Quick Comparison
| Firm | Founded / Tenure & Credentials | Services & Specialties | Geographic Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robinett Plumbing | 1912 (114 years); fourth generation Robinett family | CA CSLB License #727736 (C-36 Plumbing), BBB Accredited | Long Beach, Los Angeles County, surrounding South Bay communities |
| Pete's Plumbing | 1972 (54 years); family-owned operating continuity | CA CSLB License #277178 (C-36 Plumbing), BBB Accredited | Long Beach and Lakewood; Greater Long Beach area |
| Belmont Plumbing | 1983 (43 years); founded by Matt Grayley (master level plumber); two-generation Grayley family (Matthew and son Daniel) | CA CSLB License #446735 (C-36 Plumbing), BBB Accredited | San Francisco Avenue base in Long Beach (90806); Long Beach, Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Naples, Bixby Knolls, Bixby Highlands, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Seal Beach |
| International City Plumbers (ICP) | 20+ years operating tenure; family-owned and family-operated full service plumbing firm | CA CSLB License (C-36 Plumbing, General B, C-42 Sanitation classifications); BBB Accredited | Long Beach base; Long Beach Metro and surrounding LA County communities |
1. Robinett Plumbing
- Address: 1161 Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90813
- Phone: (562) 244-0198
- Founder: Robinett family (founded 1912); fourth generation Robinett family operating ownership
- Operating Since: 1912. 114 years; one of the longest-tenured plumbing operations in the Long Beach area
- License: California CSLB License #727736 (C-36 Plumbing classification); BBB Accredited; “Licensed, Bonded, and Insured”
- Service area: Long Beach (downtown, Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Naples, Alamitos Heights, Bixby Knolls, Los Altos, El Dorado Park, North Long Beach, Westside, California Heights, Wrigley, Bluff Park), Los Angeles County, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Seal Beach, Cypress, Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Compton, Carson, Wilmington, San Pedro
- Website: robinettplumbinginc.com
Four-Generation Robinett Family Plumbing Lineage Spanning 114 Years
Robinett Plumbing traces its origins to 1912, making it one of the longest-tenured plumbing operations in the Long Beach area. Across the 114-year operating history, the Robinett family has retained continuous ownership through four generations, grounding institutional plumbing knowledge that newer market entrants cannot replicate. The 1912 founding date precedes the City of Long Beach’s contemporary boundaries by decades (Long Beach’s 20th century population growth from approximately 18,000 residents in 1910 through the World War II oil boom era and post-war suburban development cycles produced the metro area we see today), and Robinett’s continuous Long Beach operating presence spans the entire arc of that 20th century buildout. Four-generation continuity in the residential plumbing trade is uncommon in California, and the Robinett family operating structure has remained intact across the entire span.
Long Beach Pre War and Mid Century Housing Stock Service Mix
Long Beach’s residential housing stock spans pre-1900 Craftsman bungalows in the older neighborhoods through 1920s Spanish-revival and Mediterranean-revival housing in Belmont Heights, Belmont Shore, Bluff Park, and California Heights, alongside post-war 1940s-1960s suburban housing in El Dorado Park, Los Altos, and the eastern Long Beach neighborhoods. The plumbing systems originally installed in this housing stock used cast iron drain stacks, galvanized supply piping, and (in the oldest properties) lead service connections from Long Beach Department of Water Resources mains. Robinett Plumbing’s “The Old Plumbing Repair Specialist” positioning aligns with the firm’s accumulated trade knowledge depth across the pre war and mid century Long Beach housing stock vintages, and the firm’s specialization in vintage plumbing repairs and copper re piping services supports residential customers managing the original 1900 1950s plumbing infrastructure that remains partially in service across substantial portions of the Long Beach housing market today.
CSLB License #727736 C-36 Plumbing Classification
California regulates contractors through the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) under Business and Professions Code Division 3, Chapter 9, with classification based contractor licensing across A (general engineering), B (general building), and C classification specialty trades (including C-36 Plumbing). Robinett Plumbing holds CSLB License #727736 with C-36 Plumbing classification, satisfying the California regulatory authority required for residential and commercial plumbing work. The CSLB public licensee database (cslb.ca.gov) is the standard pre-engagement diligence verification step California residential customers use, and the active status license combined with the firm’s 114-year operating history provides verifiable multi-decade credentialing depth.
Family Operating Continuity Outside the National Rollup Pattern
Robinett Plumbing has remained family-owned and family-operated under continuous Robinett family ownership across the 114-year operating history, without sale to a private equity rollup or national home services aggregator. The Long Beach plumbing trade has experienced consolidation pressure from regional and national aggregators (Authority Brands’ Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise system, Mr. Rooter Plumbing as part of Neighborly’s franchise network with Long Beach presence, and various private equity rollups have acquired California home services brands across recent decades), and Robinett’s continuous family-owned independent positioning distinguishes the firm from acquired and rebranded operators. Four-generation operating tenure in a single Long Beach family operates as a substantial differentiation versus newer market entrants and versus regional consolidators.
