Gaithersburg Plumbing

John S.

My water line sprung a leak on Saturday morning.
It took me until 3 pm to figure out what was going on and get WSSC to turn my water off.
Got a recommendation to call G'burg Plumbing from my regular plumber...
Called them.
They came over an hour later and estimated. They were quite busy , but were at my house at 9 a.m. ON SUNDAY...did the job...Were pretty much done by 1:30 pm.
The were REALLY good about not wrecking the landscaping.
Totally pro.

Patricia S.

I want to share my experience so it doesn't happen to you.
Don't use Gaithersburg plumbing they are not proficient and as they charge by the hour you will get a huge bill even if your problem is not solved. They take things very slow; they keep coming and going to their van ""looking for parts that they don't have""
Also they don't know what they are doing the ""technician"" was texting and sending pictures to his boss trying to figure out why a faucet could leak.

Gaithersburg plumbing was recommended when I had a leak in the wall behind the bathtub's faucet.
When I called GP they told me that they charge the visit and then by the hour and then every 10 minutes..

The ""technician"" showed up and looked at the problem and decided to change the gasket of the overflow that was dry. So he had to go to his van to look for the part came back ten minutes later, try to replace the part for a while and he was not successful, it was too thick. So trying to help I told him that that gasket was not going to fit in there that maybe he should try with a thinner one. He thought it was a good idea and he went down to his van again to look for another one. Came back ten minutes later and he finally made it. So up to here it was almost 40 to 45 minutes.

Then he started to look at the leak at the back of the valve. He didn't know how to tackle this and start texting and sending photos to his boss asking how he could fix the leak.
Finally took the faucet trim apart and got the cartridge out, keep on texting to his boss and said that the cartridge had a crack and he had to replace it .So he went to his van to get the part. After 20 minutes he came back and said that it was not a common cartridge and that they didn't keep that part in the van (wouldn't he know what parts he had in the van)
So he brought a new faucet to change the whole thing (when you change the faucet you actually have to change the back valve also so add the value of the faucet the valve and I wonder how long it would take him to change all that as he didn't know what he was doing). The finish of the faucet he was offering was chrome and it didn't match with the shower and the spout that were satin nickel, so I didn't think it was a good idea, so he put back the trim and faucet and decided that the leak was gone.(even any plumber would know that if the cartridge is broken the leak was not fixed and I was naive enough to believe it)
So he went back to his van to do the ticket and came back after another 10 minutes and wanted to charge me $300 for spending 2 hours in my apartment and not solving my problem. Denied to pay that (he spent like and hour coming and going to his van) but still charged me $170.

The next day when I took a shower the faucet was still leaking..
To make this story short I called a handy man that took the faucet apart and went for the cartridge to the Home Depot, that is 3 blocks away from my apartment, came back, change it and charge me $150 for labor and parts.

Conclusion, they are a plumbing scam, check for other similar experiences reviews in Yelp.
Pat

R S.

So I strongly suggest the person looking at my review reads it instead of looking at the star rating. Depending on who you are you may rank them higher or lower.

The issue:
My main water line sprung a leak during the cold weather. I decided I should replace the whole line rather than patch it. I called a bunch of plumbers and only Gaitherburg Plumbing actually responded. They managed to quickly get a guy out to give me an estimate on the waterline replacement.

The estimate is simple and they gave me a fair value. They said it would be an easy job that would take slightly over half a day since my waterline had easy access underneath my grass. Setting up an appointment to have them come out and fix it was simple.

Day One:
The plumbers show up and dig the normal hole needed to address my main water line. They had everything pretty much ready by lunchtime and were working on switching out the pipes. They told me there was some complications and they couldn't pull the pipe out and they may have to rip up my garage in order to get the pipe through. I expressed I was not happy about that. A couple hours pass and they came back and said they needed to cut and dig up a hole in my driveway. They said it was my only option if I wanted water. They said if they didn't do it, the replacement wouldn't work out and they'd have to rip up my basement and a larger hole in my driveway if I didn't approve them to dig a small hole in my driveway. I asked them if this would be it and they assured me it would be simple once they got this hole dug. I gave them the go ahead. They dug the hole but it was approaching the end of the day. They said they'd have to come back another day, but they had everything they needed right there in that hole and it'd be a quick couple hours and everything will go smoothly.

Day Two:
The plumbers were there bright and early and working on it. Suddenly after a couple hours they said they had complications. They said that their boss was telling them to convince me to dig up my garage and basement. The plumbers were nice enough to tell their boss I wouldn't approve it. So they said they could easily dig two holes in the grass on the side of my house and pretty much be done. This really annoyed me because yesterday they told me they had to dig up my garage and driveway and there was no other way. It turns out there was another way! I give them the go ahead on the holes on the side of my house which they continue to dig. There simple two holes didn't work. They came back and said they had complications and needed to dig a trench along the side of my house. Since it was dirt I was okay with it because I needed it over. They dug the trench and I had water. They didn't fill any of the holes back in because their machine broke. They told me they'd fill it back in the next day after the inspector comes and approves their work. I was happy I at least had water. I asked them if I needed to take any precautions so the new pipe won't freeze while still partially exposed. They assured me they couldn't possibly happen.

