DeTemple Co

Have an old oil furnace that began overheating. Had a HVAC tech out from another company who wasn't sure what was going on with it, referred me to a tech with Detemple that he felt had the best experience with oil furnaces. Called on a Tuesday and was told that tech was out that week and scheduled appt for the following Monday. After a very cold week using space heaters to stay alive, 2 hours before my Monday appt dispatch from Detemple calls and cancels my appt, says tech is out this week. When I mentioned they were out last week too, dispatch seemed surprised. This tech may be the best for oil furnaces, but we will unfortunately never know and lost a week of time during a cold front with no heat.

Had a burst pipe after our winter storm which leaked into my basement.  Todd from DeTemple came out that day with in a few hours replaced the pipe and a new shut off valve. Price was reasonable, he was good at explaining everything he did what caused the issue and showed me the parts he replaced and the shut off valve. He had to crawl under my extremely muddy and wet deck and remained cheerful.  He also followed Covid protocol and masked up. I was extremely satisfied with the plumber ,the service and the company.  Would definitely recommend.

We had bathroom plumbing needs during the COVID Stay Home. DeTemple sent Joseph out and he did an exemplary job plumbing wise and COVID saftey measure wise. He was very respectful and careful to protect our flooring, maintained appropriate social distance, and wore a mask the entire time. He was very efficient, focused, and a good communicator. He did not try to up sell us and was very cognizant about not wasting time. Our thanks for a professional job and safe job!

We purchased our home four years ago and the building inspector recommended work on a sewer ejector pump located under our home.  Detemple completed the work and we were very surprised to discover they charged the previous owner 5000 dollars.  Shortly after we moved in, we called Detemple to inquire about a loud banging noise.  Within seconds, the technician told us that the noise was normal operating behavior.  Needless to say, we were surprised to receive a 25.00 bill in the mail the following week for the answer. Recently,  we have had an issue with the piping under the home.  My husband could not believe how the pipes were connected to the sewer pump.  The pipes had been cut too short and pipes had to be attached at an angle.  As a consequence, the pipes were forced together with a rubber stop gap.  This patch had failed and leaked.  We learned very early that this was not a company we would do business with as we were stunned by the cost both to the previous homeowner and the the 25.00 fee we were charged to ask a question that took 10 seconds to answer.  Now, having observed the work that was done, we feel strongly about letting others know.

Our water main from street meter to first valve in house needed full replacement.  Wayne E. was the project manager.  His timely communication and work updates were greatly appreciated.  Our work warranted boring under our on slope home.  Because of slope and barriers the first bore to the house was unsuccessful.  The easy thing for DeTemple to do was go around the perimeter of our house and drill through foundation.  More time and cost to me. Instead, DeTemple problem solved by boring a second hole in a different location chancing another fallback.  Luckily for me, it worked.   The price was as discussed, communication and service of the team were terrific.

Hmm--perhaps last year some people had some problems but today I had Glenn come by to fix a laundry faucet and he was early (though called and it was perfectly convenient) and wow--he was fast, funny, friendly and did an excellent job below what I expected to pay. These are journeymen, all union and I would highly recommend!

Blew off the appointment and didn't call until the end to say they were blowing it off. F- Do not use. I work for a residential contractor and will take them off our list for bigger jobs. Plus called to clarify when they'd be back. No response to message.

We hired DeTemple to do some simple plumbing work.  They sent out a sick employee who worked very slowly only getting about half way through the job.  He ended going home sick mid-day and not returning to finish the work.  The next day, a new employee came out and completed the work in 2 1/2 hours.  When we received the bill - it was much more than we expected, especially for the hours of work completed by the sick employee, who was not functioning.  We called and spoke to De Temple and the employee agreed that there should be an adjustment due to the sick employee's slow work rate.  That day, we mailed in a check for the agreed upon amount in full.

Days later, we got a call asking why we shorted our payment and we explained our situation.  Again, the employee agreed that there should be some adjustment and he gave us a new adjusted price - not as much as the original employee gave us, but it was something.

Returning from vacation, we received a note saying we are being sent to collections for the original bill with no adjustments.  Now, the company says the employees that offered the adjusted amounts were not authorized to adjust our bill and we owe the full amount.

By the way the business has moved from the address listed on Yelp.

I've used various plumbing companies, both large and small,  for about 30 years and DeTemple is at the top of my list. Being a union shop they are not the cheapest but they are knowledgeable and do things right the first time. They always have everything required for your job in their trucks (no unneeded and expensive trips to get parts) and take great care in not making a mess when they work in a residence.   A few years ago they bid a large sewer line job for me--their bill ended up being SEVERAL hundred dollars under the estimate.  Result, a happy repeat customer.

