Von's Plumbing

I'm writing this review retroactively to WARN all members! Esp. the member who wrote a review that had the same work I had done, in August of this year. We have a problem with frequent roots in our line. I am always looking for my "perfect" plumber, so have had many out. Last December, I decided to try Von's. (wish I had checked Angie's List FIRST) The man who came had a very strange vibe (as mentioned in the other negative review on here) and was a little scary. He got the root clog out, which looked pretty much the same as every other root clog that has been removed. Then this guy very dramatically pressured/intimidated me (my husband was at work in Madera, so I had no one to consult) into purchasing this stuff from him that he said would keep the roots out for TWO YEARS. For $315!!! When I protested that Christmas was right around the corner, etc. He yelled at me about "Well, if Christmas is more important to you than spending 1000s of dollars on a broken pipe..." He said that if we did not use this stuff THAT night, we would be calling him back to clear out in again in 48 hours. I am no plumbing expert, and he scared me, so I agreed. It was very bizarre---I had to provide a bucket for this stuff---he went into his van to put it into my bucket, so I don't even know what the name of the product was. (it looked suspiciously like copper sulfate that I have purchased at the hardware store before) He, again very dramatically, told me to follow his instructions TO THE LETTER THAT NIGHT----which we did. He said this stuff would glue itself to the bottom of my pipe and with each flush, the water would spread the poison, keeping a constant level of it in the pipe and roots out. Well, now I know that was a lie and I wish I had gotten a guarantee in writing, as it has been LESS than ONE year and we had to have roots removed. What a rip-off. And I feel stupid for falling for it. That day, I wrote down all he told me on the receipt, along with the date so I would know if it really lasted 2 years. It didn't. And I had a lot less to spend on my kids that Christmas thanks to that jerk. The plumber I had today (who I will be leaving an EXCELLENT review for after this) told me that there really isn't anything out there that will last 2 years... So BEWARE of this place, my fellow members!!!

Took about one hour total.

We have been using Von's Plumbing for years. I think the company was started decades ago by the father and then was pretty much handed down to his son. Even the young apprentices are well trained. I used to try to fix all the plumbing problems myself to save some money. For example, I would replace the wax seal in a toilet and then the increased water pressure from the new seal would rupture the corroded metallic hose from the wall going into the toilet tank. I then would have to go to the hardware store for new wax seals, hoses, etc. The same type of things happened with kitchen sink pipes, garbage disposals, etc. I did this for over 25 years and I never really fixed anything. I suggest that homeowners should ask Von's to do a comprehensive assessment of all their plumbing concerns when Von's is at their home, especially if the home is 20 years old or older. Von's has a lot of parts in their service vans. They can fix most problems with one service call (I think one service call is around $100). I highly recommend Von's Plumbing

We used someone else.

We have been using them for years, and for more than one plumbing issue.