Durham Plumbing Services

Michael Clough is a man on a mission.  I contacted him today (Sunday) because my pipes burst and figured that he wouldn't get to me until early next week given the numbers of folks who are in the same boat; frozen and/or busted pipes. Michael put me into the rotation early evening today and fixed the pipe in short order (had to cut out a section of pipe to restore my service).  He let me know what he did and how to prevent pipes from freezing in the future.  I really appreciate this small business owner's efforts to service the community of homeowners in the Bull City.  This plumber and his tech know what they are doing and would recommend them to others who are looking for a professional team that focuses on solving plumbing problems.

I called Michael on Tuesday and he was able to come Friday morning. The cost matched the estimate he gave me over the phone. I had a gas line coming up in my living room I needed to be relocated to the kitchen and to the laundry closet. It took them longer to go to the store to get the parts they needed than it did to relocate the gas lines. Michael and David were professional and personable. Would highly recommend!

I'm super impressed with DPS. About 2 minutes after I left a message for service, Michael called me to talk about my repair. He quoted a reasonable price and let me know the maximum and minimum it could be. This was very appreciated. A technician called about five minutes later and asked if he could stop by in about ten minutes to take a look at the washer and dryer. Kevin was right on time. Very friendly, knowledgeable and took care of my leaky faucet right away. All in all, less than an hour after my first call the problem was fixed and the charge was the minimum Michael quoted me. I highly recommend this company!

Don't use anyone else.  Super professional and helpful.  Honest.  On time.  Extremely competitive. Went through pains to clean up after their work (leaky shower, replacing toilet, replacing kitchen faucet).  Won't use anyone else.  Tried 2 others beforehand. Waste of money and time.  These are the guys.

Update:  I'll still use them but I do wish his company would be much better at their claim of being paperless  because they never sent me or my landlord a receipt for services rendered (a few hundred dollars' worth) that we needed and asked for repeatedly.

I called Durham Plumbing Services about a leak in my ceiling and they fixed it the next day. Efficient, quality work; great service; and a fair price. The owner even came out to oversee repairs. Can't recommend them enough.

Just had two plumbers come to check on a few concerns I had.  Kevin took the lead and was friendly, courteous, and patient.  There was a fee for the service call, but they found nothing wrong.  As Kevin said, their time and expertise (and reassurances, in my eyes) are worth something.  So after I whined a little bit, I saw the light and considered it a bargain.  They could've lied and found a problem where none existed.  So kudos for Kevin's honesty.  I'll call Durham Plumbing Services again in a heartbeat.

I was hopeful to use Durham Plumbing Services to replace my sump pump given the great reviews. I called about it, talked briefly, then sent pics via text as requested. We had several texts about it before I asked if we could talk on the phone instead (I prefer talking on the phone vs text for finalizing services like these). Micheal said he would call me but never did. I sent another text about it later as a reminder. No response. Disappointed with the service. Not sure what happened.

These guys are all about getting you sorted and not just about making money. Although I had to pay for a service visit, Kevin advised me that rather than them do the work on doing a complex repair (the valve was in a very awkward position) to find the replacement parts. He told me who to call. I ordered the parts however they didn't quite work. I called Kevin back and over the phone we worked out how to make it work using the parts plus the original replacement valve I had purchased (which turned out not to be a match as well). He also advised on how to install. So now I have water back on in my house, a working shower mixer tap and all back to normal. All for the price of the parts and a reasonable service call fee. COuldn't be happier. Durham Plumbing Services: talk about integrity!

Professional, on time, courteous and just what I needed. I noticed I had a very small gas leak in my black iron piping that fed my water heater. It needed to be fixed ASAP. I called Michael, explained the situation and he worked me into his stops for his already busy day. David and Kenny (techs) were out later that day to tighten the pipe, retest and insure that there were no problems. They even checked the entire gas line to insure there were no other issues. This was a big help as I had to leave the next day for a business trip. It was a big relief to have this issue resolved!!! My hat is off to Michael and the wonderful crew of Durham Plumbing! Many thanks! They will be my plumber from now on.

