Freedom Services

I called Eric and made an appointment for Monday.  He was right on  time and very professional.  He looked at my job and told me he would need to dig up the area where the system was leaking to get a better understanding of the problem.  He told me it may be a root problem and he could fix the problem the next day.  He told me that his daily fee was $500 for 6 to 8 hours of work (until the job is done) and he would be able to tell me a more precise cost after seeing the problem.  I agreed.  He showed up when he said he would and got right to work.  As predicted he found roots to be the main problem.   We agreed on a price and he got the repair done in 7.5 hours.    The leak was fixed my yard looked almost normal and I was very happy to get the watering issue fixed quickly and professionally.  

Mr. Bonilla gave an estimate of $125 for the first hour and $50 for each hour thereafter. His 1/2 day rate was $250. His price seemed high, but I was sure the work wouldn't take 4 hours, especially since two of the four holes were already excavated. He arrived with a helper, who obviously was just learning the sprinkler business. I"m not sure that having the helper made the work more efficient. Regarding the sprinkler controller, Mr. Bonilla immediately tried to sell me a new one for $50, which he said was simpler than mine. I told him that mine was only 2 years old and that it wasn't broken; a the problem was a misconnection between the controller and the valves. That problem was solved by adding better connection nuts to the wires to the valves. These items sold at Home Depot for 25 for $12 and Mr. Bonilla used 6 of them. Repair issues: Mr. Bonilla moved a rotor sprinkler riser without asking, when I simply wanted a new rotor head installed. The sprinklers are temporary and I told Mr. Bonilla that when he was reviewing the work for the estimate. Therefore, I would not have wanted any extra time spent on re-positioning the pipes. That was nearly an hour's work that was unauthorized. At one point, Mr. Bonilla had me examine a sprinkler repair prior to his filling the hole. There was a small leak and I could see that the PVC connections were not properly threaded. I asked if he had used teflon tape on the threads and he said "no", that he doesn't use it. I gave him some of my tape and told him that the tape would stop the leak. He did use the tape and was able to more securely thread the connectors which stopped the leak. The riser I had him move in the backyard already had the hole excavated and he used some of my PVC materials and risers for the repair. A rotor he purchased in the front leaked profusely and I replaced it with a different brand. Due to the sprinkler being at the lowest part of the lawn, there is a tendency for water to pool from that sprinkler. But the brand I used was a couple a dollars more expensive and leaked 75% than the brand Mr. Bonilla installed. The materials were overpriced; he claimed $55+ for materials which included: two rotor sprinklers that sold at Home Depot for $9/each; various PVC connectors, about 15 that cost less than$1 each, and the special wire connector nuts that were 50 cents each. He also used PVC and drip system supplies that I had on hand as he didn't have several necessary connectors and risers. There is no way that the supply costs he gave me were accurate for the actual supplies used during my repairs. The final charge was $335, which included a tip that he had the nerve to ask for. His justification for the tip was he worked more than 4 hours and performed some controller diagnosis the day of the estimate. It's now two months since Mr. Bonilla performed the work and the drip system repair he did just came apart spewing water and re-excavating the hole. It is obvious that the 1/2 inch drip line was only connected to the PCV connector by about 3/8 of an inch, rather than the necessary two inches. So, I'm going to have to repair it myself, which is what I should have done in the first place. I would certainly not use Mr. Bonilla for sprinkler or any other repair work.