Sutherland Plumbing

I could not recommend Sutherland more highly. It was like having (extremely competent) family members over to solve my plumbing/​water problems. Above and beyond expectations.

Ti and his team replaced a water supply line to our house. Despite being pretty booked up, Ti was able to fit us in and get us a bid within a couple hours of our initial call. Ti was very straightforward in his explanations, and made sure we understood each of the issues and proposed resolutions. We really appreciated that Ti worked to help us make informed decisions during the process. On the day the replacement was performed, Ti and his team were courteous and timely, continuing to be straightforward and honest about the work being done. There were no surprises, and the work performed was exactly as described in the bid. We most certainly will be giving Ti a call if/​when we need plumbing service in the future.
One other note — these guys really get customer service. Ti noticed that we had yet to recycle our Christmas tree, and when he noticed a wood chipper at a neighbor’s house down the road, offered to carry it down to get rid of it for us. We really appreciate the small touches and fantastic customer service!
Thank you for the help!

Ti Sutherland left his family on a Saturday to help me. He kindly walked me through the situation and gave great advice to avoid future disasters. I highly recommend him and his professional team to all of Portland. His kindness and professionalism is rare this day and age.

Gee, I read all these great reviews, and wish I could agree. Many of them mention Doug, but he was not one of the guys that was sent to my house today to fix the leaking drain pipe on my kitchen sink. The guys were Chris (I think that was his name) and a helper named, Angel.
When I made the appointment a few days ago, I was told that they charge $ 125./hour. I said, okay. I was told they would be sending two guys and I asked if it was $ 125. for two, and was told, «yes.» So Chris and Angel arrive and I am told it will cost about $ 200. to fix the drain pipe.
I said that sounded okay and they got to work in the basement where the pipe is. After several minutes I hear splitting wood and see splintering wood flying, and I realized Chris was gouging out the sill plate (the wood that sits on foundation and the entire house sits on). I politely asked about what he was doing, and he was very nasty. He got off his step ladder and started lecturing me about his years of experience and that this is how you do it. Both guys just made up reasons as to why they should be gouging out the sill plate to fit the elbow of the pipe — «I would have to pay more than $ 600 if they did it differently,» «it doesn’t matter,» «this is how you do it,» «it doesn’t hurt the house,» etc.
I didn’t think it was going to ruin the house, but it’s a no brainer that it would be better to trim the pipe higher up or figure out another way. It was really just the way he spoke to me. It made it impossible to discuss. An angry guy. So they gouged it out till the elbow fit.
When they said they were done and told me to go up and turn on the water, I did, and water poured out of the bottom of the new pipe piece. «A bad seal.» Okay, no problem. They have another seal, but the way they install it is to cut the new pipe piece in half in order to pull out the bottom piece. So now they have to put joint the two severed pieces. They tell me that this can function as the new «clean out.» Yeah, I suppose that would do in a pinch, but I wouldn’t call pulling on a pipe that is sealed top and bottom for access a clean out.
They were completed finished in an hour and ten minutes and presented me with a bill for $ 225. If they had charged me $ 200. I mentioned that I was told they charge $ 125./hour and was told, «parts aren’t free,» and «we worked more than an hour.» The cost of the parts was not itemized, but I don’t think a 6′ piece of 3″ pvc pipe and a seal costs close to $ 100.
Each thing I mention above is not huge by itself, but everything together made for a really crummy experience. I won’t be calling them again.

