Plumbline Plumbers

Jude is fantastic. He s honest and very competent. He s done plumbing and gas work for me and doesn’t nickel and dime his customers. He s old school and really knows his plumbing. I’m
Not sure where the negative reviews came from here. but my experience with him has been first rate. I ve been ripped off by so many plumbers in this town that it s so refreshing to find someone who is good and honest.

Answered the phone ‘Hello’ and I had to ask if the person answering was Plumbline. Wanted $ 75 to provide an estimate. Didn’t bother to go further.

Quick, wonderful, responsive. Camille (manager) took responsibility for a miscommunication error and offered a great deal for our next service. Highly recommended for quick service and a fast repair.

Plumbline is still as efficient and has just as great customer service as it did a couple of years ago. A garbage disposal repair was in order, and Jude handled it quickly. It was something that seemed to be pretty simple, and straightforward, but not a DIY task that I could’ve done. After the service charge, the total for the repair was reasonable — they didn’t overcharge, and it was around what I expected for such a small issue. I am not sure what other reviewers experienced, because I did not have to replace the entire disposal, thankfully. I’m glad to have found such a great, helpful company.

After my wonderful experience with Plumbline Plumbers, I called again when my hot water heater went on the fritz.
Jude came over to the house, was courteous and prompt. After a quick look, he told us we needed a new Intellivent controller. Based on my previous good experience, I accepted what he recommended and paid approximately $ 350 for the part and another $ 250 for diagnosis and labor over a 2 day time span. The heater started working fine again.
When it died just 2 weeks later, per Plumbline’s 30-​day guarantee, we called Jude up and asked him to come take a look. He said he couldn’t come over and would come over the next day. He called the next day and said he could come over two or three days later. Ever the happy client, I took off work to meet him at my house, and he was about 4 hours late. He showed up with a younger gentleman who was very nice and wanted to help us. Jude, however, basically threw his hands in the air and made me sign an agreement that he was recommending a new hot water heater to the tune of $ 2000 for installation… without even LOOKING to see what was wrong. The young man even questioned Jude on his diagnosis and said he was going to do additional research for us.
We called a few other plumbers who provided us with free advice and did our own research and ended up buying a new burner assembly straight from the supplier for $ 120 bucks and installed it ourselves for free. We’re not even sure if the original Intellivent actually needed to be replaced or not. But Jude did not really hold himself to his 30-​day guarantee and wasn’t willing to even take a look the second time around.
Total days spent without hot water: 29.

To echo other reviewers, they answered the phone were courteous and prompt. They arrived when they said they would. They snaked our tub and cleared the blockage after several hours for $ 325. Other companies could not come on the same day. We went with whoever could come soonest.
Without checking with us first, the service guy broke the grate on our overflow drain trying to snake the tub. He tried to remove it without asking us. In the end he ended up going through the sink. You should always check with the homeowner before doing something. Now I have a broken grate with sharp edges. I also have a toddler who is curious during bath time. I’m worried about his safety.

