Wm. Henderson Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Inc.

great so far

Very well, the tech was very knowledgeable, efficient and polite.

I received estimates from about 5 various contractors. One of the big pluses for Wm Henderson was that they could do the entire job, which required a master plumber, finish carpentry, tile removal, matching (purchasing) and installation as well as electrical. Henderson's prices were in line and they really seemed to understand the scope and requirements of the work involved. And because they understood the entire job (and not just the plumbing) they too were interested in creating the least amount of demolition of the kitchen. They were also prompt in getting me a detailed price quote which also had some options I'd asked for (cast iron stack over PVC for the noise abatement). It was for these reasons and their great reviews on Angie's List that I selected them. The work started after a holiday, so as to be able to finish it in 3 consecutive days, which I appreciated. But even before that Henderson's tile guy came out to get a sample of the tile so that he could go and match it, which he did exactly (luckily the kitchen was tiled in the past 2 years using standard tile). As with the tile guy, throughout the process Henderson did a good job of communicating when workers would be there and what the next steps were. Due to the nature of the repair I did have 4 or 5 different teams of people at the house at various times. But they all seemed pretty well versed as to what their job was. Only a couple of times was there some uncertainty about the work, over using cast iron instead of PVC and over what electrical outlets needed to be fixed or replaced. Everyone was friendly, professional and above all very skilled and knowledgeable about their work. Hats off to the plumbers who were able to both remove and install a new main soil stack without having to remove both the kitchen counter or 4 rows of glass tile work. It did take some extra effort and a lot of creativity to successfully complete this part of the work, but everyone saved in the end as the work finished in a shorter amount of time, and much less of the kitchen had to be removed and put back. They were also able to get our only bathroom up and functioning within the day, which was a real concern for me. Henderson's tile expert was a joy to have in the house and doing the work. He was very through, consciencious of keeping everything clean (tile work can be very messy) and making everything match and look new again, which wasn't easy because the original installation was done incorrectly by a previous home owner themselves. The finished result looked great and works well; it's just not by the book. And I guess that's where I felt Henderson's people really shined; they could resolve problems by thinking outside the box and still do a top quality job for the price they had quoted. I also had Henderson hang an under cabinet microwave as a side part of this job since the cabinet was being removed, and they did a wonderful job making sure that there was enough reinforcement to securely hold the appliance and also to get the installation of the microwave level. All-in-all I was very pleased to have Henderson in my home during such an unsettling time as having our main plumbing stack out of commission. I would definitely hire them again for any repair or kitchen/bathroom remodel job.

They were on-time, efficient, and reasonably priced. They were offering a seasonal special which made the service less expensive than normal. Overall, we would definitely use them again.

They have done a few things for us. The price was slightly high but it was in the range of what other people had quoted us. They did a good job overall with all those things. We would use them again.

The job went very well. We were really pleased with them. Everyone that we talked to was very professional and very well behaved. They were very helpful when they were in the house. I was very pleased with their overall demeanor. They were on time. I will definitely use them in the future.

They arrived and although the engineer didn't have the part someone from the company brought it to the house so as not to slow the progress.

I liked their flexibility and scheduling. Their price was average.

Very pleasant to work with -- open about the expense, willing to work with my budget, high quality work done within a short period of time with great communication about when various parts of the job would be completed. They have their own tile person and he was great. I'm fussy about things being "even" and "looking good" etc. and the tile looks super. I thought the expense was very fair and what I expected to pay without subcontracting myself....still I wouldn't say the company is a bargain. Certainly, I could have reduced the expense by tiling only the floor, keeping the walls, not replacing the tub, etc. etc. I have used less expensive services at other times and been unhappy with the work. I have also used MORE expensive services and been unhappy! So, I feel it is worth it to know that the job will be done well and they will follow up if there is a problem.

The technician was pleasant to deal with, very professional, and kept me informed of everything that was going on. More than a month later everything is working smoothly. I would jump to use them again.

They did it quickly and everything is working great. We had an emergency and they showed up as soon as they could. They gave us space heaters to use until they could get to the work. They did a considerable amount of work and finished it all in one day.

The water service from the street to my house failed. The water company gave me ten days to correct the leak or they would shut off the water. Henderson was recommended and, initially, they were very responsive sending someone out on Sunday to take stock of the situation. However, after consultation with his boss, he explained that his boss wanted to come out on Monday to look before they would give me an estimate. Fine. Late Monday afternoon I called since I had not heard anything and the person took my message and said she would have somemone call me back. That did not happen. I called back Tuesday afternoon and was told that they could not come out to give an estimate until the middle of the following week. They failed on both responsiveness and communication. Henderson was aware of my deadline from the water department and proposed coming out to make an estimate AFTER the water company was going to shut me off. I am not sure what went wrong...they came recommended and initally were quite responsive. Maybe they are too big or too busy or pooly organized.

