BIG CITY PLUMBING & DRAIN

The work that they did was excellent. They came out and fixed the problem quickly, but they were slightly pricey. My daughter used another company for the same problem and she paid $100 less than what I paid Big City Plumbing & Drain.

I moved into my first home in September and thought everything was wonderful since the homeowner didn't disclose any issues and my inspector didn't find anything wrong, either. I now know to always get a more thorough inspection done before purchasing a home! I would have saved thousands of dollars... I had a housewarming party two weeks after moving in and with a house full of people, the toilet backed up. Ugh! The plunger method didn't work and with it being the only bathroom in the house, people left early. I tried to take a shower in the morning before heading to stay at my mom's until the toilet was fixed, but water started spilling out of a pipe in the wall when the shower was turned on. I called a plumber and they said it sounded like my main drain line and they sent a subcontracted company out to fix it. They said that my problem was most definitely roots in the line and they put the cutter-thing in the pipe, charged me a few hundred bucks and said goodbye. Everything worked fine until the next day (well, the shower pipe was still leaking...) until I tried to do laundry. I started a load and shortly after heard the most awful gurgling sound coming from my bathroom. I went in there and water (dirty water) was bubbling up from my tub and toilet. It was just awful. I called the plumber from the day before, but they wouldn't answer the phone and wouldn't return my messages. I called another plumber who came out, said it sounded like roots in the line, and he went through the pipe with a bigger root cutter. He charged me a few hundred bucks and said goodbye. Things worked for about a week, but then the same laundry-gurgling occured and the toilet backed up. I called the second plumber back and he came back out, said he wanted to send a camera down the pipe, and then recommended a power wash. I agreed because he assured me it would fix the problem. He charged me $1500 for this, which I now know was highway robbery. Needless to say, the problem happened again in a week... I called that plumber back and he said there must be a sag in the line. So, he put the camera back down (for a "discounted" rate of $175) and said, "There's the sag!" He told me it would be about $12,000 to fix. He flushed out the line again and charged around $1,000. I called another plumber for a second opinion. He wanted to see the DVD recording of the previous camera trip down the pipe, and was shocked when I told him that that plumber hadn't made one for me. So, he needed to put a camera down to see the problem (which he only charged $100 for and made me a DVD copy of) and found that I did NOT have a sag in the line, rather that segment of the pipe was MISSING. The segment was under the house. I have a very shallow crawl space and this plumber did not feel comfortable climbing down there because you have to work on your stomach (and he was a big man). So, he said I would have to rip up the floor and it would probably cost between $6,000 - $10,000 to fix and then replace the floor. I called Big City Plumbing for a second (well, third or fourth) opinion. Jared was very prompt (he actually beat me home from work) and was very, very nice. He told me flat out that the other plumbers had taken advantage of me and said how sorry he was. He said that to save money he would maneuver through the crawl space, have someone else dig on the other side and they would work through the foundation (this might not make much sense because I don't know anything about this stuff). Anyway, he gave me the "good guy" discount (a fair price) and I have not had a single problem since. He pointed out some things that might be problems in the future, but didn't pressure me to fix them right now. Jared was great - I refer everyone I know to him and I will be calling him when I'm ready to fix the other issues.

great!!!!! Jarred could have given me an expensive fix (pipe re-routing) but provided me with a confident alternative.

We had some problems with a shower/tub diverter valve and after my husband spent hours trying to repair it, we gave up and called Big City. This originally happened on 11/19/2010 and Jared was able to come out an hour after we called. Jared was there for close to an hour and couldn't repair it either and we all arrived at the same conclusion we would have to order the part from the manufacturer since it wasn't carried anywhere locally (we had already exhausted all those avenues). When Jared left and I asked how much we owed him for the visit, he said nothing since he was unable to fix it. I couldn't believe it and am still so impressed that anyone would provide that level of service!! When the temperatures dropped right before Thanksgiving, our tenants called us on Thanksgiving day to let us know that a pipe had broken and there was water leaking by the hose outside and some in the basement. The shutoff valve to the outside water was stuck and couldn't be shutoff. The timing was terrible, but at least it was mostly leaking outside, so they could turn off the water to the whole house while not in use (thankfully they were actually coming to our house for Thanksgiving dinner or it may have been more urgent!). We called and left a message for Jared to try and schedule him for first thing Friday morning. He returned my call on Thanksgiving day and was able to schedule us for 9:00am the next morning of 11/26/2010. By that time, the shower/tub diverter part had arrived and so Jared was able to fix that and replace the broken valve to the outside water line. The outside pipe is still broken, but we decided to wait till spring since it won't be needed till the ground thaws anyway. I'm happy that I already know exactly who I will call on to take care of it when it's time.

They have been really responsive and accommodating. He has come out on Sundays before. I have an awful crawl space, so the working conditions are less than desirable. He has been a great provider for us.

We have had a probiem with the sewer backing up for 3 or 4 years. Jared came and Tv'ed the sewer line and determined the problem. Quoted the repair and expressed concernes about the block and stucco mailbox possably being upset and falling with the digging. He said he was prepared for this and would handle it if it happened. I accepted Jareds quote and set a date for the job. Jared and his crew was on time and did a fine job. No problems with the mailbox. The inspector signed off on the job with the condition a steel access be put in for the clean out. Jared said that they didnt have the right one with them, and would be back next monday with the proper item and install it, (it was Friday). I payed the full bill (mistake) and took him at his word, (mistake, he is a contractor after all). After several calls and promices by Jared, the steel access item showed up and was installed, wrong, three weeks later. I also asked Jared at the time of the payoff to come and address a hot water pressure problem. Jared said that he would come Nov 16 and address the problem, Havent seen him for any reason since the payoff on Nov 13, 2009.

They showed up the same day to do a bid. He explained everything succinctly, arranged permit and (gas) utility line marking required to dig. A crew of two showed up at 8am as promised to begin the work and worked until nearly 7pm. Due to many tree roots around the gas line, the hand digging took longer than expected and they needed to return the next morning to finish the job. They pressure tested the water and all sprinkler valves before leaving and made minor adjustments. They were courteous and professional.