Smelly Mel's Plumbing

Kristina M.

A wide streak of a water puddle on our lawn prompted my fiancé and I to dig up under and figure out where the water was coming from. We ended up finding a bursted pipe which was part of the old homes sprinkler system. We tried shutting it off through the main valves and still no luck. It was 5pm and most plumbing services were closed or booked. We called Smelly Mel's and Hallelujah they were able to send someone out within the next hour! Dean (I'm already forgetting his name I think it was Dean) came and saved the day. He was super helpful, friendly, and informative. They gave us a good price and were able to solve our problem. PHEW! As new homeowners I know we're going to continue running into BS issues like this because #homeownerproblems amirite? But it's good to know we have a reliable company to call. They also completed the sewer lateral on our home before we closed.

Awesome awesome awesome

Jean N.

Definitely not a good experience. We went with them as they were the cheapest but when all was done, it was no cheaper than other bids so buyer beware! They try to gouge you for more money at every turn.

I should have realized when we started the project as it was a nightmare getting the city permits. I had to do it all and when I asked for their info to fill out the permit, they either didn't have it or I was told the city had it. Yet the city kept asking me for it!! Finally we figured it out with the city but had to create our own traffic plan. Of course, I was told by Smelly Mels they could do the paperwork for an extra charge!! Note: it said they would do the permits in the contract!

Despite the project going on for years and having had traffic control many times, we only started to get complaints from our neighbors when Smelly Mels were doing work. Neighbors were texting and calling saying they couldn't get out of driveways, that they almost had a head on collision with on-coming traffic. It was terrible.

And then the kicker, as we had two trenches - after we dug the first one, we had to wait a few weeks for PG&E to come- we were calling PG&E multiple times a day and we had some bad weather. Smelly Mels made us pay a change order before they would dig the second trench- knowing that we had no choice. The reason? Because of the PG&E delay and bad weather. Now- isn't this their business- digging trenches primarily for utilities and isn't the weather just part of doing business??? We had already agreed to pay an exorbitant amount of money and yet we were held hostage by them.

All in all, a miserable experience and one I would not like repeated. I complained to them and not a single response or follow up. Maybe on to the next unsuspecting victim.

j s.

The technician came out and was very thorough in his work. Explain everything he did and gave me a detailed report. Very professional.

Min N.

Great service. Had a backed up toilet. Came out the next day. Donie looked into it and of course when he is there it starts to work! However, to ensure there would be no issues after he left, he looked at all the piping and made sure that on every flush he could hear the drain out in the street working properly. I appreciate that and I have had no issues since. Will definitely use them again.

Tim R.

I had used Smelly Mel's for nearly a decade but recently had an unfortunate experience with them which will cause me not to use them again.

I had their plumber look at three jobs at our second home which my son currently lives at. We had one of them completed that day, and he gave us estimates on the other two jobs .

One of the jobs was to work on the upstairs sink, which is quite old. It was apparent the plumber had not seen that type of sink before and said the reason for the high cost was because he was going to have to remove the sink from the wall (the estimate was for $1795). After hearing the estimate later in the day, my wife told me that there's actually a screw directly underneath the cover and that it comes off very easily.

I had my son remove the cover and ask them if they can come back over again and give us a new estimate on the sink. Their dispatcher initially said there would be no change. My son asked if he could send a picture showing that the pipes were exposed and the plumber had complete accessibility now. They looked at it and still insisted that the cost would be the same .

I had my son call Roto-Rooter and they came over and fixed the job for $541. Their plumber also opined that he didn't get into the plumbing business to overcharge people.

I'm quite disappointed about this experience and in good conscience can't use their company again. I'm also curious after having this experience how many other jobs I was overcharged for over the years.

Mark J.

Donie just installed a kitchen faucet for us. He was on-time, efficient, super informative and helpful. Smelly Mel's is not the cheapest plumbing service but over the years we keep coming back to them because their service people are excellent and do great work. They're worth it. Thanks!

lovetoeat p.

Sewer lateral was replaced by smelly Mel. A few months later, after a few days of rain, the clean out hole close to the house became lopsided and a 2 feet by 2 feet sinkhole developed next to it. After we called smelly Mel to let them know about this, they asked for a picture of the problem and sent a technician out to check it the next day.

Juan came at the end of the work day and spent a long time carefully examining the sewer lateral from the clean out hole to the city main. He also looked in the opposite direction towards the house foundation to make sure the hole that developed did not compromise the integrity of the sewer pipe. He was clear and professional in letting us know the results of the video and that the solution would be compacting the soil well.

The next day, Juan returned in the middle of the day with additional dirt and a compacting machine to make sure the ground was properly compacted. Afterwards he and his teammate used water to clean up the dirt and left the area tidy.

We are impressed with Juan and his teammate's professionalism and care that they put into their work.

Nate T.

Fantastic service. I had a water line leak in the attic and service technician Steve did a great job locating the leak and documented with photos so that we could evaluate the options. The leak was in a very tight spot, but that did not cause and issue. I'm very impressed with the prompt and professional. 10/10 will use again.

Vicky G.

Had sewage pipes replaced. Work was done well and pricing was fair.
Nice to receive a senior discount. Only negative comment would be that communication between the office and myself was a bit off at times. Otherwise a great job!

Kay B.

French less sewer replacement with minimal fuss. Paid less than half what my GC quoted for a full and unnecessary, complicated replacement.