Pete Wall Plumbing Co
About us
Pete wall plumbing co in greensboro, nc is a private company categorized under plumbing contractors. It was established in 1959 and incorporated in north carolina. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $2.5 to 5 million and employs a staff of approximately 20 to 49.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Plumbing.
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
73% | ||
6% | ||
9% | ||
3% | ||
9% |
I called Pete Wall Plumbing to repair the following – a clogged toilet (one of the kids had sent a toy on its merry way), a leaky faucet and a 2d floor leak through the sub-flooring onto the 1st floor ceiling below it. The first two repairs are what I consider basic plumbing 101; the third repair is more of an intermediate plumbing issue because of the need to diagnose the source of the leak.
On Dec 13 Tom came out to repair all the issues. He quickly fished out the stuck toy and got the toilet flushing properly again; he replaced all the seals on the leaky faucet and that was fixed. Both of those repairs took less than 30 minutes combined. The 2d floor leak is a more complicated story.
Tom had to diagnose the problem and uncover the leak’s source. He cut a small square in the 1st floor ceiling to determine whether or not he could identify the source. He determined the water pipes in the sub-flooring were not leaking therefore it must be coming from a 2d story source leaking onto and through the sub-flooring. There is a shower and a jet tub on the second floor located directly above the leak. So he went upstairs to look at those two possibilities.
Tom looked at the shower and jet tub. I don’t remember the exact details of what happened next but the bottom line is Tom was not able to identify the leak’s source. He removed the faucet head and handles and didn’t see a leak; he was not exactly sure what to do next. He then told me he wasn’t too familiar with that specific Delta tub faucet and that he’d have to research it “back at the shop.” I found that unusual and even gave him a copy of that Delta model’s instructions which I had previously downloaded from the Delta faucets website.
A few days later we received a bill for the first visit. Two hours of labor @ $100/hour = $200; materials with tax = $16.90; minus the Angie’s list $20 discount; total bill was $196.90. The labor part seemed high, especially since I had not been told the labor cost was $100/hour. I should have asked ahead of time. Additionally, it seemed to me Tom had spent a considerable amount of what I consider unproductive time diagnosing the problem. More specifically, I would have expected a professional plumber to have the expert knowledge to more quickly diagnose and identify the leak’s source. This is especially true when they are charging such a high dollar amount per hour. However, we paid the bill. At this point I thought the follow-up visit would be at a reduced labor charge since it wasn’t my fault Tom couldn’t properly identify the leak's source during his first visit.
A week later Tom returned with his supervisor Clay. Clay ruled out the shower and shower skirt as the leak’s source after a cursory inspection. He then focused on the jet tub. He removed the tub’s faucet and handles. He focused on the faucet’s diverter valve which I had replaced about 1 year ago. Clay quickly identified the leak’s source. He noticed the brass spout had a small indentation where the screw seats into it which secures the faucet. This meant the entire deck mounted brass spout had to be replaced.
The next challenge was how to access the spout. There were only two possible ways – 1) approach it from the bottom going through the 1st floor ceiling and the sub-flooring or 2) break one or two of the tub’s 12”x12” tiles to gain direct access to the spout. To their credit, they did try to access it from the bottom through the 1st floor ceiling since they had already previously cut a hole during the diagnosis stage. However the access was too restrictive and very awkward. They asked if they could go through the tile and I said yes. So, the rest of the story is straight-forward. They broke the tile, gained access and replaced the brass faucet.
A little over a week later we received the bill for the 2d follow-up visit. This time they charged three and a half hours of labor for Tom @ $100/hour = $350; two hours of labor for Clay @ $35/hour (reduced rate since he is a supervisor) = $70; materials = $199.35; tax = $13.45; total bill was for $632.80. Once again, the labor costs seemed incredibly high, so I called and asked to speak with a supervisor.
I spoke with Jimmy Wall on Fri Jan 3, 2014. I explained the quality of the work was good however the labor cost per hour was very high. I told him we’d paid the first bill without calling to inquire about the relatively high labor cost but this second bill was unacceptable. I also shared with him the following information:
- The first bill which we had already paid:
- He charged us for 2 hours of labor. I told him Tom had been at our house for somewhere between 60-90 minutes (not 2 hours).
- Jimmy explained they charge travel time to the jobsite. The clock starts when they leave their office or previous jobsite. If it takes longer than 15 minutes then they charge a maximum of 15 min.
- I also told Jimmy the reason I called a plumber instead of trying to do the work myself was because of the expectation of a plumber’s expertise. Specifically, that a professional plumber should have been able to quickly locate the source of the leak causing the spotting on the 1st floor ceiling. This would have reduced the diagnosis time during the first visit by about 30-60 minutes (depending on the plumber’s expertise). And more importantly, it could have potentially eliminated the need for a second follow-up visit. So that instead of a total of 5 and frac12; hours labor for both visits maybe the total labor costs could have been around 3 hours total (if repaired on the first visit). This represents a $250 cost savings ($550 minus $300 = $250)!
- So I asked him to give us a discount on the first bill and he said “Let me pull the other ticket and look at that one; it’ll be the first of the week before I get back with you.” By Thu Jan 9 I still hadn’t heard back from him so I called that morning. I left a message for him with the person who answered the phone; she assured me he would return my call. Towards the end of day that Thu I still had not heard from Jimmy. I called again. The person who answered the phone told me “I spoke with Jimmy about your issue and he said he reviewed the invoice and it looked right so there is no discount.”
- The second bill (conversation with Jimmy on Fri Jan 3) –
- He charged us 3 and frac12; hours labor for Tom - $350 and 2 hours labor for Clay at a reduced rate since he is a supervisor - $70 for a total labor cost of $420. I told Billy the following:
-
- I did not have the exact timeline but they did not spend 3 and frac12; hours at my house. Billy said he charged me from 8:15am to 11:40am (8:15-8:30 = 15 min travel time charged). I am pretty sure Tom did not arrive at my house that morning until well past 9 am.
- If Tom had been knowledgeable enough during his first visit then he may not have needed to return a second time.
- I should not have to pay for Tom’s lack of expertise. When Clay arrived at my house he quickly isolated the problem and identified the leak’s source. I asked Billy to provide a discounted rate on the second bill given that a more knowledgeable plumber should have been able to take care of all three repairs during the first visit thereby saving me at least $200-$250 in labor costs.
- Billy agreed to remove Clay’s 2 hours because “he’s a supervisor” so that reduced the second bill’s labor cost from $420 to $350.
In summary, all three repairs were done correctly. Both Tom and Clay are very personable and polite. However, I ended up paying somewhere between an a
Licensing
State Contractor License Requirements
All statements concerning insurance, licenses, and bonds are informational only, and are self-reported. Since insurance, licenses and bonds can expire and can be cancelled, homeowners should always check such information for themselves. To find more licensing information for your state, visit our Find Licensing Requirements page.
*Contact business to see additional licenses.