Kesterson Plumbing & Heating

Kesterson has become our go-to Plumbing and Heating company since we're more than a bit tired of getting ripped off by more commercial places like Michael and Sons.  

These folks, largely because they're cleaning up other company's messes and poor quality work, have been to our house quite often.  They know us by name and give us candid (accurate) advice even when it means they lose money!  

Most recently, the compressor on our Rheem air conditioning unit, installed by Michael and Sons six years ago, died in 100 plus degree weather.  Knowing that they might lose the chance to charge us $1800 to replace it, they recommended that I check the warranty. The compressor was covered and because they were a Rheem authorized repair company, another HVAC company in the area did the repair.  It still cost me $1200 to have it installed (now I know how Rheem got their name), but Kesterson saved me $600 because they wanted a long-term customer, and they have one!

Kesterson should be among your first calls when something goes wrong with your plumbing, heating or air conditioner.  They're good, honest people!

After I contacted them by e-mail, they showed up right away and solved a difficult plumbing problem. Very easy to work with.

Excellent experience with Martin fixing our dysfunctional bathtub diverter.  Thorough, efficient, honest, great communication throughout, obviously very experienced, and tenacious to get the job done quickly and without unnecessary added costs.  I am very pleased with this first experience and will be a repeat customer of Kesterson. I have to echo Henry W.: Great experience, great value.

Old school. Excellent. These people know plumbing. Scott came and figured out our somewhat unusual plumbing issue - a pipe connecting to our sprinkler - and had it fixed in two hours. Great expertise, great value.

Highly recommended. We needed a new toilet installed. Home Depot said 3 weeks wait. Kesterson said they could do it in two days. The installer called and was able to show up two hours earlier than scheduled. Installation went well with one adjustment in the flush we had to make later. The main office agreed to make an adjustment to the bill knowing we had to adjust what they would normally do. A long standing dependable plumbing business. Very pleased with everything.

Called Steve at Kesterson's to come out to figure out my gas flow problem.  Steve was out the next morning and figured out that it was a Washington Gas problem and not an indoor plumbing problem.  Previous plumber we had called had prescribed an extensive project that would have cost several thousand $$$.  Thanks Steve for being honest and prompt.  You've got my business for life.

Scott B. Alexandria

I was moving into my new 11th floor condo  on July 26th to find the A/C wasn't cooling. While Kesterson originally said they couldn't get to me until Friday (as all other A/C repair shops were telling me), I was elated when the tech called at 2 PM (Tuesday) to fit me in because he finished other jobs earlier than expected. Tech not only fixed the problem but also performed an overall check on the system. AWESOME!!!

I had a slow leak in the water line in the crawl space. I called Kesterson and they came out the same day. Ben came out, found the leak, called for some parts, and fixed it in about an hour. Both he and his helper Joey were friendly and efficient. I would certainly recommend them.

I suggested my neighbor set up an appointment with Kesterson for 3 various plumbing issues.  They were informed it would be $185 to ring the doorbell. They went with the $80 doorbell plumber.  When I called Kesterson, to ask why they would do this, I ended up basically being called an Ass@@hole and was hung up on.  So much for them being a neighborhood support infrastructure.

Easy to deal with.  Responded quickly. Showed up on time. Fixed everything. Pleasure to deal with. Reasonably priced. What more would I look for.

Had a wonderful experience with Martin assessing and resolving my plumbing issue.  He was timely, came prepared with all parts he may need, and ensured the are was clean after.  I would highly recommend them!

Kesterson has replace our water heater, fixed our gas furnace, and serviced or A/C and we'venever had a problem with anything they did.  The four guys we've met from there were very professional and cared about making sure to leave the house in the same condition as when they got there (i.e. not making a huge rusty muddy mess when removing the bad water heater).  They're probably going to replace our A/C unit i the next week or so, so I'll be able to speak with even more experience after that.  Brass tacks, labor is always going to be a more expensive part of a project, and while Kestersons isn't cheap, they do a good job.

We needed Kesterson's to help with a leaking tub and a broken faucet spout.

Regarding the faucet, we ordered the same Kohler model that was currently there and asked the plumber to install the spout part only - the part broken. He proceed to replace the lever handles too, which is fine...but not needed because they were in perfectly good condition.

