I need to find good 'do it all' plumbing contractors in Baltimore

16 years ago

Thanks to all who have helped me with this disasterous saga so far (see the post "OT: HELP!! I can't work on the kit bcs of sewer gas in bsmt bath!")

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0319164217249.html

I am in need of several more plumbers/contractors in the greater Baltimore, MD area. I need to get at least 4 good quotes. So far I only have one including all the work, and 1 for just plumbing. I would prefer someone who can do all the work, not just the plumbing work (structure, drywall, tile, paint, etc.). Or if you have an AMAZING plumber who you would like to share, I would love to hear about him.

I won't go into detail here about my sad tale (see above post), but I would greatly appreciate any help you wonderful GW-ers can send me.

Here is a link that might be useful: previous post detailing the

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Comments (9)

cooperbailey
16 years ago
I can recommend Marino Plumbers. HTH
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amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
cooperbailey-

I really appreciate your quick response. Thanks.
Do you have an address or website? I googled them and found one in Hampstead and on in Catonsville.

What kind of work did they do for you?
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When we bought our home, we had just moved to a new state and knew no one. Our house was a fixer and we DIY'd most of it ourselves, but when it came time to do the master bath, we opted to hire a contractor. We also had tough time finding someone and as a last resort decided to contract the job ourselves. Problem was, we were just as lost about how to find good people as we were when looking for a contractor. During a conversation with a tile salesman, I asked if they by any chance had some tilers they could refer to me. They did and that's what got the ball rolling for us. A few days later while I was interviewing the tiler (whom the salesman said was one of the busier ones) I casually asked if he knew of a good plumber. He gave me the name of a guy he worked with regularly who was a master plumber. So a few days later, that plumber came to quote the job and during our conversation, I asked him if he knew of a good carpenter. Same thing, he referred me to a guy he's worked with for years. The carpenter ended up being a licensed contractor with a small but busy business and eventually we hired him as a contractor to do our bathroom remodel. Before we did though, we had him do a couple of other smaller things to sort of "test the waters" and see what his work looked like. He's really good at what he does and now, the only one we call when we need something. I was asking these guys for referrals because I didn't know anyone locally to ask and the people I was getting from places like Angie's list were not a good match, but as it turned out, they were a really helpful and dependable resource. I asked the salesman who the busiest tiler was because to me that meant he was good enough to be in demand and when someone is good at what they do, it usually means they have a good work ethic as well. Maybe you can try a similar approach.
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I think that I may take a slightly different approach. I have discovered that NJ has an Enegry Star program running. You pay a small fee and they have a BSI certified contractor come and inspect the home for air leaks, missing insulation, etc. They use IR camera's and do a blower door test. For one they will fix air leaks up to $1000 for free. The bigger thing is if your house is drafty, have an old furnace , AC etc and they can project that the improvements will result in a 25%+ reduction in heating costs, then there is a 50% rebate up to a total cost of $10,000. Thus $20,000 in improvements costs $10,000. On top of that you can do an interest free load for the $10,000 for up to 10 years. I have been researching contractors that are certified but aren't HVAC companies to try and elicit a more honest approach. Most also offr duct testing & sealing and are heating and cooling experts as well so they should be able to do manual J caculations based on the improvements and air seal they recommend. I think this is an important first step since this will affect the heating system I currently have.
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With a remodeling contractor you want to worry about quality first and cost second. Obviously money is an issue for most of us, but a crummy job at a good price is worse than not doing the remodel in my opinion. Get some references from anyone who is bidding, and talk to them about how reliable and honest and competent they found the guy. A contractor who gets back to you fast could be good...or could be so bad he's having trouble getting work. As for bargaining, they've got material costs, salary costs, and profit margin. A good contractor will work with you on materials and construction details to help you keep the costs under control, but I don't think you'll get far with asking for an arbitrary reduction in costs, and, if you do, you may find out later that corners were cut to reduce the price. My general philosophy is to not ask my brain surgeon or my contractor to give me the coupon special!
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Thanks for the replies everyone- much appreciated. K Sissy- Thanks for the offer, but I'm in south Texas. It'd be a pretty long commute for someone in Ohio :-) Joseph, I'd be happy to give the guy's name as well as show progress pics. Good tip about homeadvisor- I'll definitely check it out. marie1120- I am a member of Angie's List and have used them as a source. In fact the GC I hired has been awarded 17 Super Service Awards from them and is where I initially found his name. He still gets glowing reviews, though I've seen some pop up more recently that sound more like the experience I had. I've also started to wonder about Angie's list. I got an email saying there is a class action suit against them. I didn't read it closely, but something about payments from the businesses that are listed (again, may have the details wrong). My take on using them is the people who get good reviews at least have learned how to communicate and keep on schedule, but may or may not be competent. Might be different in other areas of the country. I've asked at the plumbing supply place I've gotten everything from, but what I was told is they can't vouch for the workmanship of the plumbers/GC's they work with. Maybe they've gotten burned by a referral in the past. Haven't ever used a designer before. Have to think about that. scone911- Wow. I asked for tips on finding a bathroom GC and get relationship advice. Not sure why you'd think someone who does woodworking would be able to do the plumbing, electrical, or tiling for a BR remodel. He has, however, built me gorgeous kitchen cabinetry, beautiful moldings and trim throughout the parts of the house we've completed, and about a dozen pieces of custom furniture. He and I both work. Neither of us have the time to be GC for a bathroom gut remodel. He's building the vanity and storage cabinets- because they're made of wood. Lisa
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amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
bump
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amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
friendly bump
0
Buehl
16 years ago
Did both Ken Griffin and Mark Brew come through with an estimate? If it helps, their estimates for our work seemed to be right where everyone else's was....middle of the pack, so to speak! (I'm assuming Ken is for all the work and Mark for plumbing only.) Be sure to get Ken's estimate broken down so you can compare the plumbing work at least.