My water main broke and Aqua told me it was my responsibility to repair it. The first two companies to come out estimated $2200.00. Another company on Angie's List wanted to charge me 79.00 to do an estimate and when I told him that other people had already given me estimates of 2200.00 he told me he would beat anyone else's price. Right then and there I decided not to use him (he was based in Phoenixville, but, forget his name). The first two companies also came at times (earlier) than we had scheduled, so, I wasn't there to meet them which was also frustrating. Then Michael showed up, right on time. Gave me two estimates. Best case scenario, 1400.00 and worst case scenario, 2200.00. So, I gave him the business and he sent a very polite and professional crew to my home at the time promised. I left for work and came home and MUCH TO MY SURPRISE, there was an invoice for 1400.00. He could very easily have told me that it was the 2200.00 job (how would I have known?) but he was honest enough to tell me it was the 1400.00 job. They re-seeded my lawn where they dug up the pipes and my water pressure is now AMAZING! ! ! This was the most positive experience I have ever had with ANY contractor I have ever hired, and I have hired many of them over the years.

Henderson is extremely responsive. A real person who knows about the project answers the phone and addresses any problems. During the installation process, there were a few glitches such as the wrong part having been ordered or assuming something would be easy to get whereas actually it needed special ordering--but I view these as normal construction project frustrations, and everything was addressed promptly and courteously. So, I would use Henderson again for this type of project.

All of my service went really well except for my heating and AC and its the heating and AC solution that makes me think that William Henderson (WH) is the only company I would deal with. William Henderson proved themselves to be a reliable, old-fashioned, honest business with my AC system. My AC died. I called WH and they were at my house within a couple hours. Because my heating and AC system was old, I decided to replace both. Their Heating and AC salesman, Ed, was at my house an hour later. Ed was great. He sized my system and then carefully explained to me all the options. I asked him a million questions and as I'm a scientist, you can bet that I was asking detailed, technical questions. I asked him to work up 3 different quotes for me on the various systems we'd discussed. He emailed me the quotes a few hours later. Two days later, they were installing my new Carrier heating and AC system. Now, here's where the 'trouble' starts (but what also makes WH the only company to deal with). My new, super-efficient, does everything but the dishes, AC system wasn't cooling my house! It was so upsetting. Before rebates and tax credits, this system cost nearly 10K! WH was great. It was a really hard problem and we actually had to have the guys from Carrier out to try to figure out what was wrong. The Carrier guys were sending information back to their main office, design engineers trying to figure out what was wrong with my system. It was sized right. The flow was right. Everything was 'right' but it was still not working. Note that my point in mentioning the Carrier guys work is that even the maker of the AC system verified that my system was sized right. According to Carrier's own engineers, my system 'should' have worked. At the end of this whole thing, Carrier decided that the problem was my duct work and vents. Although the system was properly sized, because my house had old, custom duct work and weirdly blocked vents that pushed the air along the floor, the air wasn't stirring enough and it wasn't cooling right. Basically, my house as an anomaly. Now, another company might have told me that they had sized the system properly and screw me. Not WH. They said that they had given me a quote on a system that would cool my house and any additional work that needed to be done would be done. I was NEVER asked to pay an extra dime. They gave me the choice of changing my duct work or changing the compressor system, all at their expense. I went with the larger compressor system. As soon as that decision was made, they were out and took out the 'new' system and put in a newer system. WH earned my everlasting loyalty because of this incident. During the whole process, Ed was really helpful, the service people were really helpful. They never, at any point, were anything but reassuring that we'd figure out the problem and that it wouldn't be a problem. They were entirely professional and, according to the Carrier engineers, did everything right. This is what you want in a plumbing and heating professional. Some additional things that I like about WH after all the work that they've done for me is that over the course of the years, I see the same service people at my house. They know me. They know my house. Because I see them over and over, I feel confident I can trust them. They answer my questions and don't advise me to do work that doesn't need to be done. They give me the options and pros and cons of each. When I got my heating and AC system, Ed asked me what I wanted and helped me figure out the right system for my budget and my needs rather than trying to push me into the best profit for them. I also like that when I have an emergency type problem, as when my AC died in the heat of August, they were out right away to fix it. I also like that they treat their employees well. I know this because their employees stay with the company but also because in the course of the typical chit chat over the years, they've told me they like the company. They offer their employees a retirement plan and I don't imagine all plumbing companies do or can. I would add one word of caution. The front office sometimes misses an appointment or doesn't process stuff. So, now I've learned that when I make an appointment for some kind of routine service, I call to confirm myself the day before. Finally, I would STRONGLY recommend William Henderson Plumbing and Heating as a reliable, trustworthy business that does quality work and stands by their word.

If we have a problem, he comes out and takes care of it. We don't have to wait too long on him. He provides great service. I don't think they're cheap, but the price is reasonable.

We had a problem with one of the person that they had sent out. He ended up not working any longer on our job and I think he was no longer working for Henderson at that point. They have done several things for us. I would not automatically use William Henderson Plumbing & Heating but we would probably do a research online and see which company is good at this time. I thought that the price that they had charged us was very high but we had an emergency. I think the others were fine except for that one employee. I guess they corrected that problem that I had. I would consider using their services again but I would look around first.