Had a heating emergency and was referred to Detemple since my usual heating company no longer works on boiler systems.

The person taking the call was quick to go over fees, including drive time, and stated that they needed my credit card number before service could be scheduled.

10 days later and no call back.  I'm glad it hasn't been too cold out!  It's a busy time for heating companies but transparent communication is appreciated by consumers.  I would have rather heard that they were unavailable or unavailable for x number of days or weeks like I heard from many other companies.

Our rental had a pipe burst on a Saturday night while I was out of town. After calling about 10 plumbers who claimed to have 24 hour service, DeTemple came through. The plumber was a great communicator and he drove all the way from Estacada to inner SE Portland at 11pm on a Saturday night and fixed the issue perfectly. Forever grateful for DeTemple!

My insurance company referred me to DeTemple Plumbing when a bathroom flooded 3 days after my husband passed away.  They incorrectly installed a new shower/tub unit and 3 months later it caused a huge flood in my kitchen.  I had to pay for a new floor and my insurance company charged me $1,000 for my deductible, which they decided not to charge DeTemple Plumbing.  I would never have gotten a new kitchen floor until I could more easily afford it, but thanks to DeTemple Plumbing I had to pay for it 100%.  On top of my husband dying unexpectedly, I had to deal with 2 floods in 3 months-one of which was DeTemple's fault.

Do yourself a favor and read the other 1 star reviews. I don't write 1 star reviews often. And I've taken a week to really consider whether I should but I wished I would have taken the other reviews to heart and hired someone else.

I recently moved into a new place in Portland and had 2 simple tasks for a plumber. Connect a cold water line to my water filter and assemble 2 bidets to the toilets. My plumber in Seattle did these things in less than an hour and charged me $50. It was a completely different story with Detemple. Tom V took 4 hours and charged me $744!

The water filter didn't take too long but Tom said the bidets didn't fit my toilets too well. One he got to work and the other he decided to go back to the shop and find a new toilet seat and it really doesn't fit like it should but he decided he'd force it and spend 3 hours on this job.

Unfortunately, my building only allows residents to use 2 plumbing companies. The other had worse reviews so I've let them know my experience and have requested that residents be allowed to find another company with much better reviews.

My radiators needed some repairs. Scheduling was easy and they arrived right on time. One of my radiators fits funny into the wall and they kept at it until they had it reassembled just right. They were focused and thorough. I definitely trust them to come back next time my radiators need help!

These guys charged for over an hour drive time from Beaverton to do a 15 min job. I am in the NE and they are also located in the NE!
Drive time?!? I don't get paid to drive to my job. And, paying for driving time was not stated on the phone when I talked to them.
They also charged me for parts they never used. Rip off!!

Hot water pipe to upstairs shower cracked in an extremely hard to access spot.  I have fixed breaks like this before but this one was over my head.  I thought I was going to have to tear out the tiled bathroom counter to get access to it.  Tom from DeTemple looked at it and proposed a way to replace the pipe without tearing out the counter.  He explained the plan but needed to get a part at the hardware store.  I was able to start the project while he was gone (he was back very quickly).  It wasn't much but getting some of the work done myself I know it saved me a little money (they bill by the 1/4 hour!!) and that is important to me.  

He completed the repair efficiently and without taking any breaks so I felt good about the time I was charged.  He showed me how to deal with this kind of repair in the future which was really helpful.  After he left he called me back to say that he had noticed the bolts holding the toilet tank were rusting out and would probably fail in the not so distant future.  I looked at them and sure enough...they were really bad.  He explained a few things to look for in doing this one myself also. Total 10!

The dispatcher (McCarthy) who handled making the appointment was polite, friendly, easy to work with and very clear about how they bill.  They charge from when the plumber starts to your house unless you are the first appointment of the day in which case the time starts when the plumber shows up.  Tom was on time, easy going but very professional and comfortable to have in my home.

DeTemple came recommended from a friend who had a lot of rentals and she was totally right.  It was a good experience and if I'm ever in a jam again I will call DeTemple.

Was charged over $150 more than the average rate for a sewer scope, including travel time to and from my home and $25 for a flash drive. Technician was slow and rude, handed the bill out of the window and drove off before even being able to ask questions. Called to complain and no one would speak to me. Left a voicemail and never heard back from anyone. Would give 0 stars if possible.

