Favinger Plumbing

Before I start my complaint I'd like to say that the 2nd (survey) team from Favinger were extremely polite and professional. My complaint is specifically about Nick's behavior and management's failure to address the issue honestly. On 12/8/20 Favinger sent a crew to clear our main sewer line. The main plumber was Nick, who was rude from the moment he entered the property, behaving as if he was extremely put out to have to clear the drain and complaining about having to take the auger down some stairs ("I should be charging you extra for this.") Um, ok. You literally just quoted the job. When they were done, Nick told me that he had only managed to clear a small hole through the roots and that the sewer line needed replacing. I took him at his word and started planning to have that job done. (Subsequently, via manager Catherine, I was told that Nick claimed that there was extensive root growth inside the pipe that was not possible to clear. This was either a baldfaced lie or utter incompetence as I will show below.) When I next went into the basement, I noticed that they had not cleaned up after the job - roots that they had pulled up were lying all around the clean-out. They also had not bothered to clear the drain that is about 12" from the clearout and that is used to drain any overflow that occurs when the sewer backs up. The result is that there was still 1/2" of water undrained. When I complained, they claimed not to have seen the drain but did come back to clear up the roots. 3 weeks later the sewer backed up again. So I rented a sewer snake and snaked it myself. I got a few hands full of roots up and the sewer drained just fine. A couple of weeks after I cleared the drain, a survey team from Favinger came to quote a sewer replacement. The team put a camera down the line and said that the sewer was perfectly clear (no roots) but they could see the seams where roots may intrude in future. This is directly at odds with what Nick had claimed - i.e. that it was not possible to clear the roots. Note also that Nick claimed that root treatment chemicals were not an option because the root intrusion was too great. Another obvious lie or incompetence since there is currently no existing root growth in the pipe after an amateur (i.e. me) snaked the drain. Catherine at Favinger has not bothered returning my calls, but instead has canceled our sewer replacement quote saying that we are "not a good match for them". Well maybe I agree. Scheming, lying, and obfuscating is not a good set of practices for businesses that I want to work with. Avoid at all costs.

We have been working with Favinger over the last 2-3 years during our self contracted remodel. They are always professional, punctual and efficient. Thanks for all your hard work and help with our ongoing projects!

The replacement went fairly smoothly. Carpenters had to come in to widen the water closet doorway before removal of the old tank could be done, then replacement of the new.

Project went very well, crew was professional and job done on time, very nice crew. Repair job was scheduled for a week and took four days. Crew decided most of the digging work had to be done by hand, which was very nice of them because they had to dig a ditch for one system completely by hand and another ditch from my house almost to the street. Job was completed on schedule. I have used Favinger before, was very satisfied, and will use the company for any future needs.

You know how relieved and happy you feel when you stumble across an excellent company with great employees when you have a weekend emergency and have to call whomever you can find that will respond? I do! I had an emergency and by chance called Favinger Plumbing to help me with a completely blocked sink drain on a weekend (I found their ad for 24 hour emergency plumbing service in an old phone book). The guy showed up when he said he would, fixed my problem (snaked the line, removed the clog), didn't try to gouge me, didn't leave a mess, was nice, polite, professional. Wow. Wake me up, I think I'm dreaming. I've lived here for ten years and haven't had that experience even once with a plumber on a regularly scheduled call, not to mention an emergency. And I have an old, money pit of a house. So, trust me, I've used several other companies, including the "commercial" guys who advertise all the time....you know who I'm talking about. Fast forward a couple of months. My dishwasher explodes all over the kitchen and floods everything at 3:00 am on a Sunday morning. I called Favinger again. Same thing. Showed up when he said he would, fixed the problem, didn't overcharge me, was nice, clean, professional. OK, I'm on to something here. So, I schedule him for a follow up regular call to fix all of the stuff I never get fixed because I can never find a plumber I like. And, voila! He comes back on time, fixes the stuff that he can, makes suggestions for the things that he can't fix that day, charges me a reasonable price, promises to email me back with ideas for resolving the other issues, is clean, professional, nice. And....he actually DID follow up with email for the stuff that needs to be followed up on! Now I just have to reschedule him. Is it possible to love a plumbing company? I think I do. And, I have to mention Travis by name as being such a pleasure to work with. I hope he's told very often how valuable an ambassador of the company he is. He's a gem. Bottom line, in all seriousness, this is a very good, reliable, and honest company. You should not hesitate to hire them. Highest recommendation.

