for Builders & GCs
48 listings for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing suppliers in Orange County on Cablanico,
the B2B network where builders and GCs hire their trades.
48contractors12trades18licensed42with websites11multi-county
Public directory
MEP suppliers serve the trades that rough in before anything is closed up, which makes their lead times a scheduling issue for the general contractor as well as the subcontractor. The group includes electrical suppliers, plumbing supply stores and fixture showrooms, HVAC suppliers, fire protection suppliers, low voltage suppliers, solar suppliers and warehouses, pool supply stores, and rain water barrel suppliers. On most projects the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing subs buy their own rough-in material (pipe, wire, fittings, duct) through their house accounts, and that is usually the right arrangement, since their trade pricing and returns relationships are better than a GC can get on one project. Where the GC or owner typically steps in is the specified, long-lead, and decorative end: switchgear and panels, HVAC equipment, plumbing fixtures and trim, lighting. Electrical distribution gear deserves the earliest attention; panelboards and switchgear on commercial work can carry lead times of months, and a project cannot get past rough inspection milestones without them. HVAC equipment availability shifts with refrigerant and efficiency regulation cycles, so have the mechanical sub confirm the specified units are actually orderable before the submittal goes in. Plumbing fixture showrooms matter on custom residential work: selections made late are a common cause of trim-out delays, so walk clients through the showroom early and get everything on order with a delivery date the plumber can plan around. Decide deliberately who buys what. Owner-furnished fixtures save markup but shift responsibility for damage, missing parts, and warranty to whoever purchased them. On engineered systems, fire protection and solar suppliers will be part of the submittal chain, and in California, Title 24 shapes equipment selections. We recommend confirming that the subs installing this material hold current licenses and insurance; California's CSLB publishes a free public license lookup, and Texas licenses the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing trades at the state level with their own public searches.
All three models are used. Running fixtures through the plumbing sub keeps warranty and missing-part problems in one contract; owner-furnished fixtures avoid markup but make the owner responsible for correct rough-in specs, damage, and delays if something arrives wrong. Whichever way it goes, the plumber needs the exact model numbers before rough-in, because valve bodies and rough-in dimensions vary by fixture.
As early as the design allows. On commercial projects, distribution equipment is routinely the longest-lead item on the job, sometimes months out. Get the electrical sub's submittal approved and the order placed during early construction, and ask the supplier for a written ship date the schedule can be built around. Residential load centers are usually stock, but service upgrades tied to utility coordination still need early attention.
That the specified equipment is currently orderable in the required efficiency tier and refrigerant, and what the real lead time is, since regulation transitions periodically make specified models unavailable. Also confirm that the equipment matches what the Title 24 energy documentation assumed on California projects, since substituting a different unit can trigger recalculation.
Based in San Diego, Westlake Village, Newbury Park +3 more7also serveSan Diego County
Most sell to any business account, and many sell to the public at list price, but trade pricing tiers are built around volume, so an electrical or plumbing sub's account pricing is usually better than what a GC buys at occasionally. For rough-in commodities it generally makes sense to let the sub buy through their own accounts and carry the material in their number.
Break distribution equipment into an early procurement package: get the submittal approved and the order placed as soon as the design supports it, and ask the distributor for a written production slot and ship date rather than a verbal estimate. If the date still does not work, the usual levers are manufacturer-approved alternates, re-sequencing so gear installs later than normal, or temporary power arrangements that keep inspections and other trades moving. Suppliers deal with this constantly and can usually flag which specified components are the actual bottleneck.
