James A Wheat & Sons Inc

As stated above, I am very satisfied with the work performed by James A. Wheat and Sons, Inc. for the service and repair of my heat pump. The service technician was thorough and did not mind spending time explaining various things to me. I have recommended this company to several other people I know already.

While Wheat and Sons were really responsive and punctual, their prices are completely unreasonable. The work completed, as compared to our standard plumber, did not warrant a $600 invoice. This is especially true since we needed to call them back only a few days later. Their pricing structure is based on the services they provide, not the time invested (and this could work for you or against you).

Everything seemed on track and in order in advance of the installation, which we squeezed in at the end of June to take advantage of some good financing options available. I was back and forth on whether to do a 3 unit or 4 unit, at first settled on the former. At that point I also worked out a $500 discount off the quoted price with my salesperson. However, when I ended up going back to the 4 unit option and going under contract, the discount was suddenly not fiscally possible. To my salesperson's credit, he put me on hold and discussed the issue with one of the owners (for me to hear) who said they couldn't do it. While the final price was about $1.5K better than another estimate, I still felt a little led on. Back to the actual install, we arranged to stay with a friend since our AC was going to be down during these two 100+ days. I greeted the techs when they arrived at a bright and early 10am on Thursday to start the job, which the company estimated would take 16 hours to complete. I made sure they had what the needed and departed for work, planning to return after work on Fri to do a final inspection and complete the usual paperwork. I was a little suspicious when the techs called me at 230 to tell me they were departing for the day, but figured they knew what they were doing. So Friday afternoon rolls around I am told that they have hit some snags and they are diligently working to resolve them. Hour after hour ticks by, us holed up at our friend's place still, with irregular updates from the manager on call. Apparently the guys had to work until almost midnight to get the system functioning. This was also the night of the crazy Derecho storm, which worried me even more. But around 11pm the supervisor SMS'd me and told me they were done. With our infant already sleeping, we planned to return the next morning. I entered our condo to cool air, but that was about where the satisfaction ended. Of the four units installed on the walls, only one was hung correctly. The other three had noticeable gaps between them and the wall, which turned out to be a sign of being improperly attached. The one in our nursery turned out to only have one of four corners securely attached to the wall. The condensate hose had disconnected on the one in my kitchen, so I was greeted with a puddle on the floor. Then I went outside to see the status of the duct work and instantly became irate. It was a disaster. In addition to the blood on my floor leading from the back door into the condo (its a two level ground level unit with a yard that runs along it) the hoses were a complete mess. The condensate discharges were running from the wall, connected to nothing. There was trash and cigarette butts. There was brick dust everywhere. The techs made enormous holes to run the condensate and coolant lines through the wall and didn't bother to fill them in, meaning I could see into my condo through the holes (all four of them). I have pictures of