Looking for a Good and Honest Plumber?

[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 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.