I will not use this company again due to poor communication, extended delays (3 days without…read morewater), preventable water damage during installation, roof/vent damage, and dismissive/condescending responses when issues were raised.
We hired them for an emergency hot water heater replacement. From the start, communication was inconsistent, pricing was delayed, scheduling was unclear, and we had to repeatedly follow up just to get updates while we were without water.
On day three, the technician arrived but left after about 30 minutes due to confusion over the tank--they decided to switch from a short to a tall unit without clearly communicating it, and gave conflicting explanations about why. We were told he'd be back in 20-30 minutes; instead, hours passed with no updates. Eventually they said they had to drive out of town to get the unit, which is surprising given how many local stores carry these. They later justified the lack of communication by saying they didn't want to say anything until they were sure, so in their eyes, no update is better than a partial one.
When they returned around 5 p.m., they drained the tank into the attic drip pan instead of using a hose. The pan overflowed, sending water into the attic and down into our living room through a smoke detector. If not for the hole where the smoke detector is, the water likely would have gone unnoticed and I don't think they would have been upfront about it.
When I reported it, the response was dismissive and lacked accountability. I was told:
- "we're not liable if it was water from the drip line"
- "It wasn't much water" (even though I found out because I could heard it spilling down from the other room and could literally splash it up from the carpet)
- "This is normal"
- "I have to understand, it's a tank of water up in the attic and gravity makes water go down"
- "We can't catch it because someone might slip"
- "All plumbers have this problem"
- If I had a better solution (like using a hose), I should "tell every plumber in the world because they would love to know"
- They even sarcastically suggested they could "just leave the old tank up there"
There was no apology, and the issue was minimized despite active water damage.
After installation, we discovered the vent pipe had also been forced out of position on the roof, allowing rainwater into the attic. It appears that instead of refitting the vent for the taller tank, they just pushed it up through the roof and left it.
When I raised this concern, I initially received no response. Later, when they contacted me about moving forward with the next phase of the project (which I declined), I was told, "We will have the roofer go out and LOOK at it to make sure nothing is wrong, but our master plumber confirmed that it's normal." It is not normal for the hot water heater vent to allow water into the attic. If this was "normal," why didn't they say anything or bother to seal it the first time?
They said they'd come by around 11 a.m. to look at it but never showed. At 2 p.m., I followed up and was told it had already been "fixed." I was home the entire time. No one knocked, called, or informed me work was being done. I was not given the opportunity to understand or even APPROVE the proposed fix.
From what I can see, the repair is incomplete. The vent has been altered, components appear cut and misaligned, and water still seems to be entering the attic.
I did finally receive an apology but only for "changing the aesthetic" of the vent, which does little to address the overall situation.
This experience was disorganized, caused additional damage to my home, and lacked accountability. I understand things happen, but the lack of communication, preventable damage, and how concerns were handled was unacceptable.
All I needed to hear was, "Sorry, we're on it." Instead, there was consistent pushback and repeated attempts to characterize the situation as "normal." It was not. Being told this while water was actively entering my home (first through the smoke alarm, and then into the attic) was more frustrating than the issues themselves.