all these issues, but unfortunately there is no way to show those here. The company was responsive and dispatched the on call supervisor to my condo immediately. He arrived within a few hours and embarrassingly admitted that the scene was a disaster. He spent almost 6 hours, including a trip to HD to buy quickcrete to repair the walls, rehanging all of the units properly and generally cleaning up their mess. Per his notes: FOUND FIRST DAKIN IN KITCHEN DIPPING WATER,TOOK APART FROM MOUNTING BRACKET AND FOUND DRAIN LINE HAD SEPERATED IN CAVITY AND WAS DRAINING BACK INTO HOME, UNIT IS MOUNTED INCORRECTLY ON BRACKET. RE AFFIXED DRAIN AND MOUNTING BRACKET TO WALL CORRECTLY @ BOTTOM UNIT IS NOW FLUSH @ BOTTOM WITH THE NORMAL GAP INCREASE @ TOP. 1ST UNIT IS NOW WORKING AND NOT DRAINING INSIDE HOME .PHOTOCATALITIC CELLS (FILTERS THAT COME WITH ALL FOUR UNITS ARE MISSING AND NEED REPLACED. 2ND UNIT (ABOVE TV) IN LIVING ROOM WAS IMPROPERLY MOUNTED AT BOTTOM ALSO, WHILE ADDRESSING FOUND WALL BRACKET IS HUNG IN DRYWALL WITH 5/16 HEX HEAD SHEET METAL SCREWS AND NEEDS TO BE MOUNTED WITH PROPPER ANCHORS. THIS COULD BE DONE BY LEAVING BRACKET UP AND TIPPING UNIT OFF OF BRACKET DRIVING SCREWS THRU ALTERNATE POSITIONS PROVIDED IN BRACKET.INSURED THAT THIS UNIT IS DRAINING CORRECTLY AND RE AFFIXED PROPERLY TO MOUNT. 3RD UNIT (NURSERY) FOUND UNIT COMPLETLY OFF AT TOP AND ONLY SUPPORTED BY LINESETS AND DRAIN, REAFFIXED UNIT CORRECTLY TO BRACKET, ONCE AGAIN UNIT IS MOUNTED WITH SHEET SCREWS AGAIN AND NEEDS TO BE FURTHER ANCHORED CORRECTLY. OTHER THAN THIS THE NURSERY UNIT IS DONE EXCEPT FOR CONDENSATE PUMP BUT THAT IS THE SAME WITH ALL FOUR UNITS. 4 UNIT IN (BED ROOM) FOUND UNIT MOUNTED IN BRACKETT CORRECTLY HOWEVER INSULATED DRAIN THAT CAME WITH IS MISSING, AND POLYVYNAL IS USED UNINSULATED AND LOSSLY CONNECTED NEEDS TO BE CHANGED BACK, DID NOT FIND THIS UNITS OR PHOTO CELLS ON SITEBRACKET IS AFFIXED WITH SHEET SCREWS ONCE AGAIN AND NOT EVEN ON THE EASILY FOUND METAL STUDS IN WALL. PLAN FOR ALL FOUR UNITS IS ONE MAN TO HOLD FROM SIX FT LADDER AND UNMOUNT THEN SWING THE NON- LINESET SIDE AWAY FROM WALL SO AS NOT TO REMOVE LINESET OR DRAIN, THEN WHILE IN THIS POSITION OTHER MAN WILL DRIVE PROPER ANCHORS THRU CURRENT MOUNTING POSITION, SINCE THEY ARE LEVEL AND CAN USED IN CURRENT PLACES IN ALL BUT BEDROOM BRACKET NEED NOT BE REMOVED.THE BEDROOM BRACKET NEEDS TO BE SHIFTED DOWN A 1/2" TO COVER LINE AND DRAIN HOLEIN DRYWALL THAT EXTENDS BEYOND BOTTOM OF UNITS COVER.DRYWALL AT BOTTOM OF BEDROOM UNIT IS A LITTLE EXPOSED AND YOU CAN SEE DAYLIGHT THRU. I AM CONCRETING EXTERIOR HOLES HOWEVER, BEDROOM DRAIN NEEDS TO BE CHANGED BACK TO ORIGIONAL ( IT IS INSULATED FOR A REASON) SO THE PATCH-CRETE IS LESS SECUREAROUND THIS HOLE AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE EASILY REMOVED WITH A HAMMER. I PICKED UP ALL DEBRISE LEFT BEHIND, AND WASHED FLAGSTONE AND RED WALLS WITH CUSTOMERS HOSE.WHILE ON SITE INSTALLERS NEED TO CLIP ALL ZIP TIES. NO OTHER IMMEDIATE ISSUES AT THIS TIME. That was far more issues that I expected from a well reviewed company on AL. In the end, the ended up knocking the $500 off of my contract price as an apology and to compensate me for having to take a half day on Monday for them to actually finish the job (my choice to supervise). Based on other reviews, I can only speculate that this is a case of techs installing a product with which they were unfamiliar. The ductless system itself is wonderful, but I also know that they are far less frequently installed than traditional heat pumps. That said, for a company that spoke so highly of the product, I expected them to send competent and clean techs to do the job in a professional manner.

