Friedman Plumbing Express

I met with Kirk Ballenger on August 7th. He arrived on-time for the appointment. He seemed very knowledgeable, provided good information and answered all of my questions satisfactorily. I called the office the next day to schedule the work and we agreed on a start date of Monday, August 19, which also appeared on the contract I signed. No one showed up on the contracted date and a call to the office revealed that they had put the 20th as the start date on their internal paperwork. On August 20th, the plumber showed up at 7:45am to start the work. He said he was supposed to have an assistant, but that he didn?t think that person was going to show up. He said he'd done several houses in my neighborhood, was familiar with the layout of the pipes and would have the work done by approximately 2:30 if his helper showed; otherwise, it would be 5 or 6pm. I left to go to work. When I arrived home at 5pm, it was to the sound of water dripping through the smoke detector in my living room ceiling into a large bin, which had several gallons of water in it. The plumber told me he forgot to make one of the connections before turning the water back on, sending water shooting through my living room ceiling. He assured me the water would eventually stop dripping and that their drywall crews would handle all repairs. We replaced his bin with one of my trash cans and he left, but not before handing me a business card for his personal plumbing services. Rather optimistic of him, I thought. After he left, the water continued to spread through the living room ceiling and began dripping out of two more areas and also ran down the wall adjoining the staircase, ruining the paint on that wall and traveling underneath the base of the bannister. Water stains also formed in several other areas of the ceiling. Water continued to drip steadily through the ceiling for another 4 hours, with at least another 2 gallons collected in various bins and buckets. The inspection and drywall work were scheduled for Thursday, August 22nd. At 7:30am that morning, I received a call from PE advising that their drywall guy had called in sick, so he wouldn?t be coming that day. The inspector passed the job, but noted that some additional clamps were needed to keep the pipes in place. He said he would let Plumbing Express know. The drywall guy, showed up at the appropriate time on Friday, August 23rd. The plumber arrived shortly thereafter to install additional clamps and from what he said, I gathered he only had 2 clamps with him, so that was the number he was installing. The drywall guy spent about an hour or so putting down plastic and tarps, then left for over two hours to "get supplies" (which he later informed he also included taking care of a personal appointment). He finally started the patchwork around 1pm. He didn?t finish until after 7pm. He also said he was supposed to have a helper, but an emergency required that person to go to elsewhere for the day. He indicated he would return the next day, Saturday, between 8 and 8:30am to do the painting, but did not arrive until almost 9:45am. He finished by 2pm. So far, the piping seems to be working fine, although the hot water pipe that runs through the dining room is noisy. I imagine the plumber was rushed for time by not having a helper (and perhaps wouldn't have flooded by ceiling if he hadn't been working alone), but he did drip some pipe glue on a bathroom vanity top and floor (both since replaced during a remodel) and on the woodwork (since repainted). The drywall repair was nothing special, although he did a pretty good job of reassembling the jigsaw puzzle of pieces of drywall that the plumber had left for him. The drywall at the base of my dining room wall now has ripples in it. The drywall patch work on the stairway wall (damaged when the ceiling flooded) was not completely sanded before being painted, leaving a rough seam of extra drywall compound which I subsequently sanded. The paint supplied was a fairly close color match, but it is still easy to identify, especially on the ceilings.

I discovered a small leak on a water pipe in the basement at 7:30 one morning and Eddie was here before 9:00 that morning to repair it. He also repaired a leaky valve on the outside water shut off, and explained the repairs to me. I was very happy with the work and the prompt response to my call.

These folks are absolutely magic. They operate in two teams. The pipe replacement team arrived at 8:30am and began to remove the copper piping which included opening up the walls in the kitchen and bathrooms. A single pipe went from the back of the house to the front yard faucet and required the ceiling and the wall to be opened to remove and replace the copper pipe. They simplified the pipe paths, installed a new indoor main water valve, and put in shut off valves and drains to evacuate the pipes going to the outside faucets, and replaced/installed shutoff valves at all sinks and toilets. They were done with pipe installation, clean up, and removal of the old piping by 5pm the same day. The next day the second team came in and closed the openings in the ceiling and walls. The paint was matched and you can't tell where they went into the walls and ceilings. One of the best wall and ceiling repairs i have seen. We had one problem with the adjustment of a shower control and they came right out and readjusted the hot and cold water mixer. During discussions with Kirk Ballenger, Plumbing Express, Senior Project Manger, I learned that a replacement like this one is becoming more common. The team that did our house had just come off a major pipe replacement effort at a townhouse complex. If you need a water pipe replacement these are the folks to go to. Very very professional and easy to work with.

Late on a Saturday afternoon, we noticed a whole lot of water in our basement. We called several plumbers (all from Angie's List) and Plumbing Express were the only ones who I got through to a live person right away (it was a paging service). They called me back immediately, and were at my house within 20 minutes. They made sure I was aware of all charges before they even came out, and again when they arrived (especially the weekend call out fee - which was reasonable) so there were no surprises. When they arrived, they were friendly and professional. The job was done within 15 minutes - we had been worried we would need to cancel our dinner plans, but it was all done in time.

