Christopher H.
Mar 3, 2020
The short version...hire this company now for any plumbing issue that you are having. Also, refer them to anyone else who is having a plumbing issue.
Longer version...most people who found a magic lamp with a genie that would grant three wishes (and no wishing for more wishes) would probably wish to have one of their relatives be a super competent, honest, and reasonable plumber in the family. Scott is that plumber.
Ladies and gentlemen...my 15 year old tankless hot water heater finally died. I didn't even notice when it did...for years we'd had to hit the reset button 1-2 times per week to restart the hot water. This past Saturday, we hit the reset button and nothing happened. Looked at the unit and saw a little bit of water dripping from the corner of the enclosure. I remember thinking, That can't be good.
Fearing the worst, I Googled a few natural gas tankless options (Rheem, Rinnai, Navien) and articles about expected costs. I found a local plumbing service who came out, didn't inspect or try to turn on the unit, and said it was bad and needed to be replaced. It'd be about $5,000 for a new Navien unit (maybe more) which is all they install. It took them 20 minutes to tell me that and charge me $140 for the trip. They promised to have a firm quote to me the next morning.
Not feeling like this was going to be a company that I'd enjoy working with, I began searching again. Went to Yelp, sorted by average customer review, and up popped NTX Plumbing (also a Navien specialist). 5 stars and 24 reviews...and the reviews were very flattering and positive. Almost too good to be true. As it was past business hours, I had to wait until 8:30 the next morning to call. With any luck, I could get someone to come out and give me a comparison quote. With tremendous luck, maybe someone who'd actually take the cover off the existing tankless water heater and see if they could find the problem.
At first I was nervous...I'd read the Yelp and Google reviews on NTX Plumbing (and Scott) and didn't think it was possible for Scott to live up to expectations. I called at 8:35, and Jennifer pleasantly answered the phone. She was friendly, courteous, understanding, and professional...if I needed someone to answer the phone and be the face of my business, I'm pretty sure she'd be the one. She could have Scott (the owner) out between 11:00 and 1:00. Perfect...we booked it, and I was just hoping he'd be there by 1:00 so that by 2 I could have a comparison quote (for the one I was expecting that morning) for a new install.
11:00 on the dot, Scott arrives. My wife lets him in, and he gets to work checking out the current unit. He reads the diagnostic codes and is quickly on the phone with Bosch. After about an hour and 45 minutes, they think they have the issue diagnosed. The unit likely needs a new heat exchanger. We chat on the phone and he lays out our options. The cheap way to go is to change the heat exchanger...the other route would be to replace the old unit with a new one. He spent about 15 minutes talking through the various models and options...not trying to sell me on any one model in particular, but just asking good questions to help inform my decision. In the end, he recommended a Navien unit in the Standard product line...I opted to go for the Advanced unit. (Essentially, the best residential unit they had.) All in price was in line with what I was expecting and significantly cheaper than the $5,000 ballpark I was given the night before. If I wanted to go with the new unit, he could install it same day. Sign me up.
I think the install was pretty simple...I had all the gas lines and venting needed already. He was able to finish pretty quickly. I was expecting the final invoice to include a charge for the time spent diagnosing the existing tankless (about 2 hours), but (the Legendary) Scott was having none of that. I got home at 5:30 to glorious hot water. There was much rejoicing. My wife at being able to take a hot shower at home again. Me at knowing that I have a new plumber in my family. Do yourself a favor...call them.