FLADER Plumbing & Heating Co.

"We had a terrible experience with this company as tenants. Our disposal unit broke and flooded the kitchen on a Sunday. We contacted them on our landlord's recommendation, paying extra for emergency service. However, their technician couldn't fix it until the next morning. They replaced the unit but took away the old one without our request. When our landlord refused to pay, we asked for a letter stating that the replacement was necessary per their technician's assessment. We also requested the return of the old disposal to leave for our landlord at the end of our lease. They refused both reasonable requests. I advise staying away from this company at all costs.

Of the several plumbing contractors that looked at my proposed work, Flader provided the most complete and most professional written estimate. They were asked to remove a soaking tub and tile surround, replace it with a shower, install safety bars and a comfort-height toilet, and install a hot water dispenser in the kitchen. They accommodated a request for custom tile and a special faucet. In the process of completing the work, they fixed problems they encountered, cleared a drain, and changed valves. The plumbers showed up on time, were very careful, and the bath and kitchen were always left clean and functional. There were no leaks.

Went very well. Quick, clean installation. No issues.

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I called to have someone come and unclog my tub drain, and informed them I was a member of Angies List. The plumber came and partially unclogged a tub drain.  He rodded the drain and was able to partially unclogged it. He said the spring broke and was stuck down in the pipe. The way he talked I though it was s small spring.  He said to retrieve the spring the walls would have to be opened up 6-8 hours worth of work to remove the spring. He was at my house for less than 45 minutes and I was charged $256. Later on my roommate took a shower and the tub was still backing up. I called another plumber because I was not happy with the service and to see if the estimate was correct on opening up the walls to retrieve the spring.  This plumber tried retrieving the spring and was able to do so in less than 20 minutes with a wire hanger!  he also pulled up a huge amount of hair to unclogged the drain. This plumber ordered the replacement part and my tub has been working fine ever since.
I emailed Mr. Flader to complain and asked for a refund. I let them know that I was a member of Angies List in my email. Mr. Flader called me back and he was very angry with me. I tried discussing the issue with him and he was very defensive and not at all nice. He didn;t seem to care at all about my bad experience and in good faith I can't recommend their services.

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They did an excellent job. Their quote was average with other companies. They weren't the cheapest, but they weren't the most expensive. They seemed neat and did the job well. I have no complaints.

I think they are very reliable. I remember being shocked at the price. They are my regular plumber.

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It went well until I went to pay for this service. Here are my criticisms of Flader's greed and overcharging. They must not want repeat business. I know we are done with them. We have used them since 1984. Not only will they lose us as customers, I will tell all my neighbors, friends, etc. to avoid them like the plague. They must not want repeat business! 1.) I have no objection, of course, for paying for the new filter, although Flader charges 102.30 for it and it's available on the Aqua Pure Solutions site for 99.00. I am assuming, Flader gets the filters at a price lower than retail. 2.) I have no objection paying for the labor, although $84.50 for 25 minutes seems pricey. 3.) I OBJECT STRONGLY to an 89.00 service charge for a service call suggested by Flader. They knew why they were coming. I think the $84.50 for labor should be more than sufficient for this type of service. GREED!!! GREED!!! GREED!!! 4.) Their office is a little more than a mile from my house, so I find the fuel surcharge of $4.00 unnecessary. GREED!!! GREED!!! GREED!!! 5.) $279.80 to change a water filter is patently absurd. GREED!!! GREED!!! GREED!!! P.S. When we had estimates for flood control, Flader was also $2000-3000 higher than Parks Flood Control who eventually did the work Over the 25 years we have used Flader, they have consistently gotten higher and higher. We can no longer afford their excessive costs.

They had two people to do the job, but they did everything very well. The only minor thing i had a complaint about was i thought it was a little expensive.

