FLOW RITE INC

Working with Flow Rite for our sump pump replacements was a completely miserable experience. We have two sump pumps on each side of the house (one high for expelling water directly onto grass as a back up and one low for expelling water through a pipe to the storm drainage system). We called Flow Rite when our RIGHT sided high level pump activated and was pumping water out onto our grass (indicating that the low pump was defective). They came promptly enough and were courteous upon arrival and work. They ended up replacing two of our four pumps, and we thought all was well. 24 hours later, the right high sump is still activating. 48 hours the right high sump pump is still activating. So we called Flow Rite back because the problem was not fixed. We were triaged over the phone by their managers. I said that we still had the same sump pump activating and they said if the lows weren't working it was a problem with the outflow tract being clogged and that I would have to dig up my yard to find and fix the clog. This was over the phone mind you without any in person diagnosis/trouble shooting. I asked them if they could scope our outflow tract and they said it would be impossible because it was so small. I have a six inch pipe as my outflow track running to the storm drain system which has been scoped before. I know because my rain gutters empty directly into it AND I talked to my builder. Flow rite came back out on Saturday and did no further assessment of my sump pumps and placed extended pipes on my RIGHT outflow track (now my only working sump pump) so that a different part of my lawn was being ruined. There was no follow-up plan and when I called again for what the next step should be I was offered with no plan or advice except "call my builder" who I had already talked to. So then I hired another plumber and it turns out that they replaced the two sump pumps on the LEFT even though it was a problem with my right sided high-outflow. Not only that, but they had effectively jailed both floats on the left which they installed (one to the wall and one between the two sump pumps) so that NEITHER OF THE NEWLY INSTALLED SUMP PUMPS WERE FUNCTIONAL. So they replaced two sump pumps on the wrong side, and installed them in a way so that neither worked. All for over 1500 dollars. When I called to figure out what the next steps were I was treated like a moron who had no clue what was going on with his own house. This experience delayed a final fix to our sump pump problem for two weeks, and both my wife and I were belittled and bullied along the way with telephone triage that was completely and obviously inaccurate for anyone who had seen our house's plumbing set up. This smears the border between incompetence and blatant consumer fraud. Save your self the headache and personal/partner meltdown and go with a different plumbing company in the DC area.

Cannot speak to their work as plumbing professionals, I've never had work done by them. I never will have work done by them because of the interaction I had with one of their workers. For a stretch of 10+ miles on I-270 a flow rite vehicle was tailgating me to such an extent that I could only see grill and headlights. Traffic was moving at a pace of 70+ mph, with moderate traffic, and his following distance was reckless and a danger to everyone on the road. His deranged driving only intensified in the work zone by route 85. I slowed down because of the work zone to the posted speed limit. Their driver lessened the already famished gap between his vehicle and mine. If I had to break for any reason, their vehicle would have struck mine and potentially others. The cherry on this lunatics driving Sunday was when he exiting on the I-70 offramp. He floored it aggressively to move parallel to my vehicle and gave me the middle finger. This blatantly disrespectful and disgusting driving behavior endangered everyone on the road that day.

I would probably use them again. Just one person came out to do the work and he was good. They actually started on August 4th and we had some problems with it that we thought was the installation of the toilet but it wasn't that. It took us awhile to find that out. They were patient with me.

The entire Flow Rite Team was wonderful, from Bonnie, who does the scheduling , to Chris and Steve Parker. Chris was great, he answered all our questions and gave us advice on some future plumbing issues that are to be done down the road. He worked tirelessly to fix the problem with our not level tile floor to resolve the leak at the base of the toilet. They seem to be a very personable firm and friendly. We enjoyed having them here and how many can say that about a Plumber's visit! The price of the service was very fair and the fact that they continued to come back until the problem was resolved with no addtional charge was great. Too often, these types of situations ends up in disputes; but Flow Rite and Chris worked to save us money and fixed the problem. They were prompt and answered all our concerns and questions and I will most certainly be using them for our future plumbing needs. I can highly recommend them.

Someone from Flow Rite called 20 minutes before their worker arrived to let know he was on the way. This was especially nice since the appointment was for a window of time. We are preparing our home for sale, so I was pleased when he voluntarily removed his shoes at the front door without being asked. He came with everything he needed to perform the work for which Flow Rite was called and he had the parts on the truck needed to perform some additional work I discovered just the day of the service call. He also cleaned up after himself leaving the work area pristine.

