Kramer and Sons Plumbing Services Inc

We were very pleased with the service. Technician was on time, knowledgeable and thorough. I would favorably recommend Kramer & Sons to others.

Great. The video identified that my sewer line had a dip in it which was the reason we occasionally smelled sewage in our downstairs drain.

The 30+ year old shower nozzle in our master bath started leaking a little about a week ago and came off in my husband's hand yesterday when the screw popped out. We did an immediate short-term repair, but called Kramer & Sons to make sure the repair was done right. We scheduled an appointment for the next day (today) between 9 and 12. As promised, they called 15 minutes before the technician was due to arrive. Juan got there right on time, checked out the nozzle and explained what needed to be repaired, as well as the cost of the repair. Since the repair required turning off the house water supply, he made sure we didn't need any water before he turned it off. It took about a half-hour to remove the old cartridge, clean the "chamber" and install the new cartridge. Once installed, Juan restored the main water supply and checked all of our spigots to make sure the water was running as it should. He also noticed that the caulking around the shower face plate had worn pretty thin and re-caulked it for us. We're very happy with the repair, which includes a 1 year warranty. We found Kramer & Sons on Angie's List about 5 years ago and have used them for all of our plumbing needs and, more recently, our HVAC needs. They're our go-to plumbers and we don't hesitate to recommend them to our friends. Some reviewers have complained about their service call charge, but just about everyone in Northern Virginia now charges for service calls. Our experience has been that EVERYONE on the Kramer & Sons team is courteous and professional. The technicians all know their trade very well and all of them treat you and your home with respect.

Very professional and on time, only took about 30 minutes or so to snake a clogged shower drain. Pricey but fair, seems like this is pretty much the market value rate. Would use again.

First, FairfaxWater.org came quickly when we heard strange sounds. He was great, confirmed a leak and told me to call Dominion Products and Services since I had Water Line Replacement insurance. Dominion contracts with 5 different firms apparently and Kramer & Sons were assigned to our problem. Within minutes, the clear calming voice of Sadat called from the main office of Kramer & Sons to explain that Andy Yunker from the Underground Division would be contacting me. Sure enough, Andy called very soon and was soon out to inspect. He confirmed the leak and answered my questions. He and his crew left me a "key" so I could turn the water back ON at the street level for brief periods for essential water use. Miss Utility had to be called to mark things but they were off Friday Jan 16 for Lee-Jackson day and Monday Jan 19 for MLK day. We were not "marked" until Wed-Thu. Andy explained they would be there early Fri (Jan 23). The work was done professionally by these 3 gentleman. They were very careful about not leaving any mess behind. Very considerate and professional all the way.

In late 2012, I called on Kramer & Sons to investigate a leak that caused water to drip on our ground floor. The team that arrived immediately found the leak source as a loose connection in the kitchen on the floor immediately above. They spent 20 minutes and charged on $59 for the call. I was so impressed by their on-time arrival and their common sense and proactive approach in tracking down and solving the the leak issue that I wrote a glowing review in Angie's List (December 04, 2012). As a result, I received a $25 coupon from the company's Marketing & Customer Service Manager, Ms. Candice Kramer. Two years later (December 17, 2014) another leak appeared, this time it involved a defective shut-off valve to water that supplies an outside faucet. Total on-the-job time was slightly less than one hour, and the bill came to $461 for replacing the valve. When I presented the $25 coupon, the company initially refused to honor it as they said I'm already eligible for a "senior discount" of $20 and they could not accept two discounts on the same job, so they gave me a choice of which one to apply. The coupon from Ms. Kramer did not state any limitation, so I insisted on applying it, and, as a result, they refused my senior discount. This nickel-and-dime approach signal major changes at Kramer & Sons which did not exist two years ago. It either reflects new company ownership or an overhaul of its management, or both. As it represents only 5% of the bill, $25 is not the issue, but principles of customer regard and respect are. The technical work was fine, but Kramer & Sons has needlessly earned itself one less customer.

Juan from Kramer & Sons arrived on time, he was very considerate about cleanliness and made sure to put on plastic booties over his shoes before he came inside the house. The faucet repair was minor since we had all the parts and Juan didn't charge us for it. He then snaked our upstairs shower drain. He made sure to show me that the water cleared the drain quickly and completely when he was done. All in all very professional and pleasant.

