On 4/15/2014 5:47 PM, Steve Pope wrote:
> Thad Floryan <
th...@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>> I had called over 80 so-called water heater plumbing companies
>> all of whom rudely hung up after I asked for a quote [...]
>> [...]
>>
http://www.mikecounsilplumbing.com/
>> [...]
>
> I'm glad you found a good plumber, and am a little shocked at
> the "over 80" number.
Hi Steve,
I was frustrated beyond belief with the attitude of so many
plumbing operations and breathed a deep sigh of relief when
the company (above URL) demonstrated sound business practice.
The plumbing company with which I'd done business for over
40 years no longer exists in the same form -- it's now just
one technician and apparently his girlfriend answering the
phone in a surly tone.
The company whose URL is above didn't even pop up in any
search I did and I found it solely looking at Yelp and saw
they service Mountain View and Los Altos but there were no
reviews at all. At that point I called them really out of
desperation and they came through with flying colors.
If there was a place from which I could buy a water heater
my best friend and I could probably have installed it but
the code issues, new gas piping arrangement, etc. made me
uncomfortable though my friend had once installed a water
heater in his home in Palo Alto and is likely to be soon
in need of a replacement for that one.
I have another water heater (also 40 gallons) at the other
end of the house which still has 4 years left on warranty
and if it acts like the one that was just replaced 4 years
after its 10-year warranty expired I'll be in fine shape
for awhile and will have the above company replace that one,
too, when it's time.
Don't laugh too hard, but I had 15 3"x6"x1" sponges on the
floor surrounding the leaking water heater and I'd squeeze
them out once a day into a bucket during the period I was
seeking a plumber -- fortunately it was a slow leak from the
bottom of the heater whereas prior heaters just blew their
guts out with the water escaping out the emergency drain.
> I've swapped out water heaters twice, and had a new tankless
> one installed recently (which involved replumbing both gas
> and water lines)... any plumber should be able to do it
> and should give you an idea of the cost.
That's why I was shocked calling so many "services" and being
rudely hung-up-upon -- I never expected there to be some kind
of "plumbing cabal" conspiracy among all the local plumbing
shops who withhold all their pricing secrets until one gives
them their firstborn. Or something like that. :-)
In any event, I'm happy to have found a reputable service and
I hope they can be of service to others in need, too.
Refrigerators are another issue and I was surprised to learn
8 years ago that many folks replace theirs after 10 years
whether they need to do so or not. Long story short, my
previous fridge went belly up (losing about $300 worth of
food) and getting a replacement normally would take a week.
I finally contacted Meyer Electric in Mountain View and
they also stated 1 week for a new fridge but I couldn't wait
and they accommodated me by selling and delivering one the
same day from their showroom floor. They, too, are a great
company to deal with.
Thad