Schwartz Plumbing Company

First of all, I chose Schwartz Plumbing for their reputation and the Navien water heater product line.  Of course, then comes the installation.  The installation team, James and Tommy, did a fantastic job.  First, they arrived on time with all the necessary parts and tools.  Second, they looked professional and were courteous in all their communications with me.  At the end of the day, they were done with the installation as expected.  Great!  I have hot water!  They educated me about my new water heater and answered any questions I had.  I also noted that they took all trash and debris with them.  I would recommend Schwartz Plumbing.  Their estimate was reasonable, they recommended a great product, and the installation team was top notch!  Also, the office staff that I talked with were knowledgeable and responsive.

Never returned my call left on the Emergency Phone Line.  Why advertise 24/7 emergency help and 2 hour response when no one calls you back?  My water heater blew around  midnight during the week, so we reached out to Schwartz Plumbing 24/7 Emergency Services, where a technician was supposed to be available to take our call. Nope, no technician. Left a message in hopes of getting a call back in the morning. Nope. No phone call back.  My suggestion would be to remove the advertisement of 24/7 Emergency Help and 2 hour Response from advertisement if you can not fulfill this promise.   Everyone wants a reliable, responsive plumber. If you have an emergency, save some time and skip to the next plumber on your list. My experience is that Schwartz was not reliable, responsible. I contacted another plumbing service who made it a priority to get a technician to me same day.

I called Schwartz when I didn't have hot water in my home and I was unable to lite the pilot of my water heater. They came quickly for an emergency call, which I appreciated.

I'm giving two stars because I feel like I was being taken advantage of. Within seconds of looking at my water heater, the tech who came said I needed a new water heater. With the unit being 9 years old, I understood and was ready to replace it. However, I was quoted around $4,000 to have the work done, which seemed extremely high.

I ended up going with another service that cost $1,700 in total including the new water heater and service.

My main issue with Schwartz is that the reason my water was cold was that the main gas line was not operating, not that the unit failed. The tech went out to where the main gas line is, and instead of telling me that I simply needed to turn my gas on (my own first-time homeowner mistake), he immediately gave me the large quote.

With what I know now, I'd expect the gas supply to be the first thing a tech checks when working with a water heater. So either he did know and wanted to charge me for a new unit anyway when I didn't need it, or he didn't know and didn't do his due diligence.

Prompt, courteous, professional  service. Careful with our stuff, cleaned up meticulously after replacing our gas water heater. Didn't invent issues to jack up the bill, unlike another contractor we'd spoken with earlier. That said, the cost still seems excessive. A 6-year warranty gas heater, plus the few new connectors and foam insulation they provided, go for under $400 at Lowes. Subtracting that and even a generous $150 toward trucks and tools means the $1350 charge leaves $800 for less than 3 person-hours of labor.  $275/hour, roughly.  I'd expect more than a 1-year labor warranty for such rates.

Schwartz Plumbing did a really good job for me. They did exactly what they planned and charged exactly what they estimated. I found their repairmen--Pedro, Tommy, and Ross--very friendly and helpful, explaining everything before they did it, repeatedly asking me if I had any questions, and answering lots of questions for me. They really couldn't have been more helpful. Locally owned and operated, Schwartz is large enough to offer 24x7 emergency service and small enough to give personalized service.

One of my 15 year old tank water heaters started leaking badly. Within a couple of hours after my call, the owner himself, Stuart Schwartz, was at my house, diagnosed the situation, and gave me two repair plans. Stuart was really friendly and low pressure as he explained that at least one and probably both of my tank water heaters needed to be replaced--what other repairmen had also told me. The estimates were for two new tanks or a tankless water heater; Schwartz's prices were competitive with other estimates.

I chose the tankless because it's way more energy efficient. That night, they bypassed my bad water heater and drained it before it started leaking any worse, buying me time. Two days later, they removed the tanks and installed a Navien tankless, along with a return line that makes the water run hot 10 seconds after turning on a faucet. It works great and I'm glad Schwartz did a good job.

Well,. Sweet Jesus..  I've finally found a company that I wish I owned.   My poor garbage disposal broke down and had to be replaced.  I called Roto Rooter and they came out and gave me an estimate of 640 dollars for a new one plus installation.  I told the guy thank you , but couldn't swing that right now.  
I then saw their nice white and red truck near Costco and caught the number , pulled over and called.  
The nice lady told me that they could replace my broken one with a new one , plus a gaurantee, for 325.00.  