Called because our boiler stopped working. A guy came out two hrs early, he had no clue why he was there and said he needed to wait for the other tech to come out... an hour later another guy shows up. Both started working on the boiler and said it had some sediment that got kicked up from when our oil was filled. Cool, it started working. Came in Monday, 3 days after the repair and the boiler is not working. Called DeTemple out again, tech said Yeah this part needs replaced. I noticed it last time. Ok... why didn't the tech say anything last time?? This is redicilous, seems like they half-ass fix things so that it's guaranteed you'll need them to come back out. Also, why was I charged for a shadow/Trainee? He didn't do anything but observe.
Well anyway, we chose to not call DeTemple and went with Jacob's instead.

the worst interaction with a company I have had. We called them several times for the same issue that they never fixed but kept sending bills although we expend the winter in a cold house. When we complaint that the technician that came told us that he didn't know what cause the problem they sent an older technician that assured us that he was much experienced, after two hours he said that the flame sensor needed to be replaced, that he was going to order a new one and come back. That was last March and we are still waiting for it but they sent us a huge bill threatening with sending us to collection services. I have made several phone calls trying to make them understand that they are charging us for something that they didn't do. We decided to pay and see if they bring the new flame sensor, we went to their office and talk with someone that made a research and found that it was a mistake, the older technician has the flame sensor in his truck and was going to install it as soon as the next day around  4 pm. A week has passed and we are still waiting for the flame sensor to come. Ergo: 10 months, more than thousand dollars expended, our heating system is still not working. These people are thieves and incompetent!!!

Todd came out and installed new shut off valves for our house and a new outdoor faucet. Not only was he quick but also the cost was very reasonable. This the 2nd visit. The 1st time he came out when we had the snow storm last winter within 2 hours of my call and fixed a pipe that froze under my deck that caused water to go into my basement. I felt bad he had to crawl in the mud in the freezing temps but it didn't bother him.

I called DeTemple to do some small plumbing repairs. They showed up 3 days late. Then the plumber could not do the repairs; the job I had was to install a new shower head which I had in my possession all ready to go. He could do that one. I wanted the bathroom drain cleared. He didn't have a snake, and asked me for a coat hanger. He used the coat hanger to do the repair.....and now I am worried that he damaged the drain pipes using it. He also could not dislodge the drain plug on this Kohler porcelain sink. The last item was a dripping faucet on the water filter. He didn't know how to do that. I called the company that sells the filters, and they directed me to a YouTube video which the company provides and says is 99% successful.  He did watch the video and then declared that he didn't have any screw drivers..... borrowed mine.....and then said I would have to replace the faucet. And left.  I requested a copy of the invoice and work order. He could not provide them. I got a call from DeTemple that afternoon telling me they were charging my card on file. When I asked how much, she had to look it up. She then said she could only provide a receipt for the CC amount but no work order for 2 to 3 weeks because they are too busty. The bill was a whopping $330 for 40 minutes of time with no proper tools.  I complained. she told me they are a union shop and the other charges were for gas and other undefinable stuff. I emailed the company and go no response.  NEVER use this company!!

The owner of this company, Carl Rice, has zero integrity. I requested an estimator to come give me a bid for a new furnace. They sent out a technician. I explained I didn't want to pay for a service call on my existing unit as I didn't want to waste a bunch of money on multiple service calls, hence my request for the estimator. The technician guaranteed that he could fix the problem. That fix lasted 4 hours. We had to get 2 more service calls from DeTemple which still didn't fix their first technician's work. I called 4-5 times to speak with the owner about getting a new furnace and crediting some of the wasted work towards the new unit. I was promised a call back from the owner multiple times, which I never received. I was completely unsatisfied by the service and explained that I pay for results, not billable hours. The only time I ever heard from the owner was months later when he wanted his $200 for the service call. I responded to him via email and in writing explaining my frustration with his product and service, and he responded not by trying to work with me on a solution (again, he didn't even bother to call me), but by sending the bill straight to collection. As a small business owner in Portland, I am blown away that this guy is still in business. There are much better companies out their. I ended up using AAA HVAC which did a great job. Carl Rice obviously missed class the day they taught customer service.

DeTemple is our go to for anything plumbing related.  They are very fast and have great rates.  Easy to work with and they were in and out in no time.  Living in an old house in Portland, plumbing can sometimes be an issue but it was nothing for DeTemple.

