Bill Howe Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Inc

Went very well - technician Hadi S. was willing to work with my ideas - honest complete work and attention to detail.

Overcharged. If job was too small, they should have said so.

Fine. They responded quickly and had the problem identified and fixed in no time.

Repairs were done in good time, especially considering the bad weather on the first part (the pipes, etc are outdoors). Crew cleaned up; took away the old pipes. Very courteous, very informative. Things appear to be working well.

On top of Bill Howe fixing the restoration and reconstruction of my bathroom, we did ask Bill Howe to remodel our bathroom. Which we SEPARATELY paid for in a different contract. But I would still say, the remodelling ended up to be way more expensive than I expected for a small bathroom.

Great work, very professional, prompt. We've been very happy with Bill Howe for years.

It has been awhile, but I have no complaints. I trust Bill Howe with a lot of work.

All work was done rapidly and professionally

First, let me say that the guy who did the actual work was friendly, professional and did a great job. However, he's still part of a trade that preys on homeowners in need by providing inaccurate and incomplete information. My job seemed incredibly simple - replace a Rheem water heater that was within warranty. As you'll see below, Bill Howe Plumbing made a number of claims in bidding the job that simply didn't hold water (couldn't resist the pun). The only good thing that I can say about the process is that they provided an 10% discount and did a good job with the clean up. CLAIM: Rheem requires a $180 upcharge for a warranty replacement with a “current model” and to provide a new, full 6 year warranty - rather than reassigning the remaining portion of the existing 6 year warranty. FACT: Rheem says there is no such policy. A water heater replaced under warranty with a brand new equivalent model would automatically have full term warranty of that model without additional charges. CLAIM: The $180 upcharge also(?) covers replacement of the existing older discontinued model with a more current equivalent model. FACT: 42VR50-40F is not discontinued. Home Depot offers the Performance 50Gal 6yr 40kBTU for $548-$579, while the 48Gal 6yr 40kBTU Ultra-Low NOx version is $595 – a difference of $16-$47. However, Home Depot sells the Performance line while plumbers install the Professional Classic (which has same EF of 0.62 and seems to differ only by a couple of metal fittings). CLAIM: You need to pull a permit and have an inspection when replacing a water heater ($250 upcharge). FACT: True, but the fee is $115 and San Diego permits a “no plan” online filing by the homeowner. [*** Link removed ***] [*** Link removed ***] CLAIM: Building code requires that you install an expansion tank ($100 upcharge). FACT: True for new construction, but conditional for replacements based on details of existing construction ($40 at Home Depot). [*** Link removed ***] CLAIM: Code requires that the relief valve outlet have a metal drain pipe extending outside the building. FACT: True, with a number of complicating caveats on their design and output. CLAIM: It costs $1500-$2000 to replace an existing gas water heater with a new unit, so charging $900 is a good deal to replace a unit under warranty (with an expansion tank, but no permit). FACT: Brand new heaters are readily available for <$600. Replacement labor is <$500 (3 hours). Add another $100 for an expansion tank, new lines, etc. for a total of $1200. A warranty replacement is better, but not a good, deal – unless you’re paying the inflated plumber rate. BOTTOM LINE: Don’t try to figure this out when your water heater dies. Make a cheat sheet of what needs to be done (permits, unit type/model, additional parts, etc.) and require your plumber to give you a detailed estimate for the entire job with all costs broken out by line item. These units are designed to fail, so pay extra for the longer warranty and budget to replace the unit as soon as the warranty ends.

two men came did work take while to work, Now I could take bath.

Not well. They told us we needed a new water heater but after they replaced it, informed us that it was not the source of the leak after all! There was a leak behind the water heater! We still had to pay for the cost of the new water heater! They fixed the source of the leak eventually but even that was astronomically expensive. I will never use them again.