Excellent! I know that the straight A's on the ratings probably sounds phony, but I can not find a single thing concerning this project to be unhappy about!... Other than the failure happened in the first place, of course. I have never used these folks before, and, no, I'm not a relative of anybody at Favinger. We did 2 quotes and Favinger's came in a little lower than the full project would have been with the other guys. I also liked the method of installation that Favinger's lead man on our project , Ross, described, so we went with them. The project went without a hitch, despite the terrain. It was the most vertical 2 foot deep, hand dug ditch I've ever seen. The waterline was sleeved and bedded in pea gravel, just as described. All was done with a minimum of impact on our yard and in just a few days. They cleaned everything up to the point that you would hardly know they were there! They needed to run the last part of the line under the house to connect up to our system. All was done in copper, at my request, with no up-charge. It was securely fastened and looked like it belonged there. Top quality work. Even the hose bib was of a better quality than I expected, and rather than feeding it from the closest access point, Ross took the extra time necessary to feed it from a point another 20 feet up the line so that we would have better flow at the faucet. The final bill actually reflected a discount because they didn't have to pay for a core drill to get through our foundation. I have never been treated so fairly, nor witnessed as high a degree of professionalism from a contractor before. Ross and his crew did an outstanding job. We will definitely be calling on Favinger Plumbing the next time we have a need.

They charged us $108 just to come to the house which was non-refundable and not applied to price the of the job. We were told on the phone the job cost would be $150. This was a standard replacement/installation. When the repairman got here, he quoted us a cost of $240 PLUS the $108 "call out fee." When we complained he told us not to shoot the messanger and that he couldn't explain the discrepancy between phone info we received and what he quoted. It was a classic bait and switch. This company advertises that their service is county wide and we are within those parameters. While the other companies we called quoted a "call out" fee, they all waived it if they did the job. We mistakenly assumed that was the case here as well, just as we assumed the price would not increase $90 from the phone estimate for no apparent reason.

I am very happy with them. I have used them a couple of times. The hot water tank I would say was an "A" based on other estimates I received. Very easy to work with. Good punctuality.

Plumbers from Favingers arrived to complete a plugged pipe. Despite unforeseen complications, they completed the job in a timely fashion and with a good sense of humor.

Perfect! Travis and Cody showed up on time the next day and completed job. They were courteous and professional. Definitely will use them again for plumbing issues. The callout fee was $39.50 plus $3.43 tax and there was no additional charge for the work or materials.

First, scheduling was a breeze. I called several Bellingham plumbers and all were telling me they could come out within a week to two weeks. Considering I was "done" dealing with my project, I was pretty much prepared to pay anyone anything to get my life back to normal. I called Favinger and they had availability to come out the following day. I initially passed them over because I am broke from remodeling the kitchen and they got a "B" in price, but in the end, they were no more expansive than another plumber quoted me over the phone. The service was excellent. Nick was our tech and he did a great job. He kind of goofed and came to our home before his first regularly scheduled job, but he quickly admitted his mistake, went and took care of the other job, and was back to my home still within the promised window. Again, I appreciated his honesty throughout. When it came to doing the work, the guys were super professional and did a rock solid job. No complaints at all. They even adjusted my water pressure a bit because I complained that it was a little low, even before they showed up. Overall, I had a super experience from start to finish. It's nice to know that I've found a great plumber that serves the Glacier/Maple Falls area, and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. You'll get great service, solid work, and a fair price. What could be better??

Actually-- bothspigots leaked a bit but when i called them about this they came right out and fixed them. During the fall our association put in entirely new water lines and in the process of hooking my home up to the system messed up the alignment of the spigot pipes. I noticed this as I was preparing for the cold weather. If the alignment of these is wrong--the freeze-free function won't work. I called Favinger and they came right out and put metal straps to the underside of my home to hold the spigot pipes in place. Even though it was the other contractors error they didn't charge anything. Refreshing to have a service that takes this care with their customers.

