Cates Plumbing

I called Cates Plumbing this past Wednesday because our water heater went out.  With three small boys in the house, it's imperative that we have working hot water for baths, washing hands, laundry, etc.    In addition, weather was forecasted to be five days of snow so we really needed this done in a hurry.  I called quite a list from Yelp to get someone out here ASAP.  Chris Cates called me back within probably 20 minutes and assured me he could come out that day, even though he did have two other calls already scheduled that morning.  I didn't care what time he was here, so long as we could hopefully get a resolution that day.

Chris arrived later that afternoon, and I'm sure he was beat from working on some tough plumbing issues.  Fortunately, our repair was EXTREMELY minor and he was able to resolve it within minutes.  He charged us a very minimal amount and showed me how to check for the same issue next time.  I also had him look at another issue we have that isn't immediate, but something we need to have fixed at a later time.  He explained what he thought the problem was and was very informative.   He is a very friendly, knowledgeable plumber, and we will definitely be using him for all of our future plumbing needs!

I used Chris for a few jobs before but stopped using him once I texted him for a week straight about picking up a dishwasher he said he would dump for me after he replaced It with a new one and he did not respond ever. I tried again a year later to see if he can replace a toilet. My appt was supposed to be around 1. It became 5 o'clock (throughout the day he communicated he was waiting on an inspector but communication was only if I sent a bunch of texts every hour which seems to be a running thing). If I have a standing appt, I shouldn't have to wait 4 hours because of another job. That's not professional at all. I cancelled the job and will not be using him again. He's a nice guy and I'm sure he's buddy but not professional with timing and communication.

The first time I called, he was actually pretty good at responding. He came out assess the situation gave me options. He had me order the parts through the company as it was less expensive than him trying to find it.  Getting him back to install it was a little challenging but he fixed the issue that I had with a very old tub and very old leaky handles.

I told him I had another house I wanted him to work on, my own. It took a while to schedule, he's not good at calling back. The laundry sink was very slow. Occasionally it would backflow on my garage floor. He told me it was because the pipes were facing wrong where connected to kitchen sink and there was backflow when you ran the dishwasher and the laundry machine at the same time because the drainage pipe was faced in the wrong direction.

He cut a hole in the ceiling of my downstairs bathroom to fix the problem under the kitchen sink. Only that wasn't the problem. That was not why I was getting overflow. It turns out the laundry sink wasn't even connected.

Before all of this, he used a snake down the air pipe for the plumbing in the garage. It got stuck somewhere. He told me he would come back with someone with a scope to find out where it was stuck and what the problem actually was.  That was a month ago. I have called and left messages. I'm getting ready to sell my house and I need this fixed.

I'm now going with a different company who could do the scope and the fix. They are a little more expensive, but they called me back. I'm also having to hire a handyman to finish off the bathroom. I figure if I have to pay for someone else to get his snake out it's mine right?  He abandoned the job.

He was always acting like he was doing me a favor fitting me into his schedule. But why take the job if you're not gonna finish it?  Just tell me you're too busy and I'll go somewhere else.

Chris installed a new residential water heater in a timely manner. It's nice to have hot water again. Prompt and quality service. He was upfront about installation pricing. Would definitely use Cates Plumbing again on future projects.

This guy was fast and did the job. He was up front in pricing and got the parts and made repairs quickly. No issues with services. would hire again.

I contacted Cates Plumbing to do an install for my new sink, faucet & garbage disposal. Chris was great to work with from the estimate on, and very knowledgeable. The work was done quickly & professionally. I would definitely use him again!

I cant say enough about Cate's Plumbing. They were not only amazing at what they do, but a company i could really trust in a time when I was dealing with a lot of issues for the first time.

I found my plumber for life.

Chris was extremely professional and personable. He had a very affordable quote and was able to fix everything quickly. He even offered to come in on the weekend!

We highly recommend him for any of your plumbing needs.

I received a response shortly after I left a message. I described the issue, and he gave me an estimate on when he could be there and the amount of time it would take. It was not an emergency, so when he said he could be there the next day, I was still pleased. Later in the day, he contacted me and asked if he could drop by and take a look at my situation. I said sure and he was there when he said he would be. He wasn't going to be able to work on it, but, he thought that if he looked at the situation, he could show up prepared. I really appreciate his attention to detail and commitment to providing good service. He showed up the next day with all the parts and tools he needed. His work was clean and efficient. I would definitely ask him to work on other repairs.

Mr. Cates is a small business and I do try and support the little guys...especially when they live in the neighborhood, as his family does. He showed up in a short amount of time, after I explained our water main has a second leak in less than a year. He was very helpful with getting the city out to mark all our lines for gas, power, cable and water as the builders placed them all within a foot of one another at most, so replacing the water main is made more complicated by this setup. He was patient with my questions, kept a safe distance and wore a mask...all of which I appreciate as I have chronic health issues. He was very competitive on the bid, availible in a short amount of time and very professional. I would definately recommend him, without a doubt, and will keep his contact information for future reference.

Chris was very quick to respond to my request. I was able to schedule an appointment quickly, he arrived on time and did the job very well at the price he quoted. Great experience.

Confirmed appointment. Didn't show up. Tried to call and text multiple times but never got a response back.

Chris was very quick to respond to my request and questions. He is very knowledgeable and was able to get the job done in a short amount of time. Will use him again in the future.

Very disappointed in this company he promised me a delivery with a start time 4 weeks ago to complete my home so my family and I could move in. Chris left me high and dry with absolutely no communication and now I have a rent and a mortgage payment. Thanks for wasting my time.

We agreed that he would come over at 10AM to look at my kitchen faucet that was leaking and 2 toilets that seemed to have some pretty simple fixes that any plumber could fix. I had told the owner that my brother was coming over from his house to be with my mom and talk to him and help me since I would be at work, my brother was kind enough to do that for me. I received a message that he was leaving and heading my way at 10:15am and was at my house at 10:40am. He was late. According to my ring doorbell, he was in and out in 20 mins. The kitchen sink was broken and he couldn't have done anything about it but there was some leaking he could have fixed should he have taken some time to look at it. My non-plumber mom ended up finding the area that need to be tightened and fixed the other leak herself  instead. Also only 1 one the 2 toilets was fixed, the second was actually left in a worse position then it was originally. So I will have to fix it myself. After messaging about the service and the toilet that was not fixed, he recommended we change out the handle but why wasn't it just done to begin with? So upsetting and such a bad experience hiring my first plumber. I didn't mind paying the $150 hour plus parts as long as it was done correctly. I received 20 mins of mediocre service. He also tried to say he had my 19 year old brother who doesn't even live at my house look at the toilet that wasn't fixed. He offered to come back, probably at his hourly rate... I will not have him come back out at all and do not recommend.