Discovered tenant was keep door closed to MBR causing thermostat to no register properly

Rerouted the water pipe and customer waiting to see if slab leak dark spots and minerals deposits resolve. This may take 2-3 months. The water pressure is lower than before, so may not have been reset correctly. Work area was in disarray, nothing broken. Plumber attempted to put back in order but owner declined since late in the day. Plumber's bill was the same as the estimate.

Excellent. Plumbers were knowledgeable and efficient along with being very courteous.

It went very well! Bill is extremely professional and very knowledgeable with his craft.

They got the job done. I had them out for several years. They said the plumbing was old and needed to be replaced. I had them do the job. They told me this was a like a bandaid, and the rest would need to be replaced soon. I later reviewed a professional inspection I had done two years previousely, and the plumbing was rated "Very Good". I later had another plumber out to inspect the rest of the plumbing, and he said their were no issues. I told him about the job just completed, and asked how much he would have charged for that. I was shocked to leard it was 1/3 of what I paid Bill Howe! At the time, I was using them at four different properties. I have not had any problems except a clogged drain at one in five years! I would never use or recommend them again!

Also wanted to have sink re-caulked but technician explained that is not necessarily in his scope of work.

It went very well. It was a good purchase.

Work was scheduled and the plumber was delayed. They gave us a slight discount to offset the inconvenience.

They did it, but spent a lot of time looking for a clean-out that I told them was not there. Finally, they went up to the vent on the roof and unplugged it from there. They charged me extra for this, even though the roof was easily accessible and not dangerous. For 40 minutes of time, they charged me $195 with senior discount. They also tried to up sell me several other services which I did not need.

We've been really happy with them. I'll be happy to give a review. For pricing, I might give them a B simply because they charge a flat fee per hour regardless of what the issue is. There are times when we certainly know when we've overpaid because of a really simple fix.

It took them all day.They kept disappearing, put something in and it was wrong. Was not very good. The price wasn’t the thing that was the problem. All the stuff they went through to fix it, it works. The problem I was having was water running. I seen on a tv program, a guy on it fixes toilets and he did this thing where he puts a drop of food coloring in the tank. If you see it in the actual bowl, it means that one of the gaskets that connects the bowl with the tank is bad. The reason I called them out is, when I did that thing and I could see it in the tank and I had kind of a feeling that is what it was. The guy that came out kept saying no, no, it is not that. He was trying to fix the little flapper thing that is inside. He must have put 3 flappers in and it still didn’t work. Then he put something else in there and it didn’t work. And finally, all of a sudden, out of the blue, he goes… “well maybe it’s that thing there!” Which, I wasn’t trying to tell him what to do, cause I heard this thing from a plumber. But, just from what I had seen in these educational programs and that is what it was. So he was here all day long. If he had kind of listened to the suggestion I was making, he would only had to been here and not had to go through all these flappers things and everything else. Cause I had flappers all over the place! That was a really horrible experience! That guy/plumber they sent out was terrible! I think they were here on time, it is just that they would disappear and stuff, cause they didn’t have the right flapper. They went to Home Depot or something and got one, put it in and that didn’t work either. So, all them hours, which he didn’t charge me for, I mean, it wasn’t like plumbers that you have to pay by the hour that are expensive. But, he didn’t charge me by the hour, because he was the one goofing up all the time. Sounds like they sent someone out here figuring, well it’s not piping, it is a toilet problem. So they will send some inexperience clown out here to do this. I think there was two of them as a matter of fact. They were both just as dumb.

Re-routed it, because we had a leak and stuff, and that was really good. It was actually the hot water line. We heard something running from under our house. He even told us it would be cheaper to re-route the piping from the hot water heater, up through the attic and down. Rather than digging up all the cement. He was pretty honest! That is the thing, he was very good, he was a good guy! It all depends on who you get.

Arrived within expected time-frame, performed work well, cleaned up and left. Good job, Rigo Barajas.

I needed a new water heater on a Saturday, help was only an hour away from the house.