We experienced significant issues with defective piping and ultimately decided to have Graham and…read morehis team replace all of the plumbing in our home. We intentionally chose Urban Piping despite their quote being approximately $10,000 higher than another comparable option, as we did not want to cut corners and were led to believe we were paying for higher quality and professionalism.
During the planning stage, Graham walked us through the process and made several assurances, including that entire walls would be repainted whenever possible. In practice, this did not occur on any wall in our home. He also stated that Urban Piping maintained quality by having drywall and painters on staff. This was not true. Instead, Prime Painting from Edmonton was subcontracted, staying in a hotel while working on our home. On multiple occasions, they complained that they were not being paid enough whenever we raised concerns about the quality of their work.
After Urban Piping completed the plumbing, they had to return multiple times to correct serious errors. These included supporting previously unsupported piping on our water softener so the door could open, correcting a humidifier line that had been plumbed incorrectly, switching reversed hot and cold-water lines on a tap, and cutting into our newly finished ceiling to fix reverse osmosis lines that had been installed incorrectly and were effectively plumbed in a closed loop doing nothing. They also moved our brand-new refrigerator (which was on wheels) without lifting the leveling legs, resulting in damaged hardwood flooring and a broken fridge leg. While the plumbing issues were eventually corrected, the damaged fridge leg was never replaced.
The drywall and painting work was the worst we have ever seen. The surfaces were not sanded, the paint color did not match, and the sheen was incorrect. The work appeared to consist of rough troweling followed by immediate painting. One closet looked as though it had been painted in a matter of minutes using a fence brush. We ultimately spent approximately $1,000 sanding and repainting nearly all of the affected areas upstairs, including repainting entire walls.
Our contract included applying knockdown texture to the entire basement ceiling to avoid visible patchwork. Instead, fixtures were not removed, surfaces were not leveled, and large sections of drywall compound were applied with minimal sanding. In some areas, there were height differences of approximately 1/2 inch over a 12-inch span, with compound exceeding 1/4 inch in thickness. The contractor we hired to fix the ceiling described it as "one of the worst jobs they had ever seen." It cost us nearly $6,000 and 10 days of work to scrape the entire ceiling, remove sections of drywall, re-board areas, and reapply knockdown texture properly.
Additionally, painter's tape was left on the walls for weeks, resulting in paint being pulled off when removed. Rather than addressing this correctly, the painters attempted to simply paint over the damaged areas.
Ultimately, we asked Urban Piping to leave the project because Prime Painting continued to worsen the condition of our home with each return visit. Urban Piping reduced the invoice by $1,900, leaving us out approximately $5,000 in additional repair costs.
This was followed by a two-month effort to obtain a required letter for insurance purposes. Despite repeated texts, emails, and phone calls, responses were delayed or nonexistent. We were incorrectly told we had not paid in full; once this error was finally acknowledged, payment was confirmed and the letter was eventually issued.
This experience went about as poorly as it could have. Based on the positive reviews, we expected professionalism and quality. Instead, we encountered repeated mistakes, poor workmanship, and significant additional costs. Save yourself the expense and frustration and choose another company.
