Barker and Sons Plumbing & Rooter

My wife did not like the water softener and Mike at Barker and Sons was kind enough to exchange it for a water conditioner. I would recommend their services highly.

Everything went well. It seems a little expensive. Was not here very long. Work was fine but it seems everyone wants big bucks and trys to extract as much money out of folks as they can. Parts were around $30 so labor was 240. For a simple task that seems too high and he offered no Senior Discount.

Chris was very polite and informative throughout his visit. He explained everything and did not proceed unless I gave him the OK. I would have no problem calling this company again if the need ever arises.

I called Barker & Sons out to my home to resolve a sewer stoppage after a competing organization was called out and said they could not manage the job. The technician Chris arrived on schedule and I showed him the problem. He then inspected the plumbing and appeared confident that he could resolve the problem through existing sewer line clear-outs and he quoted two different prices, one to simply clear the line and another to clear the line and add to larger mainline clear-outs. As I believed at the time that it was just a simple clogged line, I elected to just have it cleared, which Chris did quickly and professionally. Within the hour my drains were operating normally and all appeared to be resolved...or so we believed. The following day everything still was operating normally at first but once again the draining slowed, completely stopped and started to backup into the shower. Around mid-day I called Barker & Sons to let them know the problem had returned and I was told that Chris would come out as soon as he was finished on another call. Unfortunately Chris was occupied for a number of hours and wasn't able to arrive until almost 6 PM. That wasn't really a problem, but I do wish his office had made a better effort to keep me apprised of his ETA. Chris inspected the line, this time using an optic camera to search for a line stoppage and up came a large mass that wasn't definable, but certainly appeared to our culprit. At this point their wasn't anything more that could be done this evening but to clear enough so the drains would work at least temporarily that evening. Chris would then return to install the larger clear-outs and completely remove the blockage the following day. Chris and his assistant Frank arrived on time and started in right away. They excavated a 3-ft section of the garden and exposed the 4-inch mainline and removed a 3-ft section of the old clay pipe joint that was almost completely obstructed by solid plant root. They then installed a new section along with two opposing 4-inch clean-outs, reinspected the line with the optic camera the entire length of the pipe to where it connect at the street and was all clear. They then back-filled the garden and packed up their equipment. I think the whole effort took approximately 4 hours, but I wasn't really watching the time that closely. They appeared to take care special care to avoid damaging any plants or grass and they replanted the shrubs as best they could. For that are to be commended, but I did need to do a bit of clean up and plant repair, but nothing serious. As for pricing, this was one of those times that I didn't want to spend the time to get a number of quotes, but the first plumbers I called who couldn't do the work (who shall remain nameless, but have a well-known add about smelling good) verbally quoted me more than double what I paid for this job. The total I paid reflects the entire amount of work done over the three days. Chris was great, very professional and seems to know his trade well. He worked quickly and efficiently and I would call Barker & Sons again. My only critiques are: 1) If your tech is required to return to complete a job, then his dispatch should give updated ETAs every couple hours just to keep the customer informed. This effort was a bit spotty. 2) Although Chris did offer to install the larger 4-inch clean-outs on his initial visit, without the visual diagnosis he used the following day, there was no reason to believe they were immediately necessary. Had he done so in this case, we might have been able to see that plant root blockage and realize the pipe section had to be replaced. This may have allowed everyone to save some time and a couple trips.

I used this same company last year. It seems that everytime I want to have quests for the Holidays, I have some dumb thing go wrong. They were here on time, the technician was a darling young man and was very polite and very attentive. He did a great job and was in and out in a flash, and made sure that the bathroom was as clean when he left as when he arrived. I will always use them in the future.

My tenant said the tech arrived on time, was professional, nice, and provided honest information. She'll call him directly when the eventual day arises that we need plumbing work.

Master bathroom both sinks were clogged, slow drainage. Barker and Sons responded quickly to call, arrived on time, and fixed the problem quickly. Service was friendly and efficient.

We were pleased that we could get a service call late on a Friday afternoon. Will arrived promptly, was friendly, and neat. He completed the cleanout and used the camera to show us what was going on with our line.

