Able Plumbing & Electrical

Dale B.

We had an electrical problem over the weekend. We called Monday and got an appointment for Tuesday. (It wasn't an emergency so this was fine.) The tech was courteous, and did a great job of explaining our options. He fixed the problem quickly.
I would use them again if we have another problem. The Senior discount was appreciated as well.

Jane C.

I have hired Able twice and both times I have been very pleased. The first time they came out was because my bathroom drains were backing up with gray water. It was pretty yucky. It turned out the clog was in part of the piper underneath our front yard. It was a troublesome clog and they couldn't clear it through our clean-out. But they replaced the chunk of lawn perfectly and you can't even tell it was ever dug up. They kept me informed of everything and explained exactly what was going on and what my options were. After working outside in the heat all day, they were finally able to clear the line. It was a pretty nasty clog, to say the least. The whole job cost about $500. Unfortunately I will have to replace the line eventually because it is so old and is starting to deteriorate (it called an orangeburg line, which is made of an inferior material), which will be an expensive job (they quoted about $4000). They charge by the job and what they do, not by the hour, so even though they had to be here all day to clear the stubborn clog, the price only reflected the type of work they performed.

The second time they came out was for a leaky toilet. I had attempted to do a diy fix of the wax gasket, but it didn't work for very long and the toilet started leaking by the base again, so I decided to let a professional handle it. Before getting to work on it, the serviceman gave me a quote on each possible scenario, best case to worst case. I was very happy when it turned out to be the easiest and least expensive fix. He said he prefers it that way too because he gets paid the same no matter what, but he has to stand by his work. It is reassuring to know that there isn't an incentive to go with the pricier fix. He showed me exactly what he was doing, and again took the time to explain what was going on with my gasket, flange, etc. This job cost $260 bucks. So even though he wasn't here long, that was just the flat rate for the kind of work he performed.

Bottoms line is that although Able may cost more than some of the competition, I think they're worth it. They are very professional and courteous, and their policies and price guides are clear. They let you know what your in for as best they can before beginning work. I also appreciate they're high standard of customer service. The servicemen I have worked with have all been very polite and well groomed. I feel confident in the work they have done at my house and will continue to call on them in future, but I hope not anytime too soon!

A M.

I have never had a worse experience with a contractor! Our water heater went out, and at the recommendation of a friend, called Able Plumbing. They showed up late, were unable to fix the hot water heater on the first day, had me buy another part, which also didn't fix the problem. The employee that came out to do the work did shotty work, didn't seem to be very capable and above all was rude and disrespectful to me in conversation blaming me for the issues he was running into.

While all of this could probably have been overlooked and chalked up to a stressful, unfortunate series of events, the employee left the gas on when he left, filling my home with gas over night!

When I called to express my concerns, the manager was short and rude, and told me that ""it couldn't happen"" so I was clearly in the wrong!

Michael D.

Recently, during the height of this year's only storm, I received a call from my property manager that a sump pump designed to remove water from the front of my rental was failing. He installed a small and temporary pump to avoid further damage to the garage and potentially the house.
Being out of the area, I checked Yelp and decided to contact Able Plumbing and Electrical.
I am thrilled to report that from my first contact with Hope(the outstanding receptionist) to the last call from Dale telling me that everything was working with a new junction box and a new pump(unfortunately), I felt confident with their ability and expertise to solve this problem. Both technicians were instructed to give me a detailed phone call from the site before starting the repair, even though I had authorized some $$ limit expenditure in order to expedite the procedure.
There is no doubt in my mind. Any electrical or plumbing problem in Oroville and I know whom I will be calling.

Vincent C.

This will be a multi-part review, starting with our weekend experience, through Monday's initial service call. So far, Able gets 5 stars.

Let's get real about something: Plumbing has been around for 2000+ years, so most plumbers have it figured out already: Shit rolls downhill, and payday's on Friday is the Plumber's Mantra, right? But since the introduction of hot water heaters in the 19th century shouldn't the average plumber have a good grasp of water heaters as well as the aforementioned basics? Well, not so fast there, bucko.

In or around November of 2009 I had a fancy $2000 Navien 210A Tankless Water Heater installed. These have not been around for 100 years, but rather several decades in Europe and Asia. Consequently, there are fantastic plumbers in the US who have little or no experience with Tankless Water Heaters.

I have no idea what it really cost as it was part of a new furnace and 3 zone HVAC upgrade, but I'd suspect it was about $3000 of the ~$7k total. This is about normal; the heater currently retails for about $2125 but you can steal it from Amazon for a paltry $1,455.08. Typical installs of this type and quality of heater run about $2800-$3200, so apparently it's not an easy job.

I won't get into the circulation or ""circ"" pump portion or this heater other than to say that's it's never really worked. However, on occasion the heater itself has simply ceased to function, but until recently it's always been cured by a call to the HVAC company that installed it.

TIP: When having plumbing work done, call a plumber. Heaters, Air Conditioners, and Ventilation Systems are not water heaters.

Last week we had someone come out three days in a row to fix our heater, and within hours after the repair was effected, the temperature sank to that of ice water. Finally, on Saturday - great day to call a plumber, right? - we started calling around to get some ideas as to our next move. I desperately reached out to an old friend on Facebook - the only plumber I've ever personally known - and got some good tips. We then called 4-5 local plumbers, and 3 got back to us. One of them was Bryan at Able Plumbing.

