Works Plumbing is a family-owned company founded in 2009 and headquartered in Pacifica, so our crew lives and works on this stretch of coast. We repair sewer laterals, drains, water heaters, leaks, gas piping and fixtures in homes across town. Same-day visits are available, emergency calls are answered 24/7, and we are licensed and insured under CSLB #982663.
Get a Free Estimate
Upfront pricing. Same-day service. No obligation.
"*" indicates required fields
We’ll call you back fast.
THIS MONTH’S BEST DEAL
$75
OFF
$75 OFF Any Plumbing Repair Over $500
One-time use. Combine with our 24/7 emergency service and pay only when the job is done. Mention this offer when you book.
Pacifica grew fast after the war. Census figures put the median home here at 1966, and the two largest building decades in town were the 1950s and the 1960s, followed by the 1970s with more than 3,000 homes. Only a few hundred homes in town predate 1940. Most service calls we take in Linda Mar and Sharp Park come back to that age: drain lines, laterals and supply piping that have been patched through several owners and remodels.
The private side sewer
City code makes the owner responsible for the side sewer, from the foundation wall to the city main. The standard it sets is strict: no roots or grease deposits, watertight joints, sound pipe, and every cleanout sealed with a proper cap. The city’s own list of backup causes reads like our call log:
roots pushing into cracked or leaking joints
joints that separate with age
grease that settles where a lateral was poorly sloped
debris such as rocks or paper towels
pipe weakened by age or poor backfill
Fruitless mulberry and Modesto ash are the two trees the city singles out for root trouble, and it warns about heavy clay when planting. A lateral also comes under review when a home sells, when a remodel reaches $50,000, when fixtures are added, or when water service changes. Our page on sewer line repair in Pacifica walks through the certificate the city issues.
Water supply and fixtures
North Coast County Water District serves customers in Pacifica, and every gallon it delivered in 2025 was bought from SFPUC, mostly from Crystal Springs and San Andreas reservoirs. The 2025 report shows hardness averaging 62 ppm and a pH near 9.1, with chloramine as the disinfectant. Lead was low as well, with a 90th percentile reading of 1.5 ppb against an action level of 15. Scale is rarely the main problem. Rubber washers, flappers and hose seals take more wear, and we install chloramine-resistant parts when they are available.
Hidden leaks
In a house from the 1950s or 1960s, a damp baseboard or a meter that keeps turning usually means a supply line has started to fail inside a wall or under the floor. We find it with acoustic, thermal and pressure testing before anything is opened; see leak detection in Pacifica for how that visit runs.
Why Pacifica homeowners call Works Plumbing
Family owned since 2009, with our headquarters in Pacifica
Licensed and insured under California CSLB #982663
An upfront price you approve before any work starts
Same-day appointments and emergency service 24/7
Plumbing services we provide in Pacifica
Most Pacifica jobs fall into five groups plus fixtures, and each one has its own page with the detail.
Drains and sewer lines come first. Slow tubs and backed-up sinks get drain cleaning in Pacifica, and lines packed with grease or root mass get hydro jetting. Before we recommend a repair, a sewer camera inspection shows where the lateral is cracked, sagging or separated, with the recording available on request. When the pipe has failed, trenchless pipe repair in Pacifica by bursting or lining often saves a driveway or a terraced yard. New or rerouted drain lines during a remodel fall under drain pipe installation.
Water heaters are the second group. We handle water heater repair for tank units and install tankless water heaters and heat pump models for owners ready to replace.
Leaks and supply piping make up the third. When a house has more failing branches than sound ones, repiping in Pacifica replaces the supply system in planned stages instead of chasing one pinhole at a time.
Gas work is the fourth. Our gas line repair covers leaks, new appliance branches and capping lines for removed appliances.
Fixtures round out the list. We repair faucets in Pacifica homes, toilets, showers and garbage disposals, and we replace them when parts for an older model are no longer made.
We handle permits and inspections on work that calls for them, and the price is set before the job begins.
What’s included
Sewer lateral repair
Drain cleaning
Water heater service
Leak detection
Repiping
Gas line repair
How the job goes
We diagnose the issue and show you a flat price upfront.
You approve it, then our tech gets to work from a fully-stocked truck.
We test the fix twice and leave your space cleaner than we found it.
A Works Plumbing technician on a service call in Pacifica, California.
Why homeowners choose Works
Every job comes with upfront pricing, licensed and background-checked technicians, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee . No surprises, no pressure, ever.
Pro tip
Thinking about selling? Ask the city whether a Sewer Lateral Compliance Certificate is already on file for your address. The city invites owners to check, and a certificate on record can change what the sale requires.
See how we handle it:
Prefer to listen? Catch this topic on our homeowner podcast:
▶
The Works Plumbing Podcast · Homeowner Tips
Request Pacifica service
From Linda Mar to Sharp Park, tell us what you are seeing at the drain, the cleanout or the water heater. We will look at it, explain the cause and quote the repair upfront.