James A Wheat's technician used a snake to locate the clog and to remove it. He kept testing for clogs at successive depths until he was sure there were no obstructions. He described what he was doing and why, what he discovered and how he fixed the problem, then tested by running water for more than 10 minutes to prove the drain was clear. For the "deal" all sinks and toilets were tested and the water heater was inspected and flushed. The plumber found a loose toilet faucet but no other problem. He flushed the hot water heater which should prevent a break-down and also improve the efficiency of the unit. The cost of unclogging the drain was extra and apart from the inspection and water heater flush. The cost was reasonable and the technician's demeanor as well as the office staff's demeanor was professional, responsive and fast.

Several weeks ago, I called to have my gas fireplace serviced because I heard rain & animals inside. I was impressed that they suggested to have a roof inspection before coming out. This morning, I had a roof company inspect & all was tightly sealed. I then called James A. Wheat --and to my surprise-- was told they were in my area & would arrive in 20 minutes! Two technicians arrived and inspected inside as well as on the roof & found nothing. I was impressed with the company's honesty. I paid the $100 for the service call and asked if I could purchase a maintenance agreement. I paid $135 for the maintenance agreement. I've lived in my home for 11 years and never had anyone inspect the gas fireplace. I was impressed that James A. Wheat was honest with today's work and look forward to my upcoming Oct. cleaning & inspection.

They did a good job. They were on time, and overall I was very satisfied with their service.

Our toilets were slow at flushing and we had a clog in our guest bath that backed water up into the stand-up shower next to that toilet. The clog resolved itself, but very slowly; however, we knew we needed a plumber to prevent this from happening again, especially if we had guests staying with us. After the first visit to assess the problems, we originally planned to do both a video inspection and snake (ROTO ROOTER) of our plumbing from the second floor master bathroom, but I opted for only the snake since our master bath and guest bath shared the same plumbing lines, and the costs for both snake and video would have put me past the 1K dollar mark. My situation may have also been better than most other customers since our master bath was under renovation and the toilet was not yet installed, so it gave the plumbers easy access to our main sewer lines. They were able to remove the clog from the first run, as we noticed all the rest of toilets flushed way more thoroughly and quickly than before. Overall, the guys were very professional and they give you lots of options and what the costs are upfront, so that you will not be surprised. They unclogged the lines. My guess is that the lines had an accumulation of toilet ring wax from 30 plus years. We replaced every ring when we first moved here this past October (2011) and all three needed replacing. One ring was completely gone.

Overall, the job was completed too my satisfaction!

I am completely satisfied with my experience in using James A. Wheat & Sons to replace my hot water heater. The technician was very polite, neat and efficient. He was also friendly and took the time to explain everything carefully. The people with whom I dealt at the home office to set up the appointment, etc. were also very professional. I will make every effort to recommend this company to others!

Our kitchen sink was backing-up into the bathroom sink on the lower level. Service was prompt and efficient. Told me what was wrong and provided an estimate to clear the drain--had to snake a long distance. Discovered that the faucet in the laundry room sink was leaking behind the cabinets. Provided an estimate to replace the faucet and completed that work as well. Cleaned up the areas. I would not hesitate to use their services again.

They are good but they are expensive. I didn't have any problems with their work and they are very reliable. They were clean and done their job.

Jon of Wheat and Sons came to our home to fix what turned out to be a blockage in the sewer line between our house and the street. We had requested the service earlier the same day. He came on time, diagnosed the problem promptly after we explained what we had seen, and fixed the problem using equipment he had brought in his truck. He provided an estimate before he and his associate did the work, and completed the task in a reasonable time. He showed us how to tell the whole problem had been fixed. Additional services we could choose later were outlined, but no pressure tactics were applied to purchase them. I could not have been more satisfied with the whole experience and specifically with Jon as the service person. This is overall an EXCELLENT (exceeds expectation) review, and I would definitely use this company and Jon again.

I have been using them for about two and a half years.

