Trusted by South Bay Homeowners & Businesses for 20+ Years
When South Bay residents search for a plumber near me, they are dealing with a stretch of coastal and inland communities, from the beach cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach to the broader neighborhoods of Torrance, Gardena and Hawthorne, each with its own city hall, its own permit office and its own mix of housing stock. ServiStar Plumbing and HVAC, family owned and operated by Daniel Cohen for more than 20 years, handles both plumbing and HVAC for homeowners, landlords and small businesses throughout this corridor of Los Angeles County.
One of only 4 plumbing companies in Los Angeles honored as an LA Legacy Business.
- Family owned & operatedVan Nuys & Simi Valley
- 20+ years in LA CountyPlumbing & HVAC under one roof
- Licensed, bonded & insuredCA Lic #885156
- 4.8★ from 152 Google reviewsRated by your neighbors
ServiStar Plumbing and HVAC serves the South Bay, covering Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne and Palos Verdes for plumbing and HVAC work. The South Bay spans several independent cities, each issuing its own permits, so local knowledge matters. Family owned and operated by Daniel Cohen for more than 20 years. Call (818) 873-0613.
What South Bay's Postwar and Coastal Homes Mean for Plumbing
A large share of the South Bay's single-family homes were built in the 1950s and 1960s, when Torrance, Hawthorne and Gardena were growing fast and tract construction was the norm. Those homes are now 60 to 70 years old, and the original galvanized steel supply lines and cast-iron drain stacks that came with them are well past their expected service life. Galvanized pipe corrodes from the inside out, narrowing the bore until water pressure drops noticeably and rust-colored water shows up at the tap. Cast-iron drains crack and root-intrude over decades. Closer to the coast, in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, salt air accelerates corrosion on exposed fittings and on HVAC equipment mounted on rooftops or in side yards. A home a block from the Manhattan Beach Pier or the Hermosa Beach Pier faces different wear patterns than a home five miles inland in Gardena. ServiStar technicians account for that difference when they diagnose a problem, rather than assuming every house presents the same situation.
- ✓Galvanized supply lines common in 1950s and 1960s Torrance and Hawthorne homes
- ✓Cast-iron drain stacks prone to cracking and root intrusion after 60-plus years
- ✓Salt-air corrosion on exposed fittings and HVAC equipment near the beach cities
- ✓Repiping assessments for homes showing pressure loss or discolored water
- ✓Camera inspection before recommending any sewer or drain repair
- ✓HVAC equipment checks for coastal corrosion on coils and cabinet surfaces
Plumbing Permits Across South Bay's Independent Cities
The South Bay is not one city. Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Gardena and Hawthorne each operate their own building and safety departments, and Palos Verdes encompasses multiple separate incorporated cities on the hill. That means a permitted water heater replacement in Torrance goes through Torrance's building department, while the same job a few miles away in Redondo Beach goes through Redondo Beach's office, with its own fee schedule and inspection process. ServiStar pulls the correct permit for the correct jurisdiction on every job that requires one. Homeowners and landlords who hire a plumber company that is unfamiliar with this patchwork sometimes find out after the fact that the work was done without the right permit, which creates problems at resale. Knowing which city's rules apply, and following them, is part of how ServiStar works across the South Bay.
- ✓Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach each have separate permit offices
- ✓El Segundo, Gardena and Hawthorne operate their own building departments
- ✓Palos Verdes cities each have independent permit authority
- ✓Permits pulled for water heater replacements, repiping and HVAC installations
- ✓Inspections coordinated with the correct city department for each job
- ✓No permit shortcuts: every job done to the code of the issuing city
Need a Plumber in the South Bay Today?
Call (818) 873-0613 or book online. A real person answers 24/7, and same day appointments are available in most of the South Bay.