I'm a new homeowner and freaked out when my plumbing overflowed all over my bathroom on a Sunday morning. After googling and a slight nervous breakdown, I found DPS on yelp. I called and scheduled an appointment for the next day. Michael and his team showed up right on time, were very professional, and explained everything to me so I could understand. The problem was big, so they had to come back the next day and dig in my flower bed with the big machine. Michael kept me updated throughout the entire process, and by the time I got home in the afternoon, the plumbing was fixed, the garden was cleaned up, the mulch was in place... I couldn't even tell they had been there! Michael was fairly priced and very helpful and efficient. Bottom line, if you need a plumber (bummer!), these are the guys.

Could not recommend this company more! We needed a hot water heater replaced as well as a leak fixed and the quote we received from Michael was the best we received by far. He was also extremely communicative and able to get our job done quickly. We definitely plan to work with him again in the future on any plumbing needs!

Due to a truck breakdown, the plumber from Durham Plumbing services was late for our morning appointment. Michael called to apologize for the delay and we rescheduled for the afternoon. When the plumber (Scott) arrived he said that the problem with my sink was more complicated than he thought, and he would have to come back with additional equipment. I inquired if there was anything I could do, and he showed me how to dismantle the pipe assembly in my basement. He left, and following his instructions, I was able to clear the blockage! They did not charge me a thing, and my sink is working fine! I appreciate the honesty and courtesy that Durham Plumbing displayed, and I won't hesitate to call them the next time I need help.

Durham Plumbing Services is a business that actually cares about its customers (and potential customers, in my case).  I called Durham Plumbing Services earlier today  to get a quote and an estimate of how quickly they could send someone out to look at my toilets, which were filling with brown water.  Michael ended up spending 10 minutes helping me troubleshoot what was causing the brown water.  He patiently and kindly walked me through a series of toilet flushes that ended up completely resolving the problem.  

I believe the other reviews on Yelp are true: Durham Plumbing Services is run by honest, stand-up people.  (A less honest company would have sent someone to my home to charge me who knows how much to have someone flush my toilets repeatedly.)  Although I am not wishing for any plumbing catastrophes,  I will definitely be calling Durham Plumbing Services when I need a plumber!

I can't recommend Durham Plumbing Services enough. Nine days into owning my first new home I had a plumbing emergency and Michael was able to come help resolve the issue the same day for a fair price. Not only did he save my wood floors from the flooding pipes, but he also uncovered 6 code violations missed by my home inspection and patiently answered my dozens of questions. I've continued to hire Michael for additional projects like installing a garbage disposal and will certainly trust him with any future plumbing needs!

I am so over the top impressed! Thank you Michael and your crew who installed a new water heater on the same day I called for $500-$700 less than competitor quotes. The price included removal of old unit and bringing existing set up to code. Prompt, efficient and courteous!!

I had noticed my water bill was going up and I realized it may be our toilet that was messed up. I called Durham Plumbing Services and Michael was quick to respond to my call. He was over the next day to fix the toilet and replaced the part within minutes!!!  I was very happy with the professional service and his ability to work around my busy schedule (he scheduled a time during my lunch break). I am definitely saving the company  number in case I have anymore plumbing issues.

Thank you Durham Plumbing!!

We had a great experience with Durham Plumbing services! Michael was communicative, helpful and took the time to fix our houses' plumbing issues and put the date and time in to give us honest recommendations on what he'd do if it was his house. We felt the quote and pricing was very fair for the amount of work involved! Definitely contact Michael and the team if you need work done.

A clogged kitchen sink and garbage disposal in one of my rental houses caused the dishwasher to overflow.  Durham Plumbing responded immediately to my call and a service appointment was scheduled for the next day.  The plumber arrived on-time, resolved the problem at the agreed-upon cost, and advised the tenants on how to avoid a repeat of this problem.  The price was fair (based on two other quotes) and a service call was available in an earlier time-frame.  I would definitely use them again.

Had an unsatisfying experience with Durham Plumbing Services recently. We had a number of small plumbing issues to take care of and I was using them as a rehearsal of sorts before finalizing a plumber to pull a permit to do our kitchen reno work.

We had them replace a leaking bathroom faucet. Just a typical leak caught and draining through the basin. We will be renovating our upstairs bathrooms within 3-10 years, so it didn't make sense to me to invest in an expensive faucet. I thought a decently reviewed Home Depot house brand would be sufficient.

