Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

I had to call Ben Franklin when our hot water stopped in our sink late on a Friday afternoon. This was the company we were told to call while we were within our warranty period, but they didn’t have us on file. That worried me. When I called in I was able to get an appointment that very same day and within a couple of hours Dave showed up. He was very knowledgeable and we were able to determine the problem rather quickly. I would recommend them for any job and will be calling them for any issues we have in the future.

Water heater leaking in garage – just out of warranty. I called Brewer because they took over plumbing for Pulte builder for my home. I was transferred to Benjamin Franklin which Brewer now owns. Then the problems began. A CS rep and the dispatcher would answer no questions! The first tech out, Gary, was the only professional I dealt with, and he took the time to try to accurately diagnose the problem. His estimate was from his book and was very high with no break-​down of labor and parts. The next tech came in fast-​talking with a much higher price and no breakdown of costs. He quickly removed the old water heater to his truck. (I called the local water heater distributor and they quoted price to sell new one (same model) to me at under $ 1,050.) However, I had no way to pick up and was in an emergency situation. Bottom line – Benjamin Franklin charged me $ 2,100 to replace the water heater. I’m sure they got the new heater for less than $ 1,050, so you can figure they piled up a great profit for what is usually a 4 hour job. There was no clean-​up to do – it was a simple replacement. Who would ever use Benjamin Franklin ??? !!!

Another plumbing company discovered a problem with my sewer line beneath my slab foundation and tried using scare tactics to do an immediate repair. I called Benjamin Franklin and another company for second opinions. What set Benjamin Franklin apart was their employee, Jason, that showed up. He did his inspection, explained in detail what the problem was and what was needed to make a proper repair. He also explained that it wasn’t the dire emergency the other company was claiming. A few weeks later, at a mutually convenient time, the Benjamin Franklin crew showed up to make the repair. (Andrew, Craig and one other person) They again explained the steps they were taking to make the repair and kept me appraised throughout the two day project. I will use this company for my future plumbing needs.

A big disappointment. Unless you’re a millionaire and don’t care how much $ you throw down the toilet, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.
After taking a professional colleagues referral, I called Benjamin Franklin for my plumbing issue.
The service was great but the price tag was highly inflated.
So your due diligence and call other plumbers (like Belsito plumbing) if you want the same job done at a fraction of the cost. BJ quoted $ 1,500 and the competitor quoted $ 300. See the difference?!
I will continue to educate as many people as I can about BJ’s high pricing.

Work done OK. Pricing was quite high. On-​time and fixed/​upfront pricing as advertised. Left me with an «iffy» feeling about way additional services pitched/​quoted.
While turning the water back on after installing a new toilet, I managed to somehow strip the main service shut off valve (old fashioned), leaving us with ~20% water flow to the house. So, we needed a pretty quick fix. Called Benjamin Franklin because timing was important (just wanted to get it done).
Technician showed up mid-​way through the 3-​hour promised window. Was general courteous/​professional. Explained the issue (needed a new shut-​off valve) and inquired about pricing for a new hose bib and pressure regulator (all at the same exterior plumbing location on the house).
Was shown a book of standard pricing and a written quote sheet was filled out (definitely had the aggressive car dealer feel… move forward, fast, no questions). Shut-​off valve replacement (w/​service charge for showing up — which was disclosed at appointment time) was almost $ 470. Another $ 585 for a pressure regulator and $ 285 for a new hose bib. I declined the latter two given the pricing. It just seemed way off given that the regulator would actually be installed in-​line with the new shut-​off valve which was 4 inches down the line from the hose bib. I’m not comfortable sweating pipes in myself, but have seen it done and understand the basics — the quote seemed way out of line in general — and way, way out of line to do at the same time.
Anyway, work proceeded. The technician shut-​off the service at the meter and then ??? for 20 minutes… not sure… then he came to the door and told me he was going to leave for a while to get parts while water drained out of the house (huh?). It seemed odd to me given how few and how common the parts were. It was even more odd given that the guy showed up in a rolling parts closet and the business advertises how they carry all the parts they need with them. Whatever.
After about 1.5 hours, the tech returned and finished the job. I’m not a plumber, but the workmanship seemed fine to me. It functioned as expected.
Bottom line it was a shady, overpriced experience, but I made the conscious decision to proceed — the hassle was bigger than the money or suspicion, and the contracted job was completed satisfactorily.
I would not use this service again in the future. It could be ignorance on my part, but I feel the prices don’t justify the service, and I definitely got the impression that they are comfortable exploiting clients ignorance for any purpose if/​when they feel the customer isn’t knowledgeable about plumbing.

We hired Benjamin Franklin to replace the entire plumbing system in our guest house and tie into the existing main line. Their initial quote was only about half of what they ultimately said they would need to finish the job (once they’d completed half the work). We paid the extra price and the job was done… we thought.
Once the sub-​floor was back in place, we asked about setting the tub and were told it would be approximately $ 500, despite the initial contract including setting the tub (before the price doubled). Rather than dispute it, we set the tub ourselves. The toilet flange was installed several inches too high, so they had to come back to resolve that before we could put the floor down.
During the job, we provided blueprints of the kitchen layout with cabinet dimensions. We had the job drywalled and painted. When installing our cabinets, much to our disappointment, we found the kitchen sink pipes were in the wrong position. Benjamin Franklin said they would send someone out the following day to take care of that.
The first tech they sent only looked at the job to consider what needed to be done, and said they would send someone else the day after. The next day, the tech came to move the pipes. He cut a large hole in the finished wall and made the corrections. When I got home from work, I found that the tech had left the large hole in the wall for us to repair at our own cost.
We have incurred several delays and extra costs in our project as a result of the poor work that was done by this company. I strongly recommend that customers consider other options rather than hiring Benjamin Franklin.