Hoffmann Brothers

I'm very pleased with the overall experience. My water heater went out on Saturday night and I called Rivers Plumbing Company on Sunday morning at around 9 am. Not only did a live person answer the phone (as opposed to several other companies that asked me to leave a message and wait for a call on Monday), but the technician arrived within 1.5 hours and completed the work in about 30 minutes. I also liked that I received a courtesy call before the technician arrived to indicate approximately when he would arrive. Money well spent, and I get a warm shower tomorrow morning!

Great follow-through and appointment setting. Prompt and professional but very expensive and not much information shared unless I would set an appt. for service. Disappointing!

With all of our HAVC units (2 AC and a boiler) past their expected lifespan (all >20 years old), we decided to consider switching over the whole system in our 105 year old house to geothermal. We first met with Robert Hoffmann in August, 2012 to see the house, explain geothermal HAVC to us and give us a bid. He is an engineer and gave us all the nitty gritty detail we wanted to see on how it works, where it goes, what problems they had in the past and how they have changed things to avoid those problems. Because of the drilling needed, geothermal is very expensive to install ($60,000 for us), and only really feasible because of the 30% federal tax credit (that's credit, not deduction) which is currently offered. Of course, it would also have been expensive to change over 2 AC units and a boiler to high efficiency new ones. We thought about it for a couple of months. We took Robert up on his offer to show us the similar units he had installed in his own home. By November, we were ready to sign the contract, but put it off a few weeks to arrange a home equity loan to finance the project. Once we signed the contract, we were given a start date of Monday January 7. On Wednesday Jan 2 I got a call asking if the drilling people could come by that afternoon to look over the yard. Geothermal is basically a heat pump that uses the ground for heat exchange. It required drilling 200' (some companies only do 150 - go with 200!) holes in the ground. Then long hoses go down one hole, back out, and down the next. The drilling requires a drilling rig fit into your yard (they have different sized rigs for different situations). The person from Durbin drilling (which contracts with Hoffmann Brothers) came out and did an expert evaluation of where to put the wells with the least disruption to the yard. On Friday Jan. 4, the drilling rig showed up to set up to begin drilling on Monday. I have to say, I was amazed at the skill of the person who drove the rig. That truck was as long as our house, and he maneuvered it around with inches to spare, without damaging my maple tree, dogwood tree or house. Drilling took a few days - it leaves a big mess, but that gets taken care of in stage two. Meanwhile, the inside work started. This required changing out the old AC units for new air handlers and getting them set up, taking out the boiler (and pipes and radiators) and old hot water heater and setting up new water heaters and the geo pump units. Planning was required to switch out the old boiler and turn on the new furnace without losing heat for more than a few hours. Long story short - they did a superb job. The inside work also included taking 12 radiators all through the house. They had to break them into pieces because they were so big and heavy. They were very careful about protecting floors, etc in the process. New ductwork was put in as needed. As the inside work was finishing up, a second team from Durbin Drilling came to dig trenches to connect the 6 wells, drill through the foundation to connect the system in the basement, and fill in the trenches. They were great, too. They did their best to compact dirt (and ground limestone) from the drilling back into the trench and smooth out the dirt. Doing a nice job of that was an add on to the standard contract - be sure to ask for that... it would have been really hard for us to do that. We will be responsible for final grading and re-seeding the lawn. Once all installed, the main guys on the job (Jordan and Scott from Hoffmann Bros) made sure everything was set up and working well. After a few days, we figured out that one of the really fancy thermostats was not working. Once they confirmed that, it was replaced right away and assured me they will come back to tweak whatever is needed for a year. The whole job, start to finish, took just over two weeks. We now have Of course, we have follow up to do - besides the lawn, we have radiator holes to patch and walls to paint. But we knew that from the start. Because it was so quick, it the timing of payments had to be adjusted to fit with the loan approval. Robert Hoffmann was completely understanding about that. We now have two new AC units, geothermal heat (with back up electric & gas heat) - and hot water as a bonus. We were very happy with Hoffmann Brothers, start to finish. They communicated quickly and clearly, answered all of our questions, and were careful about things like pets in the house.

The gentleman that performed the check-up was very polite and thorough. It went well.

6311He analyzed the problem, advised I needed a new problem. Also, told me I could get a replacement free from the manufacturer. After some wrangling I was able to do so with a substantial saving.

We had recently had some tenants who had vacated our property and had left the drains clogged. The gentleman came from Rivers and cleared three drains in less than 30 minutes. The gentleman made comments that our house was listed for sale at way too high of a price and we would never get anything near what we were asking. After the uplifting comment we were handed a bill for $500. This was for 30 minutes work and after a $120 discount. He told me he was making us a deal. No pricing was discussed upfront and we burned. Buyer Beware, ask for prices up front. Dont make the same mistake we did and use this company.

Service person was on time, estimate was accurate, price was reasonable. Did a great job.

I set up an appointment and Rivers Plumber called the day before to confirm the appt. I was told someone would call and be at my home by 8:30. The plumber arrived as scheduled. In addition to the original job of replacing my faucets, it was noted that my sink pipes needed replacing also. Expecting an estimate of around $1000.00 for parts and labor, my husband and I were "floored" at an estimate of $1700.00. My husband has always done our home repairs, but has become disabled in the last 5 years and can no longer do repairs. We felt the price was enormous, but needed the work done...so we said OK. Estimating that the PCV pipes cost $200.00, we were charged $1500.00 for 6 hours of work. That's over $250.00 an hour. We feel totally ripped off !! And we did not get an itemized receipt. Just a grand total of $1700.00 and we had already bought and paid for our new faucets ourselves. So the grand total was strictly PVC pipes and labor. I will say that the plumber was very nice, did an excellent job and cleaned up after himself. I will not recommend this company to anyone.

