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Central Plumbing CO We stand behind our craftsmanship. Our warranty extends 30 days on our service work and up to a year on new installations. If you want to purchase a new fixture, we can also help you find the best manufacturer warranty. At Central Plumbing, we're committed to getting your plumbing job done right. To prove that your health and safety is our biggest priority, we'd like to offer you a no-obligation consultation.

Professional, specialized plumbers will come to you, assess your situation and provide an estimate of how we can help.
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Our story starts over 40 years ago in Central, Louisiana. With one truck and a commitment to quality plumbing service, the Paynes created their own American dream. The Payne family has deep roots in Louisiana and the local community, raising generations of plumbers, passing down their craft from father to son.
The core of our company is our customers, and the foundation is our quality service. We constantly strive to set the standard for customer service, meeting our clients' plumbing needs quickly, affordable and with a smile and a handshake. Our professional, uniformed plumbers will look at your property and tell you how we can help.
A: First, check the main water shut-off valve and make sure it's in the on position. Second, check for breaks in your main water line. If there is a break, call us immediately. If the water flow is only restricted at one faucet, check you supply line. If everything is turned on and there are no breaks in your lines, call Central Plumbing.
We're honored to serve Baton Rouge and beyond with local plumbing, water and gas services. We take pride in keeping families and business safe and healthy. Our commitment to service shows in every happy client, and our growing list of satisfied customers allows us to help even more people in our local community.
Reviews (29)
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Anna Le
May 10, 2022
I called for two plugged toilet and a stopped up sink. After they left on Monday the sink was clogged again. Called them back out Tuesday and they wanted to charge me again for the service that was done the first time. The guy that did the job said they don't guarantee anh service. Do not use them they are a total rip off and don't want repeat business! Be ware of this business!
John Dough
Feb 11, 2022
I saw water bubble at slab when upstairs toilet was flushed. Ricky presented himself as a licensed plumber when he arrived to do video and take camera photos of issue costing $350. Without removing upstairs toilet he videoed from exterior sewer line. He explained that likely issue was a bad collar connection from upstairs toilet to downstairs toilet and gave a rough estimate of repair would be $300-$500.

He also said his office staff would call to schedule actual work to be done and to send digital pictures and copy of video which I paid for. Nothing digital arrived from Central plumbing office. Original dispatcher, Kim, would not return phone calls to schedule actual work but emailed and "estimate" of $3700. I don't know how a licensed plumber could be so far off on his estimate.

I suspect that Ricky is not an actual licensed plumber but is simply operating under the company plumbing license. Poor communication and wildly diverse cost estimates have me very concerned with doing business with Central Plumbing. Can not recommend Central plumbing and will seek recourse to obtain video and photos. If there were NEGATIVE stars, I would lower my rating
Rick Lanning
Dec 22, 2021
BAD experience. Paid $285 up front for them to do inspection of gas leak AND permit (not counting any work hours). They evaluate an entire NEW system for another $2,850? I get a 2nd opinion and plumber finds (2) small leaks, fixes them in 45 minutes, files for permit SAME day, and inspector is out next day. EVERYTHING FIXED and inspection in 24 hours for a TOTAL of $343?

I sent owner a certified letter to this miserable experience asking for money back (they charged for permit & never filed?) and NO response. Obviously the "plumber" they sent out didn't do his PAID FOR job and just went for the "big job home run", misdiagnosed, and misrepresented the situation. Trust? I wouldn't recommend them for anything.
Cfred
Nov 23, 2021
I recently had them out to install a new toilet and a kitchen sink for me. they are efficient, friendly, and seem to care that the job is done correctly. next time i have need of plumbing services, i will definitely be calling central!
Andy M.
Sep 22, 2021
Finding a good plumber is very difficult.keep looking. These guys took advantage of me, gave me bad advice, and charged me for nothing. The only thing that was a priority for them was getting my credit card number to charge me for a trip charge. Even the trip charge was more than I was quoted.just avoid Central Plumbing.
Meegan Young
Jul 16, 2021
I can't say enough good things about Sunshine Plumbing and Back Flow. After all the other horrible experiences I've had with several other large plumbing companies in Baton Rouge, I was sick just dreading having to call another plumber. It seems they can't do anything but charge outrageous amounts and never really seem to get the work done. Well calling Sunshine was the best call I could've possibly made. Cody was the best plumber I could've asked for.

