Quick summary:
-He was honest and knowledgeable.
-He showed me everything every step of the way.
-He was logical in his process and wasn't trying to upsell
-He allowed me to take photos for the landlord.
-He was clean, organized and professional.
-And at the end of it all, he did a great job.
If you're looking for a plumber, Chris is the guy.
Full Story:
For background condo was built in 2016.
Came home to dirty water was pouring out of the light fixture in the dining room, below the laundry room, on to the cream colored carpet. When I ran upstairs I found the laundry room had flooded and the stan pipe was over flowing. Im not a plumber but it was logical to guess that the pipe was clogged. So took a video and pics. Ugh!!!!
After emergency actions of soaking up flood and catching water with a bucket, I informed my land lord. They booked a plumber for the next morning (NOT Chris' Plumbing). Meantime, water stains are appearing on the ceiling and walls in the dining room.
Next morning, the plumber, without any tools or checking pipe or without even watching my video of the pipe overflowing immediately diagnosed to saying the pipe was cracked and when asked about maybe being a clog he said he can't do that cuz it might damage the crack more. Instead he grabs a moisture meter and starts poking all the dry all on the second floor to show how wet the walls and ceiling are. He then calls his "restoration team" to come by, and tells me and my land lord that they will need to see the damage and open the walls to find the crack in the pipe. The restoration team comes pokes pronged moisture meter into the walls and ceilings. To tell me that they will need to replace the entire dining room ceiling but still can't tell me what's wrong with the pipe as that's not their job. **it's at this point I realized I'm being taken for a fool**
I call my land lord immediately and tell her I do not trust these guys because 3 people have come and no one has actually addressed the issue and they are already talking about replacing the ceiling after poking over 100 holes in the dry wall. It was as if i went to the doctors to say i had a heart attack and they decided to try to give me a face lift. Like WTF. So I ask if I can help by finding someone else and they say yes.
I found Chris' Plumbing on Yelp and called him. He was quick to respond and make an appointment just 2 hours later. I didn't explain that I just had 3 guys over trying to screw me over. Chris watched the video I took of the over flow and pre-diagnosed it as a clog, I asked about a crack and he said no based on the video it looks like a clog. He walked thru the process:
1. He's gonna snake, provides estimated price.
2. If that doesn't work, he's going to use camera to see, provides price for camera usage. From there he will then have to rediagnose based on findings.
Ok... yea. This sounds hella logical and right to the point. His prices were fair and very clear.
So he snaked, and it didn't work. So he recommended the camera. So he left and came back with the camera to scope the pipe. It was full of water and completely blocked he found where it the pipe the clog was. By then, it was already late evening, so he said he would start work in the morning. He had a theory about what was clogging the pipe, being a newer house he thought the location of the clog was indicative of a test plug the builder would have used to test the pipes initial installation.
He provided plan- cut open wall in the small area that scope indicated. Drain pipe. And see what's clogging.
Next morning. Chris came, scoped again, marked the spot. Set up towels and drop cloth to make sure everything was clean. Cut the wall, clean straight lines. Drained the pipe without making a wet mess. And found the clog. And wouldn't you know it... he was right. A small plastic test plug was blocking the whole pipe. He fixed the pipe, ran leak tests, cleaned the area and closed the wall back up with the original dry wall. He left me a can of the knock down because the drywall mud had to dry first before we can use it. He left me the tools and showed me how to complete the rest of the work. He walked thru what to look for if there are any other leaks and how to prevent clogs in the future with just standard maintenence.
I tell the whole story because my two experiences were like night and day.
In contrast to the first company, talking with Chris didn't make me feel like I was about to get hustled or like i was being talked down to. -He was honest and knowledgeable.
-He showed me everything every step of the way.
-He was logical in his process and wasn't trying to upsell.
-he provided education on how to maintain
-He allowed me to take photos for the landlord.
-He was clean, organized and professional.
-And at the end of it all, he did a great job.
If you're looking for a plumber, Chris is the guy.
Thanks Chris! read more