Charles W.
06/05/2014 12:00:00 SA
Over my 40 years of residency in Jacksonville, I've had occasion to deal with a number of plumbers, includes ones sent by Sears to install water heaters, one via my home insurer for leak damage, a couple for emergency services, a couple supplied by contractors on renovation projects, and Mike Wood for home plumbing needs of my choosing. Of all of these, Mike Wood has been by far the best and the one I've found most reliable.
When I first moved to Jacksonville I had a leaking toilet that defied the efforts of two different plumbers but was immediately solved and repaired by Woody Woods (the son of Mike Woods and now running the company). When I moved to a different property 30 years ago, Mike Woods did a plumbing inspection I insisted on as a condition of sale and in the process corrected some serious plumbing errors the prior owner had been living with. Over time, I've had Woody come out for one thing or another, so when the inevitable occurred and our 40 year old home needed a complete replumb, Mike Wood was the obvious choice, especially after hearing from two neighbors about the mess made by their plumbers when having their properties replumbed.
Replumbing requires someone resourceful and that is where Woody truly excels. He's also reliable, honest to a fault, and careful. We somewhat nervously agreed to schedule our replumb while out of town on a trip and were gratified on our return to find a house for which you could hardly tell they had been there, except for the blissfully functioning hot and cold water in showers, sinks, the kitchen, and laundry. Ours is a two story house, with a downstairs bath isolated from the main plumbing stack. That required ceiling cutouts to get new water lines to it; The task was complicated by having a textured ceiling, so I was braced for needing to also have a ceiling redone. As it turned out, the Mike Wood crew did such a careful job with the cutouts that they were able to reinstall them so as to almost completely hide any damage. Plumbing work was cleverly hidden in walls and the back of cabinets. All the new lines, which were run through the attic, were fully insulated and clamped. A new line was brought in from the meter with no yard damage, and on top of that, hose bibs were placed near the 4 accesses we had from the old plumbing, all damage free. The electrician who was contracted to put in new electrical ground rods at the conclusion of the job was not nearly as careful.
I would guess the actual plumbing work for the job would be something most plumbers would handle OK, but for the creative solutions and cosmetic care I credit Woody, which is exactly why I chose his company rather than go with someone else. Since it might be of interest, I should also note that the price was both fair and well-explained. In summary, the job was handled professionally, punctually, and in the amount of time promised (4 to 5 days). I wish all of my home repair work had gone as well as this one (which in truth I put off far too long because of two earlier kitchen renovation projects that were the stuff of nightmares, requiring a lot of prodding to bring things to conclusion).