AB/JDD

Thanks to Connie, Stella, Mike and Gonzalo for a great plumbing job today. Connie and Stella are great contacts on the phone, they keep the job organized and answered all of our questions.
Mike and Gonzalo got here right on time this morning. They were very professional and great to work with. We had several projects today; both inside the house and outside the house, and they got them all done right.
We would use them again and highly recommend their work!

Had a clogged/​extremely slow draining kitchen sink (but deep in the wall… further than my standard snake could clear, and chemicals couldn’t break it away either). Saw some referrals about these folks from my local neighbor online website. ‘Gonzo’ was the plumber who came out (right on time) and was super friendly. It took a little work to get to my problem spot, but he was fast, efficient and very professional. I would Definitely use these guys again for my plumbing needs.

Awesome company! Was able to get same day appointment and Technician arrived 15 minutes early. Gonzo was courteous and knowledgable. He patiently answered my questions and gave helpful tips should the plumbing issue come up again. Within an hour, he had the issue resolved and plumbing was working again. Would totally recommend this company and will definitely use them should issues come up in the future. Thanks so much, Gonzo!

Harry and Ryan of AB/​JDD Plumbing are awesome, and I had a great first experience with them.
Like some other reviewers, we are the (not-​so-​happy) owners of an Eternal Water Heater GU195S made by Grand Hall. Last Friday night, the tank of the unit started leaking and we had to turn off the hot water supply. I didn’t call the factory (still under warranty) until Monday, and was referred to their list of contractors to confirm the problem before anything could be done under warranty. I selected AB/​JDD after a comment by the factory rep that had a lot of recent experience with them.

Harry arrived within a couple of hours after I called. He was on-​time, courteous, and seems like a very nice Aussie. He was genuinely knowledgeable about the Eternal heaters, which is a hard commodity to find. Unfortunately, Grand Hall tech support took almost 40-​minutes to get back to him, so we had plenty of time to chat (on my nickel).
After a couple of days of hassle with Grand Hall, I was able to get a warranty replacement unit to my home. I then called AB/​JDD and they sent someone out within 2.5 hours of my call to get it swapped-​out for us. Ryan arrived about 30-​minutes late due to rush-​hour traffic, but worked extremely hard and fast to have the units swapped within an hour! He was also extremely knowledgeable about this unique water heater and had obviously done many installs. It was impressive. He’s very courteous and hard working, and was taught by his grandfather to «always work like you’re doing it on your own home, and treat people the way you’d like to be treated.» Very refreshing, simple, and welcome philosophy in today’s world.
Their prices were fair, with no add-​ons, drive-​time, or service call charges. Just $ 90/​hour for the time they’re at your home ($ 135 overtime).
I can’t say enough good things about my experience with AB/​JDD Plumbing, and Harry and Ryan in particular.

AB/​JDD DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR WORK. Their motivation is about getting paid, not about quality work or making sure the customer is satisfied. I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN. If you are considering them, I would suggest you try someone else.
DETAILED EXPERIENCE:
I had an Eternal GU195S tankless water heater installed in February 2, 2013. In October, 2014 the unit started leaking from the bottom. The manufacturer identified it as a product defect causing corrosion at the top of the tank. They said they will send a replacement unit under warranty, but we have to select one of the certified installers from their website. We chose AB/​JDD because they were the closest. The manufacturer coordinated with AB/​JDD to replace it. It took two weeks for them to get it to our home for replacement, but that was ok since the water heater was still providing hot water. We just captured the leak under it with a bucket.
On 12÷14÷14, Harry from AB/​JDD replaced our Eternal tankless water heater under Eternal’s product warranty. It took about 3 ½ hours. After the install, we verified that the shower and faucets were getting hot water. We paid $ 370.48 since the labor and parts were not covered under warranty. They then took a water sample, pictures of the new install, and the failing unit with them. The manufacturer required them to destroy the failed unit and send water samples and pictures of the install (Later I found that they never sent any of this to Eternal).
Less than one week later our showers started getting very cold. After going round and round with the manufacturer for a few weeks they said it was debris in the water supply pipe. The GU195S is a self cleaning unit, but there was probably dope or sealant that broke off after installation and is blocking the sensor. This means the heater does not sense that water is flowing so it doesn’t light the burner to heat the water. We were told to contact the installer to have it repaired. I contacted AB/​JDD, expecting that they would guarantee their work, but they said they would have to charge me to come back. I asked to speak to a manager. After explaining the situation to the owner, he stated, and I quote — «You signed the invoice that said the unit was working fine when we finished. If something isn’t working now, it is not our issue. We can come look at it, but we will have to charge you.». I said that this issue seems pretty straight forward. After your installation, my unit isn’t working. The manufacturer believes it’s an installation issue. If it was an installation issue, AB/​JDD should cover it. If it’s a product issue, Eternal should cover it. As a customer, I just want hot water. My family has been taking cold showers for three weeks. He then said that he «can’t just do this work for free», he has to «pay his plumbers». He said again that they would not come out to our house unless they were paid.
Now I am stuck with a non-​working water heater.
My point here is very simple. If someone pays you to do work, you should stand behind it. This is most likely a simple 15 minute fix, but AB/​JDD refuses to do the right thing. They were not interested in working with us to resolve it. If the second GU195S was defective, we would have paid them to replace it again, but if it is an installation issue, we expect they would fix it.
Now I will do what I should have done in the first place, select a plumber from Unilocal who has a proven track record of quality work and customer satisfaction.
I hope that none of you have to go through the headache we did. AVOID AB/​JDD!

