Maintenance 101 Plumbing

Mr. Conklin explained the work required to add an outside faucet and gave a quote for the most straightforward, least expensive, and to-code way to do the work which made it very affordable to do right away. This work I had completed right away. The work was done in a timely manner. He cleaned up his work area inside and outside the house. Once the work was complete, he took the time to explain how the system worked, as well as how to properly maintain the new faucet in the winter. In my many-years experience working with home contractors, very few take the time to discuss how the work that was done works and/or how to maintain it. This is something missing from many businesses who come to do work in homes. I appreciate this about Mr. Conklin. Mr. Conklin also explained the most affordable, functional and to-code option was to update sump pump plumbing inside and outside the house in the spring after a concrete patio is removed. This work I will have done in the spring. Mr. Conklin is easy to work with, returns phone calls, and enjoys his work.

Great! I've never experienced such a pleasant experience with a repair. Mike even tried to help over the phone, but when that didn't work, he came to the house. I wish I could hire him to do all the repairs in my home.

Michael is a nice guy who charges reasonable prices. The toilet was set unlevel so he had to come back. He made it right and honored his work.

Mike removed our old toilet and replaced it with a new one the next afternoon. He cleaned everything up and not a drop of water was anywhere in my home. Amazing.

Excellent - This is the third job that Michael has done for us. We are always pleased with his work, professionalism and price. He is always on time and very conscientious. He does fantastic work and we have another job lined up for him!

It went awesome. Great professional leaning experience. . Quick response. Great overall experience

I cannot say enough good things about Michael. We called him in the afternoon and he came to the house that evening. He wasn't able to repair the pipe due to the quality of the pipe so he came back the following evening (because his day was already booked). The repairs were done for my great aunt (age 90) and he took care of her as though she were family. I would recommend Michael to anyone & everyone in the Colorado Springs area!!!

Excellent. MIchael is the best. This is the second job he has done for us and we couldn't be more pleased with his work and professionalism. Would highly recommend.

Response was punctual, work was done for an amazing estimate and very quickly!

Within maybe half an hour of arriving, Mike got rid of the clog, and just to make sure it stayed gone, the tub was snaked an additional three times. The price was very reasonable.

I was thoroughly impressed with Michael's prompt response and follow-up communications, even after I initially contacted him. A quick date and time was set up to meet at the house and, prior to his arrival, Michael even called to let me know that he was on his way and in how many minutes he would arrive. I appreciated this information because it allowed me to run errands AND be at my daughter's house while Michael was still there. I was also pleased that Michael showed me, as well as explained, what the issues were and provided options and recommendations. I opted for a new disposal, which Michael then bought and immediately installed. Fortunately, the lines were not clogged. At the conclusion, Michael provided all material receipts with the invoice and the service charge was very fair. I asked my daughter if she would show Michael a concern I had with an electrical outlet that would eventually need to be addressed while I wrote out the check. I offered to write another check for that as well. When they returned, my daughter said Michael had repaired the electrical outlet because "it was a life threatening issue". I had no idea that it was dangerous and Michael would not accept payment for, in my opinion, doing more than what I had scheduled. I could not be more grateful. My daughter and I are so happy to have found such a professional (and caring) plumber, electrician and handyman. Michael is honest with what he can do and with what he cannot do. I have already scheduled Michael for an outside lighting issue for next week. If you have read this far, know that I would recommend Michael to anyone who is looking for an honest, fair and knowledgeable tradesman who goes above and beyond to make it right, whatever the issue is.

Michael did an outstanding job. He showed up early, quickly diagnosed what needed to be done, and got right to work. He was effective and efficient. Top notch plumbing skills! He gets my highest recommendation!

He did an excellent job and was wonderful to work with. We have already hired him again to do more electrical work for us. Would highly recommend.

He was prompt and professional and competitively priced. He was thorough and gave his full attention to my project while working in my home. He also was helpful answering my questions relating to other kitchen issues. Overall, a friendly and reliable guy. I would definitely hire him again.

I thought I had fixed the issues myself, however everything started to leak again. I called Michael, was able to send him some pictures so he knew what to expect. He actually picked up what he thought he might need before heading over. It was an easy fix for Michael. The whole process was easy and went smoothly. Michael's communication was great. He listened to what I needed. He was on time, friendly and professional. His prices were reasonable and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Cost of service includes price for materials.

Great. Michael did the job quickly and professionally. The price was very reasonable.

