JOHN HECKLER PLUMBING, HEATING & COOLING

See also my prior reviews. Though John & Eric each have trucks & are a very busy referral-based long-time local plumbing duo, John has always been so merciful to fit us in for emergencies of a chronically clogged long horizontal branch line I learned later from Zoom was caused by hubby using Kleenex as toilet paper "as bad for plumbing as wipes, tampax, pads, incontinence guards, & paper towels" in addition to heavy Cottonelle toilet paper.  

This visit Eric quickly diagnosed our chronically clogged branch line debris now extended into main line & trap for our first time despite prior service adding another capped opening in branch line for more access, and replacing a portion of pipe, where bathroom met hot kitchen grease cooling/hardening, to improve diameter & flow. John left multiple other jobs' challenges to come help Eric clear our mainline, and Eric valiantly persevered for almost 3 hours total including manually snaking the branch line clog in the dark dank basement's half-human-sized crawl space. 

But the clog quickly returned since we hadn't yet learned not to use tissues; & since John had said his camera is not as long as Zoom's (whom I found on Angie's List, confirmed by my local oil company's plumber), Zoom power-hosed all lines until their camera showed all clear. But the clog quickly returned again, this time free under Zoom's warranty; & then the Kleenex culprit was finally I.D.'d. I learned from this we should have called Zoom when the clog returned after Heckler's initial $125+ unclogging.



Prior to this, John & his well-trained protege' Eric nicely upgraded our kitchen & bathroom sink faucets to lever handles; cleared slow sink drains the first time; stopped a chronic thumping found to be from loose sink hardware along with the initially worst clog in the branch inherited from prior owner's grease along with current owner's paper; identified alarming noise as merely broken utility meter inside a pipe John & Eric diagnosed/repaired/tested for utility co. to be able to replace meter. (Prior to that, Walton's Oil Co. plumber Marty replaced our broken toilet mechanism & advised/helped improve our basement sump pump's exterior venting piping before my neighbors & Angie's List referred me to Heckler.)

So grateful for good neighbors' including an apt. contractor's referrals confirmed by Angie's List reviewers especially for a plumber to count on for honesty; good pricing to ensure customer loyalty could charge more for expertise; quick responder & phone information even before service call; neat & thorough work.  Local smaller services bearing their own names responsible for their reputation in the community are so often best, though multi-gen families not always as good as the successful originator but owner John Heckler oversees equally excellent non-family assistant "who taught him everything he knows."

John immediately returned our call, listened to our needs & then better informed including reassuring us it was not an extreme emgy, & gave phone estimate later honored in person & then some!  Kitchen sink drain cleared for modest quote not needing electrical equipment pre-advised would cost more if needed but that too a still modest quote; & more we didn't know we needed.    

For biggest concern--scary clacking pipes in other parts of the house when one toilet flushed--John "went the extra mile" to ensure that it was entirely as he diagnosed the utility company's meter needing free repair/replacement. After John's assistant worked on mechanism in the main water valve area & together they replaced a piece of missing hardware "likely eroded away" necessary for utility co. to work, before leaving John wanted to be sure of his diagnosis since mysteriously not all pipes in the house caused the sound, so he disconnected the meter & ran water so we could hear if the meter was truly the problem, leaving us with peace of mind that John had indeed solved the mystery, not an emergency, instructing us to call utility co. with complete assurance what they need to take care of next for free.  And for all that, John only charged $10 for replacing the missing part, deserving a big tip.

Such a relief & help, we wish for everyone such a good experience.  After Angie's List electrician CG Wiring installs wiring for a kitchen sink disposal, we'll call Heckler Plumbing back to install a disposal, confident of all around best services.  Thanks all including Angie's List! 

Left three voice messages for an urgent plumbing problem in powder room that resulted in saturated carpeting.  NONE of my calls were returned.  Would not recommend Heckler plumbing.  Do they want business, or not?   Will certainly not call them in the future.

The outside faucets would not turn off all the way and were dripping. He replaced them with better quality faucets.
I have been using Heckler for many years. John is personable, responsive and his prices are decent. I have recommended him to several friends and wouldn't think of using anyone else.

The serviceman showed at exactly the time promised, he was professional and knowledgeable about what was being asked.  He cleaned up and was able to complete all our requests in about an hours time.

John was on time and performed his work very professionally. He was very polite and his price was reasonable. He also repaired a leaking basement water-shut-off valve at no additional charge.

EXCELLENT WORK WAS DONE. JOHN IS A COURTEOUS, ON-TIME WORKER. HE DOES NEAT, PROPER PLUMBING, DOES NOT LEAVE A MESS, IS VERY TRUSTWORTHY AND RESPECTS THE PROPERTY.

JOHN WAS ON-TIME, POLITE AND CAME BACK TO CORRECT A PROBLEM AT NO CHARGE.