He knew his job and his appearance was nice and he was courteous and polite. Very good at explaining to me what was going on and what needed to happen to fix the problems. He didn't just fly through stop and then hold his hand out waiting for money. I think Sunshine and Cody might've just took away my absolute fear and horror of having to even think about calling a plumber.
Ronnie R.
May 11, 2021
This company is not reputable. What they did wrong was more than they did right. Never came back to fix the problems.
Mandy P.
Apr 04, 2021
I called them to come out and QUOTE repairs on my house. They informed me it would be $120 trip charge. Fine, right? My husband was there while they worked and wasn't paying attention when he paid because we were also have septic work done and he was talking to that contractor when the plumbers were trying to collect. They charged us $521 to QUOTE us on repairs needed.

They didn't fix anything! My husband and I have called repeatedly for a refund and of course they're supervisor is out of the office for the week. BE CAREFUL or, just go with someone who will be honest.
Edward Lakin
Mar 20, 2021
I called them out to repair a broken pipe where the water service comes into our house. They said they repaired it. 8 months later, it was broken again. I called them out again. It wasn't covered by their 30-day warranty. They "fixed" it and charged me again. 8 months later, it is broken again. I won't be a fool and call them again. Don't waste your money on them.
Green G.
Mar 20, 2021
Called Central Plumbing to troubleshoot and repair a water heater that was having hot water issues. Salestaff member Gary upsold me on swapping out the unit instead of actually fixing the issue. This company came recommended by the manufacture website as a certified trained professional. Choosing to go with Central Pluming was the WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!

They charged me an outrageous labor fee and never mentioned their labor per house is $450 per hour. I asked office staff Lisa and Kim what the hourly rate was and they never gave me a exact dollar figure per hour they said it was around the diagnostic fee which is $169. NO CLUE HOW $450 IS CLOSE TO $169. These people are a scam. DO NOT choose this place, they are crooked and steal your hard earned money. This company puts a bad name on the plumbing industry.
Frederickthe Photographer
Feb 09, 2021
This is the second time I am attempting to write this review. I was quoted a price by Central Plumbing. I had received several quotes there's was the best but only by a couple hundred bucks. I went with them to save of course. When they showed up I was informed that I would need a water heaters pan to bring it up to code. The cost $175.00 There goes the money that I though I was saving by using this company.

I was not very happy because I could've had a water heater installed days earlier by another company if I was going to be paying the same price. Most of the other companies actually included a new water heater pan in the quoted price. The Techs worked good and quickly no complaints about them. I just wished I would have known beforehand because there was no need to wait on Central Plumbing the other company could have done the job sooner.
Patrick Muscarello
Nov 06, 2020
Had a water leak in my uncle's house. I called to schedule a technician out to check the problem. Informed the girl on the phone I needed a 1 hour notice when they were ready to come out, as I live an hour from the house, which is currently empty. Her reply was "the plumber won't wait an hour". I tried to tell her again, I just need an hour heads up to meet the plumber, I'm not asking him to wait.

I live an hour away. CALL ME 1hour before coming. Again, the same reply, "we don't allow our technicians to wait an hour". After 3 attempts to explain, I finally had to tell her I'd find a company that cared enough to listen to what I was saying. USE ZACHARY PLUMBING. They were polite, and even apologized for the insensitivity of the girl from Central.
Paul Carmouche
Oct 27, 2020
So far not impressed. We called Monday 4/12 when we discovered the leak and turned off the main water line. A tech came out on 4/13 to say there is a leak and if we pay a down payment of half the cost of the repair we will be put on a list to then be called to set up an appointment. Paid the down payment on 4/14 and was called later that day to setup the appointment, which the soonest would be on 4/20.

When asked what time, they stated the tech will leave the shop at 8am. Took the day off on 4/20 and waited. Called them around noon, they stated the tech was at an emergency leak and would get there when he was done. Still the tech was a no show so at around 2:30 pm we called an was told the tech was still on the emergency job and that they can set a new appointment for 4/23.

