BOTTAZZI PLUMBING & GAS FITTING

If they weren't good, I would not hire them. After all these years.

The first plumber told me they only installed gas hwh and that I should call an hvac company. Of course, the first company probably didn’t want to do such a small job because the hvac company told me rather tersely that it was a plumbing job. I went to the list and saw that a plumber we used for 20 years was there, Bottazzi plumbing. I called about 11 am and by 1:30 pm the plumber was in my home and within twenty minutes diagnosed the thermocoupler and replaced it. Heavenly, after two days of frustration, we had hot water again. I knew I should have called them first, however I wanted to try someone new on the list. I should have known better. While they aren’t the cheapest company, the old adage-you get what you pay for - certainly applied. We first used Steve over twenty years ago and he and his crew are as reliable and customer friendly as they were the first time we used them. As I said they aren’t bargain central nor do they gouge you either. They stand by their work and their time estimates are right on the money which helps with two working parents. They know which products to recommend as far as the availability of parts- while a faucet may look beautiful I would have been waiting weeks for parts. If you want reliable, neat, professional and very knowledgeable contact Steve at Bottazzi plumbing. One of his staff, Frank, is our personal favorite as he is quick, bright and is not bothered by pets. We have three dogs who always think they are the apprentices of any tradespeople and even though I count them as family , a chubby English bulldog and a 110 lb drooling bullmastiff can be annoying when trying to focus. Frank never gets bothered and just goes with the flow. By now I have learned to be polite and lock them in the crates as barking is far less annoying. Next week I need a toilet installed and I won’t bother contacting anyone but Bottazzi plumbing.

We were very lucky to be able to have a plumber come out for same day on a Monday. When I first called I spoke with Steve, who was extremely friendly, professional and patient with my questions. He was able to give an estimate over the phone too. Nick came out to do the service and was here within a couple hours of my phone call. Because of how the prior owners of the house had the basement set up, the tank needed to be turned around so it was a bigger job than expected. Steve came out and helped Nick with this added job. The whole process took less than 4 hours and the estimate was right on, plus the unforeseen expense of turning the tank around (which they charged only for the extra hour of service, no parts). We will definitely use Bottazzi in the future.

On a weekend, inspired by a hefty water bill I was determined to DIY all the little leaks. Starting with the bathroom sink and ending with the toilet, I headed to the local hardware chain to get the parts I needed. So the first important lesson is the store sells parts, not skills. It?s an older two family home, and my tinkering resulted in, a drip turned into a trickle and trickle to a stream.  The local plumber I?ve counted on for over 20 years developed amnesia [bye bye Dave] and for the first time, I turned to Angie?s List.

I choose Bottazzi Plumbing because of ?A? rating, and they were in the neighborhood, and I wasn?t disappointed. Steve answered the phone on a Sunday [my hero], listened to my story and had me follow up with an email. He called the next day as promised and had an associate at my door by noon. My adventure caused more damage than I was aware of but Frank corrected all my errors, and the pricing [$383 with tax] was competitive given the complexity of the work. Among other things, I broke the water shut off to the toilet that was a pain to repair due to its location.  

As a single female customer, I felt respected, and Frank explained all aspects of the repair using a language I could understand. My bathroom is now Zen and not a water torture chamber, and I anticipate savings on my water bill. Planning a refi to do kitchen & bathroom upgrades, I see more business in our future; Thank you Bottazzi Plumbing, Thank you Angie?s List!

Nick came at 8 AM and started to work. All went well. I could not find the plastic caps for the toilet bolts - fortunately he had some in his supplies.  After assembling everything, he tested the sink and toilet to make sure there was no leaks. For the sink, he used plastic pipe to make a drain. For the toilet, he had to attach the bowl to the tank.  He had to drill into our new tile to be able to attach the toilet to the floor. All went well. Finally, the kitchen faucet moved. I had tried to tighten it , but failed. Nick had a special tool to use to tighten the faucet. Now it does not move.

The initial call was pleasant. The workman tried to see if the old unit cold be repaired instead of being replaced but it could not.
The work was done quickly and professionally.

1.Young lady who took the call was very professional and courteous and sent the plumber a few minutes earlier than their usual first appointment to accomodate my schedule.
2. The plumber Nick was on time. Went about his job in a very thorough and professional way. Did an excellent job. Nick was pleasure to work with.

It went very well. Before we had the work done, Steve and I had many e-mail messages back and forth, I asked many questions, and Steve was always prompt and thorough in replying. When I asked about purchasing some items myself to possibly save money, he was willing to go with this -- even though I decided not to. When we finally had the work done, the workman was on time and friendly. My wife needed to schedule a shower at a certain time that day, and he arranged the work so the hot water would be available then. He even enlarged the hole in the wooden cover of the sump hole so it would fit around the new pumps. After the work, I requested a formal document indicating the date of installation and what was installed (for warranty purposes), and Steve sent it to me.

Told me they were going to call 10 minutes before arriving and did not, but did come on time. Seem to have performed work competently. Stayed one hour. When I called to book the job I also requested pricing. I was told $115 for the first hour, $90 for every additional hour. When presented with the bill for one hour work, it was $196.11. I told the assistant I was confused by the difference in cost, and he offered to have the office send out a bill and I could pay it then. I called the office and behold! Pricing had changed. It was now $115 per hour plus $90 for any additional part of an hour. But still, they had only been there one hour. Plumber said no, the additional cost was for the assistant. When I told him I was quoted $115 for an hour, he started shouting at me (or in his words using a very loud voice). He then told me I hadn't been clear with what I wanted. I showed him that I had written down exactly what the dishwasher installer told me to say and stated that I had read those exact words to the woman in the office in order to get a quote. More loud voices on his part. In sum, I was given 3 different reasons for why cost was more than quoted; no one could agree on one story. Extremely unpleasant, rude, offensive. I was quoted $115 for one hour's work and was charged $196.11 for one hour's work. I don't like price changes after confirming price and AFTER work has been done. And I really don't like being shouted at.

I have known Mr. Bottazzi for 18 years and he has done very good work for me. He has done all kinds of plumbing work for me. I had contracted him to do complete refurbishing of a master bathroom and a guest bathroom. The cost was different for the various things that he did. He replaced everything that was torn and broken. The price incurred varied depending upon the kind of work he did. He had also contracted a guy to do the mudding. My bathrooms look great now. He was really willing to work with me about the kind of price. If there is any emergency work, he does it right away. I think he is quite reasonable. When I spoke to him about the guest bathroom, I clearly told him to get the work done only if it would be within the price that I specified. He worked with me to make sure, that it happened the same way I wanted it to be. It was a really good deal which included tiling, plumbing and everything else. It was also within the price that I had asked for. He is very professional and has good workers. You can contact him and talk to him any time, as he is always available, which is something very good and important. He is a good listener and does not have a bad sense of humor. He is really good and I trust him a lot.