Broken American Standard/Sloan toilet

This American Standard toilet is in a retail business' customer restroom. The pressure actually rattles the lid.

The still picture is what's called the "water spot". A water spot that large isn't available any more, unfortunately.

Plumber Reviews

Repair work is a tough job and doubly so when dealing with plumbing problems. Our mistakes are put out there far more than our successes.

Once in a while a compliment about my work (besides having repeat business--the highest possible compliment) comes out of the blue. This one was emailed to my sister, who promptly sat on it for a few weeks. Sisters.... what can you say about them that won't get you into trouble?

Anyway, the sister thing aside, this compliment came from an old customer. More reviews, including the missing Google ones, can be found here:  Ball Plumbing Reviews

Thanks, Mr. E, for your kind words:

We have used Robert several times for several different jobs, a hot water heater, a kitchen sink, bad water pipes, ...  Each time Robert was there when he said he would, he listened and then asked questions.  His work was efficient, thorough, clean, and done in a cheerful manner.  He was clean and concerned about whether he had done what I had wanted.  Thanks Robert, given the age of my home, I am sure I will see you again.
Thanks again
Phil

Big Pressure Regulator

I know many neighborhoods who would love the water pressure regulator pictured below. The Lake Whatcom Water and Sewer District installed it a few months back to control the water pressure to a street in Geneva (Whatom County). They installed one a block north, too, for a similarly sized street.

Basically, it comes pre-fab from a factory, vault and all. The contractor digs up the water main, turns off the water, cuts the main, lowers the vault, connects the main to the pipes in the vault, checks for leaks, adjusts the pressure and viola! Easy money, that.....(not).

While the main prv (pressure regulator valve) does lower the consumer's pressure, it also lowers the stress on the water mains, thereby prolonging the life of the pipe.

Bellingham Water Line

The pipe between that brings your water from the meter (or shut-off near the street) to your house is called the water service. Frequently, this pipe leaks and if you pay by the drip, the leak can be very costly.

This job was for a small office in Bellingham. Their water bill was $250.00 a month, easily triple the normal amount. The customer got a few quotes that were....creative. I quoted then a fair price for a hard job and solved the problem quickly.

Sorry for the poor quality photos. I'm saving up (yea, right) for a new camera or phone. The new service was 80' long.

Plumber Hourly Rates

Ball Plumbing has totally transparent prices and they can be found on the website: Ball Plumbing Prices

We're 30% cheaper than our closest competitor (licensed and insured companies---not your 2nd cousin). Most plumbing companies in Whatcom are charging 300% more than us.

Here is the breakdown for hiring a plumber from Ball Plumbing:

Hourly: $88.00
  Charged to the quarter hour.
  Extra labor, if needed: $44.00 per hour.

Service Charge: $45.00
  This is the travel/truck charge.

Parts: 50% mark-up over our cost.

Equipment: Starting at $35.00
  If used, this charge covers the cost of purchasing/maintaining.

Estimates: $55.00

Tax: Varied
  Starts at 8.1% of entire bill.

Other charges: Please visit the website and scroll down to near bottom: Ball Plumbing Prices

Ball Plumbing offers Contract Prices that includes labor, parts, and equipment charges. Tax is separate.

We have a price book that covers most jobs.



 

Blaine Kitchen Faucet

Finally got these Semiahoo snowbirds to replace their kitchen faucet. Mr. Snowbird didn't have much choice, as the old one was leaking into a bucket.

The drain was clogged, too, but I'll spare you the pictures of that.

Old kitchen faucet (Lowes Kohler, I think):

New kitchen faucet (Delta faucet bought from us):

The new one has a pull-out spray head with a steel braided hose:

Water Saving Toilets

Anyone older than my pipe wrench remembers when toilets usually worked with one flush. It's getting harder to find ones that flushes waste, washes the bowl, has a decent water spot (the amount of water in the bowl) and most importantly, gets the waste down the sewer.

Today's toilets offer challenges to the plumber and the consumer. We use a very basic model with no gimmicks or big price tags. It has normal, everyday parts in the tank and we get almost zero complaints.