I saved over 300.00 dollars by using Schwartz plumbing in Raleigh.  I can't believe it.   Plus the installer did the work in about 30 munites , and not three hours like Roto Rooter offered to.  
I'm a senior citizen and this discount of cost was extremely helpful, and now I've still have my 300 dollars to live a little better..  This company is for real, and I can't express my sincere thanks for them being so fair and helpful in my time of need.  

Best Regards,  

George McNeill.    Raleigh

This company is wonderful.  We have, unfortunately, have had to call them multiple times.  They are on time, do excellent work, and the office staff is friendly and helpful.  We have never had a problem with scheduling or pricing.

I believe $208 minimum for a diagnostic service call is exorbitant. Schwartz installed my Noritz tankless 12 years ago. It has performed perfectly until the Christmas single digit lows.  The water would only achieve 98 degrees. I scheduled an appointment for 2 days later. The tech was very nice but the problem had fixed itself when the outside temp warmed up.

Several years ago, I had a leaky shower.  Hired them to fix it.  The guy they sent out stripped the set screw in the shower head after I had previously told him to be extra careful w/it.  He ended up using the wrong size allen wrench (too small).  Then he told me in order to replace it, he was going to have to cut out the drywall and cutout the pipe.  And they would not patch the drywall afterwards.   So I would have a big gaping hole in my wall.  I told him to please leave.  He did so without attempting to charge me..thank goodness.

I spent a good part of the day buying parts (hacksaw, channel locks).  Sawed off the handle, pulled the cylinder out...replaced the cylinder (which was a real pain to locate)...then bought new hardware for the shower (handle and shower head).  Set me back a day and a good chunk of coin...all of which could have been avoided if he had just listened to me about that set screw.  I know set screws can be difficult to take out if they are frozen, but the experts should be able to handle it with the right spray and tools.

I called Schwartz Plumbing on a Sunday and spoke with someone named Pedro. He was very quick and rude with me. I had no other option but to have them come out to fix a busted water line running to my home. He told me there would be a $220 fee per hour and a $220 fee for coming out on a Sunday after hours. The whole time he was here he was very rude and dismissive and very agitated. I felt like he did not want to be there at all. So all in all it cost me $471 for a simple pipe repair it was 16 inches under the ground or less. I will never use their services again. I've had better service from them in the past even on Christmas Eve. This experience was extremely unpleasant. They are very good sometimes I guess it depends on who you are dealing with. I would suggest to anyone in the future that searching for a plumber to look elsewhere. This guy ripped me off and was rude and angry the whole time. I hope to have a better experience in the future but I'm not coming back to Schwartz Plumbing!

Our issue was a toilet that had been chronically clogging. After trying a liquid clog remover which failed, we called in Schwartz.  They showed up promptly.  They were courteous and offered a couple of possible solutions. We had them try using a auger first (the lowest cost approach).  The clog was cleared, but immediately clogged again when a test wad of paper was flushed.  They then pulled the toilet and discovered that the installers had done it wrong. They reinstalled the toilet, correcting the problem.  

The two guys who worked on this were friendly, professional, and a pleasure to work with.  They gave us options to select from, and the cost of each option.  They checked their work and made sure the problem was solved before leaving.

Problem solved!  Well done!

Just to update a comment about excessive charges for a water heater Burner assembly,,  The owner reached out, after postings, and has settled the complaint in a satisfactory manner acceptable to both parties, for a fair charge for parts and labor, for actual work performed.

This review should have been written a month ago, but like so many time slipped away. The reason for this review to to give credit to the one who provide me with service on 08/09/2022. I called Schwartz in desperation. At the time I had several other plumbers over to resolve my water flow problem in my kitchen sink. EVERY faucet in the house, hot and cold was like a power wash but the kitchen was a little stronger than a drip. When I called Schwartz I didn't say that I needed help because everyone else failed. I didn't want Schwartz to think it was an emergency, just a simple service call. The day of the appointment I tried not to show the tech how frustrated I was. Donald was the service tech that got the call. After explaining the problem and how others had failed he said MOST PLUMBERS will take off the nozzle / aerator and clean it and that's it ... and charge you for a service call. One plumber said this was typical for most people to have slow kitchen sinks, there's nothing you really can do. Donald however said I know exactly what's the problem. Most likely there was road work done in the area and that work DISTURBED the waterline causing debris to enter the stream and in doing so caused your line to get clogged resulting in a reduced water pressure. He actually said he was surprised it was only one line. He said he will use a trick an old timer showed him years ago and it never failed. He went under the sink ... shut one valve while leaving open the other and then turned on and off the active line causing the water to be forced through the line clearing the debris. The weak water flow was no more ... it was just like the rest of the house ... when others couldn't solve the problem DONALD did. If you have weak water flow in any faucet in your home call Schwartz and request only Donald ... he the man with the midas touch.