The individual showed up per scheduled time nd repalced the copper pipe that burst.

Service guy came quick but left a mess, did a work around, jerry-rig job, threatening dire consequences if I didn't replace all polybutelene in the house. Got a quote to replace all pipes that was $2,500 over what neighbors had thiers replaced for. Called office management repeatedly to get price match; 4 additional people at P.E. said they would look into it and that they should match neighbors, but not one ever called me back. That is why I ended up talking to so many people in the office - I called them again and again through November, December and January without success. I never tried so hard to spend $6,000 in my life. UPDATE: Manager Jeff Dorton came to the house and gave an estimate that was more in line with what I expected. He was helpful, honest and responsive. It turns out the original estimate was based on an error made by the plumber who came on the original leak. It is a pity it took months and a bad review to get the correct information for a good estimate. I will provide further update if I have them do the work.

Showed up on timely basis. Relieved the problem and gave me a quote. Accepted order and he replaced pipe and problem solved.

Eddie was very thorough. He explained exactly what needed to be done and went over the prices ahead of time. He is very resourceful; he thought of using his phone to take a picture of the back of the faucet since we weren't able to see the name of the manufacturer. Eddie has come to fix our plumbing issues several times and he is always very professional.

It went very well. Eddie took the time to explain his actions and answer my questions.

Replaced 1 kitchen faucet Replaced 2 bathroom faucets 1 shutoff valve under sink replaced 1 pressure regulating valve on main shutoff replaced. 1 hot water heater replaced plus shutoff valve and expansion tank replaced

We noticed a small leak coming through the ceiling in our kitchen. I called many different plumbing companies only to be quoted outrageous prices just for someone to show up. When I called Plumbing Express, I was greeted with a friendly person ready to address my needs.They quoted a fair service charge for someone to show up and indicated that the quote would be for the entire job and not by the hour or half hour like some of the other companies. She also indicated that if we accepted the quote then the service charge would be removed from the bill. Eddie called and actually showed up early (When have you ever had a service provider show up early for a job?). He was very professional and friendly. He immediately got to work and discovered that a Tee joint had broke and was causing the leak. He fixed the leak and ran some tests. He indicated that it may leak at the fittings since the area was extremely tight and it was hard to tighten things up. He informed me to give him a call and let him know and he would come by and tighten things up if needed. After he left, I stressed the water line by running the dishwasher and taking a shower and of course it started leaking at the fittings as stated by Eddie. I called and he showed up first thing the next morning. He tightened the fittings, tested the system again and headed on his way. We have not had any issues since and I am very pleased with the work that was performed. So much so, that I scheduled Plumbing Express to provide a quote to re-plumb my entire house. Imagine that, they had the best price for the quote an I am having the job start soon.

Excellent service and absolutely the plumbing company to call when you need someone fast. Details: On Wednesday the 8th, my wife called me at about 1:30pm and stated our bottom floor (of a 3-level townhouse) was flooding. I got home and she had already turned off the water (so we thought) and we started the cleanup. At about 3:30pm, I began calls to various plumbers listed in AL, discovering most were closing at 4-5pm. After about 10 calls - starting with the highest rated first - most were either not available till Monday or wanted $150 just to get someone out to check on the problem. One even cited $75 for the 1st 1/2 hour and then $150/hr thereafter without identifying any other costs. When I got to (Friedman) Express Plumbing, the agent (apologies, I can't remember his name) was understanding of my plight, calm, professional but friendly. His emergency call fee was $97. I agreed to the emergency fee and he said Chris would be on his way. A little after 5pm, Chris called to let me know he was on his way; about 10 minutes before he arrived, he called again. Chris was very professional and welcoming. I gave him my story and he went to the location. The pipe burst was right at the wall against the hose 'bib' for outside. He expressed that he thought that he knew exactly what the problem was - spending most of the week fixing similar events - and was right. He had to cut a hole in the drywall (about a foot tall and 2-3 inches wide); he showed me the leak (I had not fully shut off the water); and, he fixed the problem. Chris then showed me how to winterize both external bibs for the future, coached me on what I need to do on Friday to test the fix, and mentioned for me to call him again if there were any other problems. He was also quick to point out that my questions about potential damage to the bathroom floor were out of his lane - this, I appreciated as well. Overall, it completely sucks when experiences like this happen. But, if you're lucky enough to find the right place and people, it can suck just a little bit less. Was Express Plumbing my first choice? No. Am I happy with the result? Absolutely; so far at least. While it did not have the most comments on AL, it does have a solid "A" rating which it fully deserves. I have very high standards for issuing praise in the service industry and do not leave positive comments unless truly deserved. This is one company, while I hope never to need their emergency services again, will keep on the call sheet it the occasion does arise again. Congrats and thanks.

