Austin Area Plumbing

Melissa J.

It was my worst experience with this company. My texas rental house's Rinnai water heater displayed error code 11, and I found this company through the Rinnai website.

The first technician came to my house on June 12, 2024, spent only 15 minutes diagnosing the issue, and charged me $219.95. This fee included a mileage charge, which I was not informed about when making the appointment. Initially, I was pleased that the problem seemed to be fixed. However, two weeks later, the same error reappeared. When I called the company, they informed me that since the first technician had left the company and there was nothing wrong with his job, I would need to pay again for a different technician to come.

I reluctantly agreed, given the recommendation from the Rinnai website. The second technician arrived on July 16, 2024, advised me to perform a water flush, and charged me another $353.95. He eventually identified the issue as a faulty pressure reducing valve and provided a quote of $1,469.95 to replace it. The frustrating part was when the second technician left, the front desk demanded immediate payment, threatening additional charges if I didn't pay right away, as the technician couldn't leave otherwise. I told the front desk that the technician could leave and I needed time to pay.

Feeling mistreated, I called the front desk to express my dissatisfaction with their urgency and rudeness. They directed me to speak with the director, Melissa. Melissa insisted that the first technician had done his job correctly and acknowledged that the front desk shouldn't have been so pushy. This made me feel somewhat better, so I asked her if I could get a discount on replacing the valve. She said it might be possible and would get back to me later. However, when I followed up with a text message asking about the discount, I received no response.

Right now I think the company is ridiculous, I paid the company not a specific technician, it is none of my business that the first technician left the company. Be careful of this company!

Edward T.

One day my daughter noticed water stains on the ceiling of her bedroom. Right away, I knew right way where that was coming from. There were 2 tank water heaters in the attic above her bedroom. Upon climbing into the attic to inspect, I found one of the water heaters was leaking at the top where the hot water exits the tank. Right away I called a plumbing company to get an estimate on replacing water heater. The first company that came to the house suggested tankless water heater to replace both 20 year old tanks. So, I started Google searching for the best tankless heaters. After that, I called three other plumbing companies to get their recommendations and estimates. Two companies that came to the house said I needed to remove the pull-down stair case assembling in order to get both tank water heaters out of the attic. A third company said to leave the both 50 gallons and 40 gallons tanks in the attic. For the fourth company, I called Austin Area Plumbing (not to be confused with "Austin Area Pluming and Drain Cleaning). Technician Garrett Beshears showed up. He went to the attic to inspect. He came down and said he could remove both tanks without tearing down the pull down stair case, thus saving me extra work and cost.

The first company said it was my responsibility to hire a roofer to install the heater's inlet/exhaust vents going through the roof. The third company said they could run the PVC vents thought the existing metal cylinders. They said when the PCV pipes touch the vent caps at the top they would lower the pipe a few inches. However, Garrett said it was not recommended because rust and debris could fall into the tankless water heat and cause problems later. He said he would run the pipes through the roof, put and seal the collars around the opening on top of the roof.

Both tank water heaters had 1/2" gas lines. Three companies said they would use one of the existing gas line to supply gas to tankless heater and cap off the other gas line. Garrett said the tankless heater requires 3/4" supply line. A 1/2" line is not good enough. He said since the main gas line is 1.0", he could connect to it with a 3/4" line.

The model of the tankless units I was looking at came with a recirculating pump. One company wanted to charge me $200 for crossover tee to speed up hot water delivery to fixtures. There was no extra charge for this tee from Austin Area Plumbing. The cost estimate for the tankless water heater plus installation from 3 companies was comparable. But one company was $3,000.00 MORE for the same unit and work. And it had good reviews!

Garratt had to work in the attic and on top of the roof when it was super HOT. I felt sorry he had to work under this condition. But he NEVER complain and NEVER took short cuts to finish and get the hell out from the heat!! He was extremely professional, as his work, and very accommodating. He did whatever I wished. He did a superb job!! He is a hard working guy!

I know this review may be very lengthy but I want you to know my experience with several companies with good reviews. But it's the technician that's doing the work that can make or break the company's reputation.

Alex A.

Javier installed a Moen flo water shutoff and did an amazing job! Amazing service and attention to details!

Heather W.