Michael Conklin is an awesome man. He came to the house, looked at the problems, gave me pricing & picked up all the supplies & scheduled a time good for me (the weekend) at no extra fee & he did the work promptly, was on time (called about 30 min ahead) to let me know he was on the way. His prices are well above fair, he is very professional, courteous, timely & gets in & out & explains everything he did & then makes sure his work is done right. I would recommend this man & I will hire him again for future services. He is an all around A-plus!! Thank you for this man.

As with our previous experience, Michael was the height of professionalism. When we opened the packaging containing the toilet, we found several parts to be missing! Michael had to improvise and take extra time and effort to do the install because of the missing parts. We will continue to use him for whatever plumbing needs we may have in the future, and again, have no hesitation in recommending him - you will not be disappointed! Mary Carson

Great. He was reasonably priced and a total professional. You can count on Michael to do a great job for you.

michael came in and fixed it right away. he was very professional and very knowledgeable. he was also very personable telling my husband and i some of the things he has found under some houses.

Michael was very responsive and completed the job quickly.

I am shocked, over-burdened, and very disappointed with the experience I had with and the workmanship of Mike, the owner of Maintenance 101. My two young sons, 7 and 2, have been without a tub to bathe in for over a month and still cannot use the tub due to Mike’s workmanship and negligence to resolve the situation. Mike has made me feel like a 3rd class customer; has made me question his intentions, honor, and integrity; has shown he will not take responsibility for or guarantee his work; has proven to me that he is not dependable and is not interested in keeping me as a customer. I am not confident in MIke’s work or integrity. As an Angie’s List member, and Colorado Springs community member, I cannot with good conscience recommend Mike and Maintenance 101 to other Angie’s List members or to my neighbors in Colorado Springs. I sent Mike a picture of my tub spicket that didn’t quite reach the wall, the copper pipe was too long, but it still worked and asked if he would fix it. Mike said he knew how to fix it and needed to order a part. After I didn’t hear from him after the date he said the part would be in, I contacted him and he said he would check to see if the part came in. The part was available (a chrome ring that goes between the wall and the spicket) and Mike came to my house, assessed the pipe and determined that the chrome spicket ring wasn’t thick enough to cover the gap between the spicket and the wall. After thinking it over, he decided to cut the pipe coming out of the wall and make it shorter. He attached a new spicket, turned the water on and water came out of the spicket and into the tub. I thanked him and asked him for tips on remodeling the same bathroom. He mentioned my roughly 4x4 ft. mirror on the wall and pried it with his thumb and the mirror came loose from the wall and began to fall. He pressed it against the wall, hoping it would hold, and then told me that I should go to Home Depot and get some clips to keep it against the wall. (He pried it off of the wall and told me to go to Home Depot to fix it. For some reason, I did.) The next day, my wife began running water in the tub to give my kids a bath and noticed that water was trickling out of the back of the spicket down the wall. That’s when I also noticed that the hole in the wall where the copper pipe comes through was visible at the bottom of the spicket. The trickling water was running into it and, of course, any water from taking a shower would do the same. I called Mike the next day and he came by a couple of days later. (He was late and did not call). He re-assessed the situation and said he didn’t know why water was leaking out and that he needed to look at the pipes behind the wall and see what was going on. He also said that he doesn’t do tile work so I had to cut out the tile or hire some one to do that and then call him so he could come back and see what was going on. I questioned him about the spicket he put on and we found that the leak was coming out of the plastic piece inside the new spicket, not from inside the wall. That’s when he told me that Home Depot sells “crap” parts (which is what he chose to use to fix my bathroom). Then, he told me to go to Home Depot and get a small rubber ring to place inside the plastic piece and that should fix the problem. I reminded him that I hired HIM to fix the problem and that HE should go to Home Depot and get a rubber ring. After some discussion, he said he would be back in a couple of days with a new rubber ring and try that out. After a couple of days, he returned with what looked to me to be an old red rubber ring (my opinion) to put in the plastic piece. He put it in, tightened the faucet back on and as he was walking out of the bathroom to go to his truck, told me to try it and see if it worked. When he came back, I told him that the faucet was still leaking. He then reminded me that Home Depot has “crappy” parts and he really doesn’t know why it was leaking and that I needed to take out the tile so he could look at the pipes. (He also quickly removed that red rubber ring and put it in his pocket). He said he wasn’t going to take out the tile because if the tile cracked, he would have to replace it and the tile he would use might not match the tile I have in the rest of the bathroom. He said he needs to cut off the copper pipe and weld on a longer piece so he can attach a different tub spicket. I reminded him that he is the one who