The pilot light on our water heater went out after a few minutes each time we light it. The technician came, diagnosed that it was probably the thermocouple. He made us aware that due to the age of the water heater (9years) it could be something else and that even with replacing the part, the heater could go. We decided to have the part replaced even if it lasts only a little while. He fixed it and it has been working fine. Needless to say when we have to replace the water heater we will call Favinger again. I also want to mention that prior to Favinger we called another local company who came out, told us they would have to order a new part since they don't have one in stock ($500) and tried very hard to sell us a new water heater. Then besides the call out fee (which I completely understand since I called them) they charged me $50.oo to light my pilot light which I could have done myself. I will review that company also.

We've been quite happy with them. I spent about $600.

I was impressed. They arrived at the time they said they would, figured out right away what needed to be done, and did it, all within an hour and a half. My bathroom fixtures in my condo (which is a weekend retreat) were quite old. The toilets were noisy, bubbling much of the time even when they hadn't been used in a while. The cold water leaked from the faucet in one sink. And I was unable to get enough pressure to bring enough water to my shower head to take a shower. They fixed all of that by putting in two new toilets, and replacing parts in the sink and the shower to make sure they both now work they way they are supposed to work. This was the first time I have had any plumbing work down in this city, so I didn't know how much it would cost. It turned out to be less than I expected. And it took less time than I expected. I will definitely call Favinger Plumbing again if I have another plumbing problem.

Steve and Jeremy arrived on time; diagnosed the problem; and provided an estimate before beginning work. They were very professional and did a great job repairing plumbing.

Very clean, didn't leave a mess and we thought it was good value and fair for the work done.

Appliance store sent new installers, who completed the installation. Appliance store reimbursed me for the Favinger bill.

Neither me or my real estate agent will ever recommend Favinger Plumbing to anyone in Whatcom County. They receive an F from me on all criteria. The only redeeming factor is their office staff's amazing customer service and willngness to be helpful. It's just enough to pull you in and make you think you're dealing with a fair company. I called and requested a sewer camera inspection on a property I was purchasing. I wanted to make sure there wasn't any issues with the line and also have them fix a large leak in the shower valve and a tiny leak on one of the washer valves. The office staff was very helpful and easy to help me with scheduling. To be helpful to the technician I supplied them with photos of the leaks from my home inspection and told them the locations of the issues. They told me that the camera inspection would be around $325, which was a little more than some of the other companies, but the customer service made it worth it. Day of the sewer inspection I was at work about 130 miles south of the property, so my real estate agent met them at the property. After 30 minutes of them being on site my agent calls me and says that they cannot get their camera through the accessible drain pipes and need to pull my toilet to do the inspection. I said that sounds fine, I've installed many toilets in my day, no big deal right ... WRONG. I got the technician on the phone and he proceeded to explain me that to remove the toilet and put it back on the charge was $191 in addition to the $300+ I was already paying for the sewer inspection. I asked him why it was so much and the only explanation I could get was "Its just our flat fee." I told him that a $5 wax ring doesn't add up to $191 dollars. He mentioned that the flange might need replacing and possible the screws on the flange. I couldn't believe it, there was nothing wrong with the toilet and he's trying to tell me there could be a problem with the flange! It didn't make any sense. He even admitted that it would be $191 if they were coming out there to just fix replace a toilet, yet they were already on the property? I told him I would call him back in a minute. I asked him to, in the meantime, go inspect the shower to see if it was something he could fix. I called my wife and a few other people to see what they thought... I get back on the phone with the tech from Favinger. I asked if he looked at the shower valve. The tech simply stated that "Its leaking pretty bad out of there, its probably time for a new valve." ... ... Um okay did you actually look at what the problem is? I asked him what are you saying... Are you stating that it needs a new cartridge or is the actual shower valve body leaking. He couldn't answer this. I'm guessing the extent of his inspection was going up to the shower and turning it on. He then proceeded to tell me to install a new shower valve they charged a fee of $151. I'm guessing he's talking about installing a new cartridge because to replace a full shower valve is a much larger undertaking. Change a cartridge is probably a 5-10 minute job, so $150 makes sense right ... WRONG. After this I told the technician felt like I was being taken advantage of. That they were basically trying to charge me for anything and everything they can possible think of. I explained how he's not telling me what is actually wrong with the shower valve and how it doesn't make sense that it costs nearly $200 dollars to pull a toilet off and put it back on. I estimate that it would've been $700 to $800 before taxes if I would have gone ahead with having them fix these problems, but I didn't. I asked them to leave and I'm so glad. I called another plumbing company from Angies List. They fixed everything, did the camera inspection and I just received the bill $388.00 w/ tax. The shower had a broken cartridge $14. They charged me for a wax ring, a new valve, the cartridge, their labor, and the use of a camera. In total you can say this whole ordeal actually cost me about $425 because Favinger Plumbing proceeded to charged me $40+ tax for their visit to my property. THANKS FAVINGER Plumbing!