Renewed my Eagle Agreement because I had a $100 off coupon. I appreciate that they honored the coupon, even though they don't issue them anymore, but I probably would not have renewed for the full amount had I not had the coupon. Scheduling was easy and the technician (Kevin?) showed up within the window to perform the spring service checkup. Nothing major was found wrong and he conducted a cleaning of the compressor. He mentioned something having to do with Pepco providing a credit for this cleaning but I didn't understand what he was saying or meant. I appreciate that he did his best to keep the area around the furnace and thermostat clean with all of his trips in and out. The check up did seem to take a long time; hopefully that meant he was thorough.

The gas fireplace in our home was not working. We called for service and was told it would be a $100 charge for the estimate. That was fine and we set up the appt. I was told the technician would be there between 8 and 12 noon. At 12 noon I called the office and they told me he would arrive by 2pm. He finally arrived at 4 pm, took a look at the unit without even removing the glass and told me it was rusted and would need to be replaced for a price of $1400. He was in and out in less than 20 minutes. I decided to get a second opinion because the unit was only 9 years old. Was told by the second technician that there was nothing wrong with the unit, the thermopile and wall switch wires were disconnected. I think any experienced technician should have been able to determine the wires were disconnected. Very dissatisfied with the whole experience. However, when calling the office to let them know what the second company found, they did refund my $100.00 estimate charge which is why I gave them an overall score of D and not F. However, would not recommend them for gas fireplace repair.

The technicians were very helpful and got the job done.

It was pretty good. They were very professional.

They were top-notch. We solicited estimates from 3 companies... they were the only ones who were professional. Estimate came back quickly and broken out into three sections as we had asked. The crew arrived as scheduled, completed the work, and tested the system in one day. There was a follow-up issue, and they returned twice to fix it--no charge. We will be replacing our boiler this fall and we'll definitely use Wheat.

The person who performed the work seemed to know generally about gas lines but kept making decisions on his own about how things should be done (e.g. He spray painted my off-white historic firebrick in my fireplace black without asking, for no reason). He couldn't figure out how to program the remote for the stove (I did it myself in 5 minutes). He installed it with loose metal visibly hanging down. Further, the scheduler scheduled a time to come redo some of it, no one came or called. He said he had no recollection of scheduling anything. It was one of the worst experiences I have ever had with a contractor. By the end, I just wanted them out of my house & was willing to eat the costs to have a more professional firm do the work.

Plumber arrived and donned shoe covers to protect floors. He explained what he was doing and what he was finding as he performed the work. In addition, he was very good at providing additional pointers on how to maintain plumbing into the future. He used drop clothes to protect kitchen cabinet surfaces and the floor as he unpacked the new garbage disposal and placed the removed unit to the side prior to removal from work site. A very good experience and I would recommend them for service to any of my friends. May not be the least expensive, but the professionalism and efficiency in getting the work done was well worth it. No hassles.

They did a good job with the service. I thought the price was fair. They were here on time.

They were great. The overall experience was excellent. I have them on speed dial.

They were fair. I got value for the money that I spent.

When we purchased our condo in 2008 we quickly realized that the heat pump and air handler were not sufficient to heat the home. We were getting large electricity bills and the house was still cold (Aux heat is a killer). We had a home warranty for the first year and the person they sent was pathetic. He replaced the compressor and didn't suggest any other improvements. After a while the compressor blew again. I called James A Wheat and the first thing that got my attention was their professional approach and meticulous note taking and testing. They found out that the air handler I had was not good enough for the home and this was the reason my compressor kept blowing. I had an 14.5 SEER Rating Amana system installed for around $5500. I think it was a little expensive but I am pleased with the results. My electricity bills are down 25% and my house is warm too. Overall very happy with the service and quality of work. They may be a little bit more expensive than other contractors but you get what you pay for.

They spent a couple of hours and charged $100 to investigate. They told us that the parts that we needed were no longer being produced. They said that they could send it out to someone who could probably repair it and it would cost us $2000 or $3000 or I could get a new fireplace for $68000. They gave us the part number. It turned out that we found the part number online for $251. We live in a self-managed community so we never dealt with them directly. They were very nice. They could have done their homework well enough and checked the part online. It took a few times to get through to them. They were on time. I wouldn't use them in the future.