By the end of the evening, we knew we wouldn't hire them for the additional work. We didn't feel like they were respectful of our choices and that there was a whole lot more talking than doing. But that sort of personality conflict would not have inspired me to leave a negative review.

However, the way they treated us when we found out that the faucet had been leaking for weeks into our sink cabinet, damaging both the walls and the vanity, has inspired me to share my experience. I called them initially because of positive reviews on sites like this one. So I feel like I should warn others.

Basically, the plumbers claimed 'It's not leaking,' when we called them back in. They said the damage must have already been there. When we provided video proof, 'Can't look at it this week, things are too crazy, catch you several days from now.' As we are catching drips in a bucket. (Their side: The manager says that since we didn't want to deal with the initial crew that the delay was unavoidable.) And then finally, when the manager came to look at the issue, he blamed the faucet. 'Not me, not us, not responsible.' Now, if the faucet was broken to begin with, shouldn't an experienced plumber have seen that during installation? How do we know that they didn't over-tighten it or handle it in some way that led to it breaking. How does the flow from a couple of weeks of tooth-brushing cause a faucet to spontaneously crack?

In my opinion, when you do business with pros, there are a lot of gray areas. At one end of that area, he's right, 'We didn't warranty your faucet, would not have recommended it, therefore we aren't responsible.' Even though we discovered the issues within a month of the installation, and the leak had obviously started well before that. Would he have dealt with it if we had discovered the leak two hours later? The next day?

But from my end of the gray area, we hired licensed pros for a job and achieved a result we could have gotten if we had saved ourselves the hundreds of dollars they charged for the installation and gone with a youtube video DIY approach. A busted vanity, water damaged walls, and a sink that has the water shut off to it. And now we have to find another plumber to take on the task. At least before, with the faucet leak, we were only losing money to our water bill.

Many times, a business will meet you somewhere in the middle. Maybe offer to install a new faucet for free if we paid for it. Or offer to refund some of or the whole initial installation fee. All the way up to covering all the damage. I'm southern, so I might hear, Well, how about this ... or This is what I'll do ... But that didn't happen. They're happier 'being right' than at least working with their customer to achieve a neutral outcome. Given the amount of money we're out and the damage we have to deal with, I think Durham Plumbing got the better end of the deal with this dissatisfied review. But hey, other people appear to be happy customers, so maybe we are just really, really unlucky.

(They say: It is unfair to blame us for a faulty faucet. That they did the work correctly.) I say I would have been satisfied with a system that didn't leak. Take from this review what you will.

By the way: the faucet gets 4 out of 5 stars on Home Depot's site and 83% of buyers recommend it. Some do have problems. Some also find ways to fix the problems. No such attempts were made by the reviewed plumbers.

Tl;dr Maybe they're good plumbers when things go well but if something goes wrong, have fun with the chest-thumping 'Gotta be right,' attitude. And the complete lack of resolution of the issues.

Pop quiz, hotshot.  It's 9:00pm, you're exhausted from a long day of whatever it is you do, and you're making your way to the couch for a little R&R.  Mid-stride, you step in something wet.  At first you're like, Really, dog?  You peed on the floor?  Thing is, the dog is sitting right next to you, lapping up the mystery liquid.  This isn't pee.  Looks like you've got yourself a leak.

You pore over the neighborhood listserv and Yelp looking for a good plumber.  Ultimately, you select Michael Clough and crew at Durham Plumbing Services.  While they don't whistle while they work, they do make delightful Snoop Dogg references and occasionally find themselves in a variety of slapstick comedic type scenarios.  Five hours later, your dining room is dry, the leak is fixed, and the guys from Durham Plumbing Services have swept your floor.  Did I mention that Michael's wife and sister-in-law are both Yelpers?

My garbage disposal crapped out so I called Michael Clough of Durham Plumbing Services at my sister's recommendation. He returned my call right away, quoted a very fair price, and came out two days later with a new Insinkerator. It took about 15 minutes to install. He and his assistant wore masks due to Covid and took all precautions. I was very pleased and will call him again soon for water heater replacement.

Our master bathroom shower drain had corroded and water leaked down to the Sheetrock in our kitchen causing it to discolor and the popcorn ceiling started to crumble. They came out right away and fixed the problem the same day, having to drive all around raleigh just to get the right parts which nobody seemed to have (we also needed our shower stems replaced). The ended up working late to finish it with no added cost. I thought the price was fair but they were very nice about it. I will definitely consider using them again if the need arises.