I had a leak from my toilet upstairs into the bathroom downstairs. The plumber stated that I needed to fix my tiles and buy a new tub -- that I had a lot of issues with my bathroom which in all fairness is likely true. After I paid him the required American Home Shield amount (about $70), he left but never really investigated anything further in the bathroom. He never unscrewed or tested anything. Just a look around and a verdict. A friend came by who has done house repairs and looked at my toilet and the leak and guessed right away that I likely needed to change my wax ring. I do not know how to change a wax ring so I called Flow Rite to come back and I stated that I did not thing he did a thorough job. After about 2 missed appointments when no one showed up, I then proceeded to remove the toilet myself and take a picture of the wax ring and get help from the hardware store to pick out a wax ring. They gave me instructions and I changed it myself. I asked American Home Sheild for a refund but never received one. In my humble opinion, any good plumber would have at least looked under the toilet or done some other investigative work. He could have at least honored the appointments and come by when he said he would.

We purchased a renovative home from a builder who contracted with Flow Rite Plumbing for the plumbing work. We have had multiple flooding issues with the most recent (four years later) having the water main leak in the basement due to incompetent installation. It is amazing how some service providers will cut corners and employ people who don't know what they are doing. In correcting the recent problem for $2800 ? the following was discovered: 1. The Fernco sealing the main pipe to the sleeve on the outside of the house was the wrong size (it was a 2" by 2" and should have been a 2" by 11/4" Fernco) and was torn. 2. Spray foam insulation was used to seal the sleeve where it enters the foundation wall to the house instead of hydraulic cement and tar. 3. The inside foundation wall was not sealed at all inside the house where the main water enters the building. 4. The water main was not replaced all the way to the curb box. The original 1" copper pipe extended well into the front yard. 5. The curb box did not have a rod connected to the shut off value nearly five feet in the ground. The curb box was nearly halfway full of dirt and there was no way to shut the main down at the curb.

I went with them because their estimate for a new water heater came in lower than my original estimate from Service Experts, and I am so glad I did. They were extremely knowledgable and courteous from the first phone call to the final inspection. The person on the phone knew what she was doing and was knowledgeable about their products and installation, code and upgrades. The person who came out (Chris?) was friendly and competent, arrived on time and completed the work in just a few hours despite having to replace a valve to bring things up to code. I will definitely be calling them next time I have a problem. I would definitely recommend.

Steve came out thinking he was going to pull toilets, snake them and clean the main drain. He took his time thinking out what would best solve my problem and suggested not pulling the toilets but rather just clearing the main drain. At my direction, he then cut a hole in the basement wall board to look for a second clean out drain that had been covered over by workers. He found it...cleaned it and then went on to do several small plumbing items in the house. He went about his work professionally and spoke highly of the office staff and his employer. He is an asset to Flow Rite.

The customer service over the phone was top notch. Within 2 hours a crew was in our backyard starting to pull out the existing pump. The company also reduced the final cost of repair once the job was completed as it took less material than they estimated.

We had a major clog in our double kitchen sink. We tried clearing it ourselves by running the disposal and loading it with draino. We called Flow Right after reading their reviews on Angies list. They were able to come out the next day and clearly informed me of their rates and that it might require a drain snaking. The technician came out and was able to quickly a**** the problem and correct it without using the expensive snaking procedure. We are very pleased at their professionalism and ability to save us some money.

We got them from Angie's List. There was no hassle, the price was reasonable. They did such a good job that my son had them come over and install a valve in for him also. They were late one time and they kept calling and telling us they'll be there soon like when and who. I really like them a lot.

We use them on a regular basis. We've used them 3 or 4 times in the last year. The experience has been very good. They have been right on time when they said they would be here. They cleaned up after themselves and we've had no problems whatsoever. They have done a great job. They are a fairly small company. When I call they can usually get me in within a few days to a week at the most. They are very responsive. They are reasonably priced and they explain everything. We are very pleased with their work. We will absolutely continue to use them.

We found a water valve was leaking under our bathroom sink. I had used Flow Rite a couple years ago and was very happy with the work I had done then (attach new shower head etc). I called and although the plumber with them I used last time wasn't available for a week due to already scheduled appointments, they fit me in the day after I called with another Flow Rite plumber, Steve. I am thrilled with him and his work too looks great so far (he just left)! He not only was friendly and answered all my questions so I can understand how everything works, but he also recommended we replace the water valves on the 2nd sink in that bathroom as they may go bad soon too (preventative maintenance). Since this company charges by the hour, the only additional cost would be the parts used. And, their cost per hour was very reasonable, $85. So that plus parts were about the same pricing as other plumbers hourly rate I'd seen on Angies list. Thanks Holly for your friendly & attentive scheduling and Steve for taking good care of us in a professional and also friendly manner!

Fine, The came completed the job promptly and left.

They are very curteous, quick, and are very friendly. I just think they do an excellent job!

