Zell Plumbing & Heating

Went well - quick response, only performed work that was necessary. Up front about costs.

He was very honest and dependable. I had just remodeled my kitchen, and two months later I came home from work to find that there was a leak from the upstairs bathroom. I had to rip the kitchen apart again. The dining room ceiling had to be completely replaced. The plumber came out after they had already closed for the day. He could have charged me a huge amount of money for it, but he ended up just harging half of what the original estimate was. He could not have been better with the whole thing. He was very neat. He is one of the people I would not mind giving a key to while I was at work.

A very good experience from talking to Amanda on the phone to Scott replacing the water heater. Both were very professional, knowledgable, and patient in addressing all of my questions/concerns. Their price was a little higher than a competitor, but they matched it and were on site so they got the business. I would definitely recommend and use this company in the future!

Zell accommodated my schedule when I set up the initial appointment and again when I had to reschedule. Les arrived on time, worked quickly and did good work. He answered my questions and explained my options. We have already hired him again for some additional work.

Les Zell called to say that he could arrive earlier than scheduled. I then called the water company ( just before 11:00) to have the water shut off. The water technician arrived shortly after Les did but had difficulty shutting the water off. LZ said that Zell's diagnostic fee was $179 but would be applied to the job costing $975. (The word "estimate" was written on the form but I was told that it was a flat fee.) He asked for $149 up front and left to go to another job. Within minutes, the water was shut off and I called to let him know. He came back after finishing at the other job. There were two runs for parts. Everything appeared to be going smoothly other than some waiting for the technician to succeed in shutting the water off. The work was completed and inspected before 3:00. A few days later, I called to ask for an explanation of how the charge was figured. LZ called me back and said that he had given me a break, that the charge should have been $1200, that the job was more complicated than expected, and that there was $137 in parts. He said that I had questioned their work once in the past, and they would take me off their "list." He said that the only reason they even came was that one of my neighbors was a good customer of theirs and they liked to accommodate good customers. He really thought I shouldn't call them again. Stunned, I agreed with that and thanked him for the explanation. (What had happened in the past was that a very nice rep of Zell had recommended and installed a new toilet in my bathroom. However, there was a 4 1/2 -inch gap between the wall and the tank, and only 15 inches of space between the front of the bowl and the sink cabinet, neither of which had been a problem with the old toilet. I called to question it, and Les came out and graciously said that if I could find a more suitable toilet he would put it in for free. I did find one that would reduce the gap behind the tank but would probably not change the tight space in front, and I decided not to ask Zell to go to anymore trouble. Instead, I wrote them a thank you note for their willlingness to respond to my concerns and said that I would recommend them to others. Needless to say, having been "fired" by them, I have now changed my mind.)

I tried to install the outlet box myself over a weekend and failed. That left me without any water as I had to shut it off to do the job. I called Zell Monday morning and they sent someone out right away that morning. Just a great experience overall. The next time I have a need for plumbing help I will definitely use Zell Plumbing.

I noticed that our toilet wasn't working the day we were to have overnight guests arrive. I called Zell Plumbing from work and the office coordinator arranged for a plumber to meet me at the house in 15 minutes. He arrived on time, was very neat, explained the problem and options to fix and prevent future problems. He worked very quickly which allowed me to get back to work in less than an hour. He offered a discount on the bill because we were repeat customers. This was our 3rd experience with Zell and we would use them again.

Broken We bought new one, he installed works great. Best plumber ever

I called them to ask about the issue and the secretary wanted to know what my problem was. She would not let me speak to the owner. When I hung up with her, my check was cashed. She then called me back and said that I could not get my money back.

Called on Monday. Appt. set for Tuesday. Arrived on time. Assessed the problem, did the work, cleaned up and left. Very pleasant individual, polite and informative.

Les was fantastic - very thorough quote and walked me through options for repairs and updating of a small bath. Scheduled a week in advance and he worked really quickly. His work has been great - no problems two months later. Would thoroughly recommend Zell.

The man they sent out was dedicated and well-qualified, but he couldn't deal successfully with the malfunctioning shower. However, it wasn't through lack of trying or expertise. He did do his very best, but we didn't solve the problem. I think it was more of a defect in the shower installation. He mentioned that I could shop somewhere for a replacement disposal, and he would replace it; he did so, and the problem was fixed. I would call them again, without any question.

We were absolutely thrilled with the service we received from Zell Plumbing, specifically Les. As my husband told him, we now found our new plumber! Les was very professional and spoke to us in easy to understand terms about what he was looking at, potential problems he was looking for, what the problem was and what he was doing to fix it. In regards to the responsiveness and punctuality question, my husband called around 8:45, Les was here around 9:45 and done by 10:30.