Plumbing and HVAC Responsibility in South Bay Rentals
The South Bay has a substantial rental population across Gardena, Hawthorne and parts of Torrance, with a mix of apartment buildings, duplexes and single-family rentals. California law places the responsibility for maintaining habitable conditions, including working plumbing and functioning heat, squarely on the landlord. A tenant reporting a slow drain, a water heater that stopped producing hot water, or a heating system that quit in January is not a nuisance call; it is a legal obligation. ServiStar works with landlords and property managers throughout the South Bay who need a plumbing company near me that can reach a rental unit the same day, diagnose the problem clearly, and give a flat rate price before touching anything. That written quote protects both the landlord and the tenant, and the plain language explanation means the landlord understands exactly what failed and why, not just what it costs. For multi-unit buildings near Del Amo Fashion Center or along the Torrance corridors, ServiStar also handles HVAC service, so one call covers both trades.
- ✓Same day service available for rental habitability calls in most South Bay cities
- ✓Flat rate written quote before work begins, useful for landlord recordkeeping
- ✓Drain cleaning, water heater repair and HVAC service for rental units
- ✓Multi-unit buildings in Torrance and Gardena served alongside single-family rentals
- ✓Plain language diagnosis so landlords understand the problem, not just the invoice
- ✓One call covers both plumbing and HVAC at the same rental property
Sewer and Drain Challenges on the Palos Verdes Peninsula
The Palos Verdes Peninsula sits at a different elevation and on different geology than the flat coastal plain below. Hillside lots mean sewer laterals run at steeper grades, and the soil movement that is common on the peninsula, including areas with a long history of slow landslide activity, puts lateral sewer lines under stress that flat-lot lines simply do not experience. A sewer line that has shifted, cracked or separated at a joint because of ground movement will not announce itself with an obvious backup right away; it may drain slowly for months while the problem worsens underground. ServiStar runs a camera through the line before recommending any sewer repair on a Palos Verdes property, so the recommendation is based on what is actually there, not a guess. Where trenchless repair is appropriate, that option is on the table; where open-cut is the right call, that is explained clearly. Hillside HVAC installations also require attention to equipment placement and condensate drainage, which ServiStar addresses as part of any heating or cooling job on the hill.
- ✓Camera inspection standard before any sewer repair recommendation
- ✓Trenchless sewer repair available where soil conditions allow
- ✓Open-cut repair explained clearly when trenchless is not the right fit
- ✓Hillside condensate drainage addressed on HVAC installations
- ✓Soil movement and grade changes assessed for lateral sewer lines
- ✓Palos Verdes permit authority identified and permits pulled for each city on the hill
What ServiStar Covers Across the South Bay
ServiStar handles plumbing and HVAC as equal halves of the same business, which matters when a South Bay homeowner or landlord is dealing with more than one system at once. On the plumbing side, the work includes drain cleaning, hydro jetting for stubborn blockages, sewer line repair and trenchless sewer repair, camera inspections, leak detection, repiping, and tank, tankless and hybrid water heater repair and installation. ServiStar is factory certified by Rinnai, Navien and Noritz for tankless water heater work, which is relevant in the South Bay where many homeowners are replacing aging tank units with on-demand systems to save space and energy. On the HVAC side, ServiStar repairs and installs air conditioning systems, furnaces and heat pumps, including mini-split systems that suit the smaller footprints common in beach-city homes. Water filtration is also available for households concerned about water quality. Each of these services has its own dedicated page on the ServiStar website with full detail on scope, process and what to expect; this page is the starting point. To talk through what your South Bay property needs, call (818) 873-0613.
AC, Heater or Water Heater Trouble in the South Bay?
One ServiStar team handles plumbing and HVAC, with a flat price in writing before any work begins.
Serving Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach
The three beach cities, anchored by the Manhattan Beach Pier, the Hermosa Beach Pier and the Redondo Beach Pier, share a coastal character but differ in their housing mix. Manhattan Beach skews toward larger, higher-value single-family homes, many of them substantially remodeled or rebuilt in the past two decades, which means newer plumbing in the main structure but sometimes older laterals connecting to the city sewer. Hermosa Beach has a denser, more compact layout with a mix of older bungalows and newer construction on small lots. Redondo Beach includes both the beach-adjacent neighborhoods and inland areas that blend into Torrance, with a wider range of housing ages and types. In all three cities, ServiStar technicians are familiar with the coastal corrosion patterns that affect HVAC equipment and exposed plumbing, and they know that each city runs its own permit office. Plumbing companies near me that do not distinguish between these three jurisdictions create extra work for homeowners when permits are pulled under the wrong city. ServiStar does not make that mistake.
