Cotton's Plumbing

Mr. Cotton was not too punctual as he missed his initial date and time scheduled due to problems with a prior job. He was then late for his second appointment arrival time, then I had to get some parts he thought he would have in his truck, from the Home Depot, so he could finish the job. When I asked him if he was going to take the old units, as I did not have any use for them, he said "that is usually requested prior to the job", but I will take them this time. When he got through, and I paid him he indicated his truck was full and that he would come back for them later in the day, and just for me to leave them outside by the side of the garage. The units sat there for two or three days and since I didn't think he would pick them up I wound up dragging them back into my back yard and chipping them over the course of three weeks as it was pretty heavy material to have it hauled away in a once-a week thrash pick up system in our city. I then decided to check up on his plumbing contract license and found out that he (or his father) had an expired contractor's license. Something which I should have done prior to calling him. Home Depot had offered installation for $99/unit, and that's what I will probably use for my next job if ever need it again. Rames

Mr. Cotton was about 1/2 hour late, but got to work right away upon arrival. He had estimated about 1-11/2 hours for the job a day earlier, but it took about 2 3/4 hours to complete. Part of this time was spent searching for valves needing replacement he thought he had in his truck. We ended up having to go to Orchard Supply to get them when he realized he didn't have the right size valves in his truck. Mr. Cotton charged me for two hours of work, and stayed around to advice me on other repairs which might be required to my existing water shutoff valve on side of home, sprinkler system questions I posed, etc. Mr. Cotton was very informative, cordial, and pleasant to deal with. I would certainly use his services for any future needs. I had not utilize the services of a plumber for more than three years, but I didn't realize that plumbing hourly rates were up to $90/hr. I suppose I should have inquired about rates, but don't know if this kind of information is available through the internet or the profession itself.