I'd work with Zell Plumbing and Heating again in a heartbeat. Les performed two projects for us: Some bathroom renovation, and an emergency water heater fix. In retiling our bathroom shower, we decided it would be a good opportunity to fix some leaky valves and bring our plumbing up to code. During the estimate, Les was extremely clear about the process and procedure (even when explaining to plumbing novices), and performed work exactly as he described. No hidden fees, and never made us feel dumb, or like we were getting the run-around. Which is why we called Les when our water heater's T&P valve started venting water all over our laundry room floor. When we called Zell Plumbing & Heating at 7:00 AM, we received a call back from Les in a half-hour, during which he walked us through steps we could take immediately to stop the water flow--about a 10-minute phone call. Les worked us in that morning, and replaced the valve for exactly the amount he stated. We felt comfortable enough, after our first encounter with him, to leave the house unlocked and just let him come and go. Great and friendly service, and treats his customers like people. Shouldn't be an anomaly, but is a bit in this day and age. We can't recommend Les and Zell Plumbing and Heating enough.

As always, using Zell Plumbing was a good experience.

It turned out that a previous repair to our toilet (about a year earlier) had been done incorrectly. The depth of the top of the gasket seat to the recess level in the floor was too great for the thickness of the wax gasket used in previous repair. This caused a gasket compression that was too shallow to prevent eventual erosion of the gasket and eventual leaking during every flush thereafter. We only have two people living in our house, and the leak was not obvious unless one was walking by in the basement when the main floor was flushed. Zell Plumbing cleaned out the gasket seating area and replaced with a specialty thick gasket with a slightly different material. Problem has gone away, and the final cleanup was very well done.

While on vacation the switch on our sewage ejector broke. Our house sitter heard the water alarm in the basement. From Ely, MN we called a number of plumbers to see who could help us. Zell was the first to call back. Scott promptly met me at our house two days later (with no one at home to use water in the house we didn't need to rush home to fix it) when he replaced the switch quickly and effectively. Dealing with sewage is probably not a fun part of the job but Scott couldn't have been nicer. Thank you, Zell Plumbing!

Scott stopped by Friday afternoon to look at the situation after I had called Zell for an estimate. I had an idea of how to run a new pipe in order to fix a crack in a main PVC drain pipe in our basement - it cracked due to our house shifting slightly on its foundation and the existing PVC pipe was constrained - so it cracked. It turns out my idea would not work, but Scott advised a much simpler method consisting of a rubber boot that would be easy to install and would flex if the house shifted again during the winter. I also had an outside hose faucet that had stripped threads on the hose connection - I wanted it replaced and I wanted a 2nd hose connection added for more water flow. Scott advised he could install "Frost Free" units and I would no longer have to shut-off and drain the outside hose connections each Fall ( I would still have to be sure to remove all of the hoses each Fall, but the faucet itself is then self draining after all of the hoses are removed). Scott returned the following Tuesday and did all of the work in less than 3 hours (cut and repaired the PVC drain pipe, installed the rubber boot on the drain pipe and installed 3 frost free outside hose faucets) I liked working with Scott. He was very professional, had a lot of experience and know-how, and did a very good job. I also liked the fact that he kept in contact by phone while arranging this work.

They were prompt, professional and friendly. I'll use them every time I need a plumber

Very professional and was in and out very quickly.

A deployed service member called the Military Family Assistance Center in Brooklyn Park to report that his basement wall had a slow leak. I researched Angie's List and found Zell's was a top rated plumber, and sent them an email requesting an estimate. They called me back right away and called the homeowner. They visited the site and repaired the leak on the spot. The work was excellent and the plumber was very nice, even recommended a company to help patch the wall. The service member was very happy to hear that his home was repaired so quickly while he was deployed.

He is a great guy would not have any problem leaving him alone in the house.

They are excellent and fairly priced. I like their services and will use the same in future.

Repair made the same day I called. Josh told me what to try to fix the old vales before he came over. I appreciate the attempt to avoid having a service call. Unfortunately I had tried the suggest repair already, but had no luck. It took about 45 minutes for him to cut out the old valves & solder in new ones, start to finish. I would use Zell again.

Josh arrived within 10 minutes of our appointment time and went right to work. At least to my uneducated eye, Josh is extremely quick yet very thorough. He had to run to the hardware store and was back in a flash. I'm used to people taking forever and a day to pick up parts, so that was a very pleasant surprise. When I made the appointment, I forgot to mention that I would like him to check out our noisy toilet. He seemed fine with doing the unexpected inspection and repair. Josh is very pleasant to have around and doesn't leave a mess behind. I'm extremely pleased with Josh's work and attitude.