We asked him to change the water line to the refrigerator, and fix the valve. After checking, he told us the water line did not need replacing. He explained everything he did, and showed us how to turn the valve on and off, if needed. He was pleasant, and professional. We will certainly call Kramer and Son's back when we need them. He even left us a tablet to put on the refrigerator, with their contact information. It was all-in-all a great experience.

Our Central Air went out in the middle of a heatwave. It was 90 degrees indoors. The blower was pushing air but it wasn't cooling anything, so we feared it was going to be a thousand-dollar repair. He shows up right on time, opens the unit up, and immediately finds that mice had ruined a capacitor. He replaced the capacitor, cleaned out the mess, and had us back up and running in less than an hour. He was very polite and courteous. A+ all the way.

Excellent job. Found a blockage problem no knew was there.

They left me with something more important than just a working system: I felt secure that my home would be cool when I want it cool - and warm when I need it warm. Richard is the technician who came - and boy was I lucky! Smart, clean, explains what's up in plain English, finds ways to get the job done (even in the very small space where my HVAC unit is located). Thank you, Richard!

He arrived on time. We discussed the work to be done and he presented the price based on Kramer & Sons' pricing sheets. Prior to starting work he reviewed preparatory steps and the reasons for each, such as shutting off the water at the street rather than using the house valve. He also reminded me to shut off outdoor spigots since it was getting cold. He finished within the time he estimated and demonstrated all the repaired areas. Overall he was professional and I would be pleased to use his services again.

Thermostat works perfectly with existing wiring. Repaired air leak in air handling unit.

All-in-all, a very worthwhile visit since I learned a lot about what needs to be done and in what order of importance. I have been in the house less than 2 years but already learned that I will need to replace the entire shower and do some other repairs to the second bathroom. Throughout the entire service, from initial call to job completion, I was completely satisfied and would not hesitate to recommend them.

Excellent. He took a few hours to figure out the problem, but it turned out to be the flip of simple switch behind the paneling of the thermostat. My HVAC unit it at least 15 yrs old. He was exhaustive in his assessment of the HVAC unit and the heat pump outside. He assessed all the voltage and serviceability of the HVAC components. He ensured that the unit was operating at the capacity that it advertised. The issue turned out to be the "emergency" switch that adjusts power to/from the heat pump. Essentially, we were running the HVAC purely from the unit inside the building, and not utilizing the pump outdoors during above-freezing temperatures. This overworked the HVAC unit, and it never got above 68F. (at least that's how I understand it.) Excellent service, very detailed and I will probably switch to them for regular servicing over my current provider.

Called Kramer & Sons for a diagnostic for a water heater that went out. They came out and examined the water heater and indicated that the heater had to be reset. They showed me the button needed to press to reset the water heater and offered other services that would complement the usage of the the water heater. We opted not to pursue the recommended services.

They came out and gave us a bid. The made the heating unit better and it is saving us a lot of money. They were fantastic. They are very responsive and they come out right away if there is an issue. They are very good on the maintenance, friendly and cost effective. We have decided to go with them on a maintenance contract because they installed it and they way they respond. They do come out to try to make us spend money but save money. They worked outside in the snow. They did a hot water tank replacement at the same time and they did not charge us a new installation fee. They came in less than all the other bids we got from Angie's List. They are dedicated and honest compared to others. The units everybody was trying to sell us would add a second unit to the house. They came out and took measurements. They gave us a one year warranty and nobody was willing to do that.

Cost was totally out of line

My experience was fine. There was one person here doing the work. He was able to come out in a timely manner.