I used them maybe a year ago and they were very good. I don't remember how they were as far as price is concerned. I would definitely give them an A+. I had a shower drain that did not drain quite right, it was quite clogged. The company that had put it in is not in business anymore for good reasons but they put it in such a way that you could not take the drain cover up. It was backing up within a few years and no other place could do because they said they can't get the snake in it. Henderson first said let me see what I can do and he managed to drill around the area that was a little bit bigger and put a snake in. So, everything worked out with him and I was just thrilled because he did what nobody else could or would do.

Plumber Shawn Kirkpatrick arrived to my home on time, after 2 confirmation phone calls were made to my cell and home earlier in the day. Shawn assessed that I needed a toilet rebuild and completed the job within one hour. I also canceled my existing service agreement (with another plumber) and signed one with Henderson. A GREAT company to work with! Thank you Shawn!

We had the company come out because our furnace (installed in 2007 by the same company) would not blow heat. The furnace needed a part replaced that was not a common part; they did not have it on their truck and told me they would need to go to a store and purchase it (store was less than 3 miles away). The serviceman had been in my house for approx. 30-40 minutes at that point; he left and said he would be back with the part. Three hours later he arrived with the part-it took him 30 minutes max to put it on. I also had him do a furnace inspection for routine maintenance, which took him an extra 30 minutes at a charge of 120.00 (I knew this up front). His total time in my house working on the furnace for the repair was no more than 70 minutes, plus the extra 30 minutes of routine maintenance. I was billed for three hours of labor (120.00 per hour) plus the 120.00 charge for the furnace inspection, totaling almost 500.00. The serviceman cited the time he had spent getting the part (mind you, the store is 3 miles away) as billable labor time, which I refused to pay for since it was not my fault he did not have the part on his truck and the furnace was under warranty. He took off one of the three hours of labor and charged me for two, even though he only spent 70 minutes or so working on the repair.

I met Mike Henderson through a general contractor I had hired to renovate my Master Bedroom/Bathroom. I ended up firing the general contractor because he would never show up except to get paid early and his work was inferior. Mike always showed up when he said he would and called me to check in to make sure everything was going OK. Mike never got paid by this contractor even though I paid the general contractor that I fired. Even though he did not get paid by this contractor he still stayed and finished the job, not asking me for a penny. He also found me a new contractor and electrician. I am very happy with both so far. I then gave him an upstairs bathroom that was over 100 years old to completely redo. I am not the easiest client because I like to reuse original items from my house. This particular bathroom might have had the world's first shower. The bathroom had 3 huge slabs of marble that I wanted to reuse in some way. They took out all 3 huge slabs that weighed hundreds of pounds each. No one thought the marble could be removed without breaking, but it was and I am very appreciative PJ. They cleaned up one big slab and reinstalled it in the back of the shower. They took another slab and cut it on site (it was really thick) and made a 2' x 2' square that their very talented tile guy Tony installed as a decorative piece in the center of the bathroom. I am so happy with it and it is beautiful. It is different yet it keeps with the integrity of my house. Michael has been called a lot throughout these renovations and he always calls me right back and helps me figure out what to do. He should really be a builder he is so knowledgeable and resourceful. His people are all a pleasure to have in your house. UPDATE: The $14,000.00 I paid him directly was for the small 3rd floor bathroom only. It had nothing to do with the Master Bathroom he did. I paid my general contractor a lump sum for everything and it included the plumbing. I don't know what the general contractor's agreement was for the cost of the Master Bath with Michael Henderson.

The reconnecting of the units took longer than they anticipated. They ran new lines to each unit above ground instead of using the underground chase that had been used originally. They indicated that the chase was a bad idea as it would fill with water. They informed me that one condensing unit had a leak for which they were not responsible. They recharged the unit anyway, but they believe the unit will require repair or replacement. I have no idea how much that will cost. This was frustrating as the unit worked fine before it was disconnected. They made me sign that they were not responsible for the refridgerant leak, even though moving the units probably did cause the problem. Finally, the units were never cleaned. When I asked the workers, they said the leaves in the bottom won't make any difference and I can clean the fins with a hose. To clean the leaves they would have to take the units apart. I am still facing a large expense to repair or replace the "leaking" unit.

I was skeptical that an unlined chimney could cause the pilot to keep going out, but I did some research and found that others had experienced the same problem. Henderson installed the new liner within a few hours and the problem has not recurred. Henderson worked quickly and cleanly.

Close to midnight on a Friday, I noticed that my basement carpet was damp, leading to the discovery that the water heater had sprung a leak. We called Henderson's 24-hour number and received a call back within a few minutes. By 9 am the following morning, they were at the house with a new heater and had it installed, after many difficulties with the old unit (the drain valve was clogged) shortly after noon.

He came out and charged me $100 for not fixing the leak. He told me I needed a new spigot to fix the leak. I didn't feel that he was very competent and then I found out I didn't need a new spigot. I believe he was dishonest in what he was trying to do. I asked for the refund of $100 because he did not fix the problem.