Detemple Co Inc Plumbing Heating & Air

We hired DeTemple to do some simple plumbing work. They sent out a sick employee who worked very slowly only getting about half way through the job. He ended going home sick mid-day and not returning to finish the work. The next day, a new employee came out and completed the work in 2 1/2 hours. When we received the bill - it was much more than we expected, especially for the hours of work completed by the sick employee, who was not functioning. We called and spoke to DeTemple and the employee agreed that there should be an adjustment due to the sick employee's slow work rate. That day, we mailed in a check for the agreed upon amount in full. Days later, we got a call asking why we shorted our payment and we explained our situation. Again, the employee agreed that there should be some adjustment and he gave us a new adjusted price - not as much as the original employee gave us, but it was something. Returning from vacation, we received a note saying we are being sent to collections for the original bill with no adjustments. Now, the company says the employees that offered the adjusted amounts were not authorized to adjust our bill and we owe the full amount.

Excellent work, quick and efficient. I wanted to hire them again in 2017 but at the time of my request DeTemple was short staffed and did not call me back. I've hired another company.

When I call them, they're really great. They know what to do and I love them.

They're phenomenal. I wish they provided more services. They know me by name yet I don't do that much work with them. They have somebody come out here promptly. If they say 8 am in the morning, the guy knocks at my door at 8:00. I would give them triple A's.

These guys charged me for DRIVE TIME! Over an hour to get from Beaverton to the NE. Drive time was not discussed on my discussion with the dispatcher. The job took 15 minutes, so I basically paid for this guy to sit in his van for an hour.

We have used DeTemple?s services for years, both personally and as a resource for our residential real estate agency. The staff at DeTemple are pleasant to work with and are quick to respond, which is invaluable when dealing with malfunctioning HVAC systems. They are our go-to resource for clients!

Called around for service; DeTemple was able to send someone the same day, so I went with them. Technician Tom V. arrived promptly. He confirmed gas pressure was adequate, then showed me how he re-lighted the pilot. It held the flame for the minimum 30 seconds, so he re-lit the main burner and observed to confirm it was operating correctly, too. He pointed out the other controls and explained their functions or potential pitfalls, courteously and patiently educating me (a novice) so I could perform the same fix the next time. The charge was for 3/4 hour, including travel/gas surcharge. At $111 per hour, the rate is a little high -- I'm a design professional when I'm at work, and my rate is $90/hour -- but I was willing to pay the extra to get same-day service on a day I was already off work.

They do a good job,they don't screw up much and if they do screw up they fix it. They are fairly competent and they are pretty careful. The fact that I have used them for a long time I know the people there and they know what I want so we work well together. They have competent technicians that do what you tell them to do and do it right for the most part. They are very responsive.

It went well, right on time, neat. He did the repairs that was needed.

My house is from 1905; finding professionals with experience on old houses is difficult. I have used DeTemple twice now with great outcomes. Glenn Vance was able to quickly assess the situation, understand the functioning of a older system, provide thoughtful insight, and make the repairs quickly. His experience gave me complete confidence immediately. I can. recommend DeTemple, specifically Glenn without reservation

I scheduled with Detemple when the toilet plugged up, but learned their schedule was busy so it would be an after-hours call (higher rate). So I decided to call one of the rooter services in the yellow pages instead. How bad could it be? Um, bad. That other company came, made an outrageous (but free) estimate of $350. The guy told me he could fix the clog but he'd have to call in one of their journeyman plumbers to fix the innards of the toilet (even though they knew that was part of the job when they scheduled it), then suggested the toilet was old and maybe we'd just like to replace it etc etc etc. Hard sales pitch, perfectly pleasant but not the way I wanted to do business. I sent him away with no job. Called DeTemple back (by now several hours later) - lo and behold, he could fit our job back on the schedule - and then by some wonderful miracle, there was a cancellation so we paid their ordinary rate after all. And the weekend guests never knew... Thanks, DeTemple.

Glen was awesome! From the start it was clear he knew what he was doing and how to achieve the best repair. Coupled with his good planning and advice about restarting the water throughout our huge house, we couldn't have been more pleased! Forget the other big companies in town- start with DeTemple!

The service was excellent. The cost was definitely high due to the service being after hours and the long travel times during rush hour. I would definitely recommend DeTemple for after hours/ quick service. They are the only provider that had any interest in helping us with short notice. Everyone else wanted 4 to 6 days.