Upon leaving my husband noticed the old lever handles were gone along with the box and remaining parts. I called the next day to request them back, only to find out  that they had been thrown away.

Perhaps it is a Kesterson policy to clean up and take the stuff away, but it would have been nice to have them as a back-up considering they work well, they were expensive, and the faucet in our other bath is the same model.

They should have asked if we wanted to throw them away - not assumed.

Kesterson does a decent job on the plumbing itself - Ben's work is especially good. However, overall communication is laborious and slow, non-plumbing work (rough landscaping repair, carpentry, callbacks for missed detail) is sloppy, and attention to detail is almost nonexistent.
Use KP&H for just your plumbing work, but pay someone else to do all the repair/replace work to put your house back in order.

I have lived in Del Ray since 2005. When we brought our home we had to do many upgrades. We wanted to support local business so we used Kesterson and R &B.

Fast forward to a simple slow draining sink. Again, we went with the local business. We made an appointment using their online service on Friday for 8am on Monday due to our work schedules.

As we did not receive a response that weekend, we called Monday morning around 7:15 am and got their answering service. I explained we had never used the online appointment system and had not heard back from anyone yet. The very polite call taker told me she would forward this to Kesterson.

Around 7:45 am, I got an email from Kesterson saying they would be able to do the work on Wednesday. I decided to simply call another plumber (Home Service Doctor who I highly recommend) and thought no more about it until today. I figured Kesterson was busy no big deal.

I received a call this morning from an extremely rude employee that really took me aback. It went like this.

Caller: You said you never heard from us I emailed you!

Me: We went with someone else.

Then I hung up without saying goodbye amazed a call from a customer service representative could be so rude and defensive.

How about trying to ask what the issue was, did my call come in before your email (it did if you bothered to check) explaining how the online system works.

I'll never use or recommend Kesterson again. A 15 year relationship is over because of poor customer service.

I'm for supporting local business, my father was a local business owner for years where I grew up. I will not however give my money to a business that does not have good customer service simply because it's in Del Ray.

After reading other reviews, it seems like Kesterson does not care about how they treat their customers as I did not see any response by then on this site.

I will say every plumber that ever came out was very polite and professional. To bad the same cannot be said for the office staff.

These guys are by far the greatest thing since sliced bread. Our gas furnace broke and we called Kesterson. They sent someone over in 5 minutes. This was right after the blizzard we just had. Ernest, our technician, was extremely knowledgable and very efficient. We needed a new motor for our furnace. He repaired it in an hour. He also gave us good advice on what type of filters to purchase. I highly recommend Kesterson!! We mistakenly called someone else yesterday, and they did not fix the problem. They told us the heat wasn't turning on because of a dirty filter. We will always use Kesterson from now on.

Pretty good work and a decent price, but lousy follow-up service. If you know exactly what you need and are sure you won't have follow-up work or answers needed for your project, go for it.  Otherwise, look elsewhere.

Contractor's location is two blocks away, so they showed up as scheduled (but would have little excuse not to for a first thing in the morning appointment).  They performed a pretty simple task: removing a water heater and putting it back two days later.  Their scheduler was really pleasant on the phone, but skirted away from any estimates of costs.  I was pretty satisfied with them until I looked at my credit card account and discovered they had charged my account without ever giving me an indication of the final cost or an invoice.  When I called nearly a week after the charges after still not receiving an invoice via email or mail, they had a feeble excuse that they had spelled my email address wrong (which happens to be the same name as on the credit card they successfully charged) but never made the effort to give me a call to get it corrected or even simply dropped the invoice in the mail.  I had really high hopes for doing business with an immediately local company, and if the work product holds up, I would probably call them again.  I do hope they stand behind their work, even if the invoicing process failed.

I called on Tuesday and couldn't get an appointment until Friday.  I'd called another plumber out but kept this appointment anyway given the price the other guys were quoting us.  Our appointment was set for a window between 1 and 4 pm.  It is now 9:30.  I assume they are not showing up but they did not do us the courtesy of calling to let us know.  This was not a scheduling mistake--they called once today to let us know when they would show up.  A couple hours after that time frame had passed, they called again because they were lost.  My husband gave them directions.  Never heard from them again, which is unforgivably bad customer service.  Only reason I gave them 2 stars is I've used them before and they've been fine, but today's experience was very disappointing.