I don't remember if you found this out already, but is the plumber who did the shoddy work insured? One of things we did when looking for a plumber was check to see if they were insured. If you check their license listing on the MD page, it tells you whether they are insured...at least as far as the MHIC knows. We actually eliminated one of our bidders b/c he wasn't insured and b/c he wasn't a Master Plumber, he was a Journeyman (that doesn't mean he doesn't do good work; the bigger reason was that he wasn't insured.)

If he was insured, you may be able to go after him via his insurance company.

Do you need the 4 estimates for the Guaranty Fund?

Here is a link that might be useful: MD DoL Labor Licensing, and Regulation: Welcome to the Plumbers Public Query
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amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
buehl-

I have the estimate from Ken Griffin (I do need him to break out the plumbing portion for me), but I don't have Mark Brew's in yet. It seems like Calvert didn't want the job- they never got back to me. Much to my surprise, my mom's GC (the one who does great work and was supposed to do it in the first place), and his plumbing sub said that they couldn't give me an estimate until they "got in there". I am not to keen on doing this scope of a project on time and material.

I don't know for certain if the origianl GC was insured, but I think he was. He is now on MHIC. I will have to call tomorrow and have them check the records for that time period. I will definately look into the insurance angle.

Oh, we had great news today (HA!!). Our electrician was out and discovered that we have 14g wire wher it should be 12g (GFCI), not everything in the bathroom is on a GFCI that should be, the shower light isn't right (we knew that one), and he has 14g going into junctions and 12g going out, and we found 2 junctions (with no covers), but there may be some hidden.....

It just keeps getting better and better....

BTW, I am working on my new draft, hopefully to have done by the weekend...
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amyb_1977
16 years ago
I just saw this post, I haven't been reading because I am busy with my kitchen redo! We are in Catonsville, MD and I hired Wall to Wall Construction to do our entire remodel. They are halfway through the job and they are fabulous! I have no complaints, which is amazing. They contract out some of their work and they use Marino plumbing as Cooperbaily suggested. They have been really good too so I wouldn't hesitate to just hire them. But if you are looking for full service I would call Wall to Wall, http://www.wall2wallconstruction.com/index.htm

Amy
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amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
amyb_1977-

I looked up Wall to Wall's cred and they look pretty good! I will definately give them a call on Monday. I even checked court cases (no suits) and they are BBB accredited. thanks for the recommendation!!
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cooperbailey
16 years ago
So sorry, missed followup with this post. my apologies. We used Marino in Catonsville but I think they cover the Balto area. We had them install our new gas furnace years ago. And they did something else a couple of years ago, but I cant remember what.
I have heard good things about Wall to Wall.
amyb- I have seen their sign in front of a house on a main road that goes by the high school is that you?? Sue
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I need to find good 'do it all' plumbing contractors in Baltimore

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I need to find good 'do it all' plumbing contractors in Baltimore

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