Jims Plumbing & Heating

I had a leak in my indirect hot water tank, an air bleed vent that could be replaced pretty easily without touching the rest of the tank. Called up Jim's Plumbing and Heating of Holden on a recommendation from some internet person. He convinced me to replace the entire tank instead of the leaking part -- Okay, the tank is pretty old and it was probably near the end of its life anyway. The hard-sell vibe made me suspicious but he's a strong recommendation, I can afford it, and just want to stop thinking about this heating system. Whatever. (Direct quote from the sales process -- Jim to laborer: "Gotta work the deal fast so he ", laborer: "Dude you're on speaker phone he can hear you" and turns off speaker phone) Quote was high (like if he bought the materials at home depot full price, the laborers must be making like 180k a year) -- Okay, I'm in a rush to get this fixed, don't want to shop around, he's a strong recommendation, and the work has to be good for him to be asking those prices, right? (Spoiler: Wrong!) Contract was one of those single line item "I do the thing and you pay me" -- Okay, he's old school, wants to get everything done quick, I just want to get it done without nit picking everything. Whatever. So a day later, the work begins. Crew of 2 rolls up and starts the work. It's pretty clear that they're not too experienced, because they video call Jim every ten minutes or so asking for instructions on how to do things that should be obvious to a professional and even to someone that reads the manuals of the things they're working on ("How do I connect these pipes?" "How should I connect these wires?" "How does the compression fitting crimper work?" etc. all day). A few hours later, they've quietly loaded their tools into the truck, shout they're done, and bounce before I get a chance to respond. I go to check out the installation. Pipes are kinda sloppy and just a bit off square in a way that makes me feel, as a paranoid non-professional, like they might have been yanking on them to force them into place after making the joints. Thermostat wire from the tank to the furnace is just dangling there at about waist height waiting to get snagged and ripped out. There's no drain pan, although my old tank had one that could have been re-used for free. All in all, sloppy installation but at least it (looks) functional. A few hours later, I notice there's not really any hot water. Go down to check on it, and the supply line is cold but the circulator is running nonstop. It's totally airbound since they didn't bother to bleed the air out. They didn't bother installing a bleed valve on the hot water loop, Bleeding the heating radiators doesn't do anything since they're on different loops. Eventually I figure out how to purge the air by turning off all the other heating circuits then opening the boiler drain with the thing still running to force water through - Kinda proud of that one although it's sketchy and maybe dangerous. Maybe it's not standard practice to put an air bleed on a water heater circuit. But it is ridiculous to leave without bleeding the air out - Or at the very least telling me I need to do it myself! And the best part: They left the old hot water tank which I now have to get out of the basement. But they DID take its brand new replacement thermostat I I installed a few days prior that could have been resold or something. However: They were responsive and got the job done quickly. So there's that.

Not well. 2 weeks later the furnace stopped running. I called again and he sent someone else out. I asked this person if he felt the furnace needed to be cleaned and he said YES. And that Jim would be calling to schedule the cleaning. Jim called all right, but was telling me a needed a new furnace. My furnace was a "problem" furnace. I've only had 1 other issues in the 10 or so years living here. 2 issues a problem does not make. So I called another person for a 2nd opinion. Here'e what I learned that Jim should have noticed: 1) The furnace DID need to be cleaned. 2) Jim installed the wrong nozzle. 3) Jim should have noticed the igniter needed to be replaced 4) A new gasket was need around the flue pipe. Should Jim should also have noticed. I think Jim didn't want to get his hand dirty. So, I paid Jim for what? Nothing. A bad/wrong nozzle and that's it. It cost me an additional $390 to get the true repairs and necessary cleaning done. Jim, you can send me my $125 back if you like, but I know you won't.