This is unacceptable. Why set an appointment if you will not honor it or have the courtesy to call us with a status. Wasted day and will have to take another day off on Friday.
Kevin H.
May 04, 2020
Central changed a couple of spickets at my home today. The plumber was on time, very professional, and they were reasonably priced. Excellent overall.
Megan P.
Mar 20, 2020
We received excellent service from Central Plumbing! Zack, Gary and Troy were extremely thorough in diagnosing our leak issue. We had previously contacted several companies that could not figure out the issue so we were so thankful they were able to give us some help and guide us in the right direction.
April J.
Jan 29, 2020
**UPDATE to my review from 2 weeks ago** So after filing a complaint with the BBB, this company still chooses not to acknowledge their failure to tell us up front that they don't work on the logs & that we had already told them at the time we called that we checked the line for leaks but that our issue was with the smell emitted during use of the fire logs.

Your company has unsatisfactory business practices, not to mention the nonexistent customer service skills in the office, and after trying to resolve through the BBB, it's obvious you have no intention to resolve customer issues FAIRLY. I will be looking into other avenues (Federal Trade Commission, Louisiana Attorney General, Louisiana Dept. of Revenue, etc) for resolution in this matter because that is how strongly I feel that this company should be held responsible for their treatment of customers & how they conduct business.

It is only $120, but to me that is hard earned money & shouldn't be taken away by people like this, people only interested in fattening their pockets, no concern for customer service at all. If I don't see any of my money back, then I at least hope the negative reviews left here as well as Yelp & Google & the complaint filed with the BBB deters at least someone from wasting their hard earned money with this company. I will repeat - DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!
Mary B.
Aug 20, 2019
Unsatisfactory communication and Customer service. In May 2019 Central Plumbing was one of the only plumbers available to call on a sunday evening. We paid the overtime evening weekend price to have a tech come out and unstop our line that was backing up into the house, after a few hours he said it was clear. Low and behold it was not clear and the system started backing up again the very next day.

We called again and asked for help, they came back and did a "hydro" of the line to clear it out. and all was fine until this past Sunday August 2019. I called on Monday and explained that the same situation was happening again and that last time we needed the hydro to clear the line and would they be able to come out and do the hydro so we would have some peace of mind before leaving for a vacation.

They said sure, but they would want to do an estimate to replace the main line so this would not happen again. I agreed. I was at work and my Father in law came to the house to meet the plumber and be there on my behalf. They did not talk to my father in law and did not give him an update, they did not ask for him to run any water or seem to do any due dillangace in making sure the line was clear, they did not do an estimate to replace the line and when i got home and looked at the bill it did not mention the hydro and all they communicated to my father in law was that it was, "ALL CLEAR" and we paid $229.

As you can guess, it was not all clear. After giving my daughter a bath the line stoped up again, the toilets would not flush and sewage backed up into the tub and shower. I had to call again and ask why the hydro was not done, and that they needed to come back and finish the job. I then had to take the day off work to make sure the hydro was done and that the line was in fact clear.

The bill came $450 for the 2nd day. I asked if there was any consideration they could take for the fact that communication was not handled correctly and a 2nd day was needed. after back and forth for over 2 hours they insisted I needed to simply pay the $450. I will never call upon this company again. They do not have good faith or concern for their customers. I will look else where to find a company to replace the main line to my house as my trust in Central Plumbing has been diminished.
Brad Y.
Dec 07, 2018
Stay away from this company. If I could rate a company lower than a 1 it would be Central Plumbing. Set up an appointment to have a small leak repaired on one of outside water lines, I had marked the area where the leak was, if the huge wet area wasn't enough, I even offered to meet the plumber at my house but he said he could find it. When I returned home from work I noticed they had worked on the wrong line, Which was not leaking!