2. Pete’s Plumbing
- Address: Long Beach, CA
- Phone: (562) 599-0106
- Founder: Pete (founded 1972); family-owned operating continuity
- Operating Since: 1972 (54 years); family-owned operating tenure across more than five decades
- License: California CSLB License #277178 (C-36 Plumbing classification); BBB Accredited
- Service area: Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Seal Beach, Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Hawaiian Gardens, Bellflower, Cerritos, Lynwood, Paramount, Compton, Greater Long Beach area
- Website: [petes plumbing.com](https://www.petes plumbing.com/)
54-Year Operating Tenure and Long Beach Lakewood Service Geography
Pete’s Plumbing was founded in 1972 by Pete and has continued as a family-owned and family-operated plumbing firm across 54 years of Long Beach area presence. The Long Beach-Lakewood service geography focus aligns the firm’s operating footprint with the high density inner South Bay residential market, where Lakewood (immediately northeast of Long Beach in southeast Los Angeles County) frames a substantial 1950s post-war suburban housing development tied historically to the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft (later Boeing) production facility at Lakewood. The Long Beach service area extends across the city’s diverse neighborhood typologies (downtown urban core, Belmont Shore beach community, North Long Beach urban residential, the eastern El Dorado Park and Los Altos suburban neighborhoods), and the broader Greater Long Beach service area extends into the surrounding South Bay communities.
CSLB License #277178 C-36 Plumbing Classification
Pete’s Plumbing operates under California CSLB License #277178 with C-36 Plumbing classification, satisfying the California regulatory authority required for residential and commercial plumbing work. The license number itself (six digit, with the 277xxx prefix typical of mid 1970s CSLB issuance era) aligns with the firm’s 1972 founding date and reflects the early 1970s California contractor licensing framework under which Pete’s Plumbing entered the trade. BBB Accreditation through the Better Business Bureau provides the third-party reputation verification layer that Long Beach residential customers typically check before authorizing residential plumbing work.
Family-Owned Operating Continuity in the Long Beach Market
Pete’s Plumbing has remained family-owned and family-operated across the 54-year operating history without sale to a regional consolidator or national rollup, distinguishing the firm from acquired and rebranded operators in the Long Beach market. The “best local plumber” positioning that the firm maintains aligns with the multi-decade independent operating tenure and the deep neighborhood by neighborhood service area knowledge that long tenured operators accumulate.
3. Belmont Plumbing
- Address: 3005 San Francisco Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90806
- Phone: (562) 595-0327
- Founder: Matt Grayley (founded 1983 as a master level plumber); current operating team is two Grayley generations: Matthew Grayley and son Daniel Grayley
- Operating Since: 1983 (43 years); two Grayley family generations; Matthew and Daniel are the only Grayleys currently working at the firm
- License: California CSLB License #446735 (C-36 Plumbing classification); BBB Accredited
- Service area: Long Beach (Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Naples, Bluff Park, Bixby Knolls, Bixby Highlands, California Heights, Wrigley, Los Cerritos, Bixby Park, Alamitos Heights, downtown), Lakewood, Signal Hill, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Huntington Beach, Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor
- Website: belmontplumbing.net
Two-Generation Grayley Family Master Plumber Operating Lineage
Belmont Plumbing was founded in 1983 by Matt Grayley, a master level plumber, establishing the operation under master plumber founder credentialing from day one. Across the 43-year operating history, the Grayley family operating structure has remained intact, with Matthew Grayley continuing in the operation alongside his son Daniel Grayley. Matthew and Daniel are explicitly described as the only Grayleys working at Belmont Plumbing, signaling a deliberate small firm scale day-to-day setup that supports tight quality control and direct family owner customer engagement rather than a high volume dispatch operation with subordinate technicians performing service work. The two Grayley operating structure also implies trade knowledge transmission directly from master plumber father Matthew to son Daniel, providing the multi generation trade practice depth that family trade businesses typically embed.
San Francisco Avenue Long Beach Operating Base and Belmont Area Service Geography
The 3005 San Francisco Avenue headquarters in Long Beach (zip 90806) sits in central Long Beach, providing dispatch positioning that supports service across the Belmont neighborhoods (Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Naples) where the firm’s name draws geographic identity, plus the broader Long Beach Metro and adjacent South Bay communities. Belmont Shore is one of Long Beach’s most affluent residential beachfront neighborhoods (with substantial 1920s-1940s Spanish-revival and Mediterranean-revival housing), Belmont Heights roots the inner coastal residential corridor, and Naples is a canal and island residential community modeled after Venice, Italy with substantial waterfront housing dating predominantly to 1920s-1940s build out cycles. The waterfront housing stock generates plumbing service mix characteristics tied to coastal environment factors (saltwater corrosion of supply piping, dock and pier related plumbing infrastructure, and the broader waterfront property service work).
