BLACKBURN GAS INSTALLATIONS
About us
Natural Gas Repair and Replacement. DOT Approved
Services we offer
Gas leak repair, and new installation, replacement
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
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92% | ||
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Mark, the owner, is very, very nice. He's chatty like me, so we talked for a bit and you can tell he's just a nice guy. After looking at the depth of our yard and how long the line would need to be, he gave us a very honest quote which wasn't even 1/3 of what we were expecting (and dreading). I have one friend who was quoted $6000 for similar work! We were terrified by the prospect of having to spend $3000 or more for this and Mark really put us at ease with his quote.
Mark took care of calling all of the proper authorities and the gas company to come do all of the markings and set up the appointment for Columbia to come do their final inspection. We didn't have to worry about a thing. His crew arrived on the day he told us they would, right at 9:00, which I wasn't expecting on a day when the roads are covered in ice and there were numerous backups on all of the major highways.
The two guys worked hard in very cold, icy/rainy weather, took a quick lunch and finished up their work.
Unlike what we were expecting, only two holes were made, one at each end of the line (at the meter and in the yard). We didn't have to bust up the walkway to the house, we have no long trenches to fill in. They cleaned everything up so even though it looked like a mess while they were working because it's just a messy job, it looks good as new. A little sprinkling of grass seed on one hole and some mulch over the other and it will be as good as new.
Thank you and your team SO MUCH Mark for your honesty, fair pricing, kindness and hard work! You are really a lifesaver. My husband and I will be referring you to anyone we know who runs into gas line issues in the future.
For anyone considering other contractors, don't waste your time unless Mark tells you he's too swamped to take on new clients. This guy is THE guy to call and you will not find a better person to work with. You just won't!
A couple of weeks ago a neighbor smelled natural gas, called Equitable Gas and it turned out that I had a leak in the piece of pipe that comes up out of the ground and into the meter. The gas guy immediately turned my gas off, and said he figured the cost of the repair to be between $200 and $600. I was somewhat relieved, although that is still a lot of money when you are trying to survive on unemployment. I asked the gas guy if he could recommend a contractor who wouldn’t try to rip me off because of my gender, and he said he wasn’t allowed to give names but that there were 3 reputable contractors whose last name started with the letter “B”. I tried Googling for gas line repair contractors in the Pittsburgh area that had company names that began with a “B”, but only found one. So I found 5 in the Pittsburgh area and made a list with the idea that I wanted at least 3 estimates.
Contractor 1 was too busy to come out, but gave me an estimate over the phone, which I was a little nervous about because I didn’t see how it could be very accurate without someone onsite. In addition, they wouldn’t be able to send someone out to do the work for two days. Their estimate range was $200 to $300 above the numbers the gas guy had given me.
Contractor 2 arrived within a couple of hours of my call and his estimate was DOUBLE what the Equitable gas guy’s high end was and significantly higher than Contractor #1. I was immediately suspicious, told him he was higher than Contractor #1 and said thanks but no thanks. Not surprisingly, he called back an hour later and said after further consideration he thought he could do the job for $400 less than his highest bid and oh by the way, he just HAPPENED to have a crew finishing up with a job and they could be here within an hour or so and get the job done that day. But of course I had to give him an answer within the hour, so that meant I wouldn’t have the chance to get any other estimates. I wasn’t comfortable with that, and I didn’t like the fact that he didn’t give me a reasonable estimate when he was here. I had a strong feeling he was trying to take advantage of me so I decided I would only use him is no one else could do it.
Contractor 3 promised to have someone show up in the afternoon, but they never showed.
Contractor 4 wasn’t answering his phone so I left a message, but he never called back.
Contractor 5 was too busy to even give me an estimate so they told me to call Mark Blackburn. I called Mark and he was at a job in the North Hills but promised to stop by as soon as he was finished. I called him back a little later in a bit of a panic because I didn’t know if I should wait for him to come or just give the job to one of the other contractors. He asked me what their bids were, and he said he couldn’t be sure but he thought he could do it for significantly less. He was very kind and said that if I couldn't wait for him he understood but that I would probably end up paying too much. I appreciated the time he took to help me reason through my options, and I decided to wait for him and I am SO glad I did. He showed up, gave me an estimate within 10 minutes, and his was 50% less than the highest bid, and $200 less than the lowest bid, and THAT contractor wouldn’t have been able to start the work for 2 days. Mark and his son started the work around 3:30 and finished at 8:00. He was happy to answer all of my questions and I actually enjoyed talking and joking with them. This was by far the best experience I’ve ever had with a contractor.
Save yourself the time and effort. Just call Mark and don't worry about getting multiple estimates. He won’t play games with the cost, and he’ll get there, get it done, and get out. He’s an honest and hard working man, and his son is following in his footsteps. I would absolutely use him again, and if anyone wants any additional details about my experience I’d be happy to talk to you.
TRUE PROFESSIONALS!!!!
I spent most of my career as a manager and tend to be very critical when reviewing any service. The first words that come to mind when reviewing Blackburn Gas Installations are professional and outstanding. A gas line leak in the dead of winter is a very stressful situation but this company put my mind at ease and corrected the problem quickly. I hope I never need them again but I am very happy to know they are out there.
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