We called Detemple because we thought our hot water tank was leaking that they had installed it 2 years ago- but when Todd came he said it was our furnace- big surprise since it was working great! So the next day they sent Randy to fix the furnace leak but after an hour and a half Randy said he couldn't fix it and he would have someone else come. So as of Friday morning we had no heat and even after several calls to Detemple no one gets back to us!! NO HEAT ALL WEEKEND!! Wouldn't be so frustrating if they didn't take your credit card number before they make a service call!!AND WE'VE ALREADY BEEN CHARGED FOR THEIR NO SERVICE SERVICE!

DO NOT USE THESE GUYS. Their work is shoddy. They take their time. The sort of seem to know what they are doing and yet I have to call them back again and again to fix things. There is never a mention that the previous work was faulty. My last guy charged me 4.5 hour to change a $32 transformer (why did the transformer fail on the unit they just installed less than a year ago? No idea). Then they said that the thermostat that they installed last year (on a separate occasion from the furnace install) was bad and what do you know they only had a $200 unit available. And the 4.5 hours they charged me? They were only there for 3.5 hours. DON'T BE A SUCKER. STAY AWAY FROM THEM

Don't go with this company!  They are thieves! They keep charging us for a work that is not done because the heating is still not working! We spent a lot of money with them during two winters and they still did not found the problem with the heating. We are going with other company now.

Called and left a message for De Temple on Tuesday night regarding our laundry sink downstairs had mud coming up through it and we thought a pipe was broken under our house. They promptly called us back Wednesday morning at 7 am and set up an appointment for noon to be at our house. Glen arrived on time and fixed the problem at a reasonable price. It was lint from shop towels we wash that had plugged up our lines and he told us a simple trick with nylon to avoid this problem. I have used their service in the past and am always pleased with their service. I would recommend them to anyone.

Total rip-off and un ethical company. We had a problem in May of 2021 when our toilets backed up into our bathtubs. Called Rotor Rooters the same day and they came out but couldn't fix the problem and didn't charge me. We called De Temple and they came out but they also were unsuccessful but the technician had to leave for another appointment and told me he would be back and said to call the city as the problem might be city related . City came out and put a camera down and showed me that is wasn't City related but suggested to use some Root X. We never heard from De Temple again until almost 7 month later when they emailed a invoice for almost $1200. I called to get an explanation but didn't hear back again until September 2022 when another email arrived with an invoice for almost $ 900. Again I called for an explanation why they would charge me for something they didn't fix and almost $900 for a technician who was here for 2 hours, the woman on the phone was extremely rude and basically told me if I don't pay she will just let a collection agency take care of it.
I've never experienced such a level of unprofessionalism and rip-off.

I had a water heater that quit working and was told by three friends to call DeTemple Co. Andrew came out the next day to check it out and came back the next morning to fix it. I couldn't be happier with the results!

I could not be more happy with the service I received from DeTemple. I had called 10 different companies to get my leaking water heater replaced (one that came out & simply could not figure out how to get my closet door off its rail  or remove a pvc pipe blocking access - bye bye) and spoken with a number of reps who refused to tell me the make & model of the unit they would install. I was frustrated. Then the heater completely failed, cold showers for everyone & a home appraisal scheduled for the following morning. On a referral from a friend, I called DeTemple & explained my situation to Phil. He hustled to find a (real, actual, qualified) plumber & got me on the books for that day. Todd came out & was fabulous. Smart, informative, capable, undaunted. He worked until after 7 pm to install a new heater (my choice of brand & model, he advised thoughtfully) & then clear all the lines & then he found a pressure issue in my kitchen, got under the sink & fixed that. The total bill was less than the estimate from the water heater install company (not journeymen plumbers) that could not do the whole job even with all that rush & extra work. Ten stars. I will recommend DeTemple to all of my friends & colleagues. Thank you Phil and Todd.

We needed to have our restaurant grease trap replaced. Called around town, most wouldn't even give a quote without a fee. The few that would quote (at exorbitant prices) could not do it in a timely basis as required by the city.
DeTemple was easy to work with at a reasonable price.  Suzanne and Ben have been most helpful.

After the installation we had problems with slow drainage, they came out the next day and cleared the pipes.

We highly recommend them.

Todd the plumber from DeTemple was truly first-rate and exceeded my expectations.  He was professional-- on-time, knowledgeable, and courteous.
He provided some helpful tips re how best to replace/repair the whole-house shutoff valve and how to fix the old faucets in the sink and bathtub.  I was really pleased with the results and was happy to pay the bill.

Had them out ages ago to help move a gas water heater. My plumbers name was Todd. Super nice guy. Talked in simple terms when explaining things. I appreciated that. He did exactly wheat he said he would do. I would recommend Todd with DeTemple Plumbing. So terrific that I'll request he visit if I need help again.