Plumbline Plumbers

Meg G.

Plumbline is still as efficient and has just as great customer service as it did a couple of years ago. A garbage disposal repair was in order, and Jude handled it quickly. It was something that seemed to be pretty simple, and straightforward, but not a DIY task that I could've done. After the service charge, the total for the repair was reasonable - they didn't overcharge, and it was around what I expected for such a small issue. I am not sure what other reviewers experienced, because I did not have to replace the entire disposal, thankfully. I'm glad to have found such a great, helpful company.

Gretchen O.

After my wonderful experience with Plumbline Plumbers, I called again when my hot water heater went on the fritz.

Jude came over to the house, was courteous and prompt. After a quick look, he told us we needed a new Intellivent controller. Based on my previous good experience, I accepted what he recommended and paid approximately $350 for the part and another $250 for diagnosis and labor over a 2 day time span. The heater started working fine again.

When it died just 2 weeks later, per Plumbline's 30-day guarantee, we called Jude up and asked him to come take a look. He said he couldn't come over and would come over the next day. He called the next day and said he could come over two or three days later. Ever the happy client, I took off work to meet him at my house, and he was about 4 hours late. He showed up with a younger gentleman who was very nice and wanted to help us. Jude, however, basically threw his hands in the air and made me sign an agreement that he was recommending a new hot water heater to the tune of $2000 for installation...without even LOOKING to see what was wrong. The young man even questioned Jude on his diagnosis and said he was going to do additional research for us.

We called a few other plumbers who provided us with free advice and did our own research and ended up buying a new burner assembly straight from the supplier for $120 bucks and installed it ourselves for free. We're not even sure if the original Intellivent actually needed to be replaced or not. But Jude did not really hold himself to his 30-day guarantee and wasn't willing to even take a look the second time around.

Total days spent without hot water: 29.

Lisa H.

To echo other reviewers, they answered the phone were courteous and prompt. They arrived when they said they would. They snaked our tub and cleared the blockage after several hours for $325. Other companies could not come on the same day. We went with whoever could come soonest.

Without checking with us first, the service guy broke the grate on our overflow drain trying to snake the tub. He tried to remove it without asking us. In the end he ended up going through the sink. You should always check with the homeowner before doing something. Now I have a broken grate with sharp edges. I also have a toddler who is curious during bath time. I'm worried about his safety.

Jon M.

Ridiculous!

We first called these plumbers the same day we purchased a $29.99 Angie's list ""Big Deal"" for a ""Service Call"" because we were having two issues: 1) after long rainy periods, I and my downstairs neighbors with whom we share a rowhouse could hear a leaking sound in the walls, and 2) our cold water pressure would steadily decline the longer a faucet was kept running, even though the hot water pressure was normal.

My understanding was that we would be paying the $29.99 for the plumber to come and assess the problem, and tell us what was wrong. We assumed that once they figured out the problem, they would explain it to us and quote us a price for fixing it.

After our first call, we were told we'd get a call back to schedule a time when a plumber could visit. Several days later we called again, since we hadn't heard from them, and after getting to voicemail (and a full mailbox), we finally managed to reach the same person we'd spoken to before. He told me my problem had ""fallen through the cracks"" and that that was the reason we hadn't received a call back, but he at least seemed to remember the two issues we'd described to him as needing attention. He then scheduled a visit for October 21 between 9 a.m.-11 a.m. I had to take the morning off of work, as did one of our downstairs neighbors with whom we share a water main, to be available for the plumber to visit during that time, but we figured we didn't have much of a choice, so no biggie.

At 11 a.m., with no plumber in sight nor any calls about it, I called the service only to be told that there had been a ""mix-up"" and that we were on the schedule for the afternoon, from 2-4. Our neighbor had to go to work, and I had to take the rest of the day off to wait for this person.

I then got a call asking him for the address of our place, which the plumber didn't have despite the fact that I'd given it to the person who scheduled the appointment not once but twice.

When the plumber finally showed up, he immediately said that the leak was a ""roofing issue"" that he couldn't deal with (why he couldn't say this over the phone, I will never know), and then took a look at the pressure issue. In the span of about 5 seconds, he reached into the water main, flicked his wrist, and then turned around and diagnosed the problem as a wrongly turned valve, and then calmly told me that we owed this person $75 for the five second diagnosis/fix (this is on top of the $30 coupon). He did not preemptively explain the problem to me (Iwould've been happy to turn the knob myself, had I known the cost), he didn't provide a quote for fixing it, and he didn't give me the choice to decline the service. He just looked at the valve, reached in, and fixed it. The entire visit took less than 10 minutes, and the diagnosis/fix took about 10 seconds. When I was reluctant to pay, given that we had a coupon and had not even been given a choice of whether or not to fix the problem, the plumber said the $30 coupon was merely money that went to Angie's List for the referral. He added that if we didn't have the deal, the ""service call"" on its own would have cost $75, and that fixing the problem (ADJUSTING A VALVE) would have cost $175, so I guess we supposedly saved a lot of money. However, if they seriously intend to charge $250 for this sort of thing, they'll be out of business very shortly.