- ✓Manhattan Beach: newer remodeled homes with older sewer laterals in some cases
- ✓Hermosa Beach: compact lots, older bungalows alongside newer construction
- ✓Redondo Beach: beach-adjacent and inland neighborhoods with varied housing ages
- ✓Coastal HVAC corrosion on coils and cabinets addressed at installation and service
- ✓Separate permit offices for each beach city, permits pulled correctly for each
- ✓Drain cleaning and camera inspection available for all three beach city jurisdictions
24 Hour Plumber Service Across South Bay Cities
A sewer backup does not wait for business hours, and neither does a water heater that fails on a cold January night. ServiStar answers the phone 24/7 and offers same day service in most cases across the South Bay, from El Segundo in the north to Palos Verdes in the south, and from the beach cities east through Hawthorne and Gardena. When someone calls looking for a 24 hour plumber near me at midnight because a drain is backing up into a Torrance bathroom or a Gardena apartment unit, ServiStar picks up. The technician who arrives will diagnose the problem first, explain what is going on in plain language, and give a flat rate price in writing before starting any work. That process does not change after hours. Urgent calls are handled with the same written quote and the same clear explanation as a scheduled appointment, because a homeowner under stress deserves to know exactly what they are agreeing to before the work begins. For HVAC emergencies, the same after-hours availability applies: a heating system that stops working in the middle of the night is a comfort and safety issue, and ServiStar treats it that way.
- ✓Phones answered 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays
- ✓Same day service available in most South Bay cities in most cases
- ✓Flat rate written quote before work begins, even on after-hours calls
- ✓Sewer backups, water heater failures and HVAC outages all covered
- ✓Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne and El Segundo reachable for urgent calls
- ✓Beach cities and Palos Verdes included in after-hours coverage area
How a South Bay Service Call Works From First Contact to Finished Job
The process is straightforward. A homeowner, landlord or business owner in the South Bay calls (818) 873-0613, describes the situation, and ServiStar schedules an appointment, same day in most cases. The technician arrives, looks at the problem, and diagnoses it before recommending anything. For a sewer or drain issue, that means running a camera if the situation calls for it, so the recommendation is based on what is actually in the pipe, not a guess. For a water heater or HVAC call, it means testing the system and identifying the specific failure before quoting a repair or replacement. Once the diagnosis is done, the technician explains the options in plain language and provides a flat rate price in writing. The homeowner decides. If the work requires a permit, ServiStar identifies the correct city department, pulls the permit, and schedules the inspection. Plumbing contractors who skip that step save time on the front end and create problems on the back end. ServiStar does not skip it. After the job is done, the homeowner has a clear record of what was done, what was installed, and which city inspected it. That is the whole process, no pressure, no surprises.
Plumbing & HVAC Services in the South Bay
Serving the South Bay & Greater Los Angeles
ServiStar Plumbing and HVAC provides plumbing & HVAC throughout South Bay, Los Angeles County. Service areas include Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne and Palos Verdes. We also serve nearby Culver City, West Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. The map below outlines the South Bay area we cover.
Landmarks & Neighborhoods in the South Bay
Notable Places in the South Bay
- •Manhattan Beach Pier
- •Hermosa Beach Pier
- •Redondo Beach Pier
- •Del Amo Fashion Center
Areas We Serve in the South Bay
Neighborhoods: Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Palos Verdes
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What Our Customers Say About ServiStar
Our drains kept gurgling and backing up into the shower out here in Encino, so we had servistar come take a look. Daniel ran a camera down the line and showed us a massive collapse in the old pipe, plus there wasn't even a proper cleanout access installed. He…
a month agoI ended up having a pipe leak that damaged part of my ceiling during the night. Luckily Servistar was quick to respond and came in asap the next morning and went straight to work! They were both really professional and thorough. They were able to get my pipes…
3 months agoWater heater completely flatlined on us and finding someone who could actually fix it right away felt like a mission, when we were staring down days of freezing cold showers with a full house. Servistar came through right on time, diagnosed a shot burner insta…
a month ago