plumber recommedations? general handypersons? floor guys?

[cazzia.livejournal.com]

Hello all - I'll be buying a place in Davis in the next few weeks and have a long list of things I need to have done (new water heater and gas furnace, misc other plumbing tasks, misc carpentry, cleaning, painting, floor sanding, etc).  Have found a few good local people, but thought you all may have recommendations.  Looking particularly for plumbers.

Thank you!

ps I did check the tags and there didn't seem to be anything relevant in the archives...

[UPDATE: thanks for the plumber advice, everyone.  Now, how about floor guys? Anyone have recommendations for good sanders/refinishers? Anyone used PNT Hardwood (I found on Craig's list...)? Thanks!]

Comments

[nonnihil.livejournal.com]

If you're buying a place that will need work, it is definitely worth it to buy a membership in Angie's List (angieslist.com), which has tons of customer reviews of contractors and service people. It pays for itself very quickly.

[cazzia.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I plan to, though I've heard that the peoplecontractors there are generally more high-end and regionally based...was hoping to get someone local (& cheap!) for the initial work...

[nonnihil.livejournal.com]

If you find such a thing as a cheap plumber, please let me know! In my experience there's no such thing to be found around here; the only question is whether you get what you overpay for.

[liza.livejournal.com]

I've had several good experiences with Mirabella Plumbing. I wouldn't say that they're cheap, but they answer their phones (or call back promptly) and the guys who've come to my house have always been very nice.

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

And I've dealt with Petersen Plumbing for the past 10 years or so (as a renter and owner) and have nothing but good to speak of them!

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

I do professional organizing, and I can assist with setting up your belongings in a logical way to streamline your life in your new home. My website is at www.jenniferhunter.com/organizing.html.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

Greg Hale Plumbing (Greg the Plumber).

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I recently had my furnace and water heater replaced by Prospect Hill Plumbing and would recommend them, although I don't think I'd call them cheap necessarily. But they do a good job and are responsive.

I'll give you two anti-recommendations too: Pann, and Winters plumbing corporations. Have had terrible experiences with both of them.

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

We use Winters (who aren't cheap at all), so I'm curious what your bad experience was.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

LJ is being weird so I can't tell whether it posted my reply. ???? Here it is again just in case.

It's a pretty long story but to sum up: I was trying to get an estimate on a big job (furnace replacement, including removal of oil tank, converting to gas heat, and asbestos removal). The Winters guy repeatedly failed to show up for appointments to look at the job, plus failed to respond to any of my increasingly desperate phone messages (I had a deadline for getting the estimate, which he knew). Eventually, after calling the office and speaking to his supervisor and getting the runaround for a week or two, I finally found out that the guy I had been dealing with was one of their plumbers -- i.e., he was not qualified or authorized to do estimates. But rather than say "This isn't my area, I'll refer you to one of our estimators," he kept telling me that he just needed a little more info in order to put together my estimate. And then when he got caught out by his bosses, he simply bailed.

To compound matters, when I got hold of the company's owner to complain about all this, he was not at all apologetic. And wound up telling me flat-out that they didn't want the job (strongly implying that it was because he thought I was the bitchy, never-satisfied type).

Incidentally, around the same time, my mom signed a service contract with Winters -- their deal where you pay a certain amount and then you're entitled to their services on short notice, or whatever -- and she has been nothing but dissatisfied with it ever since. They've come late for her appointments, failed to finish jobs, said they needed another part and then simply disappeared for weeks at a time...and the last time she had them over, they quoted her $300 to fix a little leak in her washing machine. She ended up hiring a friend's plumber who did it for $90.

[cazzia.livejournal.com]

Thanks - that's good to know. I actually just got an estimate from them and they seemed both pleasant and reasonable.

[cazzia.livejournal.com]

Prospect Hill plumbing I mean (haven't dealt with Winters)...

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I am not a big Angie's List fan- I love the idea of them but don't find enough recommendations to feel that I am really playing the field the way it is supposed to.

In terms of plumbers, none appear to be cheap. I have liked both Brian Holmes (BM Holmes Plumbing and Heating) and W Malcolm and Sons (I think that's the correct name.) Both are responsive and fairly honest, but not cheap...

floor sanders/refinishers?

[cazzia.livejournal.com]

Thank you everyone for the plumber advice. I know it won't be cheap...but some are expensive and some are rip-off expensive, it seems!

Another question - anyone have floor guys they'd recommend? I spoke to someone I found on Craig's List - Tran from PNT Hardwood. Seemed good, anyone used them/him before?