Called because the J-drain coming out of the garbage disposal cracked on a Sunday night, and we saw that Plumbing Express had 24-hour service and a good grade here. The person we spoke to set up an appointment for the next day and advised us as to what to do in the meantime. Unfortunately, the next day they grounded their crews due to weather and we had to push back our appointment one further day. On the day of, our window was scheduled for between 3:00-4:00pm, we got a call at 4:15 saying Chris would be there shortly. Chris arrived and was cordial and friendly. He and I talked and found the solution would have to be to replace the garbage disposal and put in some new PVC pipes from there to our existing pipes. Our disposal was very old (maybe 1950's) and he had to work to get it out, but in the end he got the new one in and fixed our issue. I would definitely do work with Chris and Plumbing Express again.

Timing was very tight for this plumbing project. The basement waterproofing team was set to start their work on a Tuesday and finish on Thursday. To minimize the amount of time we would be without hot water, Plumbing Express needed to disconnect the appliances on Monday and reconnect everything on Friday. Plumbing Express was very cooperative in meeting this schedule. About two weeks beforehand Eddie paid us initial visit to scope out the job and provide an estimate. At that time we decided to add two items: installation of two cutoff valves and replacement of the sink trap and tailpiece on the utility sink. From the customer's perspective the consultation visit was very helpful as it enabled Eddie to plan out the various steps in the project beforehand rather than figuring it all out on the Monday morning when the disconnection moving was scheduled. Eddie was a gem and the key to success of the project. He is very knowledgeable, skilled, conscientious, and a pleasure to work with. It was very helpful that Express Plumbing's front office provided consistency by ensuring that Eddie was the plumber who provided the estimate and did all the work. Division manager Andy Simpson also was very helpful in providing an technical answer when I contacted him to clarify a plumbing-related question that arose in the course of the waterproofing team's work. We were very pleased with Plumbing Express's and Eddie's work for us and definitely will contact them for future plumbing needs.

Eddie was right on time and called 20 minutes before the appointment time to say he was on his way. He was very professional and neat, and personable. I had used plumbing express before and requested Eddie the plumber again because he had done a good job on a much larger problem before.

Plumbing Express was one of only five companies that advertised 24-hour emergency service on Angie's List (out of more than a dozen I called) that actually answered the phone, or called me back (if they took a message or said a dispatcher would call). Plumbing Express not only called back right away, but the plumber (I can't remember his name but he was located in Gaithersburg) called again when he realized it would be a few hours before he could arrive in order to assist me over the phone to locate the main water valve in my basement to turn off the water. It was gushing out of the burst pipe in my garage. He arrived at 9:00 on Sunday morning, as we had agreed once the water was turned off and there was no need to come earlier. He was very friendly and efficient. The pipe was fixed within an hour, and he also installed a valve on my exterior hose faucet to help avoid freezing in that location. While the price was higher than I would have liked, considering the excellent service on a Sunday I felt it was reasonable.

It’s a complicated job and you are crazy if you don’t use Plumbing Express. I got bids from 3 different companies. The other 2 companies who came out, you could tell they didn’t have any clue what to do. The guy from Plumbing Express was very confident and knew what to do and the bid was 30% cheaper than the other companies. He gave me the bid right then and there. They were the lowest bid and they knew exactly what to do for the job. It took 3 days to complete the work. First, they had to cut holes throughout the house and replace the piping and they had a drywall crew come out the next day and they did a seamless job! The third day, they sanded and painted. You couldn’t even tell that work had been done. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Kenny was on time, professional, went the "extra mile" to complete the job. Will use them a gain and will recommend to others. It was a very professional job from the phone call to completion of job.

Eddie called ahead and told me what time he would arrive. Hr was courteous and friendly, very personable. He explained the job well and fixed the problem promptly.

On time, work completed quickly clean up work area.

Eddie was excellent, both in his diagnosing and fixing toilet and in his explanation of what needed to be done and cost. Very knowledgeable, offered options of how to repair, very pleasant, attentive.

Prompt. Explained everything well friendly.

Great. Reasonable price to come at 1AM to fix sump pump. Dispatcher and tech were courteous. Arrived on time and did required work to stop flooding. Called next day to get new sump pump installed. Did it same day. They were open and honest with what we needed and did not try to up sell at all. The tech was Darren. Very professional. Will call in the future and have already recommended to neighbors.

Came early, provided an accurate estimate and completed the work quickly. Cleaned up any construction mess.

We called 3 plumbers in the evening, looking for someone to come soon. Plumbing Express called back right away. Eddie came first thing in the morning and was able to identify the issue right away. He explained that the access openings are too small for him to work in safely with a torch and developed a strategy for expanding both openings with minimal wall damage (so that we can get a carpenter to re-frame the access). He knows the newer plumbing codes, had the parts he needed, and was able to replace both the hose bib and install a new interior valve. He discovered that the old valve, in the floor-level access, was located improperly so that it could not be properly drained, and was able to relocate the valve in the upper access. He consulted with us all along so that we understood the work to be done and why. He sprayed flame-retardant gel in the area to prevent any possibility of fire from the blowtorch and kept a fire extinguisher handy. We were in very good hands. Successful repair.