Ridiculous!
We first called these plumbers the same day we purchased a $ 29.99 Angie’s list «Big Deal» for a «Service Call» because we were having two issues: 1) after long rainy periods, I and my downstairs neighbors with whom we share a rowhouse could hear a leaking sound in the walls, and 2) our cold water pressure would steadily decline the longer a faucet was kept running, even though the hot water pressure was normal.
My understanding was that we would be paying the $ 29.99 for the plumber to come and assess the problem, and tell us what was wrong. We assumed that once they figured out the problem, they would explain it to us and quote us a price for fixing it.
After our first call, we were told we’d get a call back to schedule a time when a plumber could visit. Several days later we called again, since we hadn’t heard from them, and after getting to voicemail (and a full mailbox), we finally managed to reach the same person we’d spoken to before. He told me my problem had «fallen through the cracks» and that that was the reason we hadn’t received a call back, but he at least seemed to remember the two issues we’d described to him as needing attention. He then scheduled a visit for October 21 between 9 a.m.-11 a.m. I had to take the morning off of work, as did one of our downstairs neighbors with whom we share a water main, to be available for the plumber to visit during that time, but we figured we didn’t have much of a choice, so no biggie.
At 11 a.m., with no plumber in sight nor any calls about it, I called the service only to be told that there had been a «mix-​up» and that we were on the schedule for the afternoon, from 2 – 4. Our neighbor had to go to work, and I had to take the rest of the day off to wait for this person.
I then got a call asking him for the address of our place, which the plumber didn’t have despite the fact that I’d given it to the person who scheduled the appointment not once but twice.
When the plumber finally showed up, he immediately said that the leak was a «roofing issue» that he couldn’t deal with (why he couldn’t say this over the phone, I will never know), and then took a look at the pressure issue. In the span of about 5 seconds, he reached into the water main, flicked his wrist, and then turned around and diagnosed the problem as a wrongly turned valve, and then calmly told me that we owed this person $ 75 for the five second diagnosis/​fix (this is on top of the $ 30 coupon). He did not preemptively explain the problem to me (Iwould’ve been happy to turn the knob myself, had I known the cost), he didn’t provide a quote for fixing it, and he didn’t give me the choice to decline the service. He just looked at the valve, reached in, and fixed it. The entire visit took less than 10 minutes, and the diagnosis/​fix took about 10 seconds. When I was reluctant to pay, given that we had a coupon and had not even been given a choice of whether or not to fix the problem, the plumber said the $ 30 coupon was merely money that went to Angie’s List for the referral. He added that if we didn’t have the deal, the «service call» on its own would have cost $ 75, and that fixing the problem (ADJUSTING A VALVE) would have cost $ 175, so I guess we supposedly saved a lot of money. However, if they seriously intend to charge $ 250 for this sort of thing, they’ll be out of business very shortly.
I should mention there was no apology for the fact that the plumber was three hours late or the attending inconvenience.
Afterwards, to add salt to the wound, I called them to complain about the unreasonable price, and they responded that while they would agree to refund the money (which I’d never asked for, I wanted to make a more reasonable arrangement), they felt they shouldn’t have to since all the money from the coupon went to Angie’s List, and they deserved to be compensated for the service they’d provided. They said that they do not like the policy of «the customer is always right» because in this case we (the customers) were definitely wrong. I responded by explaining that it is not our concern what their business arrangement with Angie’s List is, and it is their responsibility to ensure their marketing deals are not unprofitable. Furthermore, I noted we paid for a consultation, and that is all we wanted/​expected to receive; had we been told what the problem was and what the cost would be to fix it, we would have refused the service and either done it ourselves or searched for a cheaper option. I also added that had the plumber been somewhat nicer, or had he mentioned the cost of the fix prior to performing it, we would have been happy to pay $ 40 or so for the service. As it was, we are happy we are getting our money back.

Good things first. They answered the phone, they were nice on the phone and they were very prompt. They also issued a refund without a big fight.
But WOW — expensive. I hired them to install a garbage disposal and snake a tub drain in an investment condo with a new renter. The garbage disposal alone was $ 450. No complications, no problems — that is their flat fee.
They spent a few hours snaking the tub drain and called me to inform me that the snake wasn’t going through, they were hitting something, the snake was coming back shiny and the trap was probably broken. They informed me they would need to break up the concrete to get to the problem. If they charged $ 450 for a garbage disposal, I can’t imagine what they would have charged for that kind of work.
I wanted a second opinion so I told the Plumbline guy to hold off. Even though they had not solved the problem, they still charged me an additional $ 250 to snake the tub drain. So that was $ 700 down the drain for a garbage disposal. Ouch. For $ 700 I could have bought a goat to eat the garbage.
The bathroom had just been completely remodeled and had not been used since then, so I called the contractor who did the work. Perhaps he had missed something?
He was a total champ and drove all the way from Baltimore to check his work. First, he located and checked the trap which was in perfect condition. The trap was clearly visible behind a panel located just outside the bathroom… which the Plumbline guy had never used. Oops. He then opened the pipes and used a simple shop vac to remove about a quart of standing water. No obstruction was found and the drain was fixed.
The next day, I called Plumbline and explained what happened. I asked that they refund the $ 250 for snaking the tub drain. I was expecting a fight, but to their credit, they did not argue and promptly issued a refund for the $ 250.
Bottom line: they are courteous and fast, but you’re going to pay for it. They also may have some guys who are less experienced or just looking to jack up the price. Beware.

They came and evaluated my problem, which I paid for, but then they tried to charge $ 450 to replace a garbage disposal, so I had someone else do it for $ 210. Not sure where 450 flat rate came from, but that’s about $ 350/​hr for labor. yikes.

My tenant toilet was clog after another plumber came and messup a perfectly working toilet! I called plumbline because of Unilocal review, they (Vendell) were here on time, the guy told me that snaking will cost $ 290 + $ 40 service fees!!! I was chock but didnt have much choice because my tenants need the toilet fix asap. He tried to snake and it dint work et came back and told me that he going to have to remove the toilet for another $ 75, thats when I said I cannot do it, too overpriced, I argue with him and he accepted to do it anyway for no additional cost. I fixed the issue, i pay $ 330 instead of $ 405, still way overpriced!
I fill like they did a good job but the price is just a rip off for 30 $ work, I actually asked him if there were brain surgeon, why there were so expensive???

