Investigating water hammer issue
I had trouble finding someone to look at a water hammer issue within a tight timeframe, but this company was readily available. I guess he did what he could, but the issue was unresolved and I felt like he could have made more suggestions on dealing with it (such as installing water hammer arrestors on washing machine pipes - I did not know about these before).
UPDATED after company response: Thank you for the detailed response - we were impressed with the level of detail you retained on this service call, and that you have laid out your arguments. We have given the ratings that we did because the water hammer issue predated the washroom renos.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $200.00
- Company Response
We have narrowed down this review to an invoice of Nov 5th 2010? given the little info we have. Katia, the homeowner was on-site to approve of work. Katia had stated 2nd floor washrooms were renovated and since then water hammer was an issue. She also stated, work done in washroom was conducted by handymen, not licensed plumbers, which is obvious why we were called. Noise was evident particularly when kitchen faucet was slammed shut. It was our Licensed plumbers diagnosis, that noise was coming from adjacent wall beside kitchen and ceiling above directly below 2nd floor washroom, likely caused by loose pipes not fastened in renovation. We recommended opening hole in adjacent wall of kitchen to locate riser and try to fasten pipes, which she had agreed to for $170. Noise was dampened slightly but was clearly still evident as the pipes in ceiling were still "rattling". Our plumber also decided to change 2nd floor shower cartridge at NO-charge which is a $149 value, again not mentioned in this review. We did charge for new handle, which was $15 bringing total to $185 which is below what should have been charged. Our further advice to Katia was to either open ceiling and locate loose pipes and fasten them properly at an additional cost which was declined, or for Katia to contact "handymen" who had relocated pipes in your washroom reno to open walls and ceiling and fasten them properly, which was obviously the case as you had no water hammer noise prior. FYI Water hammer arrestors do not eliminate water hammer, they dampen it. Which means your loose pipes are still loose and still move, in turn still allowing your pipes fittings to twist, potentially causing a burst pipe..........We are happy that you found us timely and that we were readily available. Many companies that receive water hammer issue calls, defer these calls as they can end up with unhappy customers. This was told to Katia, due to fact that not all water hammer issues can be solved easily, particularly in this case as the issue was not water pressure issue but instead loose pipes due to info given and observed. Now we could have easily retrofitted water hammer arrestors but that does not solve your problem, it just masks them and is not in our best interest or yours to do so because your pipes are still loose and still moving, allowing further risk of problems down the road. It is odd though, why you would rate the company who installed the loose pipes a 10, yet the plumbers who notified you of the improper work and tried to correct the screw up a 6? Seems a little one sided to us. Regardless, our phone lines are always open to take questions and answers.