Steve's Plumbing

Smooth, no problems.

Steve's Plumbing installed a new water heater in my home two weeks ago.  I emailed the company on a Saturday inquiring about a repair estimate for my 10 year-old Rheem Power vent water heater.  Steve responded to my email later that evening, saying he'd be in touch on Monday morning.  We connected on Monday and I told him that I was no longer considering repair, but instead wanted to replace as soon as possible.  During our phone conversation, Steve suggested I purchase a new water heater myself at a local home improvement store, and recommended I buy the same model, which would allow for an easier install.  He said he could pick it up and install it the next day.  We discussed price and he quoted me $90/hour plus materials and estimated the total cost of the job between $300-$400, depending on the difficulty of the install.  He did as promised and picked up and installed the water the very next day, arriving at my home at 10:00 a.m. I was at work during the installation, but my teenage son was home for the duration, which was just under two hours (my son phoned me as soon as the plumber had left.)  The water heater appears to be professionally installed and has been working great.

Steve emailed me his invoice a couple of days later, which surprised me at $501.  The bill included labor for two plumbers:  one for 3.5 hours ($315), and another for 1 hour ($90).  Also included were expected charges for permit ($35) and material cost ($26), and in addition was an unexpected "truck charge" of $35, which we had not previously discussed.  

I phoned Steve to discuss the bill, specifically my concerns over what appeared to be excessive labor charges, and also the truck charge.  He immediately offered to knock $50 off the bill.  I accepted this, but in hindsight, I realize I should have gotten a written estimate for the job, and should have made arrangements to be at home to verify the installation time.

Overall, I am satisfied with the quick response I received from Steve's Plumbing and would recommend them to others, but would also recommend getting a clearly written quote for the job to prevent any misunderstanding afterwards.

He was on time, when right to work, finished in a timely manner, was very pleasant. and we haven't had any leaks! Would recommend to anyone.

The plumber arrived at 8 a.m. and fixed the leak. He had to seat the inner part down more into the fixture. He did not charge me for the repair. He re-greased the faucet so it would swivel easily and then, wiped everything down. He was done in less than 20 mins.