They said they worked on site for 3 hours, which I don't believe by the small shovel of dirt that was disturbed. Charged me over $400 for NOT fixing he leak. After repeated attempts by my wife and I to resolve this issue they stopped answering our calls and offered us no resolution. I work for a major chemical company that has used central Plumbing in the past, and when I spoke to our company representative about Central, he said " you didn't use central Plumbing at your house, those guys are the worst!" So I will do my best to make sure our company uses a different plumbing company in the future! Very disappointed in this company, would never recommend them to anyone
Claudia K.
Nov 17, 2018
Can't complain at all. We discovered a leak between the water meter and the house on a Saturday. Nice young man came to the house within 30 minutes of our call. He had informed me about the weekend emergency pricing beforehand, and didn't charge any more than that.
Frank H.
Mar 08, 2018
This place rips off people. They do installation work fork for Home Depot and charge outrages prices. My 75 year old sister bought a $339.00 electric water heater from Home Depot and wanted it installed. These people came out and told her it would cost her $1400.00. I guess they saw a little old lady and figured they could take advantage of her as they have more than likely done to others. Luckedly she didn't accept their proposal and talked with me and her daughter.

Her daughter found a place that has been in business for over 50 years and they gave her a hourly rate that to get close to Central Plumbing's $1400.00 they would have to work over 10 hours. It turned out they only needed 3 1/2 hours to complete the job and do a full check out and adjustments. Which came to less than $500.00. Central wanted $1400.00 to install a $339.00 heater. No way would I recommend this company to anyone and I plan to inform Home Depot on how Central Plumbing is ripping off customers.
Anna L.
Feb 07, 2018
I don't usually write reviews. Typically, if I do I'll write something positive because I am often frustrated by the people who only have negative things to say. They seem to be the only ones who even speak up. But this must be shared. Central Plumbing did some work for us after the freeze in BR a few weeks ago. We had 3 busted pipes, and they came out to help.

To begin, typical hourly rate was upcharged by $50 ($225/hr instead of the regular $175/hr) - I'm unsure what the exact definition of price-gouging is, but I think this comes pretty close. Last night, one of the repaired pipes began to leak (then gush) water. Upon calling this morning to have it addressed, we were told that they do NOT insure any work done during the freeze.

So we were upcharged during a time of significant need, AND they refuse to even come and see what's going on without the typical diagnostic fee on work done by their own staff. I understand that business is business. But I must say, this is NOT how I would run my business. Ever.
Anne E.
Nov 15, 2017
This company is completely unethical. I just had ATMOS gas company come to my house because I smelled gas. They discovered a leak at the brass valve connecting to my hot water heater. I stood right beside the gas serviceman and watched as his gas meter went crazy and then go back to normal when he shut the gas valve off. I called Central Plumbing to schedule an appointment for someone to come fix the leak, and possibly install a brand new hot water tank.

They were happy to do that; however, in addition to the repair work, they were going to charge me to test the valve for a leak. Now, I understand that they need to confirm the leak before doing any work. BUT--to charge for that test is completely unethical. I have heard of similar issues with this company, but didn't know anything first-hand. Now I do.
Beth B.
Nov 02, 2017
Do NOT use Central Plumbing! The plumber they sent to my house had no idea what he was doing, used my tools, and charged me for not doing the work! They came out yesterday to change the faucets on my bathroom sink and tub/shower. Took 5&1/2 hours to tell me they had to order parts for the shower & were unable to get the sink faucet disconnected. So I started the day with a working shower & sink that I wanted the fixtures changed & ended the day with a working shower & a sink that is 1/2 disconnected & does not work.

This fabulous lack of service cost me $448. I had no idea i was being charged by the hour vs the "open book" rate they offer - that wasn't disclosed. So now I can pay them more money to fix my sink or hire someone else (guess which one I'm gonna do?!) Something that should have cost. $200 - $300. in total!
Sandra N.
Nov 14, 2016
Central Plumbing is soo horrible!. A have a business in on Sherwood Forest. We have a drainage problem so I decided to call them. They came out 2 hrs one day 1 hours the next day and 6 days later they came back and said that they don't have the right equipment n have to come back later. After another 3 days, they call me and said I have to pay the amount for the job they done first before continuing. I'm just soo frustrated and call the representative that help me there ( Patrick).

Guess what they told me. Patrick doesn't make the decision and u have to talk with someone else. I just receive a letter from them and they demanded me to pay $2497.70 ( for an unfinished and horrible service that they giving me) or they will take legal action. I believe Jay Payne is the owner and I hope he's reading this message. Sir, I just hope that u can give me a call if u truly care about your customers concern.