We had an excellent experience with Sutherland in December when they correctly identified a leak and saved us over $ 5,000 being bid by Beaverton Plumbing for a mis-​diagnosed problem.
Beaverton Plumbing on their visit in December had told us that we could not correct a low water pressure situation in the master bath without replacing the pipes. With the poor experience we had with their accuracy in other areas, when our kitchen disposal seized up, we contacted Sutherland to come out and take a look and also check the water pressure situation.
Sutherland set a time and arrived promptly. Their professionals are courteous and listen well, offering excellent customer care from beginning to end. John was outstanding!
Sutherland fixed the disposal (kid had dropped a piece of metal into the gears) and got it up and running again. With the additional work we had done, they did not charge extra for the disposal.
Sutherland looked at the master shower, identified the water pressure issue as blockage in the shower mechanism and replaced with a very nice, modern new fixture as well as offering a solution for the tall people in the family who never could stand under the shower, by installing an extender.
Sutherland also corrected a problem with uneven water flow in the master sink faucet by replacing an assembly in the faucet.
Beginning to end, Sutherland was efficient, thorough, offered thoughtful solutions and did an exceptional job.
Highly recommend!

John and Sean were frendly, fast, professional, explained everything really well, and cleaned everything up afterwards which is better than when they found it. I’ve refommended them to a few friends, already, and will continue to do so. Thanks guys!

It was a pleasure to work with Sutherland Plumbing. They were extremely professional and offered good advice. Honestly, we had a terrible experience with the previous plumber we contacted. It was a pleasure to deal with these people at Sutherland. It felt like our plumbing problems were in good hands. We will definitely call them in the future.

I selected Sutherland Plumbing on the basis of 80 five star reviews and an overall five star rating. I mean how good was this outfit. Well they are better than just good, they excel! I messaged them through Unilocal and explained my problem, saying it was not an emergency. Ti got right back and set up an appointment. The day before the appointment, he emailed to confirm it. On the day of the appointment he called and asked if I would mind if he came early, like no, make my life easier. When he arrived he carefully listened to me explain the issue and asked some clarifying questions. He then provided a low cost short term fix and then the more expensive, but long term solution. I choose the solution and they went right to work. They were efficient, very cordial in explaining everything to a nosy homeowner.

We can’t say enough good things about our experience today with Ti. First, he showed up *early*. He’s super-​nice (even to our obnoxious, giant puppy). We had a realllly slow drain in our bathtub. Fortunately, it turned out to be a simple problem and Ti even showed us how to fix it ourselves if it happens again. He also showed us how to adjust the temperature on the water heater (our showers were warm but never hot). All done in record time and for an incredibly reasonable price. Oh yes, I also appreciated their on-​line quote feature; it promised a response within two hours and I didn’t have to wait anything close to that long. We wouldn’t hesitate to call Sutherland again.

Fantastic service. John and Sean showed up on-​time and ready to go, and within two hours had the problem diagnosed and completely fixed. John offered great guidance and explanation as to the source of the problem, and the possible options that we could enact. He even fixed up a couple of issues that might have given us some trouble down the road!
Easily one of the most positive experiences I’ve ever had with a plumbing service, and I’ll definitely be using Sutherland for any future needs, including replacing our water heater.
If you are a new homeowner, or new to any plumbing issues, definitely go with Sutherland. You’ll learn a lot while they diagnose, and you’ll always feel like you’re properly educated on what’s going on in your house. They even do an exit interview to fully explain repairs. Incredibly professional and well worth it to go with them over competitors.

Ti Sutherland helped with a sink install for me and I was totally satisfied. But when I called him for a toilet install on 8÷29÷14, that is when the trouble began. He estimated $ 700 and I thought that was pretty steep but I was desperate, and I’d used him before, so I agreed.
After the toilet was installed he asked me if I wanted a toilet seat lid!!! I said of course, the toilet comes with a lid, right? He said No, that will be an extra $ 100. I could not believe my ears, I was flabbergasted. I ended up paying $ 868.00 for a toilet.
After a couple of months I had another plumber confirm for me that Sutherland definitely overcharged me.
When I left a review on Unilocal explaining this very situation, Ti Sutherland responded with a long diatribe characterizing me as a liar, denying that he’d charged as much for the toilet as I claimed, and calling my house «dilapidated».
It was such a scathing characterization of me personally that I took down my review. But now I realize I do not want this man to bully or intimidate me. If anyone questions what he charged I’ll be glad to supply proof.