I apologize that the below is long. I have used portions of the email communication between myself and the company. First visit 4/19/12 Plumber comes out after I call office to snake master bath shower and to check leaking faucets in Kitchen and MBR sink. Tells me upon looking at kitchen faucet to replace it. MBR faucet he tells me I need to replace Hot/cold cartridges and he does not have them with him. He will do when I get kitchen faucet to replace. He snakes shower. At a certain point went and checked on him. He had started working on sink. He told me he thought he could repair it now. I said ok. After an hour he determined he couldn?t fix it and would need to bring the proper parts the next time. When I call to get an estimate to finish the jobs I explain that I already spent $55 for an hour for them not to repair the bathroom sink and that I think I should get some kind of discount this time. The office estimates the job (installing kitchen faucet and fixing bathroom faucet) at 90 minutes, which is also the amount of time I get as estimates from two other plumbers. I set up an appointment for them to return on June 21 to install kitchen faucet and fix bathroom faucet. As for the discount she says I should talk to plumber when he comes out. Plumber starts with bathroom sink and determines he doesn?t have proper parts after he has opened everything up. I tell him I had already spent $55 last visit and he himself had seen what needed to be done and what part was needed. He apologizes and says he will go get the part. I tell him that there is a hardware store down the street. After trying to give directions I volunteer to go so he can install kitchen faucet. By chance they have two of the cartridges in plastic (they don't have the brass) that someone had special ordered and decided not to take. I spend $26. When I return I ask plumber if the plastic is ok otherwise I will return it. He says it should be fine. Later plumber says he is done, his stuff is packed up and by the door. I tell him I would like to check the faucet. The cold water faucet spins without turning off. He takes it apart again and installs the old cartridge on the cold side. On the hot side the faucet wobbles, He blames the plastic parts. He apologizes for bringing wrong parts and agrees he said plastic parts would be fine. He says he will come back for free other then I need to pay for the parts again. Bill for the day is $137.50 for 2.5 hours (he discounted $20 off first hour). The kitchen faucet took 45 minutes. I have now paid for 2.5 hours of labor for what I was told should have been a 30-45 minute job of fixing leak in bathroom faucet. The next day I call office. She says that I have to pay for them to come out again. It?s my fault for buying plastic part. I tell her plumber said he would come for free except I need to pay for part. She talks to him and makes comment that Flow Rite will still have to pay for company gas (she says this twice) and he can do what he wants but I still would have to pay for parts. She tells me I should return the other parts even though they were opened and one was installed (I offer her the receipt if they want to return them opened). I tell her I would like to talk to her boss that said Flow Rite would not do any more. She says the person would not speak to a customer for this issue. In the end when I summarize she backs down on this and says the boss isn?t there and would call me Monday. She said no one would come out unless I paid for an hour of time. FYI the plumber was always very pleasant to deal with and I believe tried his best. Until the last call person I talked to in office was very pleasant to deal with as well. I feel I have vastly overpaid for a simple job and that it is still not fixed. I emailed the above to the co-owner of company since she did not return my call from previous week. She responded in part "On the second service call he installed parts that you purchased is also billable. It is standard protocol to charge for customer supplied installation of parts regardless of if they work or not. The plastic parts should work - they are normally less expensive and available for homeowners to purchase at Home Depot, hardware stores, etc. Had we supplied the parts, we would have ordered the brass ones from our professional vendor as they have a longer Lifespan and more quality than the plastic. However, some parts only come in the plastic variety and they work just fine. There is no way for us to know what will work and what won't if it is specified for that particular faucet. (i.e. a delta plastic cartridge should work just fine in a delta faucet). " She offered a $75 refund. My response was that the faucet repair took considerably longer then the job required and that I still did not have a fixed faucet. The plumber had on the first visit took everything apart and saw what the part needed was. He wrote a note on the invoice to that effect. I identified this when I set up the return appointment. It is written on the first invoice that they were supposed to bring the proper parts on the return They were meant to supply the parts and you should have known the proper parts to be installed considering I already had paid an hour for him to open everything up. I only went to buy the parts to help out since he had taken the sink apart again and found he brought the wrong parts. They should have ordered and had the proper parts when he came back. I proposed the following: order the proper parts (for both the cold and hot as was meant to be repaired) and install them at no charge and refund one hour of $55. They refused to finish the job and refunded $75. I realize this company has excellent Angie's List reviews which is why I used them in the first place. I was really surprised that they weren't willing to fix the leaking faucet at no additional cost that they had twice tried and failed to do.

Great company, nice employees, will use them again.From the first call to the service call, everyone was very pleasant to work with. The dispatcher returned the call promptly to get my information and services needed. A day was schedule. On the day of the work, I was called and informed who would be coming and that they were on their way. Chris, the plumber completed the work. He walked me through where the line would be going for the ice maker. He then installed it and hooked it up. He fixed the shower head, and did so without having to have to remove any of the tile or damage any of the wall, he then installed the new showerhead. He was cheerful and seemed to really enjoy his work. Once completed, the price was about 1/2 what we were expecting, as the job was completed so quickly and effeciently. Overall, a great experience. Will definitely use them for all our plumbing needs in the future.