Our toilets were backing up this morning and we call AB/​JDD. The young man came out and told us he was not allowed to snake through the toilet or the roof clean out and would not go under the house to use that clean out. Thanks for absolutely NOTHING AB/​JDD Plumbing… they don’t even deserve 1 star except them came out in a very timely manner.

I called other plumbers in the area for an emergency tankless hot water heater issue. I was told I could expect service in about two weeks due to the holidays. I called AB/​JDD at 4:30 PM on a Thursday and had service Friday morning at 9:00 AM. By 3:00 PM Friday my tankless unit was replaced (under warranty, even though damage was caused by a different plumbing company, AB/​JDD was still able to negotiate full coverage for me. To be clear AB/​JDD did not do the initial install which was the cause of the Eternal Hot water tank failure).
The crew was beyond efficient and professional, I could not be more pleased with the quality of their work, or their clear pricing explanations. I felt all along that the number one concern was doing whatever was within their power to make me happy. I would strongly advise anyone considering a tankless hot water install (and these are a great product) to avoid any plumbing company installing who is not certified, as AB/​JDD is.

In April 2014 AB/​JDD installed a new hot water heater for me. Major bad experience! Then on top of that, the new water heater pilot light went out continuously in August 2014. AB/​JBB refused to help with the warranty fix. I called Rheem and they hooked me up with one of their reputable service persons in my zip code who fixed it with a new thermocouple. Do yourself a favor, find a company that provides responsible customer service!

Highly recommend; rec’d two pre phone calls confirming appt, arrived on time.
Harry was extremely courteous and knowledgable.
resolved my gas line problem swiftly and highlighted some electrical problems he noted while under the house. Charges are reasonable, exactly as quoted.
I will call them back for any plumbing /​gas work. Thanks, dean

The home I bought had an Eternal tankless water heater. Call me old-​fashioned, but I don’t think electronics and scalding water mix well. Sure enough, it failed on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.
I was going to just replace the thing with a standard water heater and eat the cost, but Harry was able to contact Eternal and demonstrate that the heater should be replaced under warranty, saving us money.
Harry was pleasant to work with and pointed out a couple of issues with other vents on my roof while he was installing the vent for the tankless.
I know that a lot of folks like tankless water heaters and they’re all the rage now, but they’re a complicated solution to a pretty simple problem and I’m just waiting for this one to fail again. Sorry, that’s off topic for this review! AB /​JDD are great.

We had a leak from the AC vent in the ceiling during an open house so we needed someone to come out asap. The gentleman responded and came within a few hours so we were relieved when he said he could fix our problem. He diagnosed it as the fan blowing the water out of the pan as a quick solution. He said he would have to cut into the ceiling to examine the pipe further and it would be a major repair. WHAT??? Anyway, after looking at the vent and putting a piece of metal to «block» the splashing water, he charged us $ 135 because it was after hours. We ran the AC for a few hours and sure enough there was water on the floor. We went to another company and they fixed the pan’s alignment since it was tilting in the direction away from the draining pipe. Tadaa, it was fixed. No ceilings were cut. No major repair. Just plain physics and a brain of an actual professional. Go somewhere people. Don’t waste your time and money here.

I had a unique sewer problem in the east foothills. My sewer line crosses 2 other properties besides mine before it reaches the street below. it was totally blocked and jack coordinated with the county to choose the best location for a cleanout on the property of my neighbor. The county sanitation representative told me Jack was very familiar with the East Foothill area. The cleanout was installed and the problem fixed. the price was very fair. I was on the lookout for additional charges and there were not any.

