MASTER PLUMBING

They were timely and professional. Both the garbage disposal and the water heater are working great. They do not take credit cards without an extra fee though.

Originally, my husband and I were very happy to have Doug work on our plumbing. He was friendly and punctual, and we agreed upon a price that worked for us all. In addition, he responded to our calls and emails promptly. We were happy with his work. Around early October, we started noticing lots of gnats in our kitchen and exisiting bathroom. We called an exterminator, and after investigation, they decided they were coming from our plumbing lines. The exterminator suggested we bleach the sinks, shower, and toilet for a few days to see if it kills them. It didnt. The problem got worse, and eventually, our house started to smell like sewer. I called and emailed Doug to see if he would come check his work to make sure something hadn't come apart. At this point, if something had, we were completely ok with him just fixing the problem (we all make mistakes). He responded that he would call me shortly. He never did. After him not returning my calls, I sent him a serious "I NEED YOU TO CALL ME" email, and he did, about 5 minutes later. My husband spoke to him and they agreed upon a date and time for Doug to come look at the lines. We understood that he was working on a project out of state, and had limited time to do this, so we BOTH took off work to be here when he came out. The appointment time came, and Doug never showed.... never called, and never returned our 5 calls and 2 messages. I sent Doug an email, appalled, at his lack of professionalism. All we needed was for him to check on his previous work. 3 days later, we got a email from someone who claimed to be his "apprentice." This gentleman apologized on behalf of Doug, and wanted to see if he could come check out the situation. Amazed that Doug could contact him, and not us, we politely declined his assistance and called a more reputable plumber. Once this plumber came out, they discovered that the drain line in the kitchen was never reconnected to the whole line...resulting in 6 months of everything we put down our kitchen sink sitting under our house. The total clean up and repair cost was about $800. What else could we do, but have them repair it on the spot. How unhealthy to be living with that! I called Doug first, then the "apprentice" that he sent our way. The apprentice was able to get in touch with him and offered (once again) to come take a look, but would only be able to check what was going on. I told him this wasn't his problem, and that he should probably stay out of the middle of this. Bottom line is, Doug lacked the professionalism to call, email, or text my husband or me, to double-check his work once he was paid. As I said, we all make mistakes, but the lack of courage to step up, fix, or at least follow up with customers has left us greatly disappointed. We were hoping to use him for the remodel of our original bathroom. He will not be recommended or considered for any plumbing needs in our future.

Doug had done several jobs for me in the past for which I am now experiencing problems due to poor materials and installation. It appears he has vanished. Phone disconnected and e-mails gone unanswered.

One day in early March, I awoke to find no hot water for my morning shower. It turned out that my hot water heater had bit the dust. Luckily, it was still under warranty. I called Doug at about 8 a.m. from work and left him a message about my problem. He called back within 30 minutes to schedule an appointment for later that day. In the interim, I got the replacement information I needed from my water heater manufacturer ready so that Doug could pick up a replacement for me. Later on, Doug phoned to let me know that he would be running a little late due to inclement weather (it was actually snowing like crazy at the time). He arrived early that afternoon, and cut the serial number plate off of the old water heater (the manufacturer required this) and then headed back out into the snow storm to pick up my new water heater. By 3:30 p.m., he had the new water heater in place, and I was a happy camper.

Overall, I was not displeased. Doug worked really well with the company installing the furnace in the same area (they had to coordinate their efforts because space was tight). Doug is a bit hard to contact, but he does show up when he says he will and he does a good job. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't notice the size of the water heater he removed and ended up buying a larger size and had to "make it fit." Otherwise, I was pretty much happy with the work. The water heater has worked fine since the installation and I haven't had any problems.

Overall it went pretty well. It turned out the project was a little more involved then what we thought it would be. They offered me a lot of advice on some alternatives and provided some info on where to buy parts that I needed. They returned after I had gotten the parts and installed it. They did a great job.

First issue was that the HVAC lines were accidentally cut. Doug had his buddy come out and fix the lines and put Freon in them for additional 590 dollars. That worked for 2 days, but there was a small leak in the line where he welded it. Finally after a month of trying I got someone else to fix it for $165. So I would say IF something should go wrong with the job that Doug does by all means use your own people to fix it. Second issue was the state of my yard after the job was completed. I can understand that there will be some backhoe tracks in the yard. The real issue was the fact that all the excess dirt was piled in a corner of my yard (see photo), my retaining wall was smashed (see photo see retaining wall in bottom right-hand corner) and they didn t even need to smash it because they didn t lay the line underneath it. A hill that they used to get to part of the yard was fixed by Doug on May 11th after repeatedly calling and complaining. It had huge backhoe tracks and was completely unacceptable in the state they left it. He told my wife to have a landscaping company do it as he is a plumber not a landscaper . I kept calling and Doug did come out to fix it. We are pleased our plants are undamaged and understand it is our responsibility to provide sod and replace the grass. We should not however have to replace property damaged by his negligence. Third issue is the fact that the sprinkler lines were cut and not capped off so I have pools of water in my backyard (see photo). I have probably called him at least a dozen times with little to no response. On one instance he said, Nothing will ever make your wife happy. Completely unprofessional. The last time I called him was on June 3rd (over a month since the job was done!) and he told me that he was in my area and that he would come by, but that I was on his time so it would not be a high priority. He still hasn t come by. This is unacceptable as I feel like I did Doug a huge favor in not making him re-connect all the sprinkler lines which was clearly in the contract. I just want him to cap them off so I don t have a cesspool in my backyard. Bottom line is I think Doug underestimated the job and the only way to re-coup losses was to leave it uncompleted. The sewer line is laid and toilets flush without getting clogged so that is not the issue. It s the other stuff related to the laying of the line. I would not use Doug for large jobs. We take time to research and find the best people to come to our home, even if we have to pay a little more. His phone message states to have a blessed day and I feel that is misleading as no fellow Christian would treat a fellow brother in Christ as I have been treated. Spend your money elsewhere.

