L.J Kruse Co

Description of Work: new ducts for existing heating system

Description of Work: Replaced coil and drain pan on hydronic AC.

Description of Work: Do not have time for this

Description of Work: Recommended and installed a Fujitsu ductless mini-split HVAC system in our small office building.

Description of Work: In the past, L.J. Kruse provided quality service and had a reputation to match. I inherited them when I purchased my house, they having serviced the hot water radiator system for many years. The quality of their work deteriorate, however, long before I became fully aware. The last two major projects they did was to remove the boiler for the house heat and the water heater, and replace them both with a dual service BaxiLuna tankless water heater. Superficially the work looked great, however the unit suddenly failed after about 6 years, leaving me with no heat or hot water. The failure was discovered on a Saturday morning, and weekends are not the time to require a plumber. I arranged for two companies to provide service, Kruse gave me the earliest appointment. The plumber they sent not only failed to fix it, but compounded the problem by short circuiting around a blown fuse, resulting in a burnt up circuit board. And then lied about his actions. I used the second plumbing company, Albert Lahman Plumbing, who I had not used before. They do good work. They discovered the many installation errors which inexorably led to its ultimate failure. They also removed and replaced the entire unit. The difference in service is remarkable. They also noticed a gas leak in an underground line run between the house and the "shop". The repair required two days work, an opening of the trench to access the buried pipe, and the failure of Kruse to even meet city code in the installation. The L.J. Kruse that was is no more. I cannot recommend their services for whatever your needs. Feel free to contact me for additional information.

Description of Work: I used LJ Kruse Company to replace a whole toilet because I had a leak.

Description of Work: Installed a holding tank for a solar water heating system.

Description of Work: The L.J. Kruse Plumbing Company installed a heat pump in my 90-year-old mother's residence in 2003 for $5248. It broke down in 2007 during December in 40 degree weather. The Kruse Company claimed they could not get a repairman out to fix it for 2 weeks. We had several increasingly emotional telephone conversations about this lack of service for an extremely elderly client. We bundled my mother up, hired round the clock care for her feeding and dressing and put portable heaters around her in a closed off room. When I threatened to sue them, they sent a repairman out within 48 hours to put a temporary system in to keep the heat on until they could return to fix it permanently. Subsequently, during January, February and March of 2008, we had continuing problems with different parts of the system and it took several visits to switch it over from a temporary to a permanent operation. Appointments were made and missed, communication with me was claimed but never received and charges were made for transportation to and from the residence. We were charged another $598 and $449 for work done. A warranty situation was never mentioned nor offered. We finally called in another heating repair company. When the system broke down again in early 2009, we called yet another repair company in order to avoid dealing with Kruse. In April of 2009, and after my mother passed away, we were prepared to sell the residence but learned that several features of the unit were not to code and that a permit had never been applied for when installed in 2003. We had no choice but to return to the original installer, L.J. Kruse. They claimed that the permit issue was our problem as the owners. We then went to another company to diagnose the problems, which they did without a fee. Escrow was being held up on the sale of the property. The other repair company told us that Kruse should fix the problems as they had done the installation. We very reluctantly called them to do the work to allow the heater to pass inspection. We were CHARGED a total of $1708.62 for the work they should have done in 2003 (& for the work they knew they would be doing to repair the unit). This included a CHARGE of $156 per hour for the estimate for the work! We were CHARGED for the permit which they should have obtained in 2003. Because we had had such a difficult time with a Kruse employee by the name of Janell Yates in 2007, in March of 2008 we attempted to contact the owner, who is a local 2nd or 3rd generation family member whom we had met socially. My attempts to contact him were passed along to this same Ms. Yates who has been often obstructive, argumentative and dismissive. During the final inspection and repair process in order to close the sale of the residence, Ms. Yates acted responsibly. She may have been cooperative because she knew her Company would once again have to correct the problems and was very aware that we had had an unpleasant relationship over the years. We attempted to reduce the final bill by the permit fee and the $156 per hour charge for the "estimate" time. Ms. Yates offered to discuss this bill in detail in a telephone message in order to defend the charges. By this time I was frustrated and exhausted by the entire 6 years of an exasperating and contentious affiliation with the Kruse Company. I simply could not ever deal with Ms. Yates again, I sent a check to close the account as I am so frustrated by all of their unprofessionalism. I hope to prevent others from using this plumbing company. I wrote a letter to the Company to that effect when I closed our account and paid the balance in full.

Description of Work: They installed a new shower cartridge.

Description of Work: Over time we have spent 25000 dollars. They found some drain problems that the contractor did not connect correctly. They did some heating work for us.

Description of Work: Diagnose malfunction of tankless hot water heater and provide repairs to restore function.

Description of Work: INSTALL 3 HIGH EFFECIENCY TOILET IN RENTAL PROPERTY.

Description of Work: Replace broken fan for on-demand water heater.