*Note: I initially gave one star because this states «Eek! Me thinksnot» but the business owner wrote to me saying «one star on Unilocal means ‘deplorable’ and is damaging to the business.» I am not trying to damage a reputation, I am seeking to be honest about my encounter. I did raise the rating to 2 stars if that is less harsh but my sentiment remains the same.
This review is based off a phone call I placed to get a ballpark quote for snaking my 2 bathtubs and 3 bathroom sinks. Not sure who I spoke with, but all I asked for was pricing information and the man went into a lengthy bit about how most plumbers don’t understand the complexity of how drains work and he knows how to snake better than others… all to justify his outrageous quote of $ 199 per item to snake. His explanation and tone was oddly defensive and it was uncomfortable. I went with a different plumber who had a professional manner and charged me $ 145 TOTAL for everything snaked. Not sure why this company has so many rave reviews after this experience on the phone. Hopefully they take this as constructive criticism. I did not hire them and was merely turned away by their attitude about their superior services that they feel warrant such a high price tag.

Very happy with the service from Ti and associate. Initial inquiry answered within a couple of hours and appointment made. Tried two other local plumbers, who either didn’t turn up to appointments or didn’t respond to inquiry.
Job was done professionally, and fully explained the costs to begin with.
They also advised on a couple of other queries we had with external taps. Honest responses and helpful.
We now have a new preferred plumber!

Entered a request for quote into Unilocal about a week ago and Unilocal suggested four more plumbing companies. Within hours Ty @ Sutherland Plumbing had contacted me and set up an appointment. Yesterday John and Shawn were out and not only did I get one of the quotes I was looking for, they went ahead and took care of the kitchen part of it! Couldn’t ask for better service!
They installed a new kitchen faucet, soap dispenser (last one was leaking), and garbage disposal (also leaking and didn’t work), and reworked the old jumble of pipes under the sink within a couple hours. Even changed out the emergency shut off valves as they were over over 40 years old. John made sure before they left that I was «very satisfied».
These guys are very professional. Made suggestions and gave me a couple of different options on everything I was looking at doing. Cleanup afterwards was better than it was to start.
Will be getting a quote for the shower plumbing soon. Looking forward to doing business with them again!

So I tried to re-​light the pilot light on my water heater. I’d done it before, but the striker wasn’t sparking at all, and I really didn’t want to blow myself up. Tried a few other things but I the thought of going up in flames made me timid. Wasn’t sure what it was. So I send a Unilocal message to Sutherland (on a Sunday night, no less) and Ti texts me within 10 or 15 minutes. Asks for some pictures, we text back and forth and then he calls me and says, «I think you can do this yourself. I’m gonna walk you through it. You’re gonna feel so empowered.»
Well, he did walk me through it, did a little bit of trouble-​shooting, and I did get the thing lit! And I do feel empowered! TAWANDA! Thank you Ti, you’re the best. Love your business model of being good at what you do, and just a really decent human being.

We’ve had Sutherland out 3 times for different matters and I can’t recommend them highly enough.
1) They changed out a toilet and pointed out another issue while they were at it, one we wouldn’t have known about;
2) They cleared a clogged drain; and
3) They fixed a leaking fixture.
They’re always very clear about what they’re doing and why, making sure we understand everything every step of the way. (John, I’ve noticed, is a very deliberate listener. He repeats things back to make sure he’s understanding. It’s a little thing, but much appreciated.)
I wish all our contractors operated at this level.

After reading so many great reviews, I made an appointment with Sutherland Plumbing to have a dripping bathtub faucet looked at. John came and found that the valve most likely needed to be repaired. The layout of my bathroom plumbing is odd and rebuilding the valve was the only option that didn’t involve tearing out tile and cutting a hole in the wall to replace the entire thing. The bonnet nut that covers the valve was over-​tightened at some point, or possibly had just not been unscrewed in a long time, and was really stuck on there. Luckily with some soaking and elbow grease, he was able to get the nut off and repair the valve. He turned the water back on and the valve repair had successfully stopped the leak!
Before getting the nut off after the first two tries, he explained that there was a possibility that the valve could break if too much force was used. He was very cautious and went over all options before trying again. We decided to try one more time and that is when he gently tried again and the nut finally budged.
Overall, I feel that Sutherland Plumbing is a good, honest company you can trust with your plumbing needs. I highly recommend you give them a call if you are looking for a plumber. They come prepared with a large stock of plumbing supplies and repair parts. John had everything he needed in his truck.

