Thomas Friel Plumbing

Tom is a great plumber.  Very experienced and very knowledgeable.  He has been doing work for me for many years and it is always done correctly and on time.  His employees are  also very nice and knowledgeable.  The house is always picked up and clean after they are finished.

I would highly recommend Thomas Friel Plumbing.

I live around the corner from this plumber so thought it would be logical to phone this guy when I needed my shower drain unclogged.  The woman who answered told me she was a book keeper and would not take a message for Tom.  She told me That he does not respond to messages (???) and if I want to hire him, I should call back some other time.  I responded by saying wow, it seems like this is really difficult.  Perhaps I should call another plumber?  She said yes!

Ok, on to the next plumber...

I've been a homeowner for over 11 years and never really found a plumber I could trust and enjoyed working with.  We had a good guy back in the day who was an artist and a character, but somehow I didn't get warm fuzzies about his plumbing skills.

Anyway, Tom Friel is my new plumbing go-to guy.  He was prompt in returning my call, came out in the morning on New Year's Eve and had a guy at our house by 11 AM doing our odds-and-ends jobs.  With all of that he added extra unanticipated value.  To wit:

1. We needed to move the pipe for our stove so that we could push it all the way back (long story).  He knew since we'd remodeled only a few years ago with permits, that we must have a gas shutoff for our range.  I had no idea where.  He found it behind a drawer and recommended that we label it.  Great idea!

2. We asked him to replace our water filter dispenser on our sink.  He poked around for a bit and recommended an upgrade to the tubing as well.  Now we get filtered water coming out in a freaking jet - it's awesome, and fills a pitcher in a minute flat.

We also asked him to replace a toilet.  Nothing much to say here, it was straightforward.  His rate is $85/hr, and his quote was very accurate.  The guy he sent out (can't remember his name) was pleasant and efficient.

One other thing -- he called me about 30 minutes after he left our house from doing the initial quote and told me that he'd forgotten to turn the water back on.  I like that he had that sense of courtesy to call and let me know, rather than waiting for me to call him and ask what was going on.

4 Stars because I've only used him once...

I came home to a flood coming from the ceiling of my garage, and a toilet overflowing upstairs flooding the first floor of my house and bamboo floors. I called three plumbers and none would come out at 3 on a Friday afternoon...I called Thomas Friel and even though he didn't have time I think he could hear the panic in my voice and came by to help. He stayed to resolve the problem and was without a doubt the nicest plumber I've ever hired. He acted like a real person, or a good neighbor would - not like someone only in it for a high hourly fee like most plumbers. You can trust this guy - I wanted to buy a whole new toilet and he talked me off the ledge, saying I only needed a small part replacement which he handled on the spot. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!!!!

Tom Friel has been our plumber for over 25 years and that is a testament to what a great job he always delivers. He is thorough and honest and knows what he is doing. Most importantly, he is totally reliable and responsive. The only plumber I would recommend.

Friday noon . . . Our sole toilet malfunctions.  (Good luck in finding a plumber before the weekend?) . . . First, I thought I could fix it myself, soTom kindly offered helpful advice to guide me. . . . Then,  with another leak it became more complicated for my unskilled hands and lack of proper tools and knowledge. . . Help!. Tom . . . He arrived in 30 minutes and worked efficiently and neatly.