Schede Plumbing & Heating

The result was they told me I need a new $6000.00 shower estimate. I think that that is ridiculous.

My experience with them was great.  They came when they said they were going to come and fixed everything.  The staff member’s demeanor was very good and the price was reasonable.

The fees charged by this plumber are outrageous.  I asked this vendor to visit our home to inspect a leak from a steam shower unit, and also to fix dripping coming from two shower heads.  While at the house, my spouse asked the plumber to inspect all six of our bathrooms and make any repairs needed. The repairs were minor, and did not require the installation of any major new parts (maybe some rubber gaskets).  The total bill came to over $2,000.  This vendor saw an opportunity to submit inflated charges, and he took it.  My spouse unfornately paid the bill on the spot, so we had no recourse.  We have no complaint about the quality of the work, but urge caution.  Get an estimate before you ask them to do any work.

From my very first contact with Lou Schede, dealing with this company has been a pleasure.  I discovered that my water heater had broken down which meant that I had to replace it along with my approximately 40 year old oil boiler.  Lou contacted me within about 30 seconds of me putting a request for bids in through HomeAdvisor.com (on Memorial Day, no less).  Lou came over the next morning, we discussed my options and we agreed it made sense to use this opportunity to convert to natural gas.  However, we had no hot water anymore - and the conversion process takes a while since we didn't have an active natural gas line to the house.  Lou provided us with a temporary hot water heater at no charge - which we had for almost 7 weeks because the gas company took so long to put the new gas line in to the house.  Once we had the gas line in, Lou's team came and worked tirelessly for 4 + days.   Lou arranged for the city inspection of the work and met me at the house to meet the inspector.  Mike, Mike and Joe (and others whose names I did not catch) were all extremely courteous, helpful, and knowledgeable.  They left my basement cleaner than they found it, and now we are up and running with a new natural gas boiler.  Also, as an aside, the gentleman from Yankee Gas who came in to look at the set up when he was installing the meter said that he had studied in school about the brand of boiler Lou had chosen for me and that it was the best.
Regarding the price, I know it seems like a lot of money, but I had been quoted from another company more than that just for a new oil boiler / water heater system which would have been a one day job.  Having seen the amount of time and effort it took to convert from oil to natural gas, I can honestly say, I got my money's worth.
I want to add 2 things: 
(1) I was a little overwhelmed by the magnitude of the conversion process, and Lou walked me through the whole thing and eased my mind completely the entire way through; and
(2) as a working person, good communication and reliability are so important to me.  If I have to take time from work, or leave my office to meet a contractor, I need them to be there when they say they will be there, and I need them to call me with their schedule.  Schede Plumbing is exactly that kind of business.  They are my new plumbing company from now on.

Impossible to get an accurate and precise timing on their coming over - that's a first snag. When I call the dispatcher to get an estimate I get a curt 'we're busy and why does everyone waits for the hot days to call us?!?!' Hum ok then, our fault that our ACs fail in hot days!
Then the guy who was sent was very nice, but didn't know jack about AC units - he even had to call his team leader to confirm which pipe was the drain!
Then the second time it takes the team leader to come over first to diagnose the real issue .... rusted drip pan, which they can attempt to fix without incurring me a big expense, also they promise - I obviously am attracted to that idea and give in, but I should have remembered that they offer no guarantee on the work, so if/when I need the 'big' expense done, it's money wasted on the fix anyway.
The ''fix' of the 2nd time (to spray paint the drip pan in latex paint) was applied like a first grader, and guess what? I didn't work. So here I am two weeks later, still no AC, a lot poorer and a bigger expense on my hands with the replacement of the drip pan which really could have been diagnosed in the first place.
Needless to say I'm not happy!

Very well. I have walking issues and cannot easily access basement. Plumber showed video phone picture of where leak came from and discussed alternatives, including prices. He was sensitive to my situation and I selected most cost-effective solution. His plumber arrived with, and installed, new tank Monday AM. By lunch time, I had hot water, once again. He cleaned up water fro leak, as well.

