Abante Rooter & Plumbing

Kckc C.

Very happy with the person who came out as well as their work. I had a bunch of small jobs that took a few hours and they did wonderful work. I recommend them highly

Bob R.

Worst experience I've had in 30+ years of home ownership.

I went with Abante because I'd been told they had a lot of experience of working in the Watergate complex where I live. This job started as a simple matter of replacing the stem on a faucet which was leaking slightly. Abante quoted me $200 over the phone; I emphasized if they thought it might come to more than that I didn't want to do it, as the leak was so minor. But I wanted to be a good citizen and conserve water. Abante assured me no problem.

Well, the first problem was Abante told me I had to have the water shut off in the units above and below me and give 48 hours notice through the homeowner association, then call them the day before the water would be shut off to arrange for a tech to come out. I did exactly as they said, calling first thing in the morning the day before, but when I called Abante complained I should have given them more notice, then acted like he was doing me a favor by arranging for a tech to come out the next day.

Once the tech arrived he told me he could shut off the water at the shower/tub, no need to have arranged for any more water shutdown. He did that, but as almost as soon as he began working on the stem he commented ""I hope I don't break it"" but didn't lubricate it or prepare it; almost immediately he broke off part of the stem within the pipe. (I've since learned that although he was using a proper tool for a first try, there was another tool he could have used when he started having difficulties.

The tech then spent about 10 minutes trying to loosen the stem, heating it with an acetylene torch (probably not a good idea), then gave up, packed his things and told me he'd have to break through the wall and remove and replace all the pipes involved - escalating a sub-$200 job to a $1000+ job. Now the water would have to be shut off in the building, and the homeowners' association brought in to the mix.

I called Abante, and they took NO responsibility for breaking the pipe. Even though they'd never warned me of the risk of breakage, had worked on it poorly and given up quickly, they said ""this just happens sometimes and you'll just have to pay for the additional work."" When I tried to discuss it or suggest we share some of the expense the owner shouted at me. He wouldn't listen to me at all, and the degree of anger and rigidity I perceived in his voice frightened me

Well, that was enough for me. I contacted another plumber - Lunt Marymor - who were upfront about not knowing if they'd be able to remove the stem or would have to replace the whole assembly - but were willing to give removing the stem a try before expanding the job as Abante had said. Happily, their plumber was able to extract the stem, though it took him 45 minutes and quite a bit of effort. He removed the broken piece, replaced the stem, and saved me $800 in the process.

I'd think twice about using Abante. The person I spoke to over the phone was rude, blaming, and unpleasant; the technician didn't seem experienced, competent or know when to ask for help .

Laura A.

Professional, friendly and efficient work! Within a few hours of calling with an urgent issue, the owner had arranged for service. Problem solved and even a few hours ahead of schedule! Highly recommend.

Edith L.

DO NOT!!!!!! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!! i'm an architect & my husband insisted on using Abante in spite of the fact that they destroyed the structure on the lower story of our house. A few years back they replaced a pipe that had been accidentally punctured & to make their installation easier, they destroyed each & every 2 x 4 in the path of their work. We had asked them to run the pipe under the crawlspace, but apparently it was easier to destroy the structure of our house than for them to go into the crawlspace. At the time we were doing extensive earthquake structural work & had our contractor replace each and every 2 x 4 they destroyed. Still my husband continued using them. Unfortunately, they messed up again. This time after rooting out the plumbing line from our kitchen sink. Last night, we discovered that since the end of September, the trap under the kitchen sink has been leaking, dumping water from the sink & dishwasher into the back of the cabinet which then ran into the wall & under the house. No wonder the drain line was working so well! It was NOT connected. We called Fred Abante this morning. He told me he did not have an insurance company, then he told me he did, but refused to give me the specifics. He hung up on us. We intend to contact the state and request a license review. If his company has a license one assumes that it is bonded. We've very worried about the damage that months of leaking water has caused to our home. If you value your property, DO NOT use this company!

Doctor G.

My water heater began leaking and I immediately called Abante on a Sunday afternoon hoping to leave a message. Someone answered my call and ended up apologizing for being unable to come out that day, but promised to come out the next day which was President's Day holiday! Heck, I was just happy that someone actually took my call on a Sunday!

They came out about 10a and left after lunch after leaving behind a new water heater and a drip pan. My only gripe was that this job seemed to be on the high side (about $1500), but maybe that's because they came out on a holiday to replace the water heater.

Daniel K.

Recommended by a friend who has been a customer for years. Came within 3 hours of our call. Hot water heater was back up and running about 45 min later. Then took the time to offer tips on how to better maintain it. Thanks!

A B.

Disappointed with the unprofessional way of handling business.

This review is not for their work.

I made an appointment the day before with another company to handle a clogged sink and they never showed up. The next day I called three companies and the driver for Abante showed up few minutes after the other company arrived, while the third company I called never even called back to inform of not coming, a similar case of the previous day. The Abante dispatcher called very intrigued that how dare I call others when I called them.... Politely I asked for an estimate, something he offered at the initial call, while the other company was doing the same. He started rising his voice and insulting me. Seriously?

Abante plumbing has anger issues and dislikes the competition. If they were reasonable they would provide their bid and allow me to choose.

I am glad I did not give them my business since if their staff is so disrespectful toward their customers I cannot imagine how their work would be handled.

KJ P.

Abante to the rescue again! These folks are FAST and reasonably priced. Fix the problem the first time and it stays fixed. We have an old house but as problems occur we always get good advice and great service from the professionals at Abante. They even clean up after messy drain problems and leaks under the sink! Hot water heater repair almost instantly (less than an hour after a frantic evening call!) Thanks again for the great service and excellent value!

K C.

Horrible experience and the owner Fred is completely unprofessional. We had a leaky tub faucet and after speaking with Fred (the owner), Francisco came out to do the repair. At first, the leak appeared to stop, but later the SAME day, it started leaking again. We called Fred back the next day and he said he would send Francisco back the following day. Francisco came back and fixed the repair. Then he tried to CHARGE US AGAIN for the second visit. This was a complete surprise to us because it was never repaired the first time, and we had paid them in full after the first visit. He told us to call Fred (the owner) and Fred was furious that we didn't want to pay twice for the same job. He said because his guy had to come out twice, we should pay for each time. We said that was their fault that a single repair required two visits. After much rumbling back and forth, he finally YELLED AT ME: ""Never call Abante again"" and then HUNG UP ON ME. After being treated like this, I had to post it on yelp. I wold give it zero stars if I could.

Quatrain F.

Fast, quality work, fast appointments for emergencies, and reasonable prices. I have used them for many types of jobs, from a remodel to a water main break for the last three years, and have always been happy. I can't say the same for the other four plumbers I've used over the previous ten years. I recommend Abante to all my friends. Francisco is especially awesome.