Had a leak in my bathroom sink and so I went to my fav Unilocal for a good suggestion for a plumber. I called Plumbline and they sent someone out right away. I mentioned finding them on Unilocal and received $ 35 off the consult fee (aka the «walk in the door» fee). After doing much research online, I had a fair idea of what might’ve been the problem. The guy came and literally tightened some stuff with his bare hands and then said «you coulda done this yourself» and then presented me a total of $ 175!!! I kid you not– he was at my house for about 20 minutes total. Yes, they do decent work. But in my opinion– I should’ve attempted this issue myself and saved myself the enormous cost. They’re wayyyy overpriced. I didn’t really like the fact that I didn’t have a choice– he just took a look at it and started doing stuff and then bam! it was fixed and I had to pay w/​o actually knowing what the «hourly» rate was prior to fixing the job. Had i known it was $ 135 more (after the $ 40 to come over), I probably would’ve likely declined. My review is summed up best by: do your research and call them for big problems and expect to PAY!

I called Plumbline after finding my dishwasher suddenly full of dirty water and checking Unilocal for reviews of plumbers. Plumbline was very courteous and quick and a young man arrived exactly on time (after calling to let me know that he was on the way). He looked at the situation, and said that the hose from the dishwasher to the sink looked dirty and that he thought it was clogged. He said that what he’d do would be to clear out the hose and re-​connect it and run a cycle to see if the dishwasher ran OK. He told me that the price for that service would be $ 175. I am not a plumber but cleaning out a hose sounded like something that I could do (the connection is an extremely easy one to disconnect and connect). I told him that I would do that myself. He said OK and I paid the $ 40 for the service call (that’s the price with the Unilocal discount). After he left, I took out a flashlight (it’s a bit dark under the sink) and looked at the (translucent white) hose and noted that it did not look clogged at all. I took off the hose — it was not clogged even one bit (it was completely clear) — but I checked the disposal side to make sure that was clear also — and then hooked it back up again. I was mortified that he would have charged me $ 175.00 based on a prognosis of a clogged hose. I have no idea how things would have proceeded after finding out that there was no clog, etc., but I am glad that I did not pay Plumbline any more than I did.

Made and appointment and was told someone would be available later in the evening. Later I confirmed the appointment. The guy said he was on his way and he never showed. I called and nobody picked up his phone and I never heard from anyone at plumbline the next day. I hope he is okay but I found it odd that nobody ever called me to tell me what happened.

I called Plumbline after reading the reviews on here. I needed a new hot water heater. Luke came over and checked out the situation. My old electric hot water heater went out and I wanted to replace it with a tankless one. He sent out his electrician to see if I had enough amps. The electrician told me I had 200 amps and recommended that I get the 40amp unit. Luke called me back saying he could install an 80Amp unit for $ 3,100! My jaw hit the floor. He said a new electrical line would have to be run from the panel box. The panel box is 14 feet from the unit. I asked how much the electrical part of the bill was and he told me $ 800.00! I told him the electrician recommended the 40amp unit and I would feel better with that. He gruffed a bit and said” Well. that means I have to call my supplier back and get a whole new price…” He never called me back…
I called O’Neil plumbing a few days later. They were very knowledgeable about electric high efficient hot water heaters and gave me several suggestions. I researched each one. We spoke over the phone 4 times, they were always nice and thanked me for calling. I am now getting a high efficient tankless hot water heater installed for 1,575.00 parts and labor. Half the price of Plumbline… and a larger unit…
O’Neil emailed me a estimate and the model number of the unit so I could read reviews and specifications online. I’m having it installed next week.
I’ll post an update once it has been installed…
Update! Shannon with O’Neill Plumbing took care of the problem. He called me when he was in route. He was very careful to lay down rugs so not to scratch the wood floors, explained everything he was going to do and did it. I then asked if he could install a garbage disposal, hook up my fridge and dishwasher and put in my cool new ikea sink and faucet. He looked at it and said… hmmmm .I could do it today for 800.00. I told him I needed to first cut a little off the end of my wood counters as the fridge was a little tight. he said very excitedly.” I just got a new blah blah blah saw that is kickass!” I’ll cut off for you as a little bonus!” Done! I was thrilled with O’Neill, Shannon, and how he handled the entire process with a smile and good attitude.

