Plumbing Masters

They repaired my kitchen drain line that was leaking and also had me try and turn the shut offs under the kitchen sink, they suggested that we replace them. I chose to do the repair and the replacement on both items. I love that there was no pressure and they did a phenomenal job!! Very personable and knowledgeable. Plumbing Masters always calls you in advance of coming and calls when there are any delays. Communication is key to the success of any company. Well done Plumbing Masters!!

They are the smell good plumbers, but let me tell you they stink. You have to be careful, because they will overcharge you and recommend you have services done that are not necessary. If you want to see how a simple problem like clearing a slow drain can cost you over $3,000, read on. Had them come to my house for a slow drain. I have an older home. The original tech said he could not clean out the drain since my home had no clean outs and his equipment would damage my drains. He recommended a hydrojet clean for around $420-530. That tech came in less than an hour and said the same thing, but his price was $570 and he needed to follow that up with a video exam to make sure everything was fine. The video would be an additional $300 plus, but he would waive the video if we decided to do the cleaning with the hydro jet. We agreed to the $570. They came out the next day, did the cleaning and, guess what? They found a broken pipe about 5 feet outside the house. They would need to dig up and replace a 5 ft section of pipe. They would replace the broken section and put in two brand new clean outs so we could have our pipes cleaned with their equipment in the future at a much cheaper rate. The price was now over $3,000, which we reluctantly agreed to. We made the mistake of not shopping around, since they said that was a fair price and they could get right on it and have it done by the end of the day. They would also waive the hydrojet fee and the video exam and give us another video exam at no charge to make sure there were no other problems with the line from their repair to the city sewer line. When I got home, I expected the work to be completed, but it was not and no one was at my house working. A few minutes later, 4 men came up with cold drinks, they were just getting back from a break. The foreman told me we had some major problems. There was old, corroding pipe underground, which they showed me, that ran all the way to the city sewer line that needed to be replaced. If we did not replace it, it would cause us major problems in the near future and cost us a lot of money. He then took a shovel and broke the pipe. Then he took his video camera and ran it down through the broken section of pipe to show me the condition of the remaining pipe. I don't know what I am looking at, since I am not a plumber, but I told them it looked good to me. No breaks in the pipes or roots and it looked clean. He assured me that this type of pipe would just collapse and it needed to be replaced. He would call his office and put together a bid. Over $9,000 now!!!! There is no way I can afford that. How could they charge me another $5,000 plus to replace about 19 feet of pipe, when they only have about $100-300 worth of materials for the whole job, even the part I had already agreed to have done? I know the labor is the worst part, but come on? I told him he needed to call his boss to get the price down, which he did, he knocked off $1,000 and now the bill is over $8,000. He then told me he would do whatever I wanted to do. He would replace the 5 foot section that we agreed to, or do it right. After thinking about it, we could not come up with $8,000, so I told him we have to just do the minimum and hope for the best. His demeanor changed and all 4 of them gave me the impression I was making a horrible mistake. He even made the comment that ethically he didn't even want to leave my plumbing like that, but he would do what I wanted. I had told the original tech I thought I had a warranty and he said he had never heard of a sewer line warranty, but only a water supply line warranty. At this point I checked my warranty paperwork and I did have a sewer line warranty. I called them right away to explain what was happening and they said I was covered and to have Plumbing Masters stop the work. I went out to inform them. Maybe 15 minutes had elapsed from the time I gave them the go ahead to do the work, called the warranty company and filed a claim. When I went outside, they had the old pipe cut and the new pipe all hooked up. I told them not to back fill the hole since another contractor would be coming to complete the repairs to the city sewer. They picked up their tools. I asked for a discount on the bill since they were not back filling the hole and he said his boss said no discounts. I paid the whole bill with a credit card. The contractor for the warranty company came out a few days later and ran his camera down the hole and found the pipe to be different than what Plumbing Masters said and that is was in great shape. The bad pipe was only about 18 inches farther down the line than Plumbing Masters had dug and connected. The new plumbing company recommended that the 2 foot section of pipe be replaced and nothing else would have to be done. That work was done a couple of days later and pictures were taken of everything proving that the pipe that Plumbing Masters assured me needed to be replaced was not what they said it was. There was no need to replace it since it was "very healthy" as the other contractor stated. Another thing to note. The tech for Plumbing Masters did not want to follow the old pipe that ran at a 45 degree angle, He felt we should just go straight to the sewer to save some money and extra work. If they would have done that, they would have never uncovered the clay pipe. I think he was trying to bypass the clay pipe that was there so that I wouldn't know it. When I told my story to the Registrar of Contractors, they said they really need to tie in to the original city tap and that there would be certain conditions that might prevent that, but it would be costly and they would need permits and inspections. Plumbing Masters wanted to do the work the next day without even getting a blue stake, even after I told them I had a gas line underground. At this point, I am not a happy camper. I realize I have to pay what I agreed to pay. It could have been handled much better. If they were trying to sell me something I didn't really need, what else was going on? Was the pipe really broken before they dug it up? Did they break it while shoveling? It was definitely broke when the foreman hit it with his shovel while I was standing there. I went to Plumbing Master's website and filled out their online complaint form. It said the complaint was received and someone would get back to me right away. 4 days later, after no one contacted me, I called and talked to the manager. I asked him for a refund of the back fill amount since that was not done. He said I declined the back fill. I told him the story. And then voiced my concerns that his company was dishonest. He assured me they weren't. So then, they must be incompetent, since they could not determine the type of pipe I had underground that the other company could within a couple of minutes. When I told him I thought I would report them, he wanted to know what he could do for me. I said I wanted 1/3 of the price refunded since I feel there are 3 parts to this job. Dig the hole, put in the pipes, and back fill. They did not back fill the hole which was part of their scope of work. He said he would look into it and get back to me the next business day. Which he didn't. He called my wife 2 days after that and then set up an appointment to come to the house. He wanted to see the proof of the clay pipe. We got together. He looked at the job, the old pipes, and the pictures. He could not dispute that we had clay pipes and not the orange burg pipes his company said were down there. He tried to say that it is difficult to determine what you have even with the video. I told him I didn't buy that, since the other company had no problem. He must have sent someone over who didn't have enough experience. He assured me his man had been doing this particular job for many years. Then I said he must have been trying to cheat me. They don't do that, he says, they would have followed the pipe for a foot or so and found the other pipe and tied into that. I asked him why his man told us he wasn't going to follow the old pipe, but make a new line. He said that didn't make sense. I didn't think so, either, but my wife and I both heard him say that and he even said he hoped we would be OK with him digging up the flower bed, which is nowhere near the area where the clay pipe runs. Then the manager made a couple of inappropriate comments about how much money plumbers make.......that many doctors and lawyers have quit their jobs to become plumbers because they can make more money (very comforting thought, so he acknowledged they overcharged me, I guess). He said he couldn't give me what I want, but offered $300. He then proceeded to tell us how much money his company spends on advertising and that they have the highest ratings in the business. We reluctantly agreed to his small refund, which he said he would put back into our credit card account. It took 10 days to get the refund. I made several mistakes. Should have called someone else, but they had great reviews. I did call 3 other companies and read them the scope of work right from the contract that I signed with Plumbing Masters asking them for a second opinion. The other company's prices ranged from $950-2200. A fair price would have been about half what they charged me. I don't want anything from Plumbing Masters, I just don't want someone else to read all the great reviews and expect to get someone honest to do your work and you get someone like I got that is trying to make a quick buck. You may get a different plumber and have a good experience. Be very careful with this bunch.