Excellent service! I had a plumbing issue while out of town guests were visiting and they were able to address the issue quickly and efficiently! Javier was our service provider and he was on time, professional, knowledgeable and really wonderful to work with! We will definitely be using them for any future plumbing needs!

K F.

Yesterday Melissa and Garrett of Austin Area Plumbing were my heroes. I had a serious emergency plumbing problem and Melissa moved mountains to get someone out right away to turn the water off at street (Blake, also a hero) because I couldn't get the manhole cover off. This avoided catastrophe.
A little later Garrett arrived and fixed everything for a reasonable price . The service is excellent. I used them once before (Dennis is also excellent) and will use them for any future problems.

Tracy K.

First time using Austin Area Plumbing.
My washing machine drain pipe was clogged.
Garratt did a great job of explaining why the drain was clogged and showed me a photo of the blockage. He used a commercial auger to move the blockage down to the larger pipe so water would flow again.
I very highly recommend.
The only thing I wish I'd known was that I could have got a $30 coupon on their website before the work was done, but I didn't know about it.
I will definitely use this company again !!

S A.

Husband took off work for the plumber appointment and waited and waited and they never showed. Called after the appointment window had gone by and they said they had cancelled our appointment and didn't even bother to let us know! Absolutely unprofessional. Thanks for ghosting us and costing us income we needed.

Miguel D.

The company is very responsive and neighborly. I remember when they helped us during the freeze, when everyone told us there would be a 6mo wait. These guys made it happen, even drove to other states to get water heater when all other companies just said "sorry you are out of luck". I thought I might have a leak and they did not treat me like it was a meaningless request to come and ck it out. Came right over accessed the issue immediately. There was no leak just a possible clogged ac return tube. Answered all my questions and wouldn't even take payment on the house call. True hometown company, thanks James!

Kevin R.

Super fast and friendly service. Communication was great both be fore and after service was completed.

Kalpesh G.

Reasonable, Honest, Professional and Courteous Plumber!

Over this past weekend on Saturday, Nov 11th, a neighbor alerted me to the fact that water was running down our driveway at a pretty high rate. I had hoped the issue was with sprinkler system, but sadly it was with our water main between the meter and our home. I spent most of Saturday afternoon and all-day Sunday trying to locate the leak in our yard with countless hours of digging.

Finally, on Monday early afternoon Roto Rooter came out with specialized Sonar equipment to narrow in on the leak. They helped find a copper pipe (house side) and PVC pipe (yard side) that met under a poured concrete sidewalk to access our backyard. And then provided me an estimate of nearly $4000 to perform the repair, which would take approximately 3 hours. I just couldn't believe the price.... so, I turned them down.

I spent the rest of Monday and most of Tuesday was focused on digging under the sidewalk to find the transition point between PVC and copper, which happened to be the point of failure. I also contacted two (2) different plumbers recommended by friends for estimates. One was willing to do the work at hourly rate and a fraction (less than a third) of Rotor Rooter but still pricey for what I knew needed to be done. The other was Dennis with Austin Area Plumbing.

I called Dennis on Monday late afternoon, and he spent time with my on the phone hearing about my saga, the work I had done to uncover the leak, expose the pipes and reduce the repair work. He even looked at pictures I texted him to get a sense of the issue. In the end, Dennis said, the more you can do to minimize my work, the more it will save you. He was a man of his word! Dennis put my on his schedule for Wednesday around noon. On Tuesday, Dennis checked in with me on my progress and if I could still use his help, which I did. Finally, on Wednesday, he showed up promptly around noon with txt updates of his heading my way. Upon arrival, Dennis surveyed my preparation and acknowledged that I had done all the "HARD" work in digging and exposing the issue. He proceeded to cut out the damaged pipes, discuss the pros and cons of two options with me, and then proceeded with an agreed to plan-of-attack. We agreed to use PEX with copper-to-PEX fittings on the house side and PVC-to-PEX fittings on the yard side with a slightly bowed 1" PEX tube under the sidewalk to restore the water supply. After a little over an hour he was done, then we just had to wait for glue to cure and then test the repair.

Finally, the moment of truth... water turned on and no leaks... Hooray! In the end, Dennis was the best option for us and the more reasonable price. I cannot thank Dennis with Austin Area Plumbing enough. He is a true saint!

If you need plumbing work done professionally by an experienced plumber with reasonable rates, look no farther - Call Austin Area Plumbing!