Showed up on time and did all work in a very professional manner

The experience was overall good. The repair guy was very nice, however it did seem a little expensive.

Overall, the experience was satisfactory, and the response from the owner to a problem I expressed was beyond perfect. I had been furious and he immediately addressed my issue, apologized and explained the company's policy and pricing. As a result, I was more than mollified and I would do business with them again. The only cautionary note I have is to remember to get the price estimate before the work is done. I knew having all those little problems fixed would be expensive but I also figured I was unlikely to have a plumber in the house again anytime soon. I either couldn't do those things or couldn't find the time. In my mind, I was figuring plumber wages at between $80 and $100 an hour. (I had asked, when I first called, what the hourly rate was but Rivers Plumbing doesn't--I now know--charge by the hour.) I was told the service person would give me an estimate before doing the work. I was astounded and horrified when the bill came to $200. I wrote the check but refused to sign the line that said I had agreed to the cost of the work ahead of time. I called the phone line (it was after hours) and left a message, which was promptly returned in the morning, The serviceman told me to keep the check and said (very pleasantly) that he would notify his manager about the disagreement. The next morning I had a brief conversation with someone in the billing department, who wouldn't budge on the cost. I made the point that I hadn't known the cost before the work was performed. (I had also written a note on the invoice to that effect). I said that I was willing to pay $100-$125. She transferred the call to, I believe, the owner. He immediately apologized. He immediately waived the entire bill, which I had not asked for, because I hadn't been informed ahead of time of the costs. He explained why River Plumbing might be more expensive than a sole ownership (24 hour immediate availability and the number of plumbers needed to be on call). I t really was a textbook example of how to deal with this particular customer issue. Rather than bad-mouthing the company, I can honestly say they went out of their way to satisfy me. River Plumbing is not the company to call for non-emergency minor repairs around the house. However, it is the company to call if you have an urgent situation. I suspect they would also be reasonably priced and very competent for a major job. Just be smarter than I was and ask the price ahead of time!

Everything went very well. The serviceman started with an inspection of our plumbing and then asked if I had paticular issues. When I described (and demonstrated) the problems, he immediately gave me a quote and was able to effect the repairs during the same visit. I would definitely use Rivers Plumbing for any plumbing issues we have in the future.

Called and set up an appointment. Gave us a day and a time range. Plumber was on time and took care of the problems quickly. He was courteous and cleaned up after doing the work.

Inspection was professional.

Toilets were only fixed temporarily, then the problem returned.

I took advantage of a Big Deal coupon that advertised "$29 for a plumbing service call $59 credit plus inspection". I assumed that the coupon would cover most of the cost, but was informed that this was not the case. I ended up paying $90 for the call. Part of this was my fault for not asking thorough questions about the offer, however I'm not sure I got a deal on this one.

The technician had to reschedule once - another job took longer than expected. It wasn't much of a hassle though. He arrived, checked out the boiler and then serviced the boiler - removing sediment clogging the boiler. There was a bit of miscommunication - technician was told it was a service call, but I'd asked simply for a checkup of the system. That wasn't a problem though, since he'd allotted time for service and not just a checkup.

Excellent inspection and recommendations

We bought the overall plumbing inspection since our house is now 26 years old and some neighbors are having plumbing issues. They did a thorough inspection and were nice about me tagging along asking questions :-). Also got advice on a poorly done basement project and possibilities for fixing it. All questions were answered, and the plumber called a co-worker to get accurate information on St Louis County plumbing code. Very satisfied with Rivers Plumbing.

Deon removed 2 old water heaters, re-routed both water and gas piping and installed new 50 gallon water heater. He was very professional, cleaned up after work and asked if we were satisfied. The 75 gallon water heater was too heavy for one person, so he called Mike to help him remove it. Mike also was nice and professional. One refreshing thing was that the price didn't increase after the work was finished. That's more than I can say about other contractors I've used. We were VERY happy with Rivers Plumbing and Deon. Note to the owners, please put up pictures of Deon and Mike as part of your team on Angie's List....they are good representatives.

I researched plumbers on Angie's List and chose Rivers Plumbing because of a special offer. I got an appointment for the day I called because of a cancellation. The technician arrived on time, gave me a quote using the companies price list. He replaced the valve and cleaned up the area. My voucher was applied to the repair price.

Punctual and professional. Workman was the same person who did initial inspection and estimate. I was glad to work with the same person, and one who already knew the building. Work performed was perfect, no issues since.

What started out as a seeming small job turned into quite a bill. Probably as a result of our comfort with the technician, we had Rivers look at some additional items. We knew we were living on borrowed time with the water heater. All of the aforementioned were completed in a highly professional manner. Made every effort to avoid undue mess in the work areas. Rivers did not charge us for the initial call. At this juncture, I would consider them to be my plumber of choice

They were incredibly tidy. The option for the new disposal was completely reasonable, and they were done in no time.

Danielle arrived on time and the price started out at $700 to do 5 things. Could not fix outside water leak, could not disconnected hot water dispenser. Kept asking for a breakdown of the 9 repairs be made. Did not get one. Price was extremely high for what was done. Another service man came out the next day. I also bought $39 groupon previous to job. Will not ever use them again.