KCRag Forum

I bought an older (built around 1910) shirtwaist in Volker four years ago and over the weekend the 2nd floor bathroom pipes leaked into the living room ceiling. We called ReddiServices at the recommendation of a neighbor, but they want almost $700 to repair, which seems too much when we've already torn out the spot in the ceiling and you can see the problem. Can anyone recommend a reliable plumber to do some basic pipe repair?

Hard to say but there may be a problem that extends beyond what you see depending on the cause of the leak. Unless the plumbing has been upgraded during the years you might be facing a bigger job.

I am loyal to Bob Hamilton. A couple of years ago Bob's son saved us ~$9k for a main line replacement the other prominent plumbing company told us had to go. Hamilton wound up determining the fault was on the city side when we had them out for a second opinion. Even coached us through dealing with the city water department all for less than a $100. Could have told us the same story as the other guy and quoted us thousands but instead took the small inspection fee with a smile. That earned a pile of good will from me.

We've used both AB May and Morgan Miller. Didn't have any problems with either. Of the two, Morgan Miller is going to be a little cheaper. One thing I liked about Morgan Miller, at least in our case, they were always fast to respond, like same day if I called in the morning.

Jeff Ridgeway did the plumbing for our renovation and has been back several times since then to work on other projects. Great guy, easy to work with, reliable, reasonably priced. Lives in Midtown. 816-506-9679.

Stay away from Bob Hamilton. Have plumber friend worked for them and had to quit over conscience. Estimators would go out first and always the elderly in older areas were charged up to double what younger people in suburbs for same service.

I've had good luck with Chad from Andy's Pipe Dream.

moderne wrote:Stay away from Bob Hamilton. Have plumber friend worked for them and had to quit over conscience. Estimators would go out first and always the elderly in older areas were charged up to double what younger people in suburbs for same service.

Most of the big boys are atrocious, but on the other hand, they're usually available in an emergency.

I recommend Nick Triano- 816-550-4629.

So we ended up calling Bob Hamilton. They sent a guy out for the estimate, which was just over $900 to rip open the entire ceiling of half the room; we would be responsible for all repairs. The guy said he gave us a price that was fair to both us and him and that if we agreed he would send out 'his Mexican guy' to start work.

We ended up calling another guy from a neighbor referral who completed the job for $300, including flawless repair and only needed a 2ft x 1ft hole to work in.

just got an estimate from bob hamilton to replace a toilet for $1,200, or $500 if I supply the toilet.

chrizow wrote:just got an estimate from bob hamilton to replace a toilet for $1,200, or $500 if I supply the toilet.

Jeebus! Are they sourcing toilets from the Pentagon?

we just used gene's plumbing. we had a bathtub faucet that wouldn't shut off and was leaking like crazy. he was out and had it fixed/replaced in around an hour after we called on a saturday, which we thought was pretty amazing. nice guy too. unfortunately, it think gene's only does work in the blue springs/lee's summit areas.

chrizow wrote:just got an estimate from bob hamilton to replace a toilet for $1,200, or $500 if I supply the toilet.

toilets are easy too. that's crazy markup

I replaced one for under $100 and an hour or my time

chrizow wrote:just got an estimate from bob hamilton to replace a toilet for $1,200, or $500 if I supply the toilet.

Holy cow. You can get a really nice toilet for $400, and it can't take a plumber more than an hour of labor to remove old and install new.

$1,200 is insane.

the toilet dates to 1951 (!). the plumber said that, due to the age of the unit, the method of install (and removal) is more complex, and then installing a new one in the same place will be more involved.

but still, i'm not seeing $500 of labor, and definitely not $700 of toilet.

Unless plumbing is being moved around, new bolts need to be drilled in, and there is something wrong with the top of the waste pipe... no. Just no.

Try calling Jeff Ridgeway. Reasonable guy.

chaglang wrote:
Try calling Jeff Ridgeway. Reasonable guy.

i called him first, based on your recommendation, and he is booked for a long time on large projects.