I've only had great customer service and expertise from this company in the past, and today delivered the EXCELLENCE we've come to expect!!

Jerry arrived on time, assessed the situation, and repaired a rather major leak around our kitchen sink.  During the same call, he handled another more minor problem with one of our toilets, but handled it with the same efficiency and courtesy regarding it's importance.  

Thank you for another job well done!!

I called this company twice about the main shutoff valve in my house not working, so I have no water. They NEVER called me back. They say 24 hour service, but they cannot even return a message or pick up the phone. I would definitely NOT recommend this people

Just spent $98 to have a technician come to my house and tell me that they don't work on jacuzzi tubs when they could have told me that over the phone!  Sorry business practice! Won't be calling them ever again!

Horrible company. There was a job I needed done that would take no more than 45 minutes and $50 of parts. The guy came to look and then said he would write up the charge. Then he come back inside from his truck and says it will cost $850!!!!! I ended up doing it myself for the $50 of parts and the 45 minutes. So they wanted $1200/hour. AVOID!!!

If you have a plumbing issue in the Raleigh area call these guys. Over the last couple of years I've had a blockage cleared, a tank-less water heater installed, and an irrigation back-flow valve installed.

So far I've worked with Matt and Jerry. They are outstanding.

Plumbing issues are never fun, but if you want the problem fixed quickly and correctly call these guys!

Wasted two valuable afternoons of our lives dealing with this company on what should have been a simple job.  However, when they came out to give the estimate, they apparently didn't bother to use a measuring tape.

My mom's water heater busted this week and she called Schwartz Plumbing out to replace it. She has been so pleased with the level of service she received from her service provider, Sam, which is awesome. She said he cleaned up every bit of mess and even swept the area before installing anything new. She isn't a yelper, so I am putting it out there for her.

I wish I could leave a 30 star review - that's how GREAT they are!

We have a rental property and our personal property. In the last year, we've had to replace both hot water heaters in both properties. A regular hot water heater in one and a tankless hot water heater in the other.

Needless to say, that is not fun for the wallet, but Schwartz Plumbing Co went out of their way to make the experience as seamless as possible (especially since the second one occurred right around the time of Hurricane Florence and a plumber was able to come out very quickly to give us a quote).

The owner is also a very nice person. He chose to work with us on the payment process due to a miscommunication and showed excellent business ethics.

We've worked with other plumbers in the area in the past and they don't even remotely compare to Schwartz Plumbing Co. If you're looking for a long term solution with an excellent reputation, personable staff and an honest owner, I HIGHLY recommend Schwartz.

Very bad experience.  Relied on them to suggest/provide a toilet that had the same footprint as our prior toilet.  Despite us taking off 2 afternoons and paying $80 so that they could confirm the toilet installation concerns, Schwartz could not find a toilet that would work.  When I did the homework, that they should have done and found my own toilet, Schwartz tried to charge us 3 times their normal installation charges to finally install that toilet.

I tried to talk to the owner, but he would not return my call.

Would not use this company again.

We have used them in the past and had good experiences with them.  Recently we were replacing 3 bathroom faucets so I scheduled an appointment with them and a plumber came out.  Upon opening the door the man stated I'm the plumber.  No name or salutation.  He came in my foyer and I asked him if he would mind putting on some covers over his work boots.  He simply turned and walked back out the door without saying a word.  He came back in and I showed him to the upstairs bathrooms where the work was to be done.  He never told me what the charges were going to be or how long it would take him.  He was finished in just under an hour.  He typed up a work order/bill on an iPad and asked me to sign it.  The total came to $530.89. He charged me $195 for the first faucet and $150 for each additional one.  If I had known this before hand I never would have had him do the installation.  In his defense, I could have asked.  But I didn't.  My husband called the company and was informed that the plumber should have told me upon his arrival what the charges would be, which he definitely did not.  We will NOT be using them again.

