A E Nelson Plumbing

We returned home on a hot Sunday evening after a weekend away to find that we could not turn on our water valves after turning them off for the weekend.  We had A E Nelson install a water heater for us a couple of years ago, so called them Sunday evening for some help, thinking to only leave a message on the answering machine.  Instead, he answered the phone, heard our problem and offered to come first thing in the morning.  In the meantime we bought a few gallons of water to get us through the night.
I left for work Monday morning and called my husband later to find out that although Nelson Plumbing arrived on time, he in turn had to contact the City of St. Paul to turn off their water from the street.  When their valve broke, it was uncertain how long we would have to wait for our own hook-up, although the only option in that case was to hook us up through our neighbor's water to tide us over.  Happily, another City of St. Paul employee arrived and fixed their valve, allowing Nelson Plumbing to proceed with our repairs.  It took over 3 hours before Nelson Plumbing could safely and confidently replace our valves without an accidental water break.  The new ball valves are much better than the much older shut-off valves.
We have been really happy with the straightforward service and excellent dependable work offered by Nelson Plumbing.  They have earned our loyal business.

Jim had installed our last water heater 20 years ago, so when this one finally failed, we called him again. He was pleasant, prompt and competent, and the price was right.

We were in need of replacing our older water heater and looked on Angies's List as well as talked to friends for recommendations. My husband's co-worker recommended A.E. Nelson Plumbing for the great service they had received when their water heater broke recently. We checked his reputation on Angie's List and found great reports, so decided to go with him. Jim, the owner, called us back to set up a time to come by and measure for the correct water heater. He was prompt and quoted us a price comparable to those we had seen on Angie's List. He set up a time this week to install the water heater and arrived at 7:00 a.m. as discussed, and left about 9:30 as originally estimated. He installed a 40-gallon Bradford White water heater, one of the highest quality water heaters on the market. He also replaced the gas and water supply valves. His work was very high quality, on time, and within the estimated cost for work. He cleaned up after his work, and had someone come by to collect the old water heater. He described our 27-year old hot water heater as "scary". Jim was very efficient, pleasant to work with, and very competent. He has definitely gained our confidence as "our plumber". Thank you Jim!

The water heater was leaking, so I got a couple of estimates. Jim's was lower, and he had installed the last water heater we had, so I left him a message saying we'd like to schedule installation. That night, the leak turned into a flood, so I left another message. Jim called early the next morning, and I had a new heater within a couple of hours. He was efficient and pleasant, and I would definitely hire him again.

What a great experience (as good as plumbing gets, anyway). I was on borrowed time in that I bought the house about a year ago and about 3 into ownership a different plumber (installing a dishwasher on the side) told me that the main water shutoff to the house didn't work. I noted that there was a metal mis-match around the water meter and that there was a periodic leak around that area. I played the odds on this until I couldn't justify the risk of the whole thing going bad anymore. The bathtub drain was leaking onto the unfinished basement floor below. And the toilet was rocking/unsteady. All this in the one and only bathroom! Last fall I had called in McQuillan Brothers Plumbing (also of St. Paul) for the work and their bid was over $3,000! A different guy had bid about $1,000 for just the main water shutoff and copper work. I called Jim at A.E. Nelson plumbing (699-6900) and asked him to fix the rocking toilet. Then I snuck up on him with the other jobs. He estimated the total of the work to cost about $1,000.00. The new toilet (below) added a few hundred to the total cost. Money well spent. Jim knew what to do and is a man of few words. He lets his work ethic and his workmanship speak for themselves. Upon meeting him once, I felt comfortable to just leave him a key and have him let himself' in/out of the house. He coordinated with the City of St. Paul for water turnoff at the street and the copper re plumbing around the meter looks just great. Poor fella, I had him return three times on the leaking tub issue, only to find out through his suggestion and some detective work that the final leak was the result of a lack of caulking behind the hot/cold water controls (old house - separate controls) that was allowing splashed water behind the controls which would simply splash/drip onto the basement floor below. Jim never once complained that I asked him out to the house several times to "fix" something that didn't relate to his plumbing work. So I recaulked and that last bit of a problem was taken care of; check that off my list. On the toilet fix, Jim had initially diagnosed a possible hairline crack in the original toilet. He re-seated it twice for me, and then we discussed just getting a new unit. I was concerned about the wooden floor that seemed to be water-soaked. Jim alleviated my concerns about falling through the floor while on the toilet. Phew. When asked him for the inside-scoop on what type of toilet to buy, Jim recommended a Kohler toilet. He matched a price for a Kohler toilet (basic, gravity flush) I liked at home depot. He will guarantee that toilet and his work. I am extremely grateful to him for his patience, expertise and solid workmanship. Jim has got to be the best plumbing guy around town.

He came and fixed that, had to get a new part of the drain. He replaced part of a water pipe. I have had a bunch of boiler and plumber people here and this is the first one that made any sense. I think they know what they are talking about and I think I'm going to have him fix my water pressure problem after about five quotes that didn't seem right. They are prompt and come when they say they will. I trust them and thats the first plumber I've had that i do. I would recommend A C.