Empire State Plumbing

splash D.

I was out of state when water was dripping from the garage ceiling at the house in Loudonville, so I called Empire State pluming because of all the good reviews. They sent Victor to the property. Victor was fast and courteous. He communicated clearly on the phone and sent me pictures. However, the whole experience was like getting trapped and sinking as the charges mounted. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had been severely over charged. I will state what happened with pictures. Tell me what you think.
1) $89 dispatch fee, not sure if all plumbers charge that
2) Upon inspection the leak (photo 1), Victor said the leak was from the first floor bathroom water pipe and he needs to open the wall. $158 just to open the wall, I thought that wasn't too bad so I agreed.
3) before opening the wall, Victor said he smelled gas in the garage and it will be $99.99 to perform gas leak diagnose. Even though nobody had smelled gas in the garage, I thought it'd be serious and agreed to go ahead. Then he told me he used soap water found gas leak on an old gas pipe (see photo 2). Fear the severity of a gas, I asked him to fix it. In a couple of minutes, he was done and that was another $113.75. Do you think that gas leak was legit?
3) then Victor opened a small piece of wall in the first floor bedroom. He sent me picture (photo 3), then said that the leak was actually from the second floor bathroom
4) he went to second floor and opened another hole on the wall, then he said he needed to open the third hole (photo 4) just to reach the leaking pipe (photo 5)
5) the pipe joints are new as the bathroom was newly remodeled. Victor explained why the joints could have been leaking if not done correctly then he said fixing the joints would be $318.75. I kept ask him why it would be so expensive, he said he already gave my discount, normally would be more than $400. I complained that it sounded very high, he said that it would take an hour to replace that, labor is high. I thought of getting someone else there, or at least get a price comparison, but since I need to get the leak (water was dripping) fixed ASAP, I reluctantly agreed. In about 20 minutes, he was done (see photo 6). I said this didn't take as much time as he stated and he shouldn't have charged me over three hundred dollars. He said he also needed time to clean up. I didn't know cleaning up can be so expensive.

I was charged total of $841.85 (photo 7) for a water leak, left with three holes in the walls. What do you think?

Vinny B.

The guy came fixed one this broke another thing and caused another leak. We got him to come back a few days later and they want to charge $300 to fix the leak that THEY CAUSED. They would not negotiate price at all, even though they new they caused the leek. They have terrible customer service and were just rude when we refused to pay for the damage caused by the plumber. We were willing to pay 50% and they even refused that. Don't ever use Empire State Plumbing they are unprofessional, don't care about their customers, and basically just scam artists.

Cory W.

Steve, one of their Technicians, came when out kitchen sink wasn't draining. He called, gave me an estimated time and arrived when he said he would. He then assessed the problem and listened to what I said was going on and what I had tried when I tried to fix it on my own. He gave me the price upfront before starting the work. Once he started, he ran into a few snags but kept working until the issue was fixed and tested it several times before he left. He also clean any mess from the work he did and it was like he wasnt even here.

Asked him a few questions about some heating/radiators that Empire doesn't work on and he was able to make a referral. Also gave some advice on the faucet that has been giving me issues.

I would definitely recommend Steve and Empire State Plumbing Inc. to anyone looking for a plumber

Amanda D.

They showed up on time and fixed the problem that Anthony Crisafulli's plumbing company created and didn't know how to fix.

Mike C.

Our pipe burst on our frost free outdoor faucet and Empire replaced the faucet. I am thankful that there are plumbers like Empire who are willing to work on short notice on a Saturday night. Of course I expected to pay a premium for that. I should have asked when I called what the charges would be but I didn't. When Empire arrived, I reluctantly agreed to their $205 per hour charge for after hours work in addition to $60 to walk through the door. Empire then charged 1.5 hours to replace an outdoor faucet. That time did not include buying the faucet -- I took care of that myself. (Empire told me in advance that they did not have a faucet and suggested capping the leak Saturday night followed by a second repair on Monday with a faucet. I bought a faucet instead of that plan). The total charge for replacing a frost free exterior faucet was $426 + tax, not including the cost of the faucet. I recommend shopping around more than I did and ask for billing policies when calling.

Christine J.

Outstanding! Woke up to a broken water heater on Columbus Day. I called @10 am and spoke with Michelle. She was professional and friendly as she heard my concerns and set up an appointment for 11 am. Mike and Tom arrived on time, they were professional, kind, courteous and efficient, and I had a completely new system including a custom built draft by 2 pm. Tom went over the new appliance with me and answered any questions I had and they were off to the next home. I was left with a neatly installed hot water heater which worked perfectly. I would highly recommend!

Eileen P.

My toilet would not stop running. I called empire plumbing and they were able to come to my house within 4 hours of my call. They called when they were on their way.
Steve and Pat were the plumbers. They both were very courteous, and explained what the problem was and proceeded to fix it. They were very neat and respectful of my home.
I will use them again for any plumbing issues.

David V.

I was most impressed with my first experience using Empire State Plumbing Inc. We needed a 50 gallon electric hot water heater replaced the day before the Fourth of July. I called that morning and spoke with Tom, the owner. After a discussion about my requirements Tom said he would check on the availability of the water heater and get back to me that morning. He called back less than a half hour later and quoted me a price which included installation of the new commercial grade water heater and removal of the old unit. The price was reasonable and I agreed to proceed with the installation. To my surprise and delight he was able to come over that same day at a time I was available. By 2 PM that same day I had hot water again. Tom and his helper Pat were courteous, prompt, and professional. What more could you ask for?

N H.

Can't praise these folks enough! I'm a new homeowner and was disheartened to discover our basement smelled like sewer when we ran the dishwasher and washing machine. Additionally, our downstairs toilet and kitchen sink were not draining properly. We thought we had a major plumbing issue and were preparing ourselves to take out a loan to resolve it.

Called up these folks and they sent us Steve. He should wear a cape because he saved the day. Turns out the problem was a combination of build up that was preventing the pump from running and shoddy work done by a previous plumber/handyperson who did not vent the pump properly. Steve resolved the problem, fixed the venting, and explained it all in a way I (a person with zero knowledge of plumbing) could understand. He also gave us tips about how we'll need to keep up maintenance on our system to prevent this from happening again. I could have hugged Steve when it came time to pay the bill. Completely affordable and did not require us to take out a loan. Additionally, Steve, in addition to being knowledgeable and doing great work, is incredibly personable.

Though I hope I won't need to call often, these folks are my go-to plumbers!

Mary C.

Mike was here in half an hour to unclog the sole toilet in the house. Courteous guy who worked quickly and neatly and got the job done. Dispatcher was also courteous and quick. I will definitely use them again.