Having just recently moved back to Tucson from Lake Havasu City, we moved back into my house that had not been very well taken of by the tenants. There were some indoor plumbing issues that the Property Management Company sent Silverado Rooter & Plumbing to tackle. Being that I was half-worn from the move, unpacking, cleaning, and fixing all of the little things in the house that I could in between working I did not pay much attention to the quality work performed by the plumber on behalf of the Property Managers. I was just happy not to have leaky valves in the main bedroom's bathroom tub. Good stuff.
However, when the Tucson Water meter reader came by to tell me we had a massive leak that we troubleshot to being between the meter and my house's main shutoff, things got heightened. The situation got a little more drastic than my piddling plumbing problems of yesterday. I called American Leak Detection, whose technician narrowed the leak down to underneath my patio slab...wonderful. I contacted some of the plumbers that he had recommended, but they were all booked or didn't respond. This was serious situation where I was turning on the water to shower, then turning it off because the piping was leaking at a rate of 200+ gallons per hour according to Tucson Water's report. Remembering Silverado's quality work, and seeing their 5 star rating on Yelp I called, and, people, I am glad I did.
Silverado's office staff saw my number and address and recollected the previous work just performed days before. Plumber Jack came out the next day, took a look at the situation, answered all of my questions expertly, gave me a ballpark estimate which was fairly accurate, then went back to the office to write up an accurate estimate. But before leaving he assured me that his goal was to provide quality work at a fair price. Jack assured me that his intent is never to charge more than necessary to get the work done because he wouldn't feel good doing so. That statement alone gave me confidence and helped cement my future business/customer relationship with Silverado.
When the estimate came the next day I was satisfied, so I called the office and explained the situation. The office staff (Joni and Ashley rock!) put us on the schedule for the following Tuesday. Okay, I guess I could keep turning on and shutting off the main valve as needed. After hearing about my daily difficulties, the staff member said she could see if she could get me scheduled sooner. Okay, let's see what happens. Ten minutes later, voila, she slotted our house for the next day! I was grateful that she cared about the situation and did something positive about it. That's superior customer service right there.
The next day at 9AM or so, Jack, and his apprentice, Rafael, pulled up to the back alley gate and promptly got to work. Watching Jack build upon what we knew about the peculiarities of my plumbing system and adapt to the situation as his understanding of it changed was interesting. He cut the concrete, jackhammered the resultant rectangle slab and pulled it away. I watch as he and his apprentice clear the fill dirt to find the leaky pipe. It was like watching Indiana Jones dig up some artifact. But it turned out not to be so great. The pipe turned out to be galvanized and obviously decrepit, so the plan had to change. It was decided to bypass the water softener galvanized pipe-loop and run PEX pipe straight to the house from the water meter. Jack assured me that this could be done within the parameters of the current estimate. I was thrilled.
Long story short, those two fellows worked diligently with quality in mind every step of the way. Jack and his apprentice replaced the old main shut-off, gate-type valve with a more modern ball valve, replaced the shut-off at the meter as it was leaking profusely, repaired the concrete from the finding of the source of the leak, and cleaned up so that I didn't know they had even been there. I found Jack's expertise and hard work (and Rafael's hard work and dedication) to be inspirational.
Jack and I discussed the possibility of a future work to add water softener connections next to the main shut-off valve and how it would be no problem. It was refreshing to get the straight story about the whole process and each step along the way without being price gouged as the situation evolved.
I would highly recommend Silverado Rooter and Plumbing to anybody looking for quality work at a fair price. I will be using them for all of my plumbing needs.