I was referred here by the local hardware store down the street when I couldn't find an adapter for my water line for my new refrigerator. I walked in and was immediately greeted and offered a seat. They recognized what part I was in need of and found it for me within seconds. I wasn't completely sure how to make the piece fit so they patiently explained it to me and I was confident to install it myself.

The most amazing part was I forgot to bring cash with me and they just told me to stop by sometime and drop off the $5.00 I owed them.

I will be definitely using them for any of my plumbing needs in the future.

Thank you for being upstanding people!!

I called on Saturday for a hot water heater issue (pilot light would not stay lit). They promptly called me back, I accurately answered all their questions, then was asked if they could talk to my husband.

This is 2018. I have contacted you to make a repair. How is anything else relevant?

We had water back-up and wanted to use a local company. They were 70 minutes later than when they said they would arrive, and short with us when they did arrive. It took them 3 different trips over a week just to figure out what the problem was, after supposedly fixing it each time. Fine, plumbing is not easy. But it's annoying having to pay for each visit when clearly a simple clogged wasn't the issue.

We had a leaky bathroom sink.  Ben was great.  He wore a mask and booties and was respectful of the fact that my son was doing virtual school.  The vessel sink had been installed in an unusual way, which didn't surprise me since the contractor who did it was pretty bad.  Ben needed to order a part, so he came back the following week to finish the work.  He had to get a bit creative because of the original installation and he did a great job.

Jackson was terrific.  He went above and beyond in his efforts, and even showed up early.  I would definitely use this company again.  Thanks Jackson!

Highly recommend. Called them on a Monday morning when i had no hot water - Ben showed up within a couple of hours. He fixed my issue, explained the problem, and made a few simple suggestions to avoid the issue in the future. He also helped me with a couple other minor issues with my sink drainage and water pressure and gave me some very helpful advice on brands to use and ways to cut costs on future renovations.

I will recommend Kesterson to all of my friends in the area and will definitely be a repeat customer for future plumbing needs. Thanks, Ben for your help and expertise!

Scott is such an experienced plumber and understands what questions to ask!  Kesterson always tries to come right out when called, especially if you have an urgent issue!  They completely replaced all the waste lines under the house the year before and, last time, they cleared a backed up drain pipe.

Thanks!

Our dishwasher started backing up and couldn't drain, so I checked out Yelp and Angie's List for recommendations and polled my local neighborhood email list. My first choice wouldn't come to our place because it was a condo, so I went with Kesterson instead.

They were very easy to book service with online, they showed up on time (slightly early actually) and called to say they were on their way. After determining it was a broken food disposal, they had it replaced and everything fixed in 45 minutes. The two guys were very polite and professional, explaining all the options and even checking a few other things while they were there.

After having a sink that backed up and no dishwasher for some time, Kesterson got us back in action quick. I don't know how their prices compare, but ease of booking, prompt arrival and good communication, and professionalism on the job made me a happy customer.

Our house was on the market and the prospective buyers wanted to have a plumber come to inspect the sewer pipe.  They sent in Kesterson who came in with a black and white camera with terrible resolution that couldn't record.  The technician was young, inexperienced and didn't know what he was looking at.  In front of the buyers, he kept saying how bad the pipe was as he was feeding the camera down.  The buyers wanted us to replace the entire sewer line.

Instead we called Dwyer for a second opinion.  They came with state of the art equipment...a color camera with high resolution as well as an experienced technician.  Our pipe was in fact in great condition.  They had us over a barrel and could have told us it was bad in order to sell us a new sewer system.  Instead they were completely honest and issued a report saying the truth!  Highly recommend their team.

Really impressed with this company especially the office staff. I had an issue with my bathtub drain and spoke with Julia the office manager. She had a plumber (Martin) come out the same day. Love to use local small businesses and will definitely use Kestersons again.

The main line valve in our home broke as did a faucet in our shower.  They fixed both, but it took them basically 2/3 of a day to do so.  Granted the main shutoff from the street was buried under about an inch of dirt so it was hard to find and they had to cut a piece of my pipe off to install a new valve, but it did seem like it took longer than it should have.  I will say their rates seemed reasonable and they came back the next day and didn't charge me to fix a problem I had with their shower installation.  I would consider using them again in the future.

