Shorty's Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning

Company Facts

Shorty's Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning at a Glance

By the numbers

Google rating

4.8out of 5

Customer reviews

613on Google

In business

43years

Rating and review count pulled from Google on September 27, 2026. Years counted from 1983.

What We Like

• 4.8 average from 613 Google reviews as of September 27, 2026, a large sample
• Plumbing and HVAC under one roof, including boilers and heat pumps
• Radon testing and mitigation listed as a service, which few plumbers offer
• Published hours show 24 hours a day, seven days, for burst pipes and no-heat calls
• Trading in Winnipeg since 1983 as a family business, per its own site
• Reviewers name individual technicians repeatedly, suggesting a settled crew

Things to Consider

• Guarantee and membership plan terms are not spelled out in the brief, so ask what is covered and for how long
• Drain cleaning, camera inspection and excavation are not named services, so confirm scope for blocked or collapsed sewer lines
• An established firm with stock and overnight coverage is rarely the cheapest quote on a simple swap
• Trade credentials are claims made on its own website and worth verifying for gas work

Google rating

4.8

Based on 613 Google reviews

Review data updated September 27, 2026

View on Google Maps →

Rating Distribution

• 5 stars92%
• 4 stars3%
• 3 stars1%
• 2 stars1%
• 1 star3%

Combining plumbing with heating and refrigeration work is a deliberate choice, and in a city with a temperature swing of seventy degrees between January and July it makes practical sense. The same household that needs a furnace looked at in November needs a sump pump checked in April. Shortys plumbing heating air conditioning covers both sides, listing furnace repair and replacement, boiler work, heat pumps, air conditioning installation and tune-ups, air quality services, hot water tanks, sump pumps, repiping, renovation plumbing and fixture repairs, plus radon testing and mitigation.

That radon line deserves a mention. Manitoba has some of the higher residential radon readings in the country, and mitigation usually means a sealed sump dome and a fan system vented above the roofline, sometimes with weeping tile inspected first to understand where the soil gas is getting in. It is a job that sits naturally with a plumbing crew because the sump pit is where the work happens. If you have tested your basement and the number came back above the Health Canada guideline, this is one of the few plumbing outfits in the city that lists the remediation side as a service rather than referring it out.

Winnipeg's ground does the rest of the damage. Heavy Red River clay shifts as it dries and swells, which strains cast iron laterals in older River Heights and Elmwood homes and can pull joints apart in the sewer line. Spring melt loads the weeping tile, so a failed sump pump in March means water on the floor within hours rather than days. Deep frost lines mean water services run low and freeze-ups happen in cold snaps, particularly where a service was installed shallow decades ago. Ask any contractor how they handle a frozen service line, because thawing methods vary and some are harder on old pipe than others.

The operation runs from Wilkes Avenue in the southwest of the city, convenient for Charleswood, Fort Garry, Linden Woods and the Waverley West developments, though the service reach appears to cover Winnipeg generally. Published hours say open 24 hours every day. That matters for the two calls people actually make in a panic: a hot water tank letting go across a finished basement, and a furnace that stops in a cold snap. Several Google reviewers describe exactly those situations and same-day replacement of a tank, which suggests stocked trucks and real after-hours coverage rather than an answering service.

On pricing, the website mentions a guarantee it calls the Shortysfaction Guarantee and a membership plan, and at least one reviewer refers to being quoted one price per repair job rather than an hourly rate. Flat-rate pricing suits people who want the number before work starts and dislike watching the clock. It can cost more than hourly on a quick fix and less on a job that turns complicated. Either way, get the figure in writing before anyone starts, and ask specifically what the guarantee covers, for how long, and whether it applies to parts, labour or both. The brief does not spell out those terms.

The company says its people include red seal certified tradespeople, HVAC refrigeration service technicians and class A gas fitters. Treat that as a claim from its own site, but note that gas fitting qualification is the one to verify yourself for any furnace, boiler or water heater work, since gas appliance installation in Manitoba is regulated and permits may be required. Same goes for a repipe or a sewer replacement, where the City wants a permit and an inspection.

Review volume is the strongest signal here. Google showed 4.8 from 613 reviews on September 27, 2026, a sample size that smooths out both the unhappy outlier and the friendly-neighbour five star. Individual technicians get named repeatedly in those reviews, which tends to indicate stable staff rather than a rotating crew. The business also maintains a Better Business Bureau listing and active Facebook and Instagram pages.

Who is it not for? Anyone hunting the cheapest possible number on a straightforward tank swap will likely find a smaller one or two van shop that beats an established company on price. Larger firms carry dispatch, stock and overnight coverage, and that shows up in the invoice. There is also no drain cleaning, camera inspection or excavation work named in the brief, so if your problem is a blocked main or a collapsed clay lateral, confirm first that shortys plumbing heating air conditioning handles that scope before booking. For combined furnace and plumbing households in Winnipeg, though, the single-contractor argument is a fair one.

About This Business Profile

Last reviewed

September 2026

Profile last updated

September 27, 2026

Google review data updated

September 27, 2026

Reviewed by

Dana Whitfield, Senior editor, home services

Sources checked

Google Business Profile, Company website

Sponsorship status

No commercial relationship