David G.
02/05/2019 12:00:00 SA
My recommendation: Do NOT call The Pipe Doctor. They were at my home in NVa recently to repair a small copper water pipe, broken due to the extreme freeze. I called on a Tuesday evening, but received no call back until the following morning. They arrived that Wednesday morning after 8:00 during regular business hours, and did resolve the problem, at least temporarily. First, their website states they provide free estimates, but I later discovered they actually don't - and when a company starts out lying to you, it's obviously a bad sign. Only one pipe had been damaged, but according to their plumbers, 2 pipes needed to be worked on because of their positioning; this seemed strange to me, but I accepted their assessment due to the need to get the job done and into work. The pipes were located in an odd place, and from their description of the difficulty of the job, I expected it would take several hours, require special parts, tools, etc., so I also accepted their estimate of $600. They finished in about an hour, with 45 minutes of time actually working on the repair, and did not re-fit the original copper pipes with new copper, but only applied some type of adaptor fittings and non-copper material. The water did function properly afterwards, so I paid the fee and requested an itemized invoice. I was told I'd be sent one by email, but the invoice I received did not provide any details on the parts, labor, additional charges for the service call and estimate, etc., and it was only upon receiving that invoice that I was informed there was no warranty on the job. I emailed this company 12 (twelve) times for additional information and a detailed invoice, with no response whatsoever. I later found what appear to be similar adaptor kits online for much less than $50; but even if both kits cost $50 each for a total of $100, that leaves $500 labor for a 45 minute job - over $500 an hour in labor costs alone.
A similar issue on a different pipe occurred about 10 days later, and I of course did NOT call The Pipe doctor this time. I called another local company (Kinnett), after-hours on a Saturday afternoon. They returned the call, arrived and fixed the problem only a few hours later. They replaced the original copper pipe with new copper, in an area that required outside work and access under the floor. They responded more quickly, performed a much more extensive and difficult job on an after-hours emergency basis, provided all the billing details up front, and charged less than half the price of The Pipe Doctor. Again - Do NOT call The Pipe Doctor for any type of plumbing job - you will likely be grossly overcharged for what is at best average work, and there are many, much better local alternatives. D.G., NVa.