Awesome! See above for how it went overall, and for all the residents of Grants Pass, Oregon, you now have an honest review of an in town plumber on Angie's list.
Description of Work: We used Grants Pass Plumbing to repair a leak in the plumbing under our kitchen sink and also to repair a leaking valve on the water supply line to our toilet in our bathroom in our second home in Oregon. Having never used a contractor in Grants Pass, I searched on Angie's list for a recommended plumber like I normally would for our main home in Los Angeles, however, Grants Pass is not a very big town, and to my dismay, there was nothing to be found on Angie's list. Because of this, I went through the yellow pages in the local telephone book and selected three plumbing companies that offered free estimates, with the intention of getting three bids before I selected the plumbing company I would use. Grants Pass Plumbing was working on a job nearby when I called, and I was told that as soon as they were finished at the other location, they would head over to our home, diagnose our problems, and give us a free estimate. Being the hardened, suspicious, and untrusting Los Angeles resident that I am, I had no intention of going with any plumbing company until I got a minimum of three estimates as to what the problems were, and what it was going to cost me to repair them. At around 5 pm on a Friday evening, Grants Pass Plumbing arrived at our home (I called very late in the day, so the fact that they showed up at all on the same day was impressive), and I met the plumber, Bill Fairhurst, who turned out to be the owner of the company. We engaged in small talk for a few minutes as I was trying to get a feel of whether I trusted him or not. We immediately hit it off, and when he found out we actually lived in Los Angeles, he told us he was from a suburb of Los Angeles for many years before moving to Grants Pass, Oregon. I was immediately impressed with how personable Bill was, and after we spoke for about 10 minute concerning things that had nothing to do with plumbing (a very friendly and nice conversation), Bill went into our home to take a look at our two plumbing leaks. I was impressed with how thorough he was, and how he did not take any shortcuts to give me a quick free estimate that I would take or leave, but instead, took his time and really examined what the problem was at no cost to me. Needless to say, I was so impressed with Bill, that I hired him on the spot, and I had no interest in getting two more free estimates (which is something that I never do). I was expecting Bill to tell me that he would come back on Monday to do the work because it was now after hours on Friday evening, and instead, he told me he would get right to work. Bill fixed our plumbing under our kitchen sink and also told us that part of our leak was coming from our kitchen faucet, so he took it off and rebuilt the internals with parts he had inside his work truck to save us money. Although he fixed the plumbing leak under our sink, he told me he was not satisfied with rebuilding the faucet because it was so old, and he said although it would work for now, he didn't recommend it. Hearing that, I asked him if he would be okay with my running to the local home improvement store to buy a new kitchen sink faucet while he tackled the second leak in our bathroom, and would he install it (it was getting later into the evening on a Friday night). Bill said that wouldn't be a problem, and I so impressed with how friendly and honest he appeared, I followed up by asking him if he would be okay with me also getting a new sink and faucet for the bathroom counter, and would he install that too. Bill said it wouldn't be a problem and he would take care of it. I quickly got the physical dimensions of the bathroom sink and ran off to the local home improvement center. When I returned, Bill had finished replacing the leaking valve on the water supply line to out toilet, and he went back to the kitchen to replace the faucet on our sink with a brand new one. He did a great job, and did it quickly. What impressed me even more, is how much he tested our kitchen sink to make sure nothing leaked in the plumbing he had just repaired underneath it, as well as with new faucet he had just installed. Bill then went back to the bathroom to replace our bathroom sink and install the brand new faucet. To my dismay, I learned the the people who cut the counter to install our old bathroom sink, and cut it in such a way that the new sink that should have fit, was slightly too small. Bill felt bad for me and immediately volunteered to go to his warehouse in the middle of town where he had a new Kohler sink that he said he would give to me for free if it fit. Where to you find customer service like that? What plumber volunteers to give the customer a new sink for FREE? I took Bill up on the offer and told him I would return the first sink I bought and see if they had an even bigger one what was not a standard size just in case the sink he had did not fit correctly. Bill jumped in his truck and went back to his warehouse, returning with a high quality sink that he offered to give to me for free, but in placing it in the previous odd shaped hole that was in the counter for the original sink, it didn't quite fit, although it was much better than that first sink that I bought. I then handed Bill the second sink that I bought, but I knew that the second sink was too big for the cut out, and it would require cutting the counter to accept it. Bill went out to this truck to get the tools he needed to cut a bigger whole in my counter top to accept the second sink, and before I knew it, he had mounted the second sink which was a perfect fit, and looked so much nicer than our original sink. Bill then installed the new faucet that I bought and job came out perfect. The reason why this review is so long is because I was REALLY impressed with Grants Pass Plumbing and Bill Fairurst, the owner. When all the work was said and done, it was 9 pm on a Friday night, and after all the work Bill had done, the bill came out to only $346.50! I can't say enough positive things about Bill Fairhurst and Grants Pass Plumbing. I would definitely use his company again, and I have absolutely no reservations about recommending him to others.