This is the second time i used Calibet. The first time was about 4 years ago for a problem of big leak from pipes in backyard, leaking into adjacent garage. The pipes were connected to a faucet by the garage. A section of my drip system was connected to that faucet. Oliver determined that there was a leak in the pipes leading up to the faucet, exact location not known, would be necessary to dig down next to the garage and search for the location of the leak/leaks. Pipe would be replaced when the leak was found. He said the cost would depend on how far down the pipe was, how much of the yard had to be dug up, and how much repiping would be required, depending on distance from faucet.
He opened the question of whether i really need that faucet. He said if i didn't need the faucet, it would cost very little to just block off that faucet so it couldn't be turned on. no more leak. I only needed it for the section of drip system on that side of the patio.
Oliver began looking at other ways to get water to that section of the drip system. He looked at the that ran the other section of the drip system. He said he could convert that faucet from two outlets to four. Then he could run a line up to the shelter structure that shaded the area between house & garage, run a line across and down to the plants on that side.
About the price, he said i would have a couple of options. One would be to use copper tubing, and a less expensive way would be to use plastic tubing. Plastic tubing would not last as long as copper but it would work for a long time and then when needed could be inexpensively replaced or repaired. He gave me the difference in the price between using copper or plastic, and it was a big difference. i asked him what he would do if it was his house. He thought about it, and said he would use plastic. And that's what i did. It's worked great. Recently a few sun exposed sections of the thin tubing that goes to the plants are wearing out. Oliver will come back out to replace what needs replacing. The whole price for capping off the pipe that was causing the leak when the faucet was turned on and for reconnecting the new sprinkler drip line was $250.
Recently my bathtub shower began draining slow. Calibet was out of town at the time, according to their voice mail. Another plumber came, took the drain cover off, stuck his fingers in, pulled out some hair, did not help, he poked around in the drain and said i have old plumbing and that sometimes when you try to fix it, something breaks, and then you need more repairs. He was reluctant to try to get it working & i was scared of expensive repairs, so he left.
i called another plumber i have used before. He was out of town on vacation, so his assistant came over. I told him that the other guy said there was a risk of breaking old plumbing, i wanted to make sure he knew that because he looked so young. He looked at my drain and said it was too old to be snaked out. He looked under my house and said i needed some new pipes connected to the bathtub. He said he would text me later with a quote for the price. Later he texted $950. I had another shower to use, so i planned to do it after payday. When i did use that shower which hadn't been used in some years, it was so clogged, it didn't drain at all. So, i figured i had to use my savings because i needed it right away.
I wanted to get more quotes for replacing the pipes under the house. The first plumber i called was Calibet. Oliver picked up his cell. I told him what the two other plumbers said about my plumbing being too old to snake, that i needed new pipes and i wanted to get an estimate to do that. Oliver asked me some questions and then said he didn't know why it couldn't be snaked & said he needed to see it and he could come over that day. He said it would be $94 to snake it.
He arrived with a snake and an assistant. He went to work on the bathtub drain, slowly carefully snaking it, pulled out a huge thick amount of hair, said there was more hair to go back and get, did the same thing, another massive amount, no wonder it had stopped draining. He tested it and it was now draining like new. I asked how much it costs to have another drain snaked and he said $45. I told him about the other shower. He sent his assistant to start snaking the other shower while he put the drain cover back on (easier said than done). The other guy had a hard time, lots of dark brown rust was in the shower floor and a piece of the snake wire got bent. Oliver came in and took over. In about 15 minutes, that drain worked like new, rust all cleaned up. Total $139. I was so happy and relieved. Great feeling.
Obviously if Oliver wanted to charge me more (as the only unhappy reviewer said), i had already told him i was calling for a quote to replace pipes under my house. He didn't want to do anything unnecessary, he wanted to do the right repair. He's either smarter or more honest than the other two guys, or both. my hero. read more