Top Notch.  If you need help - these are the folks you should use.  I came home on Sunday night to no hot water.  I called and they came out first thing Monday morning (they said they would be here between 9 - 12 and they arrived at 9).    Not only did they fix the problem with the hot water heater (a problem getting the pilot lite relit after Washington Gas did some work on the the gas meter) but they also fixed another problem I was having with a leak from my HVAC.  He put in a repair but recommended a better long term solution.   He didnt push for the sale like so many other would, but made a recommendation and will be sending me a quote.  He then reiterated that his fix would work for the foreseeable future.   I'm adding them to my phone for all my future plumbing or heating issues.

This company is the best! They came out day-of and charged me only for the service and the supplies. There are no surprise fees and they clean up after themselves. Every time I contact them, they go above and beyond expectations. Use Kesterson next time you need a plumber!!

In tough economic times, it seems Kesterson has raised their rates.

2 years ago I called Kesterson to snake a drain and split a pipe. The total was under $200.

Today, I called them to fix a toilet and a leaky pipe. The total was over $350. I guess next time I will spend $20 on supplies at the Home Depot and fix it myself.

Absolute rip off, I'm never going to use them again for anything.

I was so impressed with the service we received from Martin at Kesterson's today. He went above and beyond with helping us figure out what was wrong with our kitchen sink, and worked creatively to help us arrive at a solution when I'm sure that other companies would have just charged us a huge fee. I'm very grateful!

We love supporting local businesses but Kesterson charged us $250 for a generic, small expansion tank. These generally go for well under $100, our original one from Lowe's was $40. Unfortunately, we weren't in town and this service was done under someone else's management.

We called Kesterson on a Sunday morning because a pipe to our hot water tank was leaking. They walked us through getting the hot water shut off and the water to stop which we appreciated. They scheduled with us to  come out 9am Monday morning as we had NO hot water at all. 9 am Monday came and no one showed. We called and they said sorry we can't come until Tuesday. The woman on the phone was very rude when we said we had been scheduled for 9am Monday. We ended up calling a different plumber who had our pipe fixed within 2 hours.
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!!!

I had Kesterson out to the house this week to fix an issue with a very slow drain. Ben called ahead to let me know he was on his way, and arrived on time. I had attempted to snake the drain myself, but wasn't having any luck. Ben identified the problem, and was able to clear the blockage using a more powerful snake. He also replaced a P-trap that always looked a little off to me. He was polite and tidy, and finished the work in a little over an hour.

All in all I was very pleased with the experience.

This was a bizarre experience -- they came out to give us an estimate and said they would email us and then did not. Finally after several days we called them and they sent us a email with their regular hourly rate -- NOT an estimate. We then called another plumber and they came right out and fixed the problem, doing in a few hours the job that Kesterson was unable to do in four days. Very strange!

We've had Kestersons come out a few times for different issues -- and while they aren't the cheapest -- I can always trust their work. The reason I'm giving them 5 stars is their most recent visit. My husband cracked the ice maker line when cleaning behind the fridge. This should have been a simple task but our kitchen contractor (primos contractors -- do not recommend) installed too much copper pipe which caused the line to kink, crack, and gush water into our kitchen. We called Kestersons frantic on a Sunday afternoon. They came out promptly, ensured the water was shut off, and said they would return today with parts. While out today the plumber said he smelled gas. As a result, we called Washington Gas and sure enough -- we had a gas leak from our gas meter. He didn't have to say anything, it had nothing to do with what he was there to fix, yet he did. We really appreciate that. Thank you for being an honest, reliable company -- and for looking out for the safety of my family.

We had a great experience with Martin over the holiday weekend, as our hot water heater decided to go out at 4:30pm on Friday afternoon. Martin called shortly after I left a message and offered to come out on Saturday morning before noon to see about the issue ~ he even arrived a bit early and chatted back and forth with me regarding concerns on Friday afternoon. We knew we would need a new one, but it was so nice of him to stop by to see if there was anything he might be able to do. He did cut out a piece of wood that should have been done years ago so the water would flow straight into the sump pump, and this was a great help as we dealt with the leaking water all weekend. We were so thankful for his timeliness in contacting us, assessing the situation, and especially his lighthearted and good nature/personality! :) Thanks so much for all your help, Martin! :)

I had an toilet removed and a new one installed.Be n was the technician. He was outstanding.