Arrived at 2:34pm and promptly got to work. After working for about 20 minutes, Kevin stopped to explain the problem to us. Talked for about 15 minutes. Kevin then tried rodding again, but he still wasn't able to make progress. He then cleaned up (not very thoroughly) and talked to us about the problem, including next steps, until 3:50pm. We were then given the shocking bill. On the bill was a sticker listing the Cook County labor rate -- $138 for the first 1/2 hour and $40.25 for each additional 1/4 hour. From 2:34 to 3:50 is exactly ONE MINUTE into the next 1/4 hour, making the total bill $324!!! Of the hour and a half we were charged for, less than half was actually spent trying to fix the problem. (More than half the time was spent talking about the situation.) When we originally called Flader Plumbing, we had a very slow draining tub -- when they left, we had a non-functioning drain. (It took more than a day for two inches of water to drain.) A day or so later, we called Mr. Flader to question the $324 charges. We were told this was union rates and that there was nothing the company could do. No apology was ever given for charging us this much money for making the situation worse.

The pipe burst in the sprinkler system. They fixed it. They worked on the boiler and radiators. They were attentive, excellent, thorough and courteous. They did not leave a mess. Their prices were reasonable. I did not have to get the same job done twice. They did an excellent job.

They came back twice, once to fix the backup and the second time to diagnose the issue.

We have used them for years for this kind of work. We will continue using them. They are excellent. I would recommend them to other people.

Pretty straight forward. Came in, did the job, and left. On time, overall pleasant to work with. Nothing stellar. Nothing that stood out in a negative way (except perhaps the smell of smoke on the plumber). Seemed a bit pricey compared to other plumbing services, even the $12 fuel charge was strange given that we are a 1/2 mile from the business. Of the 533.42 total fee, 444 dollars was labor. Only about 90$ was parts. We will use Flader again if we have to in a pinch, but for future non-emergency issues, we'll seek estimates again from others.

Everything went fine. They are very professional, polite, and prompt. They also had a very fair estimate. He had some problems because he was working in a tight space, but he stuck with it and didn't charge me for any extra time.

TERRIBLE! Poor service and no work. Apparently the work was completed to their satisfaction, which if I had asked them to come and tell me why they couldn't or wouldn't connect the sink or tub. The person who came was impossible to talk to, as he just kept telling me why he couldn't do the work, without listening to me as I tried to ask about alternate approaches. He obviously had no interest in doing anything for me. Which is why I was shocked to get a bill later for the "first half hour" charge, which was an unreasonable $145. Especially considering the fact that I never even heard from them again about doing the work. I called them because I needed my sink connected, that day. Two weeks or more went by before I called someone else, who came a day or so later, and did the work then and there. After receiving a second notice for the bill, I called Bill Flader, who was less than friendly, and essentially called me a liar for saying that I had called when I got the first bill. DO NOTUSE

Major problem with faulty materials. The company only partially refunded costs of returned materials (fabricated shower walls) after two months of unpleasant calls and, finally, indication that state agencies would be asked to intervene to resolve dispute.

The radiators were in the garage and they were very heavy so it took a couple people to move them. They were great about returning my calls and arrived right on schedule. They did the job as promised and came in on budget.

Bill Flader personally came over and gave us an estimate on the work that had needed to be "fixed." Very nice man. After accepting the bid, they came over on time and after chatting for a while, began the work. I had left for the day and when I came home, the work was finished and you could barely tell they had been there. They cleaned up after themselves and there weren't any traces of concrete they had poured, or anything. Clearly, Flader Plumbing has hired a few guys that know what they are doing!

Work was fine, but no written estimate was given in advance so total price came as a shock. The hourly rate was consistent with the rate sheet shown to us, but it was only shown to us on request after the work was completed.

The old plug was gone and new fitting was installed after the pip was re-threaded.

I had several decisions (size, efficiency, location) to make when the water heater in a rental building failed. After reading what Consumer Reports had to say, I started calling around. The two plumbers I had used in the past had about the same price on the same model and manufacturer. Sears was less money but required me to go get the building permit (how long would that have taken while I was busy dealing with a wet basement???) and there was no one to discuss choices with, just an operator who was taking heater orders today and might be taking drapery orders tomorrow. I thought that I needed a bigger, more efficient heater and Bill Flader spent time with me on the phone discussing my options so that I could make an intelligent decision. The tank was delivered an hour later. The workmen were quick and efficient. They didn't make much of a mess and cleaned up what they did. Also, they are licensed and union, which is important to me.