assessed the problem and decided to cut the pipe shorter in the first place. He then told me that I hired him to put a fitter on the copper pipe so the new faucet he bought would fit on the pipe and that’s what he did. I told him I hired him to fix the problem, not add/remove parts. I continued to share my disappointment and frustration with his professionalism and workmanship and that’s when he decided to take responsibility. Mike said he would get his “tile guy” to come out, cut out the tile, then he (Mike) would weld on a longer copper piece so the spicket would fit on, and then his “tile guy” would replace the tile. He assured me he would get ahold of his guy that night and his “tile guy” would be over that night or possibly the next day. Mike took off the fitter he installed on the copper pipe and left me with the fitter and all of the faucet parts, including the pipe he cut off. (Mike always puts his left foot in the tub when he runs the water, soaking his shoe, then walks throughout the house and outside and then back into the house with his wet shoe). I didn’t hear from Mike or his guy the rest of that night, the next day, or the day after that. That 3rd day, I texted Mike and told him that I didn’t hear from his tile guy so Mike sent me a short answer; the number to his tile guy so I could track him down and make an appointment with him. Reluctantly, I did. I talked to the tile guy briefly and then didn’t hear from him or Mike again for 3 more days. Finally, I contacted Mike again and Mike got back with me later that night. Mike texted me that his tile guy wasn’t going to cut the tile or put in an access panel behind the shower wall to get to the pipe so Mike told me to cut the tile out myself or hire someone to do it and then call him to make the repairs. I took my before, during, and after pictures of the pipe and of Mike’s workmanship AND the parts that Mike left to Lowes and Home Depot where both places and a total of 4 employees told me that Mike cut the pipe too short and that the new spicket couldn’t be tightened enough to form a seal around the copper pipe (due to its shortness) and the new spicket (plastic piece in the spicket) which is why water was coming out where they connect. The gentlemen at Lowes demonstrated it with the pieces that Mike left me. They also mentioned that the copper pipe looked like it was squeezed and compressed too much on the top leaving it flat on top and not a circle, the way the pipe should be. They also mentioned that there was a black rubber seal with a screen in the spicket that shouldn’t be in it. In their opinion, it was most likely put in there to help the spicket seal to the copper pipe BUT the rubber seal was not sufficient for the job and didn’t fit well in the spicket WHICH would also cause problems with the seal and allow water to leak out. Home Depot also pointed out that the tub spicket that Mike bought to make the repair was their cheapest one. All poor decisions and workmanship on Mike’s part. My assessment and observations, along with the assessment and observations of other professionals, the demonstration with the parts, the before and during and after pictures, AND the location and nature of the leak are all evidence that Mike cut the pipe too short and sabotaged his attempt to fix the problem he was hired to do AND tried to cover it up AND is expecting me to use my time and money to fix the mistakes he made. Again, as I write this, Ive been told by Mike that I have to cut the tile in my shower or hire someone to cut the tile before he will come in and fix the problem he created AND fix the original repair and that he will not be responsible if tile is cracked and has to be replaced and is not responsible if its replaced with unmatching tile. I find this and his other actions VERY unprofessional, EXTREMELY dishonest, EXCEPTIONALLY disappointing, and EXCEEDINGLY disrespectful. I have never been treated this way by someone I have hired AND PAID to do a job, nor have I ever experienced someone who didn’t stand behind their workmanship and guarantees and blamed others, the parts they use to make the repairs and me for not successfully and adequately completing the job. THIS IS NOT WHAT I EXPECT FROM A COMPANY THAT I FOUND ON ANGIE”S LIST! Mike, as a plumber hired from Angie’s List, should stand behind his work, go above and beyond to fix the problems he created, and leave his customer satisfied and confident in his work and abilities. Mike is not standing behind his work, is not fixing the problems he created and is definitely not going above and beyond to fix the problems he created AND I am not a satisfied customer and am not confident in Mike or his work. As an Angie’s List member, and Colorado Springs community member, I cannot with good conscience recommend Mike and Maintenance 101 to other Angie’s List members and my neighbors in Colorado Springs. To ensure that Angie’s List members and my neighbors in the Colorado Springs Community make a well-informed decision, I’m posting my complaint on multiple social media platforms, informing my insurance company of his company name, and filing my claim with the Better Business Bureau. Good Luck on Finding The Best Plumber for You.

101 was the best and fastest plumber I have ever called, he replaced the pipe so fast , he is really good at his job. I am so happy we found an affordable and very nice man.

Michael was fantastic, simply stated. He arrived ahead of time, got the job done with such speed and such competence that it blew me away. Simply the best plumber I've had the luck to meet, anywhere, anytime, any city. Plan to hire him again immediately. There's simply no one better. Hire him with confidence.

Michael was here ahead of schedule and only took 20 minutes to install new kitchen faucet. Very pleased with results.