CSLB License #446735 and Master Plumber Founder Credential
Belmont Plumbing operates under California CSLB License #446735 with C-36 Plumbing classification, with the firm’s original credentialing established under Matt Grayley’s master plumber qualification. California’s plumbing trade licensing framework operates through apprentice, journeyman, and master plumber tiers, with master level credentialing reflecting examination passage, journeyman experience hours, and continuing education renewal under the California Plumbing Code framework. The master plumber founder credential lineage establishes the firm’s regulatory compliance depth, and BBB Accreditation provides the third-party reputation verification layer.
4. International City Plumbers (ICP)
- Address: Long Beach, CA
- Phone: (562) 599-1655
- Founder: ICP family ownership lineage; family-owned and family-operated full service plumbing firm
- Operating Since: 20+ years operating tenure, founded approximately early 2000s era
- License: California CSLB License (C-36 Plumbing classification, General B classification, C-42 Sanitation classification); BBB Accredited
- Service area: Long Beach (downtown, Belmont Shore, Bixby Knolls, North Long Beach, El Dorado Park, Los Altos, California Heights, Wrigley), Lakewood, Signal Hill, Seal Beach, Cypress, Los Alamitos, surrounding LA County communities
- Website: icplumbers.com
20+ Year Operating Tenure and Triple Classification CSLB Credentialing
International City Plumbers operates as a family-owned and family-operated full service plumbing firm rooted in Long Beach. With 20+ years of professional plumbing operating experience. The firm’s CSLB credential portfolio includes three distinct classifications: C-36 Plumbing (the standard residential and commercial plumbing classification), General B (general building contractor classification, permitting general contracting work beyond plumbing alone), and C-42 Sanitation (the sewer and sanitation system classification, covering municipal sewer lateral connection work, septic system installation, and the broader sanitation infrastructure scope). The triple classification CSLB configuration extends materially beyond the typical single classification (C-36 only) configuration of most Long Beach plumbing operators and supports a service mix breadth covering plumbing, general construction, and sanitation infrastructure under unified credentialing.
“International City” Name and Long Beach Identity
International City Plumbers’ name draws from Long Beach’s “International City” official designation, which originated from the city’s historic role as a major Pacific Rim port and the diverse immigrant and international demographic composition of the city. The Port of Long Beach is one of the busiest container ports in the United States (and one of the largest port complexes in the world when combined with the adjacent Port of Los Angeles), and the surrounding city has historically grounded a substantial international maritime, shipping, and trade economy. The firm’s identification with the “International City” naming reflects deliberate Long Beach civic identity alignment.
Family-Owned Operating Continuity and Long Beach Service Geography
ICP’s family-owned operating structure has remained intact across the 20+ year operating history, distinguishing the firm from acquired and rebranded operators in the Long Beach market. The working radius covers central Long Beach plus the surrounding LA County communities including Lakewood, Signal Hill (an enclave city completely surrounded by Long Beach city boundaries), Seal Beach, Cypress, and Los Alamitos.
Reference Notes
Long Beach’s residential plumbing market reflects three Long Beach operating realities that distinguish local firms from each other. The first is Long Beach-specific housing stock vintage and waterfront coastal characteristics: Long Beach’s residential housing stock spans pre-1900 Craftsman bungalows in the older neighborhoods through 1920s-1940s Spanish-revival and Mediterranean-revival housing in Belmont Heights, Belmont Shore, Bluff Park, Naples, and California Heights, alongside post-war 1940s-1960s suburban housing in El Dorado Park, Los Altos, Lakewood adjacent eastern Long Beach, and 1970s and newer master-planned residential development in the outer ring neighborhoods. The waterfront coastal geography (with Belmont Shore, Naples, Alamitos Bay, and the Marine Stadium area generating substantial coastal property residential housing) produces plumbing service mix characteristics tied to saltwater corrosion of supply piping, dock and pier plumbing infrastructure, and coastal environment moisture management work. The Mediterranean climate (mild dry summers, cool wet winters with rare freezes, modest annual rainfall concentrated in November-March) generates relatively low freeze protection service demand compared to colder climates. The second structural condition is licensing depth: California regulates contractors through the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) under Business and Professions Code Division 3, Chapter 9. With classification based contractor licensing across A (general engineering), B (general building), and C classification specialty trades (including C-36 Plumbing for plumbing work and C-42 Sanitation for sewer and sanitation infrastructure work); CSLB licensing requires bonding, insurance, qualifying individual examination passage, and continuing compliance renewal cycles, and the CSLB public licensee database (cslb.ca.gov) is the standard pre-engagement diligence verification step California residential and commercial customers use. The third structural condition is national rollup activity: the Long Beach plumbing trade has experienced consolidation pressure from regional and national aggregators (Authority Brands’ Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchise system, Mr. Rooter Plumbing as part of Neighborly’s franchise network with multiple Long Beach franchise locations, and various private equity rollups have acquired California home services brands across recent decades), and all four Long Beach firms profiled here run as locally owned independent operators outside the regional consolidator pattern, with multigeneration family ownership (Robinett Plumbing 1912 across four Robinett generations; Pete’s Plumbing 1972 family-owned; Belmont Plumbing 1983 across two Grayley generations; International City Plumbers 20+ years family-owned).