Pacifica’s sewer rules grew out of a bad week of rain. On January 25 and 26, 2008, stormwater flooding into the collection system pushed flows past what it was designed to carry. Findings prepared for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board record more than 100,000 gallons of raw sewage released from the system on January 25, and about 6,900,000 gallons of partially treated sewage bypassed to surface waters over the two days. Most of the city’s other overflows were traced to blockages from roots and debris.
The board answered with a cease and desist order. The Regional Water Board’s 2011 cease and desist order for Pacifica directed the city to adopt an ordinance requiring tests of private laterals at sale, at major remodels and when plumbing fixtures are added. The goal was to cut inflow and infiltration: rain and groundwater that slip into the sewer through defective private pipe. The city began enforcing that ordinance on January 1, 2012.
Rain is not supposed to reach the sanitary sewer at all. The city runs a separate drainage system for runoff. Yet a cracked joint, an open cleanout or a broken lateral lets groundwater in after every storm, and that water rides to the Calera Creek Water Recycling Plant along with the sewage. The plant treats about 4 million gallons a day in normal weather and up to 20 million during storms.
That history shapes how we work on a Pacifica lateral. On camera, we look past the clog itself and note every joint gap and crack that could take on water. When we quote a repair, we tell you whether it seals the whole run or only the failed section, because a patched lateral with leaking joints is still part of the problem the order was written to fix.
FAQ
Pacifica plumbing questions.
Here are the questions we hear most. Don’t see yours? Give us a ring, a real human answers, day or night.
Is Pacifica tap water hard enough to need a water softener?
Usually not. North Coast County Water District’s 2025 report lists hardness from 8.1 to 112 ppm, with an average of 62, which is soft to moderately hard. Most Pacifica homes see little scale on fixtures or inside water heaters. If you notice heavy crust on a showerhead or kettle, we can test the water at your tap before you spend money on treatment equipment.
Where does wastewater go after it leaves a Pacifica home?
It flows by gravity through city mains to the Sharp Park and Linda Mar pump stations, where it is screened and pumped to the Calera Creek Water Recycling Plant. There it passes through grit removal, sequencing batch reactors, sand filters and ultraviolet disinfection. The treated water goes to restored wetlands or is reused as utility water, which is one more reason the city keeps rainwater and grease out of the system.
Does a Pacifica condo owner need a separate lateral certificate?
Not when the unit shares a lateral. The city says individually owned condominium units on a shared lateral do not need their own certificate. The homeowners association or other responsible party handles compliance for the shared line. The same goes for upkeep: for common-wall homes and condominiums, the association maintains the side sewer. We work directly with boards and property managers on shared lines.
Is there help paying for sewer lateral replacement in Pacifica?
The city runs a Sewer Lateral Replacement Grant program and has posted application packets for the 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 cycles. It pays by reimbursement, and final payment requires a contractor invoice showing a zero balance. Read the current packet before work starts, because terms change between cycles. We can provide the itemized invoice and paperwork the program asks for.
My Pacifica house dates from the 1960s. What should I have checked first?
Start with the sewer lateral and the water heater, since both fail out of sight and cost the most when ignored. A camera run shows roots and separated joints in the lateral. A look at the heater’s age, venting and relief valve tells you whether it has years left or should be planned for.
Do you work in every Pacifica neighborhood?
Yes. Our headquarters is in Pacifica, so Linda Mar, Sharp Park, Pedro Point, Vallemar, Fairway Park and the hillside streets between them are all close to home for our crew. Same-day appointments are available across town, and emergency calls are answered 24/7, weekends and holidays included.
Nearby Areas We Serve
Just outside Pacifica.
Along the coast and over the hill, we also work in Daly City, San Bruno, Montara, Moss Beach and El Granada.
We’ve earned our reputation one happy homeowner at a time.
“I had a backed up kitchen drain and David from Works Plumbing came out and cleared the line in a matter of minutes. Very professional and very knowledgeable. Definitely recommend!”
GG
George G.
Daly City · Yelp Review
“Great professional and quick service! Shamir was friendly, efficient, and professional. He fixed the leaking problem in my sink and garbage disposal in under an hour. Highly recommend!”
MR
Maria R.
Oakland · Google Review
“Thank you again for another job well done, and thank you for responding right away. I will continue to recommend Works Plumbing because they respond right away and get the job done efficiently.”
DK
David K.
San Mateo · Google Review
Google reviews
Yelp reviews
A+
BBB Accredited
Pay Your Way
BIG REPAIR? SMALL PAYMENTS.
Plumbing emergencies don’t wait for payday. Spread your cost over 12, 24, or 60 months with affordable financing options through trusted partners.
A real human will answer, dispatch a stocked Works van, and get someone at your door the same day. No phone trees. No robots. No “we’ll get back to you Monday.”