I wish every business operated like Sutherland. I am blown away by the responsiveness, honesty, quality of work and customer service that I have received while working with Sutherland Plumbing.
My first interaction with Ti was a few months ago when we were collecting bids for a major plumbing job. We got responses immediately which was amazing considering it was a Friday night where we were sending out requests via email. We set up the appointment and he arrived on time, clearly explained what was needed, the process that needed to happen and promised a bid by that night. The bid came even earlier (that afternoon) and was extremely competitive. Not only competitive, but guaranteed by Ti with quality parts that he could stand behind.
Throughout the planning and execution process, Ti was extremely responsive to email and text. Unbelievable considering the amount of business they do!
The work was completed as promised with a very fine attention to detail. My satisfaction was needed in order to «finish» the job.
A few months later I was in need of some other work, completely unrelated to the first job. Again, Ti responded very quickly, came out and gave me a bid within two hours of looking at the job. He was extremely flexible with me and has even agreed to let me adjust the schedule in order to make everything workable for me.
There is no other plumber I would ever call. I only wish other specialized services, contractors and other businesses would follow in Sutherland’s footsteps in terms of their extremely high level of integrity, honesty, flexibility and customer service.
Thank you Sutherland Plumbing!

I made an appointment with Sutherland Plumbing — looked up their website as a recommendation from Nextdoor Neighbor. I didn’t even see all these awesome Unilocal reviews until now!
Made the appointment online: easy. They texted and emailed confirmation: easy. They showed up exactly when they said they would: easy. They fixed/​replaced my broken water spigot and offered a couple recommendations with pricing before proceeding: easy.
After they finished, they asked if there was anything else we’d like them to look at while they were there. So professional and nice and respectful. It was really a refreshing experience.
They checked our water pressure and looked at our old basement pipes. Gave some basic and thorough advice on what we might be looking at short and long term — talked with us a bit, answered questions.
I will call these guys back for future work and recommend them to friends and neighbors in a heartbeat.

We bought a new home, and our home inspector had noted a few plumbing issues that needed to be addressed. John came by early this morning and went through everything in the report as well as pointing out extra things that needed to be done (without necessarily tacking on hefty costs).
What I really appreciated was that he focused on fixing the issues throughout our bathroom and kitchen, but also told me what was going on as well as letting me know what to keep an eye out for i.e. signs that our water heater needs to be changed (most likely ours will last a few more years, he said), how to shut off the water inside our home, AND as extra backup, how to shut off our water outside the home if the interior valve didn’t work.
He explained simple mechanics versus more complicated mechanics on toilets and he will also be installing a new toilet for us (one of ours had a huge crack inside the bowl). He also left our home in pristine condition (heck, I offered him some tea and he even cleaned the cup before leaving).
John, thank you for your thoroughness — the new kitchen faucet is working flawlessly and the pressure is so much better and steadier than before. I hope we don’t have many plumbing issues down the line, but as we plan on living in our new home for many years to come, you will be on our quick dial in the case of any plumbing emergency!
****UPDATE*****
I told John yesterday the toilet model we want installed (Toto MS604114CEFG), and he gave me a ring this morning saying he had an opening — I was ecstatic! So glad it got installed before my family joins me in our new home.
Regarding the model, I was initially worried that it wouldn’t match the more rectangular fixtures of the sink and tub that the previous owners had aesthetically picked out, but the Toto looks fantastic!
As before, John was exceptionally clean and our hallway bathroom is freaking sparkly — immaculate service!
Thanks again!