They were quick to respond to an AC failure and Mike came right away to fix. Also negotiated the price. I was happy with them, until I called today to have something else done (change a filter) and I didn't like the attitude I got from Mike. Acted like he was doing me a favor by coming by on a Friday to see what I needed so he could go to Home Depot and get the filter. I told him thank you, but I don't need any favors.

RIPOFF Stay away!!!  Newbies definitely should NOT try them!
Let me introduce to you Connecticut’s most expensive plumber (more expensive than few lawyers)!  Schede Plumbing:
- Will overstate the job on the phone
- If granted the project will find a shortcut to complete the job. If the job equals the effort stated on the phone – this plumber will walk away!
- Unfair practices towards newbies!
The task was to install new toilet + flange.  Before starting the work Schede Plumbing was provided photos and clear explanation of the project.
 
Louis (gentleman on the phone) explained me that he he’ll solder the new flange (because we have lead pipe). He stated that if required he’ll clear the concrete around the pipe. His estimate on the phone was 2-4 hours of effort and quote was $575.  (I did the math and so found him reasonable approx. $140 per hour)  
When his guy came he walked in with a plastic flange; clearly no intention of soldering lead pipe. When I asked him why not he said the job will cost me $1500 to complete (wow!). Completed the job literally in 35 minutes!!! I told him this was unfair. When I questioned he wanted to give me $16 dollar discount. He said it was his “luck” that the job was so easy.  A professional who is in business for 80+ yrs couldn’t estimate the job with 3 photos?  After a lot of argument he gave me $50 discount.
He completed the job, but I would stay away from them in future.
Yes, it was my mistake to say yes to them but other home owners can learn from my mistake.

I keep calling them back, they are my standard plumbers.

unknown

Great experience with Schede plumbing.  My hot water heater had broken over the weekend and I appreciated the owners wife answering the phone on a Sunday.  Lou Schede  was able to come over shortly thereafter for an estimate.  I found Lou to be friendly and able to answer all my questions.  Once we agreed on a price, the installer (Mike) came the next day, on time and did a great job with the removal and installation. He also ensured all my appliances (DW, Shower and sinks) were all producing hot water.  I appreciated the attention to detail and providing tips on how to maintain.  I would definitely use them again and am glad I went with a local family owned business.  I would recommend to anyone.

Very well, cleared toilet line and faucets work just fine.

All work was done extremely professionally and done quickly and with high quality! It went amazing!

The don't is : you don't need a second or third estimate!

Job was done quickly and quality of service was excellent.

We hired Schede Plumbing (05/29/2012) to snake a bathtub drain and instead the plumber (an unknown, sub-contractor hired by Schede) drilled through the pipe causing water from the shower to leak through two condo units below and ending in the basement parking garage.  We had to reimburse the condo association $1,170.00 for repair work, which Schede will not reimburse us for.  To add insult to injury, they also kept the $290.00 we paid for the service.  BBB of Connecticut has sent two letters to Schede that have been ignored.  And, we also have a complaint on file with the State of CT Department of Consumer Protection, which they are investigating.

Response to company's response:
Points addressed:  
1. Said no issues with BBB, which is false.  There is one still on file and another was dismissed because Schede made an offer to resolve.  Yelp.com has two scathing complaints on file from Mike G., 11/28/12 and Michael B., 02/23/12 (yelp.com, schede).  

2.  Company has no information on our financial status and is grasping at straws.
  
3. Contacted insurance company in good faith?  Why is it that they only reported the incident after we pressured them to do so. Then, they did not report it to their company but to the carrier of the sub-contractor that they hired to do the work.  Letter from Nationwide (attached) offering to pay for the damage to the condos below us but not for the repair/replacement of the pipe they damaged, as the policy excludes poor workmanship and has nothing to do with the age of the piping, if it did, they would not accept liability.    

4. The offer they made was to refund our service fee.  Unfortunately, when a company makes an offer this closes the complaint, regardless of how paltry it is.   And, we requested the fee be reimbursed over six months ago along with our expenses.  