Day Three:
I wake up and go to shower. To my surprise I have no water. I call the plumbing company who eventually sends a guy out. He looks and tells me my waterline froze, but not to worry it was only the connector. He said no damage would come to the line. I am weary if that is truly the case, but it seems to make sense the way he described it. He defrosted the connector and I had water again. I just had to leave my water running all day to prevent it from freezing again. The other plumbers finally showed up and filled in the holes after the inspector approved of their work.

The Aftermath:
Pros:
Despite taking longer they didn't charge me extra because my contract explicitly stated the price for the job and not for how long they worked it.

Cons:
They did do the final charge on my credit card with out my approval (They did call me to tell me they think I approved it so they were just going to charge it). I won't hold that against them since I would've used that credit card for the final approval. I should point this out for anyone who might not be happy about that.

My carpet is an absolute mess. They did not lay down any plastic tarps over the rugs they had to walk on. I expected them to keep a thing neater, but my light colored rug is now caked with mud and probably stained. I'll have to get my carpets cleaned. Mind you it is not a little bit of dirt it is A LOT. The plumber saw that on the last day and was like well I tried to at least not to dirty it I just wasn't successful you can't hold that against me.

My shelving is still on the floor. They ripped down shelving because it was in their way. They never put it back up and it's just laying on my basement floor.

They did a really bad job filling the holes. They didn't really pack the hole and I have massive mounds of dirt on my lawn and a small one in the hole in my driveway (They don't fix concrete damage)

Francine P.

Not happy about this company. I am doing a renovation and called to see if they could sell me a bathtub with certain specifications. They would not give me any information ecept they get stuff from Home depot and Lowe's. i don't believe they don't know other suppliers. I did offer to buy it from them if they would order. Very stingy.

Lee B.

Don't bother, there are plenty of other plumbers. I have used them twice and had problems both times. First incident, the technician tells me that I cannot switch from a dual to single knob faucet in my shower. So, I purchased another dual knob. A few days later, another technician comes out and tells me I should install a single faucet. Luckily I saved the single knob - he was able to replace/install the necessary pipes and valves to accommodate a single. So, it took 2 trips and over 4 hours to replace one shower faucet. Second incident, the technician installed new valves in my guest bathroom. Though I had no leaks from the pipes, the valves were not installed correctly (they were never tightened). So, first time using the shower, there was absolutely no water pressure and when I attempted to turn the faucets off, the valves popped out, water was shooting out, flooding my bathroom floor, and damaging the hard wood floors in the hallway.

Hope S.

The technician did not solicit unnecessary repair work. But the labor cost was outrageously high and baseless. He charged $120 for less than 10 minute simple work: replace one old outdoor vacuum breaker and put on another v. Breaker on another garden breaker. Be aware of the no-standard and unreasonable labor charging practice.

Tanya R.

I used Gaithersburg Plumbing because my private insurance company uses this company as an independent contractor. I was very dissatisfied. Not only did they misdiagnosis my broken toilet, but they took my deductible of 85.00. My husband went out and purchased a new toilet and put it in himself after being told that there was a blockage in the line, not in the toilet. The blockage was in the toilet. I have a working, new toilet, no thanks to Gaithersburg Plumbing! My husband took the broken toilet to the Gaithersburg Plumbing the next day, showing them where the blockage was. They told my husband that they would not give back the 85.00. but that they would send me a refund of 20.00 once my check had cleared. How ridiculous!!!! I have since reported the company to my insurance company. I do not recommend this company!

T. R.

J Y.

Gaithersburg Plumbing provides horrible customer service. I've been without hot water, a working shower, or a working bath all week, and the only status update I can get is, ""maybe Monday."" Their hold music specifically states other companies require multiple trips but they get the job done because they carry required parts. Yet here I am waiting for a part. I have no idea why the part wasn't rushed, and I have no idea when it will get here. I was told 2-3 days, then maybe Friday, and now, ""maybe Monday."" Please note they are not accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

J L.

Gaithersburg Plumbing worked on water pipes under my mother's front yard a few years ago. They did not call the utility company to have them mark the lines going into the house. They ended up cutting her FIOS cable while digging in her yard and took no responsibility for it. A few days after the cable was cut we had a blizzard so my mom was without phone and internet for 3 weeks. Gaithersburg plumbing never filled the trench they dug. They just left if there assuming Verizon would fix it. I would stay far away from them.

Tony S.

This place is awful!!!!!! They say they are professionals however that is a major joke.. If your problem isn't right in front of them they don't want to have anything to do with it what theeeeee???? Why are they in business? I have a warranty and my warranty company sent them out they flushed some toilets listened for lord knows what and said the leak that wasn't in my kitchen? That it came from my roof???? Well when I insisted that another plumbing company come back out they had true plumbers that were there to do their jobs they found the LEAK which was coming from the second floor restroom which in return was leaking in the Kitchen I don't do plumbing and I knew the leak was there!! And not from the ROOF !!!.... Anyway ARS fixed the problem they are located in Laurel MD