I called AB/​JDD to snake my sewage line, because it was a little clogged. This review is not about how well they snaked my sewage line, because any sewage company can do that, but it’s about the way they try to overcharge you by tacking on miscellaneous charges at the end without telling you upfront.
When I called, Liz the receptionist said I’d be charged $ 90/​hour for labor plus $ 20 for machine time. She said there were no other charges. The plumber came out and spent precisely 1.5 hours on snaking the sewage line. He then said he’d have to charge me for the time it took him to drive out there, and I said that Liz didn’t mention anything about charging me for driving time. He called the office and said OK that he wouldn’t charge me for driving. When he handed me the invoice, however, he charged me for 2 hours, not the 1.5 hours of labor he did. He said the extra 0.5 hours was for writing the invoice. I said I didn’t expect to pay for the time he spent writing an invoice, and, furthermore, I thought 30 minutes was a long time to be writing an invoice. I subsequently called the office and Liz said that 30 minutes is reasonable and because she didn’t charge me for driving time, it was fair. Note that in my original phone call with Liz, she mentioned neither driving time charge nor invoice time charge.
So my main complaint about this company is that they try to sneak in charges, and they charge an unreasonable amount of time (30 minutes) for invoicing. I find them to lack integrity. I had been recommended to AB/​JDD by a neighbor, but that was years ago and my neighbor recommended AB/​JDD primarily because she liked working with Mary, the then wife of the owner. The owner and wife have subsquently divorced so that seems to have left the company without much to recommend.

Late on an incredibly hot Sunday, my a/​c decided to stop working. I called at least half a dozen places that advertise being available seven days a week. Some place never called me back or couldn’t come out, one place was just rude, but Jack took the time to advise me on a few easy things I could look for so I could fix it myself without having to pay him to come out. When I found it was still not working, he came out the next afternoon, squeezing me in between appointments, and happily fixed the problem and showed me what to look for next time. He was pleasant to work with and so was Liz. Thanks for making this painless! I will definitely use you guys going forward.

Used AB JDD Plumbing for a large job to repair a connection with the city sewer line. The entire process was flawless. Job completed ahead of schedule with no problems. Great communication. Highly recommended!!!
Thank you!
Ken A.

We used AB/​JDD plumbing to install a new furnace which was recommended by ab/​jdd in our rental house about a year ago. We were assured that this unit will last for a long time (at lease10−15 years). Right after one year after the warranty period was over the unit failed. I called the company for help and first I was told they will service the unit the next day with a service charge but then later on the day I was told they won’t be able to service it for two weeks from the day I called them. In the winter this was not acceptable and I had to look for someone else to fix the unit. I will not recommend this company as their work and service is not at all reliable.

This is the 2^nd time I have used AB/​JDD and they will be my first contact, EVERY TIME! The first time they helped me was to cover a home warranty issue which was handled without an issue. This time I needed a new water heater. Not only were they my first quote but they were also the cheapest. I called about 10 other shops and AB/​JDD got me the LOWEST price for a larger water heater.
Everyone I was in contact with was helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. I had the work done within hours of the water heater breaking (yay for hot showers). With their help, I was able to get a rebate from PG&E (saving me more money). The techs swept the water heater closet and had it looking the best it has looked in years! Thank you for top notch customer service.

My parents are very satisfied with AB/​JDD and have been using AB/​JDD for about 14 years for solving the plumbing issues that plague our house from time to time. People often complain or joke about the rates that plumbers charge, but AB/​JDD is capable, effective, professional and friendly and has always given us our money’s worth in terms of service. We are very happy AB/​JDD customers.

I can highly recommend AB/​JDD Plumbing. Suddenly at 11:00 PM in the evening, my master bathroom toilet started backing up without stop, flooding the bathroom floor which thankfully was a step down from the master bedroom. Jack came within 15 minutes at 11:30 PM & stayed until almost 2:30 AM. He quickly opened up the sewer line beneath my home, & arranged for a decontamination service to come over at 1:30 am to clean up the mess in the bathroom and under the house. Because he was unable to use the snake to fix the problem, he came the next day with the heavy equipment needed, & after filming the reason for the blockage, his crew worked diligently to tear out the tree roots, and put in a new clean-​out. He also went under the house to replace the affected ducts.
Jack & his crew were completely professional and more importantly, very quick to solve this disaster. Of even more importance, I did my homework & found out that their charges were lower than that of other plumbers. They were so honest & fair & really knew what they were doing. Without Jack’s fast response, I would have had to demolition the entire bathroom, but even the sub-​floor did not suffer any damage. I feel very lucky that I contacted him & have his phone number next to the phone just in case.
Kaaren Powers

They have done several jobs for me over the last several months. For plumbing repairs, they are very good. They respond very quickly, and do good repairs. They have unclogged a drain line in our house and unclogged the main line out to the street. The main line under the street was the county’s responsibility, but Jack (the owner) helped me work with the county to get it fixed.
They also do HVAC work, and I had them install a new furnace and AC system. They did an ok job, and the system has worked for 6 months now. However, I was disappointed by two issues: First, new HVAC installations are subject to county building permits and inspection (which I did not know at the time). They did not advise me of this, they did not give any option of getting a permit, and did all the work without a permit or inspection. Second, they removed a section of the roof without my permission in order to make running the duct work easier. (Part of the roof had been removed as part of another contractor’s work, but removing an additional section added cost to this other contractor’s work)
So I would recommend them for plumbing repairs, but not for any large project.