plumber-type person recommendation?

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have a plumber in the area that they can recommend, or someone with enough knowledge to tell me if I need a plumber? I'm in my first winter in my new condo, and I seem to have a drip in two places on a pipe that feeds a radiator. I used HUB for a gas leak and liked them, but don't know if they are costly cuz they are so professional and have matching red shirts. I have no idea what plumbers can/should charge.

Comments

[ron_newman]

I changed the tag to 'home repair'. There may be some helpful old posts with that tag, but I can't guarantee it.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

I know someone named Joe... he's not actually a plumber, but being named "Joe" is close enough (plumber-type), right?

Dang

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

you're fast. You'd think I woulda seen it coming, and prepared better.

[mistresshellena.livejournal.com]

I use Winters. They're certainly not the cheapest, but they respond quickly, do good work and guarantee it for a decent period of time. And they do heating and plumbing, so it's one stop shopping! I have been totally happy with the quality of their work and efficiency in getting things done. This is worth it to me as I'm generally not in-state to oversee these things.

Also, you can purchase a servicing contract through NStar which is not a whole lot of cash per year. A bit vague, I know, but worth checking into.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Oh, I bought that NStar contract, I didn't even think to look. I think it's mostly for the boiler only, but I should check, thanks!

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

You should be cautious of those contracts...my husband is a plumber and Nstar approached his company to participate and the requirements of Nstar are not held to a very high standard. You could end up with a company sending an apprentice to do your repairs and I know some of the companies will even tell you that you need to replace big ticket items unnecessarily because they will make more money off Nstar.

That was my impression too...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

One of their guys totally screwed up the job. If it wasn't for a relative who realized there was a major problem, I may not be here now...

Re: That was my impression too...

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Hmm, thanks for the heads up. The plan specifically excludes pipes (which I figured it would, anyway). I signed up because living alone with all this gas stuff I don't know jack about kind of scares me, and the only reason I got them here so quick was because I smelled gas. Otherwise, the impression I got was that if there is any other problem you're stuck with their office hours. The plan give same-day service.
Back when I had a conscientious landlord living next door I didn't worry.

[aidoneus.livejournal.com]

We've used Joseph Barrell (Barrell Plumbing) at our place and he's been really helpful. He even offered advice over the phone on some things we could do to avoid an emergency service charge from him. His company is local and family owned.

[mr-fancy-pants.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend Paulo's plumbing. He was our old landlord and did a great job remodeling the unit. After we bought ahouse, he has since fixed a leaky faucet and our broken heat. Both jobs were done promptly and well, which was a nice breath of fresh air compared to the other hvac company.

I can pull up his phone # when I get home.