I called up the company and arranged an appointment on the same day. The service tech showed up on time and he opened up the waterheater and told me about the things that he saw that may be going on with the water heater. He was very knowledgeable and was able to determine that the problem with the water heater I had was a thermal coupler. He then noticed a bunch of rust flakes around the inside which he was able to vacuum out. I thought he did a great job at representing the company. The only problem that I had was that the price to fix this problem he had to get out of a price book and it was highly inflated. After doing a search on the internet for a thermal coupler for a water heater, it ranged from $4 for a universal one to $50 for a Brand Name one. Then I did a search on YouTube on instructions for how to fix the thermal coupler and it was pretty easy. I feel that the price charged should have been around $100.00 since he was only there for around 30 minutes. I've learned my lesson and will take into consideration the next time if there is a next time. I should have done my homework first. I would use them again because of the professionalism and quality of their work but I would try to negotiate the price before hand.

Frank come out and had to deal with my insurance company. Which with most in cooperative. Frank was very patient and tried to work with this insurance com.

Great. Came one hour after call. Friendly, efficient. knowledgeable.

They were on time and responsive to questions. He completed the repair and so far it is good.

The gentleman who came out was very nice, professional and arrived on time. We ended up not choosing them for the repair because their price was way too high. About 50% higher than other quotes we received for the same size water heater. I know if we had spent that amount of money we would probably had gotten a superior product than what we got with the company we ultimately went with. We just weren't looking for "the Cadillac" of water heaters.

Was great. Arrived same afternoon I called. Cleaned the clog properly. Left kitchen clean.

Summary: I called Barker & Sons to repair a leaking pipe and they scheduled a crew to come out to the house. The two person crew arrived on time, were neatly dressed, and very polite. They immediately installed "booties" when they came into my house. The crew leader was a young man named Austin. Despite that very positive part of my experience, I am writing this review because the quote I was given was a complete rip-off. Given the circumstances, Barker & Sons knew this was not a complicated job and would not take the time they were quoting nor would it require a lot of materials. Both the labor and materials ended up being about four times what I actually paid for the identical work. Background: I had a leak in a cold water below-slab 3/4" dia. copper line that ran from my garage to the back of my house. The leak was detected previously using a separate leak detection company, so the problem was diagnosed previous to Barker and Sons coming to my house. Before I called Barker & Sons, I ran an above ground PEX line (a kind of plastic alternative to copper) to replace the existing leaking copper line. The PEX line terminated at each end of the existing copper line. All of the drywall was exposed and I drilled the necessary holes through the stud framing myself. The only work I needed from the plumber was to connect the two ends of the PEX line to the copper. On one end, the plumber needed to figure out which line had the leak. There was a choice of two pipes coming from the manifold, so the work entailed cutting and capping the 3/4" line to determine which is the leaking line. Barker & Sons description of this work was: "Price to cut and cap 3/4 lines to determine which line is leaking. Solder PEX fitting and connecting PEX to copper." On the other end, I needed to have the plumber install a short copper line to reach where the PEX line was to connect since the PEX line could not make a very tight turn needed to complete the PEX to copper connection. That line required installation of two 90-degree elbows, a 45 degree elbow and about five feet of 3/4" copper pipe to make the turn around the corner to reach the existing PEX line. Both ends of the PEX line would be connected to the copper line with a PEX to Copper coupler. Barker & Sons quote described this work as follows: "On other side would continue to run PEX transitioning to copper to go around corners and is [sic] connecting to copper." Other than the two above descriptions, there was no other narrative information on the quote. The quote given to me was for $1,308.00 !!!! (Barker & Sons Contract No. 03335). I questioned the crew leader, Austin, about the price and told him I was expecting something about half of that. He said "I knew you would thinking that", an interesting comment. I asked how many hours he figured, and he said 4 or 5, which seemed high. He then said the quote involved $300.00 in materials, and I was astonished. I asked him how it could be so high and he avoided the answer by stating he was merely the messenger and the prices were given to him from the home office. I told him that I would call around for other quotes, which I did. I then contacted a few local plumbers and connected with a small father/son company. They came out and quoted the work, including all labor and materials, for $360.00. It took them 2.5 hours, and they took their time. I was so happy with their work, I paid them an additional $40.00 and had them do an inspection of my furnace and AC units on top of the plumbing repair. Their total cost, including a full AC/Heating inspection, was well under half of what I would have spent with Barker & Sons for just the plumbing repair. The plumber I ended up using made an interesting comment after I told him about the Barker & Sons quote. He said larger companies' business model is based on a 1-in-4 and his is based on a 4-in-4, meaning companies like Barker & Sons quotes four jobs to get one and he quotes 4 jobs to get 4 jobs because of his pricing. I have no idea if this is true, but it certainly fits with my own experience. After the work was completed by the second plumber, I knew that the Barker & Sons quote was highly inflated, both from a labor and material standpoint. I could understand a factor of two difference, and I would have paid it, as Barker & Sons is a bigger outfit and they have larger overhead. That said, there is no reason to mark up the work by almost $950.00, almost four times what I was quoted from the plumber who actually did the work (see material list, below). For this reason, I feel that the Barker & Sons quote was dishonest, at best. This was not just a case of a mistake or not understanding the work. Everything was laid out for Barker & Sons to give an accurate quote and they simply took advantage of the situation -- a homeowner who has no water until the problem is fixed. The material list actually used was $75.00: 1) Two ea. copper Elbow: $7.00 = $14.00 2) Two ea. coppr 90-degree elbow $7.00 X 2 = $14.00 3) Two ea. copper caps $1.20 ea X 2 = 3.00 (rounding up) 4) One ea. slip fitting $1.00 5) Two ea PEX-to-Copper Couplers $14.00 x 2 = $28.00 6) One ea five foot run of 3/4" copper pipe, Type L = $15.00