Great experience! I will definitely use them in the future! Great service, great professionalism, great price!

I've been using them for many years and recommended them to a lot of people and they have always good work.

This was the third time we used Flowrite to do some plumbing work in our house. With this review, they replaced our hot water heater and did the usual awesome job we have come to expect from them. When they arrived for the job and realized we didn't have a walk out basement, they were very careful in hauling the heaters up and down our basement stairs to complete the job. And, while they normally charge extra for this, they didn't for our job because it wasn't identified in the original order. Because of their honesty, we tipped the two installers to buy them lunch...it was the least we felt we could do. Their rates are reasonable, their customer service is top notch, and their onsite folks are always courteous, punctual, and thorough. Our only disappointment with them is they also don't do air conditioning and heating - otherwise, we'd use them for EVERYTHING :-).Once you use them, you'll never look elsewhere for a plumber!

Terrible, terrible experience. Hundreds of $s in damage...Flow Rite (FR) was hired to install an outside gas line from my house to the pool water heater located about 150 ft away. They gave me a quote for $2325. I paid the bill immediately in full.The gas line had to go around the area where the water draining lines (going from my house to a dry well) were buried. We discussed two options - either dropping the gas line into an open electric trench by the water draining lines or going around the pool. When the crew showed up they told me that they will go straight through the area where the water lines are and will dig 18 inch deep. I told them that they will hit and damage the water lines. The response was - "don't worry we are experts, we will go UNDER the water lines".10 minutes later, the excavator digs directly through one of the water lines. A loud sound of a water line breaking. I went outside and asked what happened. They told me not to worry, they just damaged a water line, but they know how to fix it. I told them that if they will keep digging in that area where 4 water lines are, they can damage all of them. Again, the same response - "don't worry, we will dig manually now and carefully go under the remaining lines".I left for work. When I returned back home, it was obvious that everything was dug with an excavator, not manually. Ok, maybe they destroyed a couple of other water lines, but then fixed them. Right?An easy test. I took the garden water hose, placed it into the underground water drain pipe receptacle, and turned the water on. If the water line is undamaged, it should take several hours for my dry well to fill up with the tiny garden hose. 5 minutes later, the water started pouring back out of the drain pipe receptacle. The pipe was damaged and blocked by soil backfilling instead of fixing...I paid FR a bit over $2k. The gas line was there (at least), and now I just had to invest a few hundred dollars more to fix the damage done by FR. Plus a bit more to pay an alternative plumber to connect the gas line and get inspected by Wash Gas.I told FR to get out of my property and do not even think about entering my backyard again. The trench (was and is) open, and I told them not to touch it and to not backfill, so we can isolate the areas of damage more easily.Next morning, FR people show up and start disassembling the gas line. I told them to leave the gas line in place and get out of my backyard as the bill was already paid in full and they are stealing my gas line.Do you think they cared a bit? Who cares about the customers and their opinion. Not FR. They took the gas line away and sent me a threatening email. Quoting Holly from FR: "Please note that any defamation of our company name will be taken seriously and forwarded to our attorney.... This will be our final correspondence with you. Good luck with your future endeavors."Nice visit from FR, I guess... Damaged water lines, no gas line. Back to the square 1 with the gas line + need to bring the dry well installer back to work on repairing the damage done by FR.STAY AWAY FROM FLOW RITE!

Showed up on time, performed required repair quickly and professionally.

The guys who did the work were simply excellent. They arrived on time, did the work in less time than I expected, answered all our questions (and we had many), and even redid some work when they realized it wasn't up to their standards. They were constantly talking to each other and discussing the absolute best way to do things. Their insistence in doing things right, even if it takes a bit more time, was refreshing. The new gas line had to run through our partially finished basement and I dreaded the mess it was going to make. However, they cleverly determined a way to install the line with only one small hole in the ceiling. We are doing the drywall repair work ourselves, so their consideration for our time was much appreciated. The inspector took one look at it and signed off. Having done a lot of work on my homes, I'm usually not happy with the work of contractors. Many cut corners and it's obvious their goal is to get your money while doing as little as possible, but not Flow Rite. They were recommended to me by a friend who had the same excellent service and I can't recommend them enough.

The person on the phone handled the scheduling and was very helpful in helping to direct us on what toilet to look for as a replacement for efficiency as well as to keep cost down. They were very prompt and courteous and their pricing was very reasonable. Thank you,Sue, Mount Airy, MD