Best Water Damage Restoration in Chula Vista CA
Plumbing Service
If I could give them 6 stars I would. Paul, the owner, is one of a kind in how he operates his business. He's timely, responsive, orderly and that's hard to find. He employs some of the best in the business (wood craftsman, electricians and painters) and I can't thank them enough for their hard work on our movie room kitchenette. Check out the before and after photos - I highly recommend!
Chula Vista, CA
Plumbing Service
On third day of no hot water due to venting issue attempted to get fixed on a Sunday. After calling multiple plumbers advertising service 24/7 but not having availability until Monday finally called Roto-Rooter. Other plumbing companies made us wait to get a call back from the technicians only to be told they could not help us today.
Roto-Rooter technician arrived in under an hour from phone call. That is FAST and efficient service on a weekend! So happy that we had hot water just a couple hours after our call. Chris was friendly, helpful, efficient, and professional.
Need plumbing help fast? Don't waste your time calling other plumbers! Just call Roto-Rooter first!
Roto-Rooter technician arrived in under an hour from phone call. That is FAST and efficient service on a weekend! So happy that we had hot water just a couple hours after our call. Chris was friendly, helpful, efficient, and professional.
Need plumbing help fast? Don't waste your time calling other plumbers! Just call Roto-Rooter first!
Chula Vista, CA
Plumbing Service
Our two-year-old Ruud water heater stopped producing water over a Saturday night, so we had no hot water on Sunday morning, 9/22/2019. I went to the garage to investigate, and heard a loud high-pitched alarm going off. We called Bill Howe Plumbing and asked if we could get an emergency visit. The person who answered the phone made note of my wife's name and the address. She said she would page an on-call plumber.
The plumber called us back in a few minutes. He was courteous and friendly. With his help over the phone, I discovered that the alarm was coming from a simple electronic flood sensor. When I picked the sensor up, the alarm stopped. (The sensor has a Bill Howe logo printed on its side.) There was a small amount of clear water pooled up in the catch pan at the base of the water heater.
The plumber said that the water heater was flooded out, and that even if we could get it restarted the warranty would be void, therefore he said it would have to be replaced. He asked me for the manufacturing date and serial number. I got a flashlight and retrieved that information from the rating plate. I also noticed that the water was all coming from a leaking Grundfos hot water recirculating pump above the water heater, and informed the plumber of my observation.
The plumber said he would call back with an estimate. But when he called several minutes later, he informed us that someone in the company office directed him not to come to our house or provide any service to us. He apologized but said he could not explain why he was forbidden to do the work.
My wife told me the water heater and pump were installed by Bill Howe Plumbing shortly before we started dating in September 2017. (We got married in November 2018.) She said that Bill Howe Plumbing told her at that time that the recirculating pump retrofit system was legally required.
I found another licensed plumber close to our home, who was open on Sunday. Because the control box on the water heater did not appear to have gotten wet, I asked him if it might be possible to save the water heater by fixing the dripping water issue and drying out the small amount of water that was puddled in the catch pan. He said that it might work, and agreed to come to our home and just remove the leaky pump.
I put a cup under the pump to catch the drips, and dried up the water in the catch pan. By the time our plumber arrived , the water heater was running normally. The plumber charged us less than 1/10 what having Bill Howe Plumbing swap out the water heater (and presumably the pump as well) would have cost. He said that he did not believe a recirculating pump was either needed or appropriate for our house.
From my perspective as a newcomer husband, here is what it appears to me that Bill Howe Plumbing did:
1. Convinced a widow who was living alone to buy a retrofit recirculating pump system that she may not have needed - They told her that it was required without having taken any measurements to verify that her plumbing exceeded the 50-foot threshold specified in the code.
2. Configured the pump to turn on and off at 15-minute intervals for most of the day, which is inconsistent with typical pump operations: Normally in a single-family home they are configured to run only when hot water usage is expected. I'm attaching a photo of the failed pump showing how the timer was configured. The plumber who fixed our problem said that configuration would use an excessive amount of electrical power without saving much water.
3. Refused to back up their own work. The leaking pump, which Bill Howe Plumbing installed, caused the water heater that they installed, to shut down.