Curtis showed up when he said he would, did the work under the sink for me, he was very prompt and did a great job. He went on to fix 2 outdoor faucets. He was well groomed and very polite.

I was told an estimate for my job would be $300 over the phone. My job was replace two interior mechanisms on toilets, replace dishaser with new one, and tighten faucets. The estimate was for $300. My dishwasher had not arrived by the time they did, so I instead asked them to correct leak on existing one. They never told me their hourly fee ($175.00 an hour for a plumber) instead only told me the estimated amount. They never asked for the toliet manufacturer. Instead choose to come over and read the names and then go shopping for them, stating it would take a two semi trucks to have available parts for all toilets. Home improvement store plumbing aisles don't contain this much product. At the end I was asked for $367.00. I inquired why the price changed from the estimate one hour earlier and was told he didn't state $175 for the total job but $175 an hour. I was on a cell phone and the word (per hour) could have faded out... But honestly, $175 hour for a plumber.

He had all the equipment and 15-20 minutes later it was clear. He also took care of some leaky faucets just like it was nothing! He knew exactly what he was doing and was very professional.

Good, honest people, felt good using them because they were on Angie's List.

It went very well. After his first visit, I noticed the toilet was still leaking, Doug came back and worked until it was fixed. He did not charge me for his additional time. He only asked that I pay for the additional parts necessary to complete the job. He is now my plumber.

THEY WORK QUICK AND GOT THE JOB DONE. THEY WERE A BIT ON THE EXPENSIVE SIDE BUT I WOULD PROBABLY CALL THEM BACK.

Think I'll pass. Estimated cost was $500.

He called today, Jan. 28th and said he was sorry that he missed the appointment and that he must've overlooked the appointment.

Called on 12/30/2007 and the first call sounded like someone just picked up the receiver and then hung up. I tried the number a second time and went to a voice recorder. I left a message to call me on a drain cleaning problem, but never got a call back.

Great! Doug explained how everything worked and took extra time to teach us about our water system. We have a pier and beam home and he took digital photos underneath the house so we could see how our system worked throughout the house. He also brought a model of the new pipes and fixtures that he would be using to replace the old system.

Excellent. He came when he said he would, did the work I requested. Cleaned everything up and charged a fair price.

Doug arrived on time and even called ahead to let me know he was on his way. He performed the work discussed and even an additional project (hot water recirculating pump) that we did not originally discuss. He provided an itemized invoice at the end and went through it item by item. He did clean up and haul away the old toilets and sink. I haven't used a plumber in a few years so I don't really know how his prices compared to others, but I was satisfied with the work and experience with Doug and that is what really counts in my situation. I would recommend Master Plumbing and would use them again.

Mr. Robertson called to make sure someone was home, and arrived promptly on time as scheduled. I found him to be a courteous, knowledgeable professional who easily answered all of the questions I had for him. I'll be using this guy from now on.

Doug is very courteous. Explains all options and answers all questions thoroughly. Completes his job in a timely manner. Professional and efficient work.

Doug was 30 minutes EARLY and went through what I needed and gave me some very helpful suggestions. He put in the new toilets and did some extra work to insure they would work properly. He did an outstanding job and was courteous, clean and efficient in his work.

We called and he arrived promptly as scheduled, we were given an estimate, which we approved on the spot and the work was completed within 2 hours. This gentleman knows his trade, is courteous and has a meticulous work ethic. We were very impressed by his work, his promptness and his price. We will recommend him at every opportunity.

Quick and simple. He does a good job at a fair price. We've called a few plumbers over the years and were never satisfied. Thanks Angie's List for helping us finally find one we would use again and even recommend.

Doug flushed the water heater and said that he didn't see any metal fragments coming out and that it was probably due to one of two things; the inside of the water heater was pristine or the tubing had completely corroded. Since the heater was over 15 years old, he thought it was probably the later and suggested we might consider replacing it at some time.