Athena Care

Paul did an excellent job replacing a leaky water heater at my home. He does high quality work, quickly responded to calls/​texts, and understood the other plumbing repairs needed (gas valve, water valve, etc).
Paul says what he means and means what he says. He’s skilled and honest — I found his prices to be completely fair. I will use him again without a doubt.

Just got off the phone with this guy. The moment I mentioned I live in a condo, he said «nah I’ll pass» what the heck? Who do these plumbers think they are!

We’ve called on Paul to solve our plumbing problems for over 5 years, ranging from water heater replacement to toilet and faucet repair and drain cleaning. He is prompt, courteous and does a good job for a good price.
Jeanne

I have had Paul do several jobs in my home, including replumbing the basement, replacing faucets and installing a new basement tub. He works quickly and always explains the work well.
When I bought my 115 year old house I had no idea why the water pressure was so ridiculously low. I could hardly take a shower, and forget it if there was any other water use in the house at the same time. I feared that I’d have to do the pipes out to the street, which would be really expensive. Paul suspected my problem was the galvanized steel piping in the basement. Once he replaced that with new copper piping I had (and still do have) terrific water pressure, and can run dishwasher, shower and the hose outside all at the same time.
When Paul replaced my bathroom faucet he noticed there were no shut off valves under the sink. In order to turn off the water he had to turn it off to the whole house. He installed shut off valves because that way if I ever have another issue with that faucet I can still have running water elsewhere. That’s the kind of forward thinking that I appreciate.
I read a review here where the customer was unhappy that Paul told her some things she could do «to save him time.» Well, saving him time is actually saving you money, and I appreciate it that he gives me the chance to keep the cost of a repair in line. I highly recommend Paul.

It makes no sense to me when I see any reviews on Paul (Athena Care) that have anything to say but glowing remarks.
As someone who lives in our own house and rents our old one out, we’ve found Paul to be an essential asset to the management of our home (s).
The first time you need a plumber, you’re always worried you’re gonna get screwed by some guy who tells you every job is a nightmare, and it’s gonna cost a ton, but never takes the time to walk you through what’s needed and what costs so much.
I honestly can’t imagine any plumber being more thorough than Paul. He has spent a ton of time with me and my tenants explaining what’s going on, what needs to be done, what things we can do before he gets there that could save us money by saving his time. He’s so open about what he’s doing and his process that when I’ve researched the things he’s doing, I see not only how much he understands, but also how reasonable his rates are compared to what other plumbers are charging for the same kind of service.
I knew after the first time he did a job for us that there’s no point in ever looking elsewhere again. I trust trust this guy, and that’s not something I expected to say about a plumber I found on the internet.

Our kitchen sink was backing up everytime we used our dishwasher and stopped draining. My husband and I were pretty sure the garbage disposal was the culprit so I made some phone and email inquiries to plumbers. Another company didn’t seem jazzed about being to help us if the garbage disposal was broken which meant I might pay for a diagnosis and not get the problem fixed. Paul promptly responded to my email inquiry and scheduled a visit that worked with my schedule the next day. Paul was on time, friendly, and explained what was wrong in simple terms. He even explained how we could prevent the issue in the future and fix it ourself if we wanted to do so.
He fixed our sink/​garbage disposal issue quickly so I had him take a peak at our shower, too. Anytime we would run our shower half the water would come out of the shower faucet. Not very eco-​friendly! Paul had a new tub spout in his truck and had it installed in a jiffy. Now we have awesome water pressure from our shower. Yay!
We will definitely call Paul if we need a plumber in the future. The price was very reasonable and his service and expertise was great!

This is easy; Paul really cares, and you should hire him.
I called him to fix two leaky toilets in my new fixer-​upper after his name was recommended by my co-​worker at the U of MN. He fixed the first toilet upstairs and on the way to the basement to the fix the second, he saw the plumbing in our kitchen remodel wouldn’t support the deep farmhouse sink my wife wanted. While he worked to fix toilet number two, he gave me free, incredibly valuable advice how to prepare the kitchen wall for re-​plumbing the sink drain and extending the vent height to code. Free thoughtful advise that is going to save us hours and lots of money!
Paul is unlike many tradesmen, who guard their secrets tight, or fail to explain what happened or what the fix will be. He went out of his way to ensure the kitchen work would be successful, even though he was only hired to fix the toilets. The guy is thorough, punctual, and knows how to communicate challenging issues into simple explanations. You should hire him, you’ll be very pleased.