5. We were never contacted by their insurance company, just the carrier from the unknown sub-contractor “they” hired to do the work.  As the attached letter states, they have accepted liability for the resulting damage, but the policy is not a performance contract so the repair/replacement of the pipe they damaged is not covered ($1,170.00).  

6. They took our words from our BBB response how other contractors have performed the same job at the complex without incident (attached).  Schede also ignored BBB’s and Angie’s inquiries for two months and replied to Angie to get their name back onto the site.
  
7. When you hire a contractor you expect the work to be done correctly.  And if they are unable to comply or have concern on the job or the outcome, it is up to the contractor to state concerns, request a waiver of liability, or walk away from the job.  No one insisted that they perform the work and if they had expressed concern we would not have had it done.  Also, Schede stated that we were warned of the danger, since they hired the work out to another contractor,  did not come to the home, did not witness the work being done, or what was said by the sub-contractor how can they attest to what happened?  

We feel there was an injustice done and will continue to fight for the cost to repair the pipe they damaged.  This is what Angie’s List is all about, not being taken advantage by contractors who come into your home cause damage and walk away saying “not my problem”.   It is time the consumer takes a stand against poor performance and spreads the word on contractors who are honest, reputable, and who stand behind their work and that of the contractors who do not, specifically Schede.

Called several plumbing companies on Sunday evening.  My old Water Heater was leaking and needed replacing ASAP.
When I called Schede Plumbing, a real person answered the phone!
 He gave me an approximate quote right away.  Told him I was waiting for other quotes (his price seemed a little high), and would call him back if I decided to go with Schede.  Left messages with 4 companies (including Schede).  One place never called back at all and a couple of them called several days (or even a week) later.  Meanwhile, Schede actually called ME back, to see if I had made a decision.  At that point, I said "you've got it".  
They came the next day and installed the new Water Heater.  They were respectful and professional.  Got the old and new heaters in and out of the house without making a mess.  I did actually need to call them back twice afterwards, because one of the connections on the pipe to the new Water Heater was leaking ever so slightly.  They were responsive and the guys came out quickly and totally fixed the problem on the 2nd try.  It was a good experience and I would recommend them.  Might cost a little more than expected, but worth it to me for quick response and quality work.

Excellent

very well

I would recomend them ...

It went very well, as I describe in more detail above.

Schede Plumbing & Heating, together with the wonderful service of Mike G. made what could have been a daunting process if I had to figure it out myself, an absolutely painless experience.  My old electric water heater decided to give up one October morning.  With just one phone call to Schede I was provided same day, professional & courteous, competitively priced service.  Mike G. arrived at my home by noon with a new, more energy efficient, hot water heater.  He quickly found the problem, removed the old one, installed the new one and educated me on how to handle the new unit, warranty and any future questions.  I can not recommend these folks highly enough....should the need arise they will be my first call.

I told the story above...

The young man who showed up was very curtious and he worked for about 2 1/2 hours adding the gas line extension. after he was done he showed me how to turn off the gas in an emergency and left the place exactly in the condition he found it.

The workman showed up promptly, but quickly came to the conclusion that the drainage pan under the shower is leaking and would need to be replaced.  He called to check if this was OK and estimated the total cost to be $4,500, not including the cost to replace the torn masonry in the shower.  My next door neighbor, who is quite handy, quickly put the brakes on, and instead asked Schede to just remove the clog in the drain and then follow up for a check for any leakage.  They put a hole in the ceiling to see if they could trace any leakage.
After removing the clog, we found no further leakage, and now guess that the leakage that did occur may have been from some other ancillary water associated with the clog.  Now I'm left with a modest hole in the ceiling of the room below, and happy to have ONLY a $500 bill for removing the clog.  This is expensive for relatively limited work of clog removal, and could have been much worse without my handy neighbor around!!!!  Nevertheless the work done was good quality and I have no complaints for what was done.

Please see above.