I found it troubling that Bill Howe Plumbing decided to refuse to serve us only AFTER they became aware that our problem was caused by a failed pump that they had installed. I have a suspicion that they were trying to avoid liability for a failed water heater that might not have been covered by warranty. A plumber on site could have easily determined that the water heater was actually OK and did not need to be replaced.
We gave Bill Howe Plumbing a fair chance to look at our problem and correct any damage that they might have caused. Fortunately there was no damage, just a failed pump that was beyond its 2-year warranty. But this experience has taught me that Bill Howe Plumbing is not a business that I can trust. Rather than a one-star rating, I'm giving the business two stars because of the friendly and helpful attitude of the people we spoke with, and the fact that the water heater they installed in 2017 was installed properly. I think the problem we experienced has to do with the company's management rather than workers.
The plumber called us back in a few minutes. He was courteous and friendly. With his help over the phone, I discovered that the alarm was coming from a simple electronic flood sensor. When I picked the sensor up, the alarm stopped. (The sensor has a Bill Howe logo printed on its side.) There was a small amount of clear water pooled up in the catch pan at the base of the water heater.
The plumber said that the water heater was flooded out, and that even if we could get it restarted the warranty would be void, therefore he said it would have to be replaced. He asked me for the manufacturing date and serial number. I got a flashlight and retrieved that information from the rating plate. I also noticed that the water was all coming from a leaking Grundfos hot water recirculating pump above the water heater, and informed the plumber of my observation.
The plumber said he would call back with an estimate. But when he called several minutes later, he informed us that someone in the company office directed him not to come to our house or provide any service to us. He apologized but said he could not explain why he was forbidden to do the work.
My wife told me the water heater and pump were installed by Bill Howe Plumbing shortly before we started dating in September 2017. (We got married in November 2018.) She said that Bill Howe Plumbing told her at that time that the recirculating pump retrofit system was legally required.
I found another licensed plumber close to our home, who was open on Sunday. Because the control box on the water heater did not appear to have gotten wet, I asked him if it might be possible to save the water heater by fixing the dripping water issue and drying out the small amount of water that was puddled in the catch pan. He said that it might work, and agreed to come to our home and just remove the leaky pump.
I put a cup under the pump to catch the drips, and dried up the water in the catch pan. By the time our plumber arrived , the water heater was running normally. The plumber charged us less than 1/10 what having Bill Howe Plumbing swap out the water heater (and presumably the pump as well) would have cost. He said that he did not believe a recirculating pump was either needed or appropriate for our house.
From my perspective as a newcomer husband, here is what it appears to me that Bill Howe Plumbing did:
1. Convinced a widow who was living alone to buy a retrofit recirculating pump system that she may not have needed - They told her that it was required without having taken any measurements to verify that her plumbing exceeded the 50-foot threshold specified in the code.
2. Configured the pump to turn on and off at 15-minute intervals for most of the day, which is inconsistent with typical pump operations: Normally in a single-family home they are configured to run only when hot water usage is expected. I'm attaching a photo of the failed pump showing how the timer was configured. The plumber who fixed our problem said that configuration would use an excessive amount of electrical power without saving much water.
3. Refused to back up their own work. The leaking pump, which Bill Howe Plumbing installed, caused the water heater that they installed, to shut down.
I found it troubling that Bill Howe Plumbing decided to refuse to serve us only AFTER they became aware that our problem was caused by a failed pump that they had installed. I have a suspicion that they were trying to avoid liability for a failed water heater that might not have been covered by warranty. A plumber on site could have easily determined that the water heater was actually OK and did not need to be replaced.
We gave Bill Howe Plumbing a fair chance to look at our problem and correct any damage that they might have caused. Fortunately there was no damage, just a failed pump that was beyond its 2-year warranty. But this experience has taught me that Bill Howe Plumbing is not a business that I can trust. Rather than a one-star rating, I'm giving the business two stars because of the friendly and helpful attitude of the people we spoke with, and the fact that the water heater they installed in 2017 was installed properly. I think the problem we experienced has to do with the company's management rather than workers.
9210 Sky Park Ct, San Diego, CA 92123