Looking for a Good and Honest Plumber?

[DarkSkies]

Yep, we all need a plumber at some time in our lives.....
There are lots of good ones out there....licensed and unlicensed....
Unfortunately there are some not-so-good ones out there......who will take advantage of the situation, or simply not show up when they say they will......

[DarkSkies]

I had developed a list of good contractors with the housing rehabs Pebbles and I have done....
But that list gets stale over time....I thought I would talk about one good plumber in particular, in this thread.

[surfrob]

I'm looking for a contractor who will show up.

Have "friends" who have come and promised work on a bathroom rebuild (tiling/fixtures/plumbing the works) ...

yeah yeah, tiles picked out, date set, then < crickets > ... don't hear back

Must be my deodorant

[DarkSkies]

Have "friends" who have come and promised work on a bathroom rebuild (tiling/fixtures/plumbing the works) ...

yeah yeah, tiles picked out, date set, then < crickets > ... don't hear back



Rob, do any of these friends fish?
Because within the contractor community, a lot of guys do....and it's surprising how "busy" or "sick" some of them get during a hot bite or the Spring or Fall run....
If I lived closer, I would come down and give ya some pointers.....
I can lend ya a CD called "Mature Grown up Contractors"...which describes how to hire and fire contractors.....let me know......

Otherwise, my best advice is to keep looking and always have an alternate choice when you're looking to hire someone.....:HappyWave:

[surfrob]

one may, one definitely doesn't but I think has "girlfriend" issues LOL

yeah, we'll keep looking. I'm debating about doing much of the work myself, which will bring me back to this thread... I don't do plumbing :)

[DarkSkies]

I'm debating about doing much of the work myself, which will bring me back to this thread... I don't do plumbing :)

Rob, I don't know what your skill set is....and am just trying to help here.....:HappyWave:
The guideline I would use for recommending if someone should do their own bathroom remodel....is....
"Have they done it before?....or any experience doing any kind of construction or Home Repair"

If you have, then by all means proceed.....







Some jobs, if done yourself, can save you thousands.....
Even minor plumbing repairs....
Fill valve in toilet....
Changing sink or toilet lines....
Etc

Can be done by homeowners, if they follow all instructions meticulously.....

There are some larger jobs where you definitely are better off paying a licensed plumber for his knowledge and efficiency...and jobs where a licensed plumber is required by law. :learn:
Residential owners still have some leeway, and can apply for small changes as do-it-yourselfers....but the key here to me, is the skill-set of the homeowner....
For example, you would have to be comfortable with soldering/sweat fitting pipes and certain fixtures.....

As for the finish work....if you're competent at that, by all means go ahead...
I have been doing these types of repairs for 25 years...and can often tell when I go in a house...if the homeowner did the repair.....Even for grout and caulk work, there is a way to do it efficiently and cleanly....I have seen too many botched jobs by homeowners who were looking to save $$....

IMO poorly done repairs detract from the overall value of the house.....
A member here was recently looking at a investment property...he mentioned how the homeowner did all sorts of half-assed repairs,....we imagined that if it looked that bad on the surface.....what other repairs the owner had hidden.....and as a result this member walked away from the property.










Rob.......As you are getting closer to the project, and have any questions or issues....PM me for my #.....will be glad to give ya any advice I can....from managing contractors to different parts of the permit process.....
Good luck...:thumbsup:

[cowherder]

Hey you never came back in and gave up his name. what is it, and what counties does he cover? thanks

[surfrob]

Don't know about dark's but got a good plumber down in Atlantic finally. Brian A. is his name.

I'm not giving up the name until he finishes my project though :D

[surfrob]

For Monmouth county have a long time family friend who I can recommend: Al Quackenbush and now his son Jason.

They are AWESOME! Seriously honest guys, I've known Jason almost as long as he's been alive, well since he was 10. (some 25 years now).

They are honest, Al did much house rehab work in the Atlantic Highlands / Rumson ++ areas when the urban folks were buying up old
places and restoring them.

[DarkSkies]

^I'm glad you were able to recommend someone, Rob.
The guy I wanted to recommend has been a real disappointment.
The work he did leaked. Even after fixing the first time, he had to come back a 2nd time.
Very poor communicator.
.
Although I'm not licensed, I have done or assisted with many parts of plumbing a homeowner is allowed to do legally, from replacing sewer (what a nasty, dirty job) and water lines (with a backhoe) to servicing and repair of various components of different heating and plumbing systems, including Direct Vent heating systems (beautiful systems, and IMO worth the $$ if you can afford the initial cost), Steam, and Hot water systems.

Maybe I do know more than the average Joe.
I know when someone is BSing me, and when they are telling the truth, at most levels of home improvement and construction.
I was able to find and prove that the guy who did Pebbles' roof was starting to do it with substandard repairs contrary to code, and got him back on track after a heated discussion.

Maybe I am a pain for some licensed guys to deal with.
I do try to give them and their licenses the respect they deserve, back off, and let them do their job without supervision.
But if you don't do the job right, and there are leaks after, more than once, we're going to have some problems.

I feel bad for most homeowners who don't have the skill set and experience that I do.
It's easy to get bamboozled by someone who quotes technical terms that you may not be aware of..... just to confuse the issue.
This guy was reasonable...... but the ancillary costs and terrible communication killed the job and any customer goodwill he built up with me.




Back to the drawing board and search for another. :don't know why:
Don't want to say much more at this time.
I think the best advice when dealing with a plumber is to know the range of what rest of the market charges. Always get more than one estimate. And to know a little bit about plumbing.