Brevig Plumbing

My main house drain became seriously blocked on a Friday afternoon, and I called Ken at Ken's Drain Service. Ken had done excellent work on clearing house drains for me in the past. However, after describing the problem, Ken said he didn't have the necessary equipment and recommended Brevig Plumbing. I called them and spoke to the owner, Adrian Brevig. He couldn't get to it until Monday, which was acceptable. We made an appointment for 1-4 PM, and Adrian and an assistant arrived at 3:30 PM and promptly set to work. Adrian had quoted an approximate charge of $175, subject to revision if he encountered problems. After the first attempt at clearing the blockage, he had to double the length of the snake to clear it so he added $20 to the charge to cover the added effort. That cleared the drain. I was satisfied with the work by Brevig Plumbing and would hire them again.

I needed a plumber to replace a water heater T&P Valve which had failed and was leaking very heavily. Based on a recommendation by Ken of Ken's Drain Service, I called Brevig Plumbing 5/6/2015 @ 1530. Employee Jared answered, said he thought he could get to it the next day (time TBD), and quoted a service call fee of $114.00. I called 5/7 @ 0909, left msg inquiring about estimated arrival time. Jared returned call @ 0942, set appt. time range of 1300-1400. Jared arrived 5/7 @ 1400, excellent initial impression. He replaced the T&P Valve with one I had purchased, and installed a new shutoff valve. Jared suggested rerouting the drain line to conform to code, and estimated the additional cost at $75. I accepted the recommendation, and he removed the old flexible copper line which had an incorrect upward slope and installed new rigid copper pipe down to the washing machine drain. After reconnecting the supply lines, the WH was tested and worked correctly. I then asked Jared to repair a leaking shower valve. He tried, but the valve was not repairable and would have to be replaced. We agreed to do that the following week. The company owner (Adrian Brevig) was on vacation and would return Tuesday 5/12/2015. Jared said Adrian would provide a price quote when he returned. Jared left at 1700. Jared called Tuesday morning 5/12 at 0815 and said the labor quote to replace two shower valves with my customer-supplied valves was $750. I accepted the quote, and Jared said he could replace them that day. We agreed on an approximate time of 1300. Jared arrived at 1330. Installation of the new shower valves was completed and tested satisfactorily by 1600. I also asked Jared for an estimate on replacing a ball valve and pressure regulator on an incoming water line. He checked with Adrian and said the cost would be $285. I agreed, and the remaining work was scheduled for the next day (time TBD). Jared called 0805 Wed. 5/13, asked if starting in 15-20 minutes was OK. I agreed. Jared arrived at 0830. Work was completed at 1400. Jared stated that Adrian would supply the invoice when he returned from vacation. Total bill was verbally quoted at $1284. I gave Jared a check for that amount. While I normally would insist on a written invoice, I decided to pay the verbal quote as a test. This was the first time I had employed Brevig Plumbing, and I wanted to give a small local business the opportunity to earn a good rating on Angie's list. After waiting 2 weeks for the invoice, I called Brevig Plumbing 5/28/2015 @ 1620 and left a voicemail message requesting the invoice, and included my address & phone number. No response as of 6/5 (over 1 week). Unfortunately, Brevig Plumbing failed my customer service test. They should have mailed an invoice marked "Paid" within a day or two of the owner's return. There is a Workman's Compensation discrepancy on their Contractor's License, which states that they do not have any employees and hence are not required to have workers compensation insurance. Since my job was performed by an employee, it appears that he was not covered by workers compensation insurance. Summary: The plumbing work by employee Jared was fine. The cost was in line with my expectations. The failure to provide an invoice with their license number detailing the work done and marked "Paid In Full", and failure to respond to the voicemail requesting the invoice are unacceptable business practices. Since I did not receive an invoice, I would not hire Brevig Plumbing for a job that required proof of performance by a licensed plumber. Their lack of courtesy in failing to respond to my voicemail indicates that future business from me isn't important to them. The lack of workers compensation insurance is an additional risk to be considered before employing this contractor.