Best Seasonal Maintenance in Portland OR
Plumber
Natural gas line was leaking outside the house due to a rusted pipe underground. Caliber rerouted the line with new pipe and installed pipe supports. The job was done with excellent quality.
caliberservicellc.com
2615 NW St Helens Rd, Portland, OR 97210
Plumber
Rick at Fast Water Heater (FWH) installed a new water heater in my home on 3/25/2014. I found the water heater at Home Depot; Home Depot referred me to Fast Water Heater for the install. This was not a same day install, if that makes any differrence. I have no ties to FWH, the plumber Rick, or anyone else involved in this review.
To summarize, I would definitely use FWH again and would definitely recommend them, and Rick, to my friends. Assuming FWH does other types of plumbing work, FWH/Rick would be my plumber of choice.
Someone at FWH called me the same day I was at Home Depot to purchase a water heater. The person that assisted me on the phone was great and very knowledgable. FWH was going to pickup, install, and take away my old heater. The water heater I wanted Home Depot was no longer carrying (it was on close-out); and there were questions regarding physically fitting the water heater into the space where the old one was and whether the power line could handle the water heater. With the help of FWH, I double checked both fit and available power and then FWH checked on their computer to see what Home Depot had available. With the expertise of FWH, we picked a water heater and scheduled an install for the following day within a two hour window. Not having to wait all day or all morning/afternoon was a pleasant surprise.
The install day we got a call from the plumber asking if he could come early. This was good. The plumber was Rick; he was licensed and knew what he was doing. The way the old water heater was installed was not to code so he took the time to explain to me exactly what -- any why -- he needed to do certain things to meet code. I know there are a lot of people that question codes, but being an engineer I know that most times there are very good reasons for the codes. It did raise the cost but the raise was not significant and reasonable; this rings especially true after comparing the before and after.
Rick did an excellent job installing the water heater and redoing the plumbing to meet code; the work Rick did is exempliary. Before Rick, the plumbing was a rat's nest; after Rick it's clean and neat and easier to deal with. Obviously I picked the water heater so I'm hoping it lasts; FWH gave excellent advice along with telling me they would not install an open-box water heater. Apparently they have had problems with open-boxes so they will only do new sealed-box heaters; this is good advice, imho.
I don't know about labor pricing as I didn't have time to run around and get estimates. From previous plumbing work I've had done, I'd have to say the price was fair (as in not overpriced nor underpriced) for the work -- no gouging, no games -- and that the work was excellent. I appreciated that Rick reused the few pieces worth reusing from the previous plumbing (certain brass fitting) rather than simply tossing them.
All in all, dealing with FWH and Rick was a pleasant experience. It's nice to find a locally owned (Pacific Northwest) company that does quality work at a reasonable price and, from talking with Rick, treats their employees well.
www.fastwaterheater.com
To summarize, I would definitely use FWH again and would definitely recommend them, and Rick, to my friends. Assuming FWH does other types of plumbing work, FWH/Rick would be my plumber of choice.
Someone at FWH called me the same day I was at Home Depot to purchase a water heater. The person that assisted me on the phone was great and very knowledgable. FWH was going to pickup, install, and take away my old heater. The water heater I wanted Home Depot was no longer carrying (it was on close-out); and there were questions regarding physically fitting the water heater into the space where the old one was and whether the power line could handle the water heater. With the help of FWH, I double checked both fit and available power and then FWH checked on their computer to see what Home Depot had available. With the expertise of FWH, we picked a water heater and scheduled an install for the following day within a two hour window. Not having to wait all day or all morning/afternoon was a pleasant surprise.
The install day we got a call from the plumber asking if he could come early. This was good. The plumber was Rick; he was licensed and knew what he was doing. The way the old water heater was installed was not to code so he took the time to explain to me exactly what -- any why -- he needed to do certain things to meet code. I know there are a lot of people that question codes, but being an engineer I know that most times there are very good reasons for the codes. It did raise the cost but the raise was not significant and reasonable; this rings especially true after comparing the before and after.
Rick did an excellent job installing the water heater and redoing the plumbing to meet code; the work Rick did is exempliary. Before Rick, the plumbing was a rat's nest; after Rick it's clean and neat and easier to deal with. Obviously I picked the water heater so I'm hoping it lasts; FWH gave excellent advice along with telling me they would not install an open-box water heater. Apparently they have had problems with open-boxes so they will only do new sealed-box heaters; this is good advice, imho.
I don't know about labor pricing as I didn't have time to run around and get estimates. From previous plumbing work I've had done, I'd have to say the price was fair (as in not overpriced nor underpriced) for the work -- no gouging, no games -- and that the work was excellent. I appreciated that Rick reused the few pieces worth reusing from the previous plumbing (certain brass fitting) rather than simply tossing them.
All in all, dealing with FWH and Rick was a pleasant experience. It's nice to find a locally owned (Pacific Northwest) company that does quality work at a reasonable price and, from talking with Rick, treats their employees well.
Portland, OR 97213