He called in advance, and arrived on time.
He was polite and considerate. ( He wore booties and a mask the whole time.)
He worked quietly and efficiently, and even asked my opinion on a few technical issues, where many would have just made assumptions.

Outstanding professional. First rate customer service..

Thank you, Ben. Please keep on doing what you are doing!

Never Scheduled:  I had an unknown wetness coming through the concrete on the floor of the basement.  I called Kesterson, and they were very good about setting up an appointment and coming out to provide an estimate.  The plumber was a bit stumped by the issue - but other estimates I received had the same quandary.  It needed to be jackhammered up to know more.  I had a couple of questions that weren't thoroughly answered by email, but I needed the work done so I approved the quote and asked that it be scheduled as soon as possible.

It's now been 4 weeks - and no one can tell me when the job will be scheduled.  Vague or no response to email, and the receptionist just says they have had other emergency jobs and she doesn't handle the scheduling.  No call back, no supervisor, no apology.  Basically no interest in the job and instead of turning it down, they ignore.

Kesterson's customer service and prompt response has kept me as a loyal customer. Our first experience required some extra work so they sent out another person.  He was extremely thorough, friendly and did not leave the bathroom a mess. I normally don't write reviews unless someone has gone above and beyond and I highly recommend this company.  Hopefully we won't have to call on them too often but to know there is a company out there like this puts me at ease.

Quick to take the money, slow to do the work.
The project was scheduled for a Monday, the crew showed up late, cancelled for the day and came back on Tuesday. Left early with gas lines loose, work not finished, holed in the wall to the outside and trash.
Had to dispute payment to get them to come back and finish most of the job. Recommend splitting your payment and freezing your card until they come back and finish the job.

my family has been using kesterson for 25 years. we've never felt bamboozled and they always get straight to the root of the problem. our latest plumbing issue was a tub draining leak going to my downstairs neighbor's condo unit. paul and his assistant looked at it and pretty much knew immediately what the problem was and quickly corrected it.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND KESTERSON

Kesterson did a great job helping take care of a major drain issue in my basement, where they had to jackhammer & dig up concrete in two rooms to reach pipe that had filled with sediment over 50+ years of use.

They kept me apprised of status throughout the process, lined the affected rooms with plastic to protect from mud-splatter, and focused upon ensuring all appliances (water heater and washing machined) were re-enabled as quickly as possible to minimize any inconvenience.

As I've learned with most old-house projects, add 20% to the time for unexpected issues that arise.  The time estimates given at start-up are often best-case, but even with an extra day or so on the project, Kesterson stuck to their initial quote.

I will absolutely them again - it's nice to find a group that you feel like you can trust.

Thank you Kesterson!  Solved my toilet trouble fast. Martin was wonderful.  Arrived early.  Very thorough!  Very clean!  Took the time to do the job right!  Could not ask for better service. I would absolutely recommend them.

A waste of money... and their guarantee, and quote, are not worth a penny.  I usually don't leave feedback on anyone, let alone negative... but it's the holidays and I'm left with a leaking and unstable faucet!!
We had another plumber install a commercial-style faucet (with a sprayer) a few month back, but it became loose, so we had the faucet company send us a brand new replacement and hired Kesterson Plumbing to install the new faucet so it won't go loose anymore: that is the problem we were trying to fix.  Install it they did, but it was loose the moment after they finished installation, and they didn't do anything about the loose condition.  The plumber was young and inexperienced, so Kesterson sent a more experienced plumber a week later, and experienced he was, and he said that the faucet definitely needed a bracket to hold it in place.  Really?  Why install it and then explain?  Why not explain that we need the bracket in the first place??? He promised to look for a bracket and get back to us... that was 10 days ago.  Christmas is here and all things that go under the sink have been all over the kitchen since they installed it two weeks ago, and we're still waiting.  The faucet is even leaking and now even more loose.  We've stopped by their location twice, no plumber there, and they promised he will call us.   Didn't call us a few days ago as promised, and didn't do so today.  They can't be trusted.  They got paid upfront, but they're unprofessional: why make a bad job at installing a faucet when it needs a bracket.   We'll have to order a new faucet and a new plumber. I would not use them again.