Academy Plumbing

They're very friendly, on time, reasonable, I have no problems getting appointments, I've used them for over 40 years now and I trust them to do a good job.

I would never use them again. Two workers came out and it took 2-3 hours. They did a terrible job installing the furnace and left a huge air leak where the heat was going outside.

I have been using them since September of 1987.

It is somebody that I had heard of but never used. I heard good things. Everything went fine. The only thing I was not happy with was that I thought their price was high. In fact, they showed up a little bit early. They called early to come. There was only one worker and he was really good. They left the area clean.

The air conditioner was not cooling properly. I called Academy and was able to get a same day appointment. The customer service rep was very professional when scheduling my appointment window and also called me when the technician was on the way to my home. The technician arrive on time, and was also very professional. He ran the the diagnostics and determined there was nothing wrong with the unit. He cleaned out the debris and washed down the coils so that they would dissipate heat better. The A/C is working great now. I highly recommend them.

I contacted Academy and another local company to get quotes for replacing my old evaporative cooler with a new high-efficiency unit. Both Academy and the competitor were A-rated on Angie's List. Academy Plumbing came in over $800 lower than the other bid. While I'm not one to always go with the lowest bidder, the difference was a little too much to ignore. I scheduled an appointment. They arrived on time and completed the work within the estimate they gave (about 4 hours). The technician was very professional and answered all my questions. As part of the job, he removed the old electrical box and replaced the water supply line and sillcock. All work was of the highest quality. The Aerocool unit they installed is sturdy and well-made. The one complaint: the tech routed the bleed-off line into a dry vent instead of a sewer vent. As it turns out, this "vent" went basically nowhere, into a wall cavity. After half an hour, I noticed water on the carpet in the hallway. I quickly turned off the unit, rerouted the line and called them back. In his defense, I live in an older home and there are several "mysteries", so I'm not surprised he mistook the pipe protruding from the roof for a plumbing vent. He returned promptly, vacuumed up the water and rectified the problem. He also taped over the vent to prevent rain from getting in. The upshot of this is that my house now has one less mystery! Overall, I'm very pleased with Academy Plumbing and would recommend them--good work, reasonable price, professional. When there was a problem, they returned quickly, cleaned everything up and made it right.

The technician showed up right at the beginning of the scheduled time block after calling first to say he was on the way. He did the job promptly and neatly.

Our Trane XE70 heater in the home we just bought and moved into would intermittently not fire up. The ignitor would sit there clicking and clicking firing the sparks, but no gas would enter the burner area from the valve. I could tap on the valve and it would start working immediately...for a day or two...then hang up again. Richard from Academy came out first time and could not ID a problem...unit was working fine. It was surmised likely a pilot ignitor control box problem or gas valve. On 2nd visit unit was again working fine. Academy had Richard bring all possible parts we might need with guidance to just try one first...and then only others as needed. Since we still had no clear culprit, we ran the unit through some more tests trying to get it to fail and exhibit the problem before changing $500 of parts. Richard even got the Trane rep on the phone to help troubleshoot and during that Richard discovered a faulty wiring connector that caused intermittent on/off of the valve when bumped. The repair is simple and the new parts were not needed. Richard clearly had the customer's best interests in mind and was aggressive in seeking the most practical solution. I was really impressed with Academy and Richard and have already asked Academy to assign Richard to help us on repairing and installing some gas appliances in our previous home that we are preparing for market.

Academy Plumbing have been very responsive and fairly-priced. They installed a new swamp cooler for us in July 2013 to replace the old leaky one that came with the house. Work was done carefully and correctly - the cooler worked great through those hot summer days, very important for our Bernese Mountain Dog and Sheltie with their thick coats. I had them come out again this October to winterize the cooler - work was done promptly and on time. They also suggested that they could turn on the boiler for the radiant heat system as part of the same service - included in the price. We'd had the original installer of the boiler come out and check it, but next year we'll have Academy do the whole job. Highly recommended.

I called on Friday morning after going through the better part of a heat wave for a few days. I knew we needed to upgrade the cooler on the house we purchased last August but was putting it off. They had an estimator to my house within an hour and he gave me a very reasonable estimate. He also suggested some tips to help my existing cooler work better. We called back later that day to do the deal and they offered installation the following Monday. Due to scheduling on our part we out it off until Wednesday morning. The crew showed up on time as promised and had the whole installation done in about an hour. Great job. No problems and they did what they said they would on the schedule they promised.