From my first contact with the office manager (Sadat) to the final visit by Nick the master plumber working with Kramer & Sons was a complete pleasure. After finding Kramer & Sons highly rated on Angie's List I was contacted by Sadat in repose to my Angie's List message. I explained that I was having a tub restored and that required that the waist drain and overflow be removed, but given the age of the tub there was well-founded concern that the job night be difficult. Sadat scheduled Nick to come out and have a look. Nick arrived punctually with a 30 minute heads up call from Sadat. An absolute professional, Nick assessed the job, and noting the extremely limited space available to work in behind the tub concluded that while he could cut out the cast iron drain, he would have to access through the kitchen ceiling to beneath to replace the cast iron with PVC and modern materials. He also had to cut the drain out of the tub since in the course of 70 years of use, it had oxidized into the tub cast iron. In his next visit (again on time) Nick cut out a section of ceiling after drilling a pilot hole and began to rebuild the drain finishing by installing a new waist drain and overflow, completely returning the tub to service. This had to be done so Nick could confirm that all fittings were watertight but the tub restoration company would later have to remove the was it drain and install a temporary drain to perform the tub restoration work. This would require Nick to come out one last time to reinstall his drains and replace the hot water faucet spindle. Throughout multiple phone calls, schedule changes (mine) and three visits I came to know Sadat and Nick rather well and I can't imagine calling another firm for my plumbing needs in the future. As an aside, I asked Nick about a variety of plumbing concerns I had throughout the house, and rather than becoming annoyed at possible distraction, he eagerly followed me from problem to problem intrigued by the challenge. He's a genuine artisan.

Technician arrived as scheduled and stated that both valves had to be replaced rather than repaired. He looked up the cost to replace each valve in his book and quoted a standard scheduled price for each valve with a slight discount on the 2nd valve because he was doing 2 valves. I asked about the pricing and he stated that it was Kramer's policy to only use their scheduled pricing so I agreed to the quote and he proceeded to do the work.He protected the work are and replaced both valves after shutting off the water at the street. He was very professional and did an excellent job including testing his work and cleaning up. (I watched his work and have a reasonable knowledge of plumbing since I managed 3 church rental properties in No. Kentucky where I had to do a lot of plumbing work and had to have a plumber do work such as this that were beyond what I could tackle.) While I understand Kramer's philosophy of using a standard price per job (similar to car dealer repair shops) it would appear that their schedule is based upon a very worst case scenario and as a result the cost of this work was more than twice what it should have been if it had been a time and materials charge. I verified with the office the next day that in fact the technician had properly priced the job and was told that he had. I consider this my fault for not asking for a ball park quote over the phone but have never done that with a plumber before because I had never seen a plumber use a task schedule and with a time and materials charge it is not realistic to expect them to be able to make an estimate until they see the job. I selected Kramer based upon their advertising in our HOA directory and the Angie's list reviews. Had the valves not been leaking I would have started over but I had already waited a day to fit into their schedule. They clearly do quality work...I just recommend that you understand their pricing policy and get a price quote before you agree to have them come out... their is a charge to just come to your house in addition to the per task charge.

I found them on Angie's List and thought they were really good. We ended up unhooking my dryer vent so it would not go outside. We turned it on really high and ran it and it thawed the pipe out enough so they did not have to go in and bring all their stuff in and everything. It took about an hour and it was not bad at all. They had a minimum charge for them to come out. They got out there quick.

I sent an email and left a voicemail requesting emergency service. This company should not be listed as having 27/7 Emergency services. It has been about 30 hours since I emailed them and about 12 hours since I called. They have not responded. Very disappointing

They were originally called to replace our old orangeburg sewer line, which was not giving us any trouble, but had reached its estimated useful life. After receiving a good estimate for that work, we also decided to replace the water line to avoid any problems with that line as well, at least from the house to the street. Sadat was courteous and professional providing the paperwork and arranging everything. Unfortunately, it rained all day the day the work was scheduled, but the delay was no problem for us. They brought the equipment and supplies anyway and got to work promptly the next day. Andrew and his crew were professional and efficient. They seemed to be experienced and conscientious, even carefully working around our crepe myrtle and putting plastic sheets down to protect the lawn around the work site. We were amazed that they were finished by 1:30pm. Sadat scheduled the county inspector for the next day and the guys were there the next morning waiting for the inspector. Apparently, all was well, as they promptly filled in the trench and reseeded and watered the disturbed lawn. The work is warranted for five years.

Excellent service, no complaints at all. Nick arrived when they told me he would and once he diagnosed the leak he took a good look at the rest of the plumbing and gave me several recommendations for some simple things I could take care of myself. I had a follow up question a few days later and called Kramer and Sons and they had Nick call me back within an hour or so. Very professional, would use them again for sure.