Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Duluth

This is an excellent company. Estimate up front, completed all projects in a timely fashion, no surprises. Would highly recommend them.

unknown

It went very good. They came at the appointed time. Included me in putting the camera down sewer. Gave me a 5% senior discount.

They came earlier than expected, and returned later in the day when the clog came right back in my sewer pipe.  Cleared the line again, and did camera work that they did not charge me for, to determine what the issue is.  Sewer pipe had collapsed and they recommended a contractor for the dig.  Their pricing is generally high, (since I did pay for the camera work last year, and they determined everything was fine at that time) but in this case I was appreciative of their expertise.

unknown

I first had them remove my broken electric water heater and install a tankless gas water heater, which went very well. Later the ancient toilet upstairs started to continuously run so I attempted the repair myself which went very badly as the old plumbing wasn't done with standard sizes and the pipe through the floor to the toilet was all one piece with no shut off valve to the toilet. Mike came and managed to fix it without opening the walls and ceiling below and installed a new toilet. He was concerned about possible leaking because we really thought he would have to open the ceiling. He told me what to watch and gave me his cell phone number, but there were no leaks! I was thrilled.

Snaked my drains. They said they could use a fiber optic camera to check my drain but when they got there, because it was a 2" drain the camera was too large.

Work was adequate, but price was astronomical compared the simple
Nature of the work performed.

See above

They fixed the clog, said it was clay that came in through a hole in the old trap (elbow). They said the trap should be removed and gave me a quote of $ 1,100.00 to $ 3,000.00. I declined. Less than 9 months later I had the blockage again and called them to fix it and if they would honor their quote. Their reply was that it would cost me $ 75.00 to get a quote plus the actual work to unclog the line. I disagreed with the $ 75.00 charge as they had already quoted me, I got upset and decided to go elsewhere. The other company did the work and allowed me to dig the hole in my basement for acess to the pipe. The total cost was $ 400.00 and the trap did not have a whole in it as stated by Ben Franklin. I saved at least $1000.00 and at least have a new pipe to the existing sewer line. Now I can have it inspected for an I and I assessment by the city. Would never call this company again.

If you want the work done correctly, do it yourself!

It was actually a big mess but they really helped my sanity. For us the process was a night mare. They are a little high in price.

very professional and friendly...spent time to analyze the situation and advise options.

There was some miscommunication over the phone in regards to the price. I thought the price that was given over the phone would be the charge but when he showed up and we started talking he informed me that there was another charge on top of the one given over the phone. I was hesitant to continue on with services only because of my financial situation currently. He let me know there was a coupon on line that would waive the $79 fee so I went ahead and let him complete the work. Tom did an excellent job. He was here on time, took his shoes off, clear about the price, cleaned up, went over what could be wrong and answered any questions that I had. We started talking about my basement issues that I have and he went down to look at my cleanout and told me about the service that they provide. I will definitely use this company again.

Wonderful, it was the best service we have had for any work on our home. They were very thourough, careful and honest. I would recommend this company for any plumbing needs!

First contact person on the phone when I described the situation did inflate the urgency of having the work done. May have been part of my explanation but he did make me feel like it needed to be done NOW.

Service person was on time explained things clearly and did not elevate the need to have work done. In fact he really didn't make me feel like anything needed to be done. I explained what I though he offered solutions and a flat rate price.

I think the price was a little high but I have nothing to compar it to. Also if you are at all handy when you look at the work afterwards you always feel you could have done if for less. At some point you have to pay for the expertise they bring to the table.

In the end I would use them again, but maybe haggle the price a little harder.

I called at about 7am to make an appointment. I got through right away not even a minute wait. Very nice and helpful person when I asked if they carry toilets to replace one I was advised that they do. I made an appointment for the same day for 11 am- 2pm. I was advised that they would call before coming to make sure someone would be there. I received a call at 11:00 am and he was there a few minutes later.

I explained what was happening and that I was looking at getting the toilet replaced. I looked at the different toilet options he had. The key factor was that it had to be 17” off the floor, which he had. When he removed the tank we were able to look down and see that the vent hole that connected to the tank had cracks around the porcelain ring where the tank connected. Then when the rest of the toilet was removed I was relieved the there was no leakage and everything was ok. So in the end due to the cracks air leaked and there wasn’t a tight vacuum to keep the water level in the bowl causing it to slowly leak down the drain.

When the new Gerber toilet was installed we could tell right away that when flushing the toilet it was working better that the Briggs. There was more oomph and that it took about 3-4 seconds less time from flush to refill. In addition the Gerber toilet tank is simpler than the Briggs tank which had a tank in the tank that had subdivisions in it and a lot of extra moving parts. Which had to be replace once 4 years ago.

I had some issues with my water heater. It was under warranty and the part was air mailed to me. The service man was prompt polite and also very informative. He showed us how to use the new controls and explained about why the part I had to replace was broken. He also informed me that there was a recall on the control which wasn't working. Very good! I had

Overall this was easier than I expected. Like I said, we are really cautious about repairs to this house and I am 100% satisfied with this plumber's work. Oh yeah, the guy even pointed out an area where pipes could possibly freeze and sure enough when we had the strech of below zero days, they did freeze up one night and I knew exactly where to thaw them.

They didn't actually replace the sewer lateral. It was another company that they had actually put out of business. This company came to the rescue any time I needed a camera or a second opinion. They showed up on a matter of minutes. They were amazing. They were able to spot where any issues were in the sewer lateral. They are a little more expensive, but you absolutely get what you pay for. They quoted us for a sewer lateral, and it was $7000, including excavating and everything. My husband thought it would be better to go with a cheaper company, and this company put that cheaper company out of business, which says a lot. They are very professional and good to their customers.

Office staff was polite, friendly, and very helpful when I called. Mike was able to come out very quickly, and was professional, friendly, and did the job right, and did it quickly. He even cleaned up after himself. I was extremely impressed and will definitely use him again next time I need a plumber!