Excellent - very professional and experienced.

Academy Plumbing I am real happy with. I was perfectly happy with both things they did for me. I'd like plumbers to be cheaper but then I would like everything to be cheaper. I got no complaints. I know I had it but I have a vague notion of them coming about a year and a half ago. Once I spent about $150 and once I spent $100. I think replacing the toilet was $100 and that included the toilet. The kitchen thing was about $150 because he was here for a good four hours and I thought that was a very reasonable price.

I used them before, but this last time I was not happy with them. I didn't like the attitude of the plumber they sent out.

They were great. They saved me a lot of money. I compared prices. They came out and estimated and did the right thing. They told me that the part that I needed replaced was not a critical part. They helped me improve the weather proofing on my swamp cooler, as just as an added thing. It was not appropriately protected during the winter, so the pilot light kept going out.

The person I dealt with for appointment setting was friendly, helpful and efficient. Workmen arrived on time and carried out their work quickly and professionally. After they left I discovered a problem with the faucet they had repaired. They returned quickly after I called and replaced the parts again. It was a defect in the parts but not in the work done.

We converted from a swamp cooler to air conditioner (refrigerated air). Gabe Reeves and a helper came came the 50 miles to our house on time and on the date chosen to look things over and give us an estimate. He also noted the square footage of our home and determined what tonnage air conditioner we would need to properly cool it. Gabe then did some research to see if my current gas heater was compatible with air (It was not because the condenser wouldn't fit in the bottom section of the heater). So for $7880.00, they replaced the gas heater and installed a new air conditioner. We feel that this was an excellent price. Between estimate and install, their electrician came out to our house to evaluate what electrical work would need to be done. On the day of installation, Gabe and the and quot;teamand quot; arrived (on time). In about four hours they had the wiring completed, the old heater out, the new heater and condenser installed inside - with a brand new digital 4 wire thermostat (installed on a 2 wire system), and the compressor installed outside on a new pad. They programmed the thermostat and checked the system which worked perfectly (no leaks). This is probably the best company with the best people that we have ever dealt with. This not only includes the people who do the physical work, but also the office personnel. Ruth Gonzales (assistant office manager) was the sweetest, most personable , most helpful office worker I've ever dealt with. She went well out of her way to make sure everything was working well for us and that we were satisfied with the progress. They should give her a raise!!! My wife and I are super satisfied with our new Coleman combination unit. The air conditioner works great - cools the whole house instead of the 2 rooms our swamp cooler cooled. We have recently switched over from air to heat. The heater works just as well and does not require a pilot light to function thus conserving gas.

They had replaced our furnace with a new (Trane) unit approximately six or seven years earlier, and we were happy with the quality of that work and subsequent service. So when we decided to get refrigerated air, we figured we'd stick with Trane for its reputation, and called Academy for our first estimate. Tim came out on 3/7/12 and said adding a Trane A/C to our existing furnace setup should not be a problem. He gave us two quotes, for units with different SEER (efficiency) ratings, and said if it were his house he'd probably go with the cheaper unit, as the more efficient one would take many years to recoup the added upfront cost. He said if they started the installation by 8:30 or 9:00 am, they'd probably be done by early afternoon. The price seemed fair, but being cautious, we decided to get three additional estimates. To our surprise, the other estimates were all higher, in some cases because they advised replacing the furnace as well, which we were loathe to do. However, two of the other estimators also expressed concern about whether our return air ducts could handle the airflow required by the new A/C, an issue that Tim had never raised. So we called Academy back about a month after the first estimate, and Tim agreed to come out and have a second look on 4/10/12. He did not see a need to rework the return air ducts, and guessed that the other guys were trying to and quot;up-selland quot; us on items we didn't need. I might add that this second trip out, like the initial estimate, was provided at no cost to us. Academy had done right by us in the past, and gave the cheapest estimate. The clincher was that the other three contractors offered a ten-year warranty on parts, and one year on labor, while Academy included a ten-year parts and labor warranty at no additional cost, so we decided to go with them. The installation was scheduled for 4/24/12, and they got started a little before 9:00 am. The external A/C unit was to sit on the same pad as our old and quot;swampand quot; cooler had. They ran into a serious problem trying to fish the refrigerant lines through the duct under our house that runs between this pad and the furnace in our garage. Instead of running in a more or less straight line as Tim had presumed, it turned out to have one or more sharp turns that were preventing the lines from going through. What finally worked was using a sewer snake to first fish a heavy rope through the duct, and then taping the lines to the rope and pulling them (gently!) through. But this added several hours to the job that Tim had not anticipated. It was about 7:00 pm before our new A/C was running and they had cleaned up the area. The filter in the furnace had to be relocated as a result of the modifications required by the A/C. Tim had already ordered a new return air grille and filter to install on our upstairs duct. It came in a few weeks later, and he returned to install it, as well as custom-fit one for the baffle that covers the return air duct in our family room. Academy is not as big an operation as some in town. That has some advantages. For both our furnace and A/C jobs, the guy who came out to do the estimate was also part of the crew that did the installation, which we liked. We were also told that some of the employees, including Tim and Bill I believe, were given an ownership stake in the business. That means they're more likely to want to make the customer happy, and probably why they were willing to work till 7:00 pm to finish our A/C job. Bill is also a licensed electrician, which means they don't have to subcontract work of that nature. We would definitely recommend them to others.