Kitchen sink faucet leaked. I scheduled an appointment with Favinger plumbing. The company called in advance to see if the plumber could come early; the plumber arrived 20 minutes later. He removed part of the faucet, noted that it was an unknown brand, and recommended that we buy/install a new faucet. I said I could go to local hardware and buy a faucet which he could then install. Plumber said that would be okay, but it would be better to use their supplier located outside of the city because then they could guarantee the faucet and installation and also get a discount on the faucet. He estimated the total cost for a new faucet and installation to be approximately $500. We went to the supplier and picked out a faucet, and told them that we were using Favinger Plumbing and that Favinger Plumbing would purchase the faucet, pick it up, and install it. The supplier said that they would sell it to the plumber for about $150; we understood and accepted that the plumbing company would charge us a bit more for the faucet. It took several days before they could get the faucet but this was not a problem because when the plumber put the old faucet back together it no longer leaked. I probably should have paid for the visit and let well-enough alone. But since I couldn?t know how long the fix would have lasted, I decided to just go ahead with the new faucet and be done with it. However, when the plumber showed up with the faucet it turned out that it had the wrong base plate because our previous faucet had separate hot and cold handles and the new one had just one handle adjustable to hot or cold. I asked how this could have happened since we got the faucet from the supplier that he recommended and had informed the supplier to check with Favinger Plumbing for details. He said the supplier had not contacted him. Either I had not correctly understood the arrangement between the plumbing company and the supplier, or something went wrong. I suspect something went wrong. He said it would cost another $40 to get the base plate. The old faucet had been ruined taking it out, so there was really no choice but to accept the charge. However, to the company?s credit, they ended up not including that extra charge. Several days later the new base plate was installed, and I paid the plumber the initial estimated amount. After the plumber left, I noticed that the faucet stem turned in the sink when I turned the water off. I knew that wasn?t right and that eventually it would come unscrewed. So called to have plumber come back to fix it. He came back quickly, tightened the faucet down, and added some glue around the base plate. This was necessary because the base plate is held in place only by the faucet stem (the two ends of the plate covering the previous hot and cold water openings don?t have anything fastening them to the sink). The plumber said that this was a poor design. I thought it was odd that he would give this assessment about a name brand faucet from a supplier that he recommended, but on the other hand it does seem like a poor design. Overall, I can?t unequivocally recommend this company. On the positive, side their office seems well organized, the plumber was professional and friendly, and they absorbed the extra cost of the proper base plate. On the negative side, the overall cost seems high, the bill was not itemized, and it should not have been necessary to call the plumber back after the final installation.

Arrived on time had everything needed to perform job..perfect cleanup

He did an excellent job. Hard-working, professional, tidy. We'd use him again....if only I could remember his name!

Very professional and caring. Considerate (removed shoes and kept door to garage closed (our cat is an escape artist). Overall a very positive experience, would recommend them. John and Valerie Griffith

Great service - prompt & efficient.

I supplied the disposal, so the cost of it was not in there. The experience was totally unsatisfactory. I ended up writing a letter to the owner because they way overcharged me according to all other businesses in the area 'cause I did some telephone inquiry. In their favor, the owner did respond to my letter. I chose them because of Angie's List.