Very disappointed when I was told there was a $350 minimum on their service call. Cary Plumbing installed our Navien tankless water heater in 2010 when they were a distributor. Now Schwartz is the new certified Navien company and apparently disavowing interest in servicing the previously installed base. I wonder if Navien knows this yet.

Cary Plumbing is sending a technician out within the hour.

Excellent customer service from the front desk all the way up to the owner. Professional and polite technicians who seemed to care about doing quality work while maintaining a caring and friendly attitude. It was a real pleasure doing business with them. I highly recommend them to everyone!

Thanks to Schwartz Plumbing for their quick response time to a running shower/tub that would not turn off. I had to shut the water off to the entire house. The problem needed to be addressed quickly! I called several other places that offered same-day service, but no one could come out. I called Schwartz and someone was at my house within four hours and had the problem fixed in just 30 minutes.  I was also able to pay over the phone and was immediately emailed a receipt.

Have had them out to my house 4 times since October of 2014. The latest plumber came today and fixed a toilet that broke and caused $10,000 worth of damage to my townhouse and installed a new garbage disposal. The Plumbers are always professional and fix things correctly. The one small issue I had Don Schwartz immediately got on the phone with me and gave me a discount and fixed the problem promptly. I am sure I will be seeing them again.

Schwartz Plumbing followed up on a $3625 hot water heater installation, but did not notify me that they would charge an additional $78, and then got angry when I questioned the fee.

We went with Schwartz because they had the tankless hot water heater we wanted (the Navien NPE-240A) and they could setup the recirculating system we wanted. The price of installation through Schwartz was a little high, but we wanted a recirculating system, so we decided to go for it. ($3625, Invoice# 94068, 01/31/14).

Then a few months after installation, I found a leak coming from the attic (where the old hot water tank was). It was a water spot on the ceiling right below where Schwartz had done their work. We saw the leak in July (our original installation was 01/31/14), and I called Schwartz and I explained that I had a new installation a few months ago and wanted to see if they could check on this leak, since I didn't know much about what all they had done. The receptionist looked up my account, and said Sure, we can send a tech over to check on that for you! When would be a good time? We scheduled the tech to come out 07/18/14 at noon.

The tech was in a hurry that day, and called me to meet him early. I hurried over to the house, and met the tech a half hour early at 11:30am. Once there, the tech went into the attic and within 1 minute, he said that it was not the old hot water heater lines, but something with the HVAC and proceeded to leave. I asked if there was anything they could help with, or if they had any suggestions and he just said you need to call an AC guy. Ok... fine, no problem. I thanked him for checking on their setup (since I did spend $3625 with them), and as we were walking out he said ok, that'll be $78...

What???

I told the tech that I was never informed that they were charging to come out. Instead of listening to me, or trying to talk to somebody back at their office, the tech just started to get annoyed, and became bossy saying well, I've gotta get paid somehow. Since he wasn't going to call the main office about this, I called them. I told them (the same receptionist) that when this was scheduled, they just said oh sure, we'll send somebody to check on that for you, never mentioning it would cost $78 to follow up on my $3625 installation.

If they had mentioned that just checking on their own work would cost $78, I would have never scheduled work with them in the first place. I would have called somebody I was sure could actually fix the problem, or at least diagnose it... or do something... anything. But apparently, Schwartz will charge you $78 to say call somebody else.

The tech was getting pretty mad by now, so I went ahead and paid him... I paid $78 for somebody to come out and say call somebody else (side note, the guy was there for a total of 8 minutes)($78, Invoice# 26359, 07/18/14). I figured that I could work this out with a manager or the owner, and just let the tech leave (in a hurry).

I told the receptionist that I wanted to speak to someone and she said that the only person I could speak with was driving home from Virginia right now, but would call me when they got back. Ok, fine. I was starting to get pretty disappointed with Schwartz.

I waited 3 days and never heard from anybody at Schwartz. I decided to call back again and leave another message. After 5 days I finally spoke with someone. I'm not sure if it was a manager or owner, but they pretty much said... too bad, we're keeping your $78. I reminded them that I was never informed that I would be charged $78 to have someone just check. The manager then went back and reviewed my original installation and decided that it had been too long to consider this any kind of follow up call. The original installation was on 01/31/14, the leak check was on 07/18/14... That is less than 6 months.

I told the manager that I wanted to post this issue to review boards and the BBB, and he just said well, do whatever you want. I asked if they even cared that they were trying to sneak an extra $78 out of us after we spent $3625 with them... The manager just tried to get me off the phone.