Absolutely recommended! I've been meaning to write this for a long time and now that I've seen the bad reviews here I'm glad I logged on to add my review. NONE of those match my experience AT ALL. Overview (specifics following): James is an honest businessman who cares about helping his customers. Works fast but explains what and why (if you're like me and hang around asking questions). Very reasonable rates. He's the owner/operator, so I understand he may not be available the second I call. If you need a 24/7 response, go for a big company. If you want a proud owner who's fully invested in his business and values his repeat customers, call James. He listens and makes recommendations with lots of information, then lets you decided. Not scare tactic stuff - just reasonable points with pluses and minuses.
Full story: 2.5 yrs ago we had 2 mainline clogs. I was able to clear the first one, but when it happened again I called a plumber. I had also started noticing noises in the walls. There would be odd sounds long after a flush when no water was being used. House was 10 yrs old, so while toilets were never great (lots of plunger use), we'd not had to call a plumber. I needed immediate help so I called one of the big outfits (normal hours). After clearing the main, they did a lot of evaluating (talk - not work) and replaced a fill valve in 1 toilet. They charged just over $700 to clear the clog, "check the backflow device", "scour jet" the line, install 1 valve and do a "leak search". I didn't have a clue at the time what a fair price for the work was and two guys were there all afternoon. I was home alone with kids and pets with a laundry room and bathtub full of sewage and no usable toilets. I needed it done that day, so I gone with a big company figuring they'd charge market prices. You always hear how crazy expensive plumbing is, so I paid that bill. Then they started with a song and dance about how since they couldn't find any other problems, that the line was probably broken and full of roots and that they needed to replace the whole line to the street. They gave me a $10K+ quote (yes, that's thousands). The lead technician (aka salesman) called and emailed me for weeks to see if I was ready to start. No thanks.
The sound continued to get worse, the toilets didn't flush any better and I dreaded the next mainline backup. I found Encinitas Plumbing & Drain for a 2nd opinion. James was fantastic! He listened to the same symptoms, then asked to look at all the toilets. He showed me how the current hardware (builder's + the 1 replacement) were not adequately filling/flushing/stoppering and that was leading to the pipe sounds and clogs. I didn't know toilet repair beyond jiggling a handle, but he explained it clearly without "mansplaining". I requested a whole system eval. We'd just gotten a new washer with the plastic drain line. He recommended that line and the plastic lines to all the sinks and toilets be replaced since those are weak points that cause lots of damage if they break. He was honest and said the washer should be a high priority, but that the sinks and toilets were completely up to me - that they may not break while we live here, if ever. I did some research on plumbers' forums and his points were backed up. Given that our house has had other workmanship issues, I decided to change everything for my piece of mind. Our hot water recirculating system (another builder's special) has never worked well, so he installed loop tees under 2 sinks. Also had him fix 2 showers with the hot/cold cartridge installed backwards. All of this - the eval and work, 5 toilet hardware kits, 18 copper supply lines, 2 loop tees and the shower fixes - cost just a bit more than the other guys charged to clear the line and "fix" one toilet (not really). After Encinitas Plumping the sounds stopped! The toilets flushed perfectly the first time, every time! No clogs! 2.5 yrs without a single plumbing problem.
At dinnertime last night we had another mainline clog (the dreaded sewer backup in the laundry room, which had run into the garage and nearby tub). Texted James but didn't get an answer in 45 min. I figured he was not available (out to dinner, at a movie, on vacation - wherever), so I called a 24/7 outfit and got on their list. Tried James again and he answered. He wasn't available, but told me a reasonable range to expect for emergency service if I went ahead with it (got their estimate - he was accurate). He offered to come this morning for less than 1/2 of that. By that time enough sewer had seeped through the clog that I was able to clean up, so I decided we could live with it overnight. He said not to run water down sinks, flush or shower. He came on time this morning and found the back flow flapper (original to the house) frozen. Explained everything as he and his assistant were clearing the clog and they had it fixed quickly at a very fair price. Thanks so much! read more