It was apparent that Bryan had loads of experience with this tankless water heating apparatus, as he's been servicing them for 10 years. Given that he is 31 and has been plumbing since he was 20, this guy has spent most of his career servicing these watery flamer throwers. Other guys had suggestions and ideas as to the problems, but were somewhat mystified by the technology and tech support process that is part of owning these devices. Bryan was much more matter of fact in the requirements for maintaining them:

1. The installation requires at least a 3/4"" gas pipe, larger if it's far from the main gas line, otherwise the heater won't work. There are a few other basics, but if the install basics aren't right, you don't have a water heater.

2. You MUST call tech support and diagnose all problems with them on the line. Doing so alone will yield a zero sum return.

Pretty short list, right?

We made it through the weekend after leaving a message to have Able Plumbing call us first thing Monday morning. Around 10:30am on Monday, Bryan showed up, we shot the breeze, then he went to work. Navien tech support has a reputation for belittling their customers (even the people who SELL their equipment!) but Bryan scored a happy staffer. They went through everything, and in the end, after three calls, he had Navien sending us a few choice parts for free, which will require Bryan's expertise to finish the job. He wasn't familiar with Navien before he got to our home, but most of it looked like others he's serviced, and with the tech support team at Navien, we were soon up and running.

The water is hot, but Navien wants these parts replaced on their dime, so we're going for it. Sure, we'll have to pay Able for Bryan's time, but I must say, it's amazing what you can get done when someone knows what s/he's doing. Nice? Yes. Congenial? Yes. Knows what the hell they're doing? Apparently so.

Part II:

The parts showed up the next day, and so did Bryan. Amazing service. He started installing things and found some serious deficiencies in the installation, but never once said anything bad about the original installers. He later admitted to installing about a dozen units in 10 years, because they are just too darned expensive for his market to support.

In the end, we paid a tad under $700 for a lot of time diagnosing, installing and fine tuning this heater. There were even some plumbing errors made during the installation that needed to be corrected, but now I realize that my lousy water heater wasn't lousy at all, just misunderstood.

We received a postcard form Bryan thanking us for our business, which is a nice touch. Really an outstanding company, and we're very please with their service.

Alexis Y.

Bryant was GREAT! Not only was he very professional, he was very courteous and was incredibly knowledgeable and informative in how he explained things. I'm sure all the other techs are just as good but since I got to work with Bryan I would highly recommend him.

Robert E.

Water heater kept going out, Brian came out and knew the problem well and presented me with options for the repair. Fixed fast,very happy!

T W.

I have used Able Plumbing at two different houses within the last year. The first incident was a burst pipe in the bathroom while we had company for dinner. Able sent someone over right away who was able to completely fix the problem in a timely manner.

Yesterday I was pulling some cabinets at a house I just purchased and realized there had been leaking water under there for some time. The floor was all rotten. I put a bucket under the leak over night and came back the next day to see even more water on the floor. This water was coming also from the hot water heater in the next room. Able sent someone out right away again (in fact, the same plumber! Ramon is the best). There were actually a number of issues with regard to plumbing at the new house that we suspected and Able was able to confirm. They stopped the leaks, put on new hoses and valves, pulled the hot water heater and wrote an assessment of the situation to provide to the pest inspection people that never noticed the rotten floor or leaks. It's a wonder that water heater wasn't sitting in the crawl space today. There was no pan under it and it wasn't strapped in addition to the monster leak that had been going on some time.

Ramon was also very knowledgeable about my options for replacing the hot water heater. We were planning on installing solar panels. He discussed the different methods of solar hot water heaters as well as on demand and gas versus electric. He was very patient and professional.

I feel I was fairly charged for all of the work that was done. I would recommend Able Plumbing to anyone who wanted prompt, professional and courteous service.

VA D.

My husband is pissed that the guy from Able Home Services (Able Plumbing and Electrical) loosened the rings on the pipes under our kitchen sink in order to cause a slow leak while they were in our home doing ELECTRICAL work. We found many ABLE stickers under our kitchen sink and when we contacted the company later and asked what they were doing under our sink, they had all kinds of excuses. Now we have water to clean up and all we had to do was tighten the pipe rings by hand, and turn the one handle they loosened to make sure it was tightly closed. These criminals try to sabotage people's home so you'll call them back out to fix the problems! That's why they put all the stickers all over the place too. We're turning them in to the State Attorney General.

Sam V.

It was November, Two days before Thanksgiving and the Kitchen sink wouldn't drain. I believe homes have souls and they sense when there are too many people in the house or when someone treats them a way they're not used to being treated. Somewhat like a finickey old car you must tinker with. I must have done the wrong thing to the sink and it refused to cooperate with me.

We tried Drain-o, I know it's a no no but it's easy, it didn't work. There was an ad on the Fridge...One hundred dollars, any drain. At the rate I was going, I was going to spend that on Draino. So I called. The dispatch woman said, ""when do you want them?""

Now. Now would be good.

They had someone there within three hours. It wasn't one hundred dollars. It was about $250. The guy had to take the roto rooter on the roof and snake down the air vent. The outside air temps were in the thirties and I could see the frost on the roof. The plumber gave me some tips for freeze proofing some of the outside pipes and the pump, as temps were expected to drop to the twenties that night. The plumber even put on paper surgical booties before he entered the house. Too cute. So there were some pluses for the business but be aware, or beware, it's not $100 any drain.

Bottom line, the sink was working fine Thanksgiving day and the pump did not freeze.