I think Paul has gotten a bad wrap here over his customer service and phone response. I currently have a clogged tub drain — so I called Paul based on the reviews I saw here. All of the five-​star reviews were for his work. The one-​star reviews were for how he handled the initial phone calls. His voice mail did direct me to text him. My text went out at 8:41am and he called back at 8:42. I will offer Paul one piece of advice — repeat your phone number slowly at the end of your outgoing message. I did have to call twice because I couldn’t get the phone number down fast enough the first time.
My initial phone call with Paul was great. While maintaining a business-​minded approach, he kept the call light-​hearted — not gruff in any way. Paul is a journeyman plumber who, rightly so, charges journeyman plumber rates. I have a clogged drain. There are companies out there that only handle clogged drains — and charge less to do so. Paul took the time to explain that to me and asked me to do a little research to make sure this was an appropriate job for him. You can stop reading here if you think that’s good customer service. Read on if you’re not convinced.
Paul had me do a little research to determine what kind of drain I had on my tub, which took a little more time and effort than I would have liked. But, when Paul found out that I had a drum trap he informed me that my best option was to go with a company that specializes in unclogging drains of this sort. A.) it would probably cost less. B.) unclogging drains like mine sometimes result in breakage. Paul, being a journeyman plumber, stands to make more money if the breakage happens because then he gets to charge to install a new drainage system. Meanwhile, a company that only does clogged drains wouldn’t be involved in a full drain replacement. So, even though it took me more time and effort to answer Paul’s questions beforehand, it ultimately was to my benefit to do so because I avoided a conflict of interest and saved some money while I was at it. No conflict of interest = better for the consumer.
I ultimately did not hire Paul to fix my clogged drain. The fact that he took a break from a job that he was elbows-​deep in this morning to help me find the best solution — even if that solution wasn’t him — is worth 5-​stars of customer service to me.

Called the number on Unilocal,message said to send a text. Got no answer for several hours, and in the meantime found someone to do a small job that was urgent. When he called back, I told him we got someone to do the small job, but have a much bigger job we need estimated. He was very snotty, said «just have the other guy do it» and hung up on me. Might be a good plumber, but zero customer service skills.

We hired Paul last minute before leaving on a weeks long vacation to Mexico. Without knowing how big of a job it would be he accepted the business and was here within hours. He was extremely timely when no one else would help! Paul is very personable and easy to talk to, very helpful and willing to give further instructions once the job was complete. Overall a GREAT experience with a VERY qualified plumber with EXCELLENT service! HIGHLY recommended!

Paul’s great.
Shows up on time. Expert repair. Tips on how to save money by using other people he knows who don’t charge master plumber rates. And plenty of information about how things work in the plumbing world.
Much better than, say, a franchisee who sends out a different guy every time.

I was disappointed with my experience with Paul after all the glowing reviews here on Unilocal.Paul was a bit gruff on the phone – he asked where I got his phone number, which felt like an accusation, and made me feel like I was bothering him by calling to make an appt. After outlining my plumbing needs, he proceeded to tell him things I needed to do to save him time so he could get to his next job (I don’t know anything about plumbing – that’s why I’m calling and offering to pay someone else to do it!). Because I live in a condo I had to arrange to have the water turned off in my building. After making these arrangements, Paul sent me a text message later (good thing I had a cell phone and a text message plan) saying the job sounded like too much of a hassle so he was cancelling.
I appreciate that he can choose his jobs and run his business as he sees fit, I just felt like he was rude and dismissive and not at all what I was expecting after reading his other 5 star reviews. Bottom line, I wasn’t impressed and was borderline offended. Maybe he’s too busy with an existing customer base to take on new business. I would have just asked him to be even a little courteous in our dealing, even if he didn’t want my business.

As I first time homeowner of an older home, I am so happy to have been referred to Paul by a neighbor. He has responded to several plumbing issues at our home and I always find him to be prompt, professional, and helpful. I’ve appreciated the way he’s explained the potential pros/​cons of the various solutions to our plumbing problems up front, in a way that’s easy to understand. He is obviously very knowledgeable and very good at his job, but beyond that he’s just a nice, honest guy and a pleasure to work with. He’s solved all our problems quickly and at a reasonable price, I would highly recommend him to friends and neighbors.

Paul came to me on a recommendation from a real estate agent. I love to support the small local businesses but want a job done well and at a fair price. That is exactly what I got.
The cost came in at the estimate and he was very courteous and respectful of my stuff. So excited to know who to call if ever I need something else.
d :)

After procrastinating to the point of an almost flooded bathroom we decided it was time to call a plumber. Paul was so fast and responsive I wish we had done it sooner. I called a few plumbers and Paul was the first to get back to me. He was very easy to communicate with and gave me a fair idea of the potential problem and what was involved. His website has a lot of helpful information and we were glad to have watched his videos. He came in right at his estimate and finished the job in WAY less time than I thought it would take. We will definitely use him again.

We were out of town when we found out we had leak in our main bathroom. Pauls response was quick and very professional. He was great to work with and not only met but exceeded my expectations. Not only would I highly recommend Paul for any plumbing needs, but I will use him for all my future plumbing needs.

Paul came out to look at what I thought was a leaking toilet. Once taking a look he assured me that resetting the toilet was not necessary and explained why the warping wood floor was not due to a water leak. Since I already had him at the house I inquired about low water pressure and he gave his professional advice on an option that will hopefully save a ton of money. Paul was extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and honest in his assessment of both of my inquiries — and completely low pressure in terms of scheduling a follow-​up regarding the water pressure. I would highly recommend Athena Care if you are looking to get honest and professional plumbing service at a great price compared to some of the major plumbing companies in town.