They are one of the best to work on older plumbing issues.

They were a good company. I checked on them, and they had good reviews. Their prices were good. Their quality of work was excellent.

What I have appreciated about DeTemple is a straightforward, considerate approach. This job was the third DeTemple has done for me, after a toilet installation and bathroom faucet replacement. Those jobs were handled well, and it appears the new water heater was, as well. After a lot of thought about tankless water heaters, we finally just replaced our conventional heater. It wasn't the solution I would have preferred, but it was the one that made the most sense. Another contractor was in the basement recently on another piece of work (never ends, does it?) and admired the work.

In addition we phoned they for a bid on a remodel house we just purchased and they got back to us after a week and told us they were too busy to even look at the job.

Thank goodness for DeTemple Plumbing! We use them a lot because we have a 70 year old house that keeps springing leaks. Most recently, shower water started pouring through the ceiling of our TV room. We were devastated and were sure that we were going to have to tear out and remodel the whole bathroom. But Ken from DeTemple came out the next day and was able to access and repair the leak by cutting a small hole in the wall of an adjacent bedroom. We were so very grateful! And while he was at it, Ken fixed all sorts of other little plumbing problems around the house (hot and cold pipes that had always been connected backwards, a broken garbage disposal, a partially clogged faucet). We didn't even have to ask. Great plumbers to know, especially since they provide 24 hour emergency coverage at a very reasonable cost.

He recommended that I buy a new garbage disposal at Home Depot. He told me exactly what to buy and then came back and installed it. While he was here, he also discovered that I had a slow leak under my sink, so he also repaired that. Overall, he did a great job.

The service experience is always fine except for the delays for parts or scheduling

The quality of the work was excellent, but there are real problems with the billing. I ended up ultimately satisfied, but they had quoted us a commercial rate for a residence. The difference in the fixed rate for the permits and charged more than they should have. This was an unpleasant interaction, but they made good on the screw up eventually.

Great customer service. Very professional presentation. Service provided was above/beyond expectation.

Could only talk to a dispatcher. 24 hours later, received call from estimator, 24 hours later he arrived but said he could not bid until his excavator looked at the site. That was the last we heard from DeTemple despite leaving 2 phone messages with estimator that we were getting desperate.

Short Version: I would not use them again. Called them for a simple toilet fix on a Sunday afternoon (my regular plumber had a breakdown). They told me travel and labor charges would be doubled for Sunday work. I expected this was a $100 job since I'm a landlord and deal w. contractors and small repairs routinely. So, doubled, that's $200. Not the $358 I was finally charged. The plumber showed up in a reasonable time after the call. The tenants said it was simple fix and he was in and out. I was charged for 28 minutes of travel each way --- which would mean their On Call guy isn't even in the city of Portland! (again - their main office is 6 blocks away. A 28 min. drive on a Sunday in Portland is a LONG way away). So Nearly $200 of the bill was just for travel. They billed me for 45 minutes of labor. That doesn't really jibe with what the tenants told me and the fix - replacing a toilet valve/flapper assembly should be a 15 minute job for a competent plumber, in my opinion. $19 for parts. I can deal with that. I felt ripped off when I saw the bill. I spoke a person I was told was the owner. He was very polite and even apologetic. However, he blamed the extraordinary cost on THE UNIONS! He would not lower the bill. I feel I was exploited. I can only imagine what could happen to another DeTemple customer -- say an elderly person on a fixed income -- who had a serious plumbing problem instead of just a bad flap. It could be devastating. I looked in my records for past experiences with DeTemple. I had forgotten it was them I hired a few years ago to fix a broken shower valve. Their original bill for that job (a valve replacement - not a shower replacement) was over $1000. The plumber had to go to a supplier to get a part and it turned out to be the wrong part. I was charged for that adventure. I talked them down to $850 on the final bill. I feel exploited in that transaction too. I need to find another plumber open on Sundays. As I write this, DeTemple has an "A" rating on this site, so I guess buyer beware.

The work was performed just as expected. Bryan was efficient and the quality of the work was superb. The new layout of our laundry area is much more user-friendly than it was previously, and we are thrilled with the new plumbing. Everything has been working perfectly. We will ask for Bryan by name whenever we need a plumber!