J. M. DEMERATH PLUMBING

The man is a rip off artist. He told me a lot of false information that cost me a lot of money. His name was a recommendation from the realtor. I had a plumbing emergency before I moved into the house. The people who owned the house before me ripped the washer out of the wall, along with the spout. When I turned the water on the hose full of water was splahing all over the basement. I called Demerath because he was close by. He came out and fixed the hose. He was responsive and came the same day. I had him come and give mt an estimate for some other things. He did that. He demands payment right away. I asked for bills as I needed to submit the bills to a bank for escrow. He did quite a bit of work, some of which was over kill and some of which was not very good. He told me my pipes were bad under the dishwasher and I was going to have to replace the sink, as it was dripping. I told him I wanted to wait to do a counter top at the same time but he said it needed to be done right away. He offered to do the counter top work. He brought some samples same day and his wife brought more samples over. I did not give them an answer then, as I wanted to get some other quotes. Over the weekend he was supposed to come in and unhook the sink and toilet and do some work. My handyman was here doing some prep work for me while I was away for the day. When I came back the countertop on either side of the sink had been taken off. Demerath had told the handyman to take it all out, as he was installing a new counter top on Monday, when I had not made a decision about it. I also asked him about some depression in my front yard. I was worried it was due to the septic system. He checked it out and told me it was nothing but a bush that had been removed and not to worry about it. When the porch and walkway was installed they crushed the cement cover for the septic system. I was not happy with Demerath at all. When they came back for the price for the counter top it was outrageous. His bills are totally screwy and they never made sense. The last time I called in an emergency in October. He had reinstalled the sink and toilet and I was having trouble again. He said it was the sink. He came in and proceeded to say it was a problem with the pipe. He brought in a snake and was using it in the sink. Then he brought in another snake. I heard him yell and he asked for paper towel. When I walked in the bathroom was splattered with garbage. There was a mess everywhere due to him pulling the snake out too quick. I gave him paper towel and cleaner. The bill was $190.28. And nothing changed. The toilet still did not flush. I had to clean everything up, as he only cleaned the sink. I paid him and that was it. I have never called him again. I later called another plumber because the toilet still would not flush. He told me that kind of toilet had different adjustments and mine was set to save water, which did not allow it to flush well. All he did was turn a little valve and it started working fine. For all of the money I paid Demerath it did not show for much.

The work was done very professionally, however, I believe I was significantly overcharged for the above services. I was a new homeowner and did not know better at the time. Jim knew this. The second time I called Jim Demerath, he was scheduled to come out and repair a leaky bathtub faucet. His assistant called the morning the work was to be done and canceled as another customer had a "more important" concern. We rescheduled for the following week, and again, his assistant called that very morning and canceled as he was "stuck in traffic". I did not reschedule. I found this very off-putting. In addition to this and to the overcharges on the above services, I will not use him again and would discourage others from doing so.

MR. DEMERATH WAS PERSONABLE AND PROFESSIONAL. THE WORK WAS DONE QUICKLY AND CLEANLY AND ALTHOUGH A NEW EXHAUST RUN HAD TO BE INSTALLED, THE COST OF THIS WAS VERY SMALL. WE CONSIDERED THE OVERALL COST TO BE VERY ACCEPTABLE. I ALSO WAS APPRECIATIVE OF THE FACT THAT WHEN I ASKED THE DIFFERENCE OF A HEATER WITH A 6 YR WARRANTY AS OPPOSED TO A 10 YR, VICKI SAID HONESTLY, NOTHING OTHER THAN A LONGER WARRANTY PERIOD. THIS IMPRESSED ME MORE THAN ANYTHING AS THEY DIDN'T TRY TO SELL ME A MORE EXPENSIVE UNIT WHEN IN FACT THE UNIT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME. I WOULD DEFINITELY USE THEM AGAIN.

THE OWNER DID THE WORK AND HE DID A VERY GOOD JOB. I WOULD CERTAINLY RECOMMEND HIM.

TWO HOURS WORK. MESSED WITH WATER HEATER AND DID NOT EXPLAIN WHY.

HE WAS EXTREMELY PLEASANT, COURTEOUS AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. HE EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM AND HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT IF PROBLEMS. HE ALSO ARRIVED AT THE EARLY TIME OF THE RANGE THEY GAVE ME AND COMPLETED THE WORK IN ABOUT AN HOUR. IN ADDITION HE WAS VERY NEAT LEAVING THE AREA AS CLEAN AS IT WAS BEFORE. FINALLY, HE SHARED THAT HIS COMPANY STANDS BY THE PRODUCTS THEY PROVIDE AND IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH IT HE WILL COME OUT, TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM AND FIX IT IF FEASIBLE. IF HE CAN'T FIX IT AND IT HAPPENS TO BE UNDER WARRANTY PROBLEM HE WILL CONTACT THE COMPANY TO COME REPLACE IT. JIM LOVES ANIMALS AND WAS GREAT WITH MY DOG WHEN HE DECIDED HE HAD TO INVESTIGATE.

VERY PLEASANT TO HAVE IN OUR HOME. VERY CLEAN AND USED DROP CLOTHS. A GOOD EXPERIENCE.

HE WAS PRETTY GOOD

HE WAS EXPENSIVE, BUT WENT THE EXTRA MILE TO HELP THEM SINCE THEY HAD COMPANY COMING OVER