I should mention there was no apology for the fact that the plumber was three hours late or the attending inconvenience.

Afterwards, to add salt to the wound, I called them to complain about the unreasonable price, and they responded that while they would agree to refund the money (which I'd never asked for, I wanted to make a more reasonable arrangement), they felt they shouldn't have to since all the money from the coupon went to Angie's List, and they deserved to be compensated for the service they'd provided. They said that they do not like the policy of ""the customer is always right"" because in this case we (the customers) were definitely wrong. I responded by explaining that it is not our concern what their business arrangement with Angie's List is, and it is their responsibility to ensure their marketing deals are not unprofitable. Furthermore, I noted we paid for a consultation, and that is all we wanted/expected to receive; had we been told what the problem was and what the cost would be to fix it, we would have refused the service and either done it ourselves or searched for a cheaper option. I also added that had the plumber been somewhat nicer, or had he mentioned the cost of the fix prior to performing it, we would have been happy to pay $40 or so for the service. As it was, we are happy we are getting our money back.

Sean D.

This is the first time I have done business with this company and must say they are very courteous,fast response time. I will definitely use in the future if needed.

Trisha W.

Good things first. They answered the phone, they were nice on the phone and they were very prompt. They also issued a refund without a big fight.

But WOW - expensive. I hired them to install a garbage disposal and snake a tub drain in an investment condo with a new renter. The garbage disposal alone was $450. No complications, no problems - that is their flat fee.

They spent a few hours snaking the tub drain and called me to inform me that the snake wasn't going through, they were hitting something, the snake was coming back shiny and the trap was probably broken. They informed me they would need to break up the concrete to get to the problem. If they charged $450 for a garbage disposal, I can't imagine what they would have charged for that kind of work.

I wanted a second opinion so I told the Plumbline guy to hold off. Even though they had not solved the problem, they still charged me an additional $250 to snake the tub drain. So that was $700 down the drain for a garbage disposal. Ouch. For $700 I could have bought a goat to eat the garbage.

The bathroom had just been completely remodeled and had not been used since then, so I called the contractor who did the work. Perhaps he had missed something?

He was a total champ and drove all the way from Baltimore to check his work. First, he located and checked the trap which was in perfect condition. The trap was clearly visible behind a panel located just outside the bathroom...which the Plumbline guy had never used. Oops. He then opened the pipes and used a simple shop vac to remove about a quart of standing water. No obstruction was found and the drain was fixed.

The next day, I called Plumbline and explained what happened. I asked that they refund the $250 for snaking the tub drain. I was expecting a fight, but to their credit, they did not argue and promptly issued a refund for the $250.

Bottom line: they are courteous and fast, but you're going to pay for it. They also may have some guys who are less experienced or just looking to jack up the price. Beware.

Matt A.

They came and evaluated my problem, which I paid for, but then they tried to charge $450 to replace a garbage disposal, so I had someone else do it for $210. Not sure where 450 flat rate came from, but that's about $350/hr for labor. yikes.

Lyly R.

My tenant toilet was clog after another plumber came and messup a perfectly working toilet! I called plumbline because of yelp review, they (Vendell) were here on time, the guy told me that snaking will cost $290 + $40 service fees!!! I was chock but didnt have much choice because my tenants need the toilet fix asap. He tried to snake and it dint work et came back and told me that he going to have to remove the toilet for another $75, thats when I said I cannot do it, too overpriced, I argue with him and he accepted to do it anyway for no additional cost. I fixed the issue, i pay $330 instead of $405, still way overpriced!!
I fill like they did a good job but the price is just a rip off for 30$ work, I actually asked him if there were brain surgeon, why there were so expensive???

Sean S.

We hired Plumbline to do a major renovation and upgrade of our 60's era basement half-bathroom to a modern full bathroom. Jude and Dupree worked incredibly hard (until 8:00 at night a couple of times) to minimize the impact to our household. We were so impressed with their work that we further contracted them to replace all of our downstairs galvanized pipe with copper pipe. Two months later, when we called them to adjust our constantly running toilet and install a sink, they showed up the next day and performed the repair for free. We will use Plumbline for all of our future plumbing work.

rob r.

I called these folks because I have a water heater issue. I have several tenants so am quite familiar with electric water heater issues. It's typically the element that needs to be replaced. Vondell came out and would only work on the water heater if he could replace BOTH heating elements (there are 2) and BOTH thermostats (2 as well) for $4xx (can't remember exactly I was so incensed). I asked him if he had a tester to check to see if these 4 were all broken and needed replacing. He said no he wasn't an electrician (other plumbers carry these) and it was all or nothing. I sent him on his way. The folks on the phone were very nice and responsive though. I think they are ripping people off in the water heater department though.