They did a very thorough job as they always have for us. We have used them for every area they cover for many years.

I've had mixed experiences with them. Sometimes they are very good. Right now for example I'm having problems with my hot water heater and I called them up to fix it. They came over on November 21st. First of all they couldn't come over until about four or five days after I had asked them to come out. They replaced the thermocouple in my hot water heater. It worked for about twenty four years, then stopped working and it hasn't worked since. I called them back about it because the whole electrical assembly needed replacing. The hot water heater is a forty pound gas water heater with an electrical ignition assembly. It was manufactured in September 2003 and Academy Plumbing said the manufacture was out of business and that they didn't have access to the materials. They said they couldn't help me any further after the thermocouple didn't resolve the problem. Just earlier today I called up the manufacturer after I found them on the internet. It was very easy to find them but I don't know why it was difficult for Academy to find them. I did get the information that they have two authorized service companies in Albuquerque. I called one of the service companies and they are coming out on Monday afternoon. Academy said they couldn't even find this company on the internet and that they didn't know how to get the assembly but I found them on the internet in about five minutes. They do a good job and they have done a good job for me on my furnace.

The installation was routine and was completed with no problems. The installer was a little late but within the time that was defined for the install. I have used this company in the past for a small plumbing problem and servicing of my evaporative cooler and furnace. In both cases I was happy with the work and the plumber.

In June the unit was not blowing cold air. The service tech came out and said it was probably the compressor. I called the office and spoke with the office manager Jules, about the coil that was replaced in March. There was a question about whether it was a 3 ton coil or a 4 ton coil. The office manager came across as defensive and argumentative. Having no confidence in their integrity or abilities to do the job, I joined Angie's list and found an excellent company who did a superb job

They are great. I have used them for heating and air conditioning for 35 years. They are just wonderful. They replaced our whole system a few years ago and it was a huge thing. They replaced our water heater. We have never had any problems with them or any problems getting them out here. They are polite and they don't leave a mess. I just can't say enough about them. I am satisfied with their prices and I haven't looked anywhere else.

Mr Bill Collins from Academy Plumbing and Electrical never returned to start on the project as promised. Any and all attemptes to contact him were futile ans he never returned any phone calls. He lied to this customer and instead directed me to one of his friends that charged 200 dollars more. I was without proper electrical power for several weeks and through the christmas holidays looking for another contractor to install an electrical junction box previously promised by Bill Collins at Academy.

Academy responded quickly but sent out a "tech" who didn't seem to know what to do after digging the hole. He made cell phone calls to either the office or a "real plumber" and he got down in the hole, but nothing was accomplished on the first day. Second and third days were similar except three young men came out, none of whom were "real plumbers" and while one was down in the hole, the two others just stood by. On the fourth day no one showed up so my husband called Academy and was advised that someone would be out between 1:00 and 4:00 pm. Since we'd been without water for four days, my husband said that wasn't good enough and we needed someone to immediately finish the job, so two guys showed up before noon and we "assume" one was a plumber. During the four days we were hauling pails of water from neighbors so we could flush commodes, and went to a friend's home to shower. (We are 77 years of age.) Breakdown on charges: Techs $95X9 hours = $855 Helpers $45X11 hours = Total $495 Materials $50 Surcharge $8.00 Tax $95.04 GRAND TOTAL $1,503.04

If the air conditioner skips out or goes out for some reason, they come right away when I call, which is nice. There is a guy named Tim, he services our heater. He comes once a month to change the filters. He s always reliable and pleasant. I think their prices are very reasonable.