Tenure profiles across the four firms vary across approximately a 90-year span, and the ranking aligns with both formal corporate founding dates and family trade lineage continuity. Robinett Plumbing leads on the longest tenure dimension by a substantial margin, with a 1912 founding date and four continuous Robinett family generations operating across 114 years; the firm’s “The Old Plumbing Repair Specialist” positioning and specialization in vintage plumbing repair and copper re piping services aligns with the pre war and mid century Long Beach housing stock that the firm’s century plus accumulated trade knowledge depth uniquely supports. The CSLB License #727736 C-36 Plumbing classification reflects continuous California contractor credentialing across the firm’s recent operating history. Pete’s Plumbing follows on the second longest tenure dimension, with a 1972 founding under Pete and 54 years of family-owned operating continuity, supported by a Long Beach-Lakewood service geography focus and CSLB License #277178 reflecting mid 1970s California contractor licensing era credentialing. Belmont Plumbing’s two-generation Grayley family lineage since the 1983 founding by master plumber Matt Grayley (with son Daniel Grayley currently operating alongside Matthew, and the explicit small firm scale working framework with only the Grayley family members performing the firm’s plumbing work) and CSLB License #446735 secure a 43-year operating tenure with San Francisco Avenue Long Beach base supporting the Belmont area waterfront service geography. International City Plumbers’ 20+ year family-owned operating tenure and triple classification CSLB credentialing (C-36 Plumbing, General B, C-42 Sanitation) extends materially beyond the typical single classification configuration of most Long Beach operators, supporting plumbing and general construction and sanitation service mix breadth under unified contractor credentialing. The credential portfolios scale with operating depth: Robinett’s CSLB License #727736 plus four-generation operating history depth, Pete’s CSLB License #277178 from the mid 1970s era, Belmont’s CSLB License #446735 plus master plumber founder credential lineage, and ICP’s triple classification CSLB credentialing (C-36 plus General B plus C-42) together provide the four firm comparison framework that Long Beach residential customers use to select between long tenured independent local operators outside the has rolled up several South Bay operators across the past decade..
Selection Methodology
Selection follows four criteria. First, continuous family ownership or founder-operator continuity outside the national rollup pattern. Second, verifiable CSLB C-36 Plumbing Contractor license cross-checked via the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) public lookup. Third, BBB Accreditation or equivalent third-party rating. Fourth, minimum 10-year continuous operating tenure with documented Long Beach, CA service coverage. Firms acquired by national franchise networks (Authority Brands’ Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, Neighborly’s Mr. Rooter, Service Experts, Roto-Rooter, Wrench Group, Redwood Services, Master Trades Group, ARS) are excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I verify a Long Beach, CA plumber’s license?
Use the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) public licensee database at cslb.ca.gov. Search by license number or business name. Confirm active status, classification, bonding, and insurance before authorizing work.
What credentials should a Long Beach, CA plumber hold?
At minimum: CSLB C-36 Plumbing Contractor credential plus general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage. Specialty work (gas line, backflow prevention, fire sprinkler, sewer lateral) requires additional credential layers.
How can I tell if a Long Beach, CA plumber is locally owned versus a national rollup?
Check ownership disclosures and acquisition history. National franchise brands typically operate under parent company branding. Search the firm name plus “acquired” or “parent company” to surface ownership structure. The four firms in this directory all run as independent locally owned operators.
When should I call an emergency plumber in Long Beach?
Burst pipes, sewer backups, gas leaks, no water events, and water heater failures justify after-hours dispatch. Each firm in this directory offers either 24/7 emergency service or structured after-hours response.
Editorial Note
Compiled by the editorial team. Firm details cross-verified through state license databases, BBB business profiles, and firm-published websites where available. License numbers should be re-verified through the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) public lookup before authorizing work. Information current as of the date below; firm details may change without notice. Last updated: 2026-05-10.