Replaced all the drain + sewer pipes in my house, thousands $$ more to come in repairing what now looks like a war zone. Now need plasterboard in 4 rms, kitchen floor/cupboards/cabinets. I've been washing dishes in the bathtub for over 9 months after the mold abatement & dry rot repairs. Waiting for the final settlement on the class action lawsuit - that check just came in (couldn't say anything on the Internet for fear of the courts reading and I might have said something prompting more inspections). Settlement just paid a fraction, 60% of pipes - NO damages or repairs, no mold repairs, because in my case it was Phoenix brand).
http://www.abspipes.com/ in case anyone else runs into problems with a 1980's California house or pipes coming from there.
I joined Angies List, so that I can tell Angies what a GREAT job that Plumbing Company did for me (Fox Plumbing & Heating for anyone in the Seattle area looking for a kind plumber with fair prices!) Finally got my password restored (tonite) and am ready to pull it together and give my recommendations. Also figure I will need Angies to help find contractors for the rest of the mess to be fixed.
They did the job for less than a third of all the other bids.
Also, have been putting the word out to all my other friends & blogs. There was a recent 'expose' for one of the other MAJOR plumbing companies in our area on the TV, pretty bad ripoff. So people on my favorite blogs are eager to hear how well I was treated.
So, no I haven't tipped, so wish I could. Just putting out the word. Up here I understand construction and business is seriously DOWN, so if it keeps jobs in their corner, it can't hurt! Best I can afford to do, sadly.
ETA, when I say "kind", they didn't force me to move to a motel while the work was being done. Left me with one toilet at all times, and with a now "skylight" in the downstairs bathroom, the plumber was a gentleman.
ETA again, the price they quoted wasn't merely because I was fixed income, it was their normal bid - just knowing what they could do, without cranking up the amount of crews needed to do the job.