Mike responded quickly to fix a clogged drain on a Sunday, which he did and left 45 minutes later.  He charged $400, $100 of which was fee for after hours call which I am fine with.  But $300 for removing a toilet and snaking the drain.  I feel he took advantage of my client/tenant.

I feel like they took advantage, charging $130 for 20 minutes of work. Seriously, they were back in the van 20 minutes after showing up. No parts, just labor, during normal business hours. Not even an emergency.

If you think $130 is a great deal for 20 minutes of work, then this is the plumber for you.

I also wonder about the validity of some of these other reviews.

Mike is freaking fantastic! I had a handful of issues and guests visiting. He came out at 8pm on a holiday and fixed everything. He was super nice, honest, gave me an amazing price, and gave me instructions on how to fix some of the things for myself. I will def use him again!

My first experience with Durham Plumbing Services was for a whole house re-plumb in Chapel Hill. Michael, the owner, was professional and quick to give me an accurate quote over the phone. After shopping around for a better price, I came back to Michael because nobody else could beat it. These guys did great work replacing our old polybutylene pipes with PEX. Michael, David and Kenny were courteous, professional and try hard to please. The project was completed on time and I paid exactly what I was first quoted. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing plumbing services both big and small. I definitely will be coming back to them for my future plumbing needs.

Michael, David and Kenny, thank you for your hard work. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Feel free to use me as a reference!

My sump pump stopped working and my entire basement flooded. Michael Clough took time out of his weekend to help me drain the basement and fix the pump. He is respectful and does not overcharge. He is an honest person who truly wants to help. Highly recommend them for your plumbing needs!

Just had DPS come out and replace our gas hot water heater on Dec. 31.  They were completely responsive & personable; & they displayed a level of professionalism that you just don't see enough these days (e.g.calling exactly when they said they would; showing up exactly when they said they would; removing shoes every time they entered/reentered the house; vacuuming/cleaning as they worked; the company owner, Michael, actually being on site & involved in the work, etc.).  We wish we'd found them sooner, but now that we have, we will definitely call on them again.

Michael is great.  He is punctual, sociable, does good work, and is community-minded.

He came the same day I called and charged a very reasonable rate, and also guaranteed his work on clear terms.

Durham Plumbing Services is the best plumbing company I've come across so far.

I was very hesitant to call a plumber...so many horror stories out there. But we had tried every trick on the internet to fix our clogged drain, and nothing worked. After reading some reviews, I decided to bypass Roto-rooter and call Durham Plumbing Services. I am glad I did. They were friendly, punctual and reasonably priced. And most importantly, my sinks are now working again. Highly recommend!

They are the best! I am so thankful that I stubbled upon Michael Clough and his team 3 years ago under a stressful situation (busted pipe middle of winter while I was pregnant w our second child and had a 2 year old).

They came out, even though everyone else was booked and said it would be several days. Michael came out twice that day. Once to quickly check out the situation between other calls and promise to make it back before the day's end and he did. He came back late that night to make sure that our family would be able to have water. Even better he didn't charge us an arm and a leg (like most plumbers would have in the situation).

He is honest and hard working and so are the people that work for him. Everyone I have met has the same work ethic. Their company is not some big flashy business that's gonna try and screw you over like so many out there today. Instead they have an old school charm that doesn't disappoint. Hire them you won't be disappointed.

Fortunately my lack of hot water did not require a hot water heater replacement. The gentlemen who arrived from Durham Plumbing were pleasant and efficient. The thermostat and element were replaced which solved the problem. They were at my residence less than 30 minutes and my bill was $250.00 ( parts-$60.00 and labor-$190.00. I can not imagine what the labor charge for replacing a water heater would have been.                                                                                        *******UPDATE to my December review*********The owner called me in April to discuss my review of the December service. He agreed that I should have been given an estimate of repair for services prior to repair.  He provided options to compensate my opinion of overcharge. For him to reach out and respond to dissatisfaction displays integrity and a true desire to maintain a positive image for his company.

I found Michael on Yelp when I needed a repair at a rental house..  He answered the phone when I called in the morning, left me a message to let me know when he would be at the house, and then gave me a detailed description of what the problem was.  I asked him to see if there were other repairs needed when he was there and he evaluated the situation and gave me a clear picture without recommending other repairs.  Not only that, my tenant called me and told me how nice he was and that he did great work.  I don't think it gets better than that!