last year i was buying an old, foreclosed house and had to get a new furnace installed in a hurry to pass inspection and get final loan approval. i’d used other plumbers to do some other work and they didn’t instill confidence so i took a friend’s advice and called Plumbline. Jude came out that day to figure out what i needed and had the furnace installed 2 days later. he also redid the ductwork and some of the pipework around the water heater free of charge.
after i bought the house, Jude was busy and i used someone else to redo the pipes… what a mistake! Jude is going to have to redo some of that work at a later date as well. he has also run gas lines for a gas dryer and stove, and did it with future carpentry in mind. you might pay a little more sometimes for Plumbline, but they are always there for you and they always put in the extra thought necessary so that the job is done right. in the long run, you will save money every time.

I called Plumbline in a panic when I heard a drip overhead and looked up to find my ceiling warping. As a new homeowner, I nearly had a complete break down. Plumbline to the rescue (via the always-​reliable Unilocal!). I called at 9pm on a Friday night and they offered to come within the next two hours. We decided to wait until Saturday. Our plumber arrived, diagnosed, and solved the problem in an hour and at a very reasonable price.
Note to people knew to this minefield: your plumbing problem may be solved, but you may also have pretty new holes in your walls/​ceilings to show for it. Luckily, Plumbline set me up with a contractor to do the dry wall repair.
All said and emotional damage aside, I think I’ll make it through this crisis for less than $ 500…which is better than the figure I dreamt about on Friday night.

Several months ago I was trying to fix a leak myself and screwed up; old capitol hill houses that haven’t been 100% gutted are kind of jury-​rigged in to working condition, and it takes an experienced pro to deal with some of the crazy stuff (like compressed/​stripped/​sanded copper pipes).
I called 2 or 3 places and Plumbline was able to send someone out the following morning. Forgot the guy’s name, but he was friendly, polite, and on-​time, used parts I had and solved the problem in 15 min. 2 weeks later when the shutoff valve he worked on developed a slow leak after I tried using it, same guy came out immediately to tighten it, which solved the problem on my tight schedule. The touch-​up was covered under their 30-​day work guarantee, of course, and I haven’t had any further problems.
All plumbers around DC seem excessively expensive, they all have a $ 75+ service call fee plus parts and labor, and a less scrupulous one may have tried to tell me I’d have to cut damaged pipe off and reweld an extension at a much greater cost. Plumbline is there when I call and I’m happy with their responsiveness and work, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.

I had a blocked up bath tub this weekend and Unilocaled to find a local plumber. Don’t be fooled by the other review on here these guys are pirates. I knew all that was needed was for plug to be snaked and these people turned up on time with the snake. The problem I had was that the guy was at my house for less than 15 minutes but had the nerve to charge me $ 275 for the privilege. Now I have never used a plumber before so I don’t know if this is the going rate, but I thought that this price was excessive. They didn’t even have to travel but 10 blocks to get to my house! The long and the short of it is I would be wary of using these guys.

Three girls, one bathroom. After several days of water piling up around our ankles as we showered, and several quick-​fix attempts involving entire bottles of draino, vinegar & baking soda, a service call was necessary.
My roomie did a quick search and pointed me toward the Unilocal review for Plumbline Plumbers. I called in the early afternoon on Monday and expected to have to book an appointment for a ‘window of time’ later in the week (much like the Comcast guy, or the guy who came to fix my oven)… but to my surprise, Wanda told me she would send a guy out within a few hours — was between 5 and 6pm okay with me?
Plumbline sent Tony — the guy cited in the other review as ‘inexperienced’. Tony called to let me know when he was a few minutes away, and arrived promptly at 5:30. He was professional, took care of the problem, told me how I could avoid it in the future, and also made sure there were no other plumbing issues causing the back-​up in the tub. He was quick, knowledgeable, and efficient.
I was weary of the giving them a call based off of only one Unilocal review, and furthermore a Unilocal review posted half a year ago by someone who doesn’t have a well-​established Unilocal presence or even a photo — but I was pleased with Tony and Plumbline, and would recommend their services to friends & neighbors without hesitation.

While renovating an old townhouse, I went through a number of plumbers before coming across «Jude», the owner of Plumbline Plumbers. Jude has been immeasurably competent, fair, faithful and even generous (making numerous visits to check on things or answer questions without asking for additional payment). One word of caution: his assistant, Tony, is still somewhat inexperienced. I would recommend requesting Jude as the primary service provider.