BRUCE HERMENAU PLUMBING & HEATING
About us
We are a smaller company but growing, I cannot always get to evryone that calls but I try to call back even if I am to busy to respond.
Business highlights
Services we offer
BATHROOM REMODELING., BOILER REPLACEMENT, BURNER REPAIR, FAUCET REPAIR, GARAGE HEATERS, GAS & OIL HEATING, GENERAL REPAIRS, NEW CONSTRUCTION UPGRADES, PUMPS, RADIANT HEATING, RESIDENTIAL PLUMBING & HEATING, TOILETS
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings | 
|---|---|---|
| 96% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% | ||
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| 4% | 
We needed him to install laundry hook up in a half bath, install 2 tubs with surrounds (Kohler) in 2 other bathrooms. Mixing valves and faucets (Grohe) were on site.
Start of work. Nick (his apprentice young boy) came to install shower mixing valves. He spent all day installing 2 valves.
Next time both came in. It turned out Nick installed something wrong and it was being redone on my time, not theirs.
Tubs and surrounds went in. Faucets on site but they did not install them. Bruce demanded immediate payment which I foolishly complied with. The check was cashed same day.
That evening coming over back from work to look at the results I discovered a 1/2 inch gap between the tub and surround. Called Bruce, he said he and quot;thought it was supposed to be like this.and quot;
I pointed out that he install the surround incorrectly without adjusting the legs at the bottom. One of the tubs was grossly not plumbed. I made him come over the next day, on Saturday. Bruce agreed that he messed up but resisted to rectify it until I took the drill and started taking the screws out. Then he stopped talking nonsense and helped lift the surround. Looking at the caulk I asked what kind of caulk it was. Turned out it was the cheapest acrylic-based caulk. I asked Bruce if he saw orange stickers on the surround and installation instructions indicating to use only 100% silicone caulk. He said he did not. I guess I am lucky he used crappy incompatible caulk otherwise I would not be able to remove the surround. It took a lot of time taking it out of the tub area due to the fact it was assembled and interfered with the plumbing. Then Bruce left and I spent the next 4 hours with my wife cleaning up the old caulk, total of 8 man hours. The next day, Sunday, I called Bruce and asked to help putting it back on. He came in the evening and helped jostle it into the position and re-caulked with the silicone caulk I bought, then left in a hurry. I spent another 2 hours cleaning his mess and laying a bead where he did not.
Because the surround pieces were set while still on legs they are left misaligned and this cannot be corrected. Center piece is at a different height than side panels. I have to live with this uneven by 1/8and quot; gap.
Being unsatisfied with his performance I went with a reputable company (plumber Reggie) for future plumbing needs, e.g. plumbing kitchen and the rest of the 2-1/2 baths.
What we discovered next:
1. Nick set the rough ins for tubs too deep. The faucet could not reach the mixing valve.
2. Nick installed 1/2 inch rough in where 3/4 inch was needed for the tub faucet. Reggie needed to install an adapter.
3. Nick and Bruce worked on the mixing valve with a torch after installing the surround. Reggie showed me the melted piece. It is evidenced by the burned insulation, which was installed after the mixing valve was installed. In the process they melted a plastic hot water check valve in the mixing valve. I need to order and installed a new part. I recall Bruce having trouble closing this valve when taking the surround off. Now I know why.
4. Nick welded hot water to cold and vice versa. Reggie had to re-weld it properly after we discovered the shower faucet operating in the wrong direction.
5. Both tub surrounds were not plumb by 1 inch top vs bottom (58 and 57 inches respectively). I had great trouble installing shower doors and there is still a gap in the door, which cannot be closed.
6. Bruce did not put putty in one of the tub drains (forgot?), it leaked when tested.
7. Bruce did not hook up drain to the laundry hook up in the basement (forgot?!!) yet reported is as complete on his invoice. I am glad I found it before I ran the laundry. Had to ask another plumber to install the drain to sewer connection.
Bruce did not take responsibility for any of these issues, did not fix it nor did he reimburse me in any way other than helping me fix the surrounds in the first place. His voice mail box is full and he never picks up the phone regardless from which number I called. At this point leaving another message to him is pointless.
The only reason I did not take him to a small claims court yet is lack of time, I already spent my vacation time on house renovation including fixing his mistakes...
I spent more money on new plumbers for fixing his mistakes than I paid him and spend a lot of my own time.
Needless to say Bruce will never enter my door again nor will any my friends ever employ him.
"(removed member name) you leave a lot out, You purchased the wrong tub and top to go on it. You refuse to take responsibility for this mistake. I came out on a Saturday at no charge to you to help you fix your mistake You would not allow us to cut the sheetrock ceiling downstairs even though there were several holes already in it. this made hooking the back to back tubs up very tricky. We had to put the bases in place to get the drain centers and heights remove the tubs pre glue the drains and reset the tubs back on them. At this point we could not have put putty on the drains and tightened them since all that would have been holding them in place would have been fresh PVC glue. I warned you that these were not done and you forgot to tell your next plumber. I believe there were three plumbers in total? You did not kick us off the job at all. You called stating you were ready for us to come and finish and I asked you if the vanities were in. You said no and I said that the carpenters usually do that, You said they were gone and you couldn't carry them yourself. I offered to simply stop by and give you a neighborly hand, and you said you would get back to me. The next time you called, I pick up, yes I do pick up my phone, You are frantic, You say you have water all over your new floor. For some reason, after me asking if you were ready and offering you a hand bringing up the vanities you decided to hire yet another plumber. You forgot to tell him I had not puttied the drains something I did tell you. I regret that things didn't go better we did have a few minor things that we could have easily dealt with had we been given the chance, I think it was Abe Lincoln who said "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you cant please all the people all the time'. (removed member name) you are hard to please. We are good plumbers and do please most all of our customers. I am glad you found a plumber you are happy with. It troubles me the way you painted the scenario and I felt compelled to respond. This could have easily have all been worked out with two reasonable people, I wish you the best"
We asked for an estimate for ductless air conditioner (he had all the info and a quote from another company), he promised to call us back within a few days, but unfortunately we never did a call back from him.
Overall, Bruce did meet my needs of installing a kitchen faucet in a timely and skillful manner. Good Job.
Don't promise to call back with a quote and forget to call back. It's okay to call and say, and quot;Hey, I really don't have the time right now.and quot;
Good communication is an extremely important tool for customer satisfaction.
"I agree with you 100% I should have called you back, I do try to do this as a rule but did not in your case My excuse is I am undermaned at the moment and I will attend to that issue. My aploogies for not getting back to you on your ductless split AC system."
Licensing
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