In the pipes

"I wanted to be just like my dad," he said.

The Tyo family tradition in San Mateo started with Michael Tyo's grandfather, Art Tyo. Art Tyo started his plumbing business in 1926, making it a family affair. By the 1960s, his wife and daughter took care of billing and phone calls, while Art Tyo kept his boys busy helping with the on-the-job aspects. Michael Tyo's father, Bill, took over the family business until 1990 when he sold it. Even without the family business, Tyo and his brother, former City Council candidate Pete Tyo, stayed in the trade.

Tyo started his own practice, 9-1-1 Sewers & Drains. But he still loves meeting people with a story about his dad, uncle or grandfather.

"I helped this lady; she came out and says she cleaned the top of her fridge. My Uncle Bobby was 6'7" and the last time he was there he wrote her bill on top of the fridge," Tyo said with a smile.

While Tyo enjoys the stories about his family, he tells his 15-year-old son he shouldn't go into profession. But he still smiled at the thought of his son hearing stories about him someday.

Tyo takes pride in not only what he does, but how he does it. He doesn't like plastic pipe. A good pipe, he said, should be strong enough to do a pull-up, which he demonstrated as he explained. Today, he said, people can go into a hardware store a put something in themselves that's illegal without even knowing it.

"He brings extra shoes with him, so he can enter a house with clean shoes" said Denise Noble, owner of The Noble Beast, a friend of Tyo's who has done business with him for 10 years.

"I don't do my own plumbing and he doesn't clean his own dog," Noble said.

Ken Constantino, a Realtor who manages property, worked with Tyo for more than 10 years now.

"You know how people often say their dog looks like them? His looks a lot like Mike, but in a good way," Constantino said. "Mike has a mustache and a colorful face, so does his dog. He's the only guy I know who takes his dog with him to work everyday. He's just a fun guy."

Tyo might not have the most glamorous job, but he doesn't overcharge or pass up an opportunity to help.

"Rosie was her name," Tyo said. "She had me change her light bulbs every time I came over because they'd burn out. She would buy me socks every year for my birthday."

He puts in washers that cost 5 cents without charging people.

"People wonder why he didn't charge them $85 just to show up," Noble said. "But before you know it he'll be doing a big job with them."

Sometimes the little jobs are a bit odd and can be worse than his everyday work.

A woman called Tyo once because she has a smell coming from under her house.

"She said, 'I think I have a dead cat.' My head hit the floor. I found the cat. Fangs were showing," he said and shivered. "I'm still afraid of teeth."