SULLIVAN J J PLUMBING & HEATING CONTRACTORS

Plumbing firm with workers and managers: so you speak to the heads and get a different plumber dispatched. Plumber who assessed one day was not the one who returned to do the work, so I was glad I was there to bridge the communication gap. Also, my own diagnostic input was important: they were planning to fix two leaking spots, and it turned out the major leak was a third place. If I had not explained what I'd found, the worker plumber who was guided by what the assessment plumber had written down could likely have missed that third leak. The assessment visit was billed at the standard hourly rate of $110 for first hour and $100 per hour after that. No monetary estimate was given: just an idea of where the leak was. I was told over the phone it would take a couple of hours but it took 8, given the third leaking spot. I'm sure they were surprised as well. So he reseated toilet, and had to cut three holes in wall to find the leak higher up. Two were hidden: holes were fairly neat. Work on the pipes was done fine, at least the glue was holding right away. He was able to cut out segments of pvc and patch in new ones with one shot, which takes some practice since the pvc glue dries quickly. So I trust the workmanship. He worked steadfastly and all day without a break, although he had to go back to the office for some gear a couple of times. He showed up 30 minutes late, but billed for that 30 minutes as "prep time." They were professional on the phone, businesslike. Able to email me the invoices, split the job for different condo units, and were patient with our condo association delays.

We had a very positive original experience, but once the "Senior Guy" left the project, his younger associate and another assistant plumber were really not up to the job. We felt a little deceived in not receiving the full expertise of the plumber that we agreed to work with. I don't think that the quality of the work suffered, but professionalism/punctuality/cleanliness certainly did. The plumbers did $1500 worth of demolition. I wish that they had told me about the need for this in advance, I would have hired a much more efficient carpenter to do the work--rather then get stuck with paying for demolition at a plumber's hourly rate. They did a nice job on our pipes. The work looks good and functions well. Would I have them back? Maybe.