Very quick service. We have had a couple of immediate plumbing issues in the past couple of months and Durham Plumbing was able to schedule us in right away. They were very professional and friendly and got the work done quickly (not overcharging for time). Will definitely recommend them and use them again.

I've used them twice, most recently yesterday morning. They are responsive, quick, professional & friendly. Did a great job on both calls & had very reasonable charges. I don't plan to use anyone else!

Michael is terrific. I had a problem that didn't exactly fit with his services, and he walked me through exactly how to get it taken care, and how to organize it so that the utilities that caused the problem wound up paying for it.  He saved me thousands.  Honest, good man.  Use him if you can.

it's been 3 days and several voicemails left and nobody cared to call back.
Bad customer service despite all high ratings and beautiful reviews (by friends and family members?).
I am looking for a different plumber.

Michael and Zack arrived on time as discussed. They were very professional and knew what they were doing. Michael was also very patient in answering my questions even though I called him at least four times before the job with various questions. He also explained me the process and the warranty and was very clear about everything that will take plus. He also guaranteed that there will be no hidden charges or extra charges as some other plumbing companies tend to do when they come on site. I paid what we had discussed and not a penny extra. Once on site the work was done within hour and half. They did not try to sell or over sell anything and only performed the work that was needed.

The pricing was also reasonable and was lowest compared to the following plumbing services that I had called:

Unlimited Plumbing - quoted me $200 more for the same job.
Plumbv - quoted me $400 more for the same job.
Jordan Plumbing and Piping LLC - quoted me $200 more for the same job
Legacy Plumbing Company - quoted me $500 more for the same job

The following companies wanted to charge just to come and inspect the issue and hence I did not go with them.
Steamline Plumbing - $79
Buzzy Bee Plumbing - $35

It's been over a year since we had our clean out installed and we hadn't had any plumbing problems until last week.  I called and Michael answered, remembered me, and got us set up for a same-day appointment at 3:00.  

I was out to lunch and my phone rang at 2:15.  It was Scott, asking if he could come early as he'd just wrapped up another job around the corner.  I encouraged him to come and get to work pumping the clean out since I wasn't home.  He called me 30-minutes later, saying the job was done and - because he didn't want to disturb my lunch - to feel free and call him back to pay.  When I got home, no more gurgling toilet/sink - all was back to normal!

Another example of excellent customer service.  Thanks again, Scott and Michael!

This update comes a few weeks late but, I believe (and I think Michael would too), represents an accurate depiction of events and a reasonable conclusion.

After about a month of not hearing back from Durham Plumbing and posting my review, Michael contacted me. He apologized and provided an explanation as to why he didn't respond. No detail here, other than to say it was a medical issue.

While it remains my opinion that someone should have contacted me just to say there would be a delay in a response, Michael claims he is essentially a one man shop in terms of office duties and I will take him at his word.

He also made a very generous offer, that also doesn't need to stated here, to try to rectify the situation and make it right. While I didn't take him up on it, I very much appreciated the sentiment.

We agreed that if in the future I needed a plumber, I would give Durham Plumbing another try. If that time comes I'll provide another update.

They were great plumbers. They came on time and did the job quickly and efficiently. I am thinking about making them my permanent plumbing company.

Ken D.  Called Durham Plumbing yesterday afternoon and Michael sent two professional out this morning.  As promised Kevin called 30 minutes ahead of time within the window of time that was quoted to me.  Kevin and David diagnosed the problem, took the extra step to  ensure their diagnosis was correct and told me what preventative steps a I needed to take to ensure it did not happen again. I am very pleased and plan on using the Durham Plumbing Services Team for future plumbing needs.

Complete lack of service and caring for a new customer. I dont trust these 5 star reviews.

I found these guys very professional and pleasant to work with. They showed up on time promised and made quick work of something that would have taken me the better part of a day to do myself - even if I could have figured out how to do it myself. I thought they were very reasonable in their pricing - I think J M needs to think about how much time he would have invested himself, or even if could even do the work. My job only took them about 30 minutes but they had to drive 30 minutes to get here!

I will definitely call them again if I need the help.