Overall, it was a much better experience than it should have been. This was a plumbing repair, and an amazingly pleasant one.

I was happy and satisfied with their work. They did more than what they were asked to do. They did all of this in one day.

Tried to replace a toilet in the house and came across a rusted out flange. It was beyond my expertise to try and tackle so I called Barker & Sons. They bailed me out on a Sunday!!! I found out they take turns who has the weekend duty.

Excellent. Very responsive. Found them on Angies List and google searches when old tank water heater went out. Came out in a few hours. Provided alternatives and costs. Decided on Bosch in-line water heater. Spent into everning connecting the new water heater to get it into service. Provided senior discount. Called them about a week later to address sewer cleaning. Very responsive. Installed cleanout, scoped the sewer, and cut out the roots. Well worth it.

Working with the staff at Barker and Sons is always a pleasant experience. When I called to schedule my appointment, Jamie was more than willing to work around my schedule. I asked if I could speak to someone regarding purchasing a new toilet and she transferred me to Mike. Mike was very friendly and took the time to answer all my questions. He was very helpful and provided excellent information. The day of my appointment I was given a call to let me know Austin was on his way. Austin arrived on time and fully prepared. He put on shoe covers before entering my home and was very polite and professional. I appreciate this company's care and commitment to excellence. I have and will continue to recommend Barker and Sons to my friends and family. Very positive experience dealing with this company.

Austin was very prompt, courteous, and explained exactly what needed to be done, repair was quick and reasonable.

They were excellent. The price was very competive. The people were great and let

Very prompt (same day) service, police and would use again. Excellent work.

Prompt, very courteous and pricing as expected.

I called three plumbing companies and got estimates. A fourth company wanted to come out and see the water heater - that one I scratched off my list because I did not want to take a day off just for this company to come see the heater. I thought I heard on the phone, a much higher estimate for the water heater replacement from Barker & Sons than from the other companies. I decide to hire them anyway because at my place of work, we hire low bid contractors and vendors and they have not always worked out well. Also, Barker & Sons took the time to explain about water heaters and air quality regulations. The other companies just quoted a price and it was up to me to ask them questions. Barker & Sons came on the appointed day a little early and there were two plumbers that came out to install the water heater and a new gas regulator. One hour later, I had a new heater. They hauled away the old heater and that was it. I'm glad they came out in a pair because I think one plumber doing that replacement job may have damaged the heater trying to unload and install it in position. Of course, they explained the workings of the new heater and pointed out the problems I was about to have with the old heater - some bacterial/slime growth in the tank that came out when they drained the old heater. To my surprise, the bill came out much lower than I thought I was quoted on the phone. In fact, Barker & Sons ended up being the lowest bid.