: installation, service and WASHLET retrofits in Russian Hill flats, with the rough-in, shutoff valve (angle stop) and outlet checked before a NEOREST is ordered.
- Steam showers in small bathrooms: ThermaSol and MrSteam generator sizing for a small enclosure, planning before the walls close, and authorized service on existing generators and controls.
- Duravit in flats: authorized service for Duravit toilets and bidet seats, and installation in flats where the rough-in and clearances need checking first.
Lutz Plumbing is an Authorized Service Representative for TOTO, Kohler, ThermaSol, MrSteam, Duravit, Rinnai, Navien, and Viessmann. Lutz Bath & Kitchen, our showroom in the same building as the plumbing shop, was established in 1990 and carries 80+ fixture brands. Our technicians know these products, and because the showroom works directly with the manufacturers, we can reach their technical support teams when a repair needs it.
Services we do often in Russian Hill
In a Russian Hill flat or apartment building, a backed-up drain, a leak into the unit below or a water heater in a tight closet: these are six services Lutz Plumbing does often.
Why Russian Hill neighbors call Lutz
- Multi-unit buildings served for scheduled maintenance and emergencies, with building access and coordination in the quoted scope
- Steam and hot-water radiators in pre-war apartment buildings serviced along with the boilers that feed them
- Licensed and insured, CA License #503971
- Plumbing, HVAC, and wellness under one roof
- SF's only Factory-Trained Authorized Service Rep for TOTO
- Family-owned San Francisco shop since 1929
- Written quote before the work starts
Common questions
Do you work in Russian Hill apartment and condo buildings?
Yes, Lutz Plumbing works in multi-unit buildings on Russian Hill, from two-unit Edwardian flats to 1920s apartment houses, for scheduled maintenance and emergencies, and building access and multi-unit coordination are part of the scope we quote before work starts. Phones are staffed Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM; after hours, leave a voicemail and a dispatcher calls back.
Why does the toilet in my Russian Hill flat keep running or flushing weakly?
A running toilet can trace to a flapper, fill valve or flush valve, and Lutz Plumbing can often repair it without replacing the toilet. A weak flush in one toilet may be a fixture or branch-line problem, but if several fixtures in the building drain slowly or water comes back up elsewhere, the shared line needs a camera diagnosis.
Can a TOTO NEOREST or WASHLET go into an older Russian Hill bathroom?
Usually, once three things check out: the drain rough-in (its distance from the wall), the shutoff valve (angle stop) and electrical supply. Older bathrooms sometimes measure 10 or 14 inches rather than the standard 12, and a NEOREST needs the angle stop in a narrow window and a GFCI outlet near the toilet. We check all three before you order.
Do you service the steam radiators in Russian Hill's pre-war buildings?
Yes, Lutz Plumbing services the steam radiators that still heat many of Russian Hill's pre-war apartment buildings. We replace steam valves, maintain air vents, bleed and repair radiators, find and fix leaks in the piping, and troubleshoot or replace the boiler that feeds the system, with annual safety checks available.