I never said that I wasn't gonna pay but forcing me to pay the full amount for the crappy work that y'all did is unacceptable. I would like to resolve this matter with u if u can give me a call instead of your employees that is giving me a run-around
Mike F.
Sep 22, 2016
Bad on returning phone calls. slow on getting what's ordered and what's been paid in full when ordered. waiting to see what the install dept does or doesn't do for me. 225-806-2577 mike
John H.
Apr 08, 2016
The installation of my hot water heater has been a joke from the start. First go around was when the tech half assed the installation by not changing the valves and connections that needed to be installed with my new tank. I had to have another 2 visits 1 to verify and 2 do the final installation correctly! (I thought this would be the final) Moving forward here to find out they did not install the top vent pipe going out from the attic through the roof correctly.

Thank god I noticed the pipe was not straight on the outside and when I checked out the tank it was not put in place correctly to hold it with a big gap. This my friends is carbon monoxide that was not fully venting! Called and made an appointment asap for the next day and was told they would be here in the afternoon. So I spent the day waiting with no results so I called and they said they tried to call me (had an old number) with no answer and that the tech was on his way home. Thanks for the concerns!
Austin F.
Jul 18, 2015
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. They will change the price without notifying you, and will not return your phone calls after words. I had them come by because a gas line they installed was leaking, they said it would be free. I had to be at work, so had a friend open the door for the tech. Once there, the price suddenly went up. The tech disregarded my friend's instructions to stop and wait to talk to me, then forced them to sign an invoice on my behalf.

I tried to call weekly after this to discuss my concerns with the company, and somehow the manager is never there (and has never tried to return my calls). These guys are unethical at best.
Diane H.
May 16, 2012
We contacted this company to unstop a plumbing line from our washing machine. They placed a cable (snake) in the outside kitchen drain. The repair man got the cable stuck in the line. He cut the cable, and left part of it sticking out of the line. He charged an addtional $100.00 due to his broken cable and left the cable sticking out frm the drain, which could be a hazard.

The company refuses to remove the cable, and refuses to refund the additonal charge of $100.00. My calls to the supervisor or owner have not been returned. The bill was $255.13, and we still have a clogged drain, and because of the cable stuck in the line, other plumbers are unable to put a camera in the line to determine where the break or stoppage is in the line.

When we believed they were sending someone out to remove the cable, their employee came out and wrote an estimate to repair the line in the amount of over $5,000.00. As if we would use this company after the experience we were having with them. Warning, Do Not use Central Plumbing.
Extreme M.
May 07, 2009
Yeah, the one star says it all: Eek! Me thinks not. THE PROBLEM: We had a problem with air and water sputtering out of our faucets and a toilet that didn't flush good enough, and a sink that needed a stopper in it. THE RESULTS: I chose this plumber because of their cheap service call price and they take that out of the final bill. On Tuesday (the first day), he was late to the appt. an hour and 5 mins. which made me late for a doctor's appt.

He charged us the service fee of $55.80 for testing our water pressure which was fine and finding out we have a new water meter that the BR Water Company installed without notifying us first. He tells my father he'd come the next day to finish up. Next day, I go round and round with his ditsy office dispatcher girl AND him because there was miscommunication between the two of them about when he was supposed to show up the 2nd day.

She attempted to reschedule me because he had other calls he needed to go on.meaning he was wrongly going on other calls when he should've put us first because he didn't fix the problems the first day. We got pushed to the back burner so to speak. She finally got him to call me on his personal cell phone and he agreed to come at 5:15 p.m. the second day (Wed.).

He quoted me an outrageous $340+ final price and when I asked him how much the parts costs alone, he tells me he'd have to call his distributor to find out then he'd call me back. He also said his supervisor was out sick that day and wouldn't be able to come till Thursday to do a leak detection test and he himself wasn't trained to do the test.

I wait for him to call back but he never calls, he never showed up for the 5:15 p.m. appt., and when I called their office, they were closed for the day and some woman answered who sounded like she was on her cell phone standing in her front yard near a busy highway. I explain my frustrations to her and tell her how disappointed and angry I am and I even told her my experience and she tells me she'll "pass it on".

She didn't even have time to write all of it down, much less take my name or phone number. Lame company, unprofessional to the utmost, they don't return calls, they don't have good communications between their workers, they lie to their customers, they quote outrageous prices they can't break down into details. Would not use again. Would NOT recommend!