thepix from Toronto

Have used Drain Works Plumbing 4 times over 8 years. Each time $240 pre-tax. First 3 occasions Matt resolved my clogged 3rd flr kitchen sink, was pleasant, careful not to make a mess laying down a waterproof cloth. He showed me how he removed the plastic pipe. Even had time to address a light leak at bottom of the trap free. Almost 2 years ago Drain Works said Matt no longer worked for them and sent Chris. He arrive with young helper (new employee?) unclogged the drain in a timely manner. Cost $240 pre-tax. Fast forward to Sept 11, 2024 Drain Works sent Chris again to unclog kitchen sink. Parked van in parking back of home at 1:20pm. This time he was insistent that he had to replace trap pipes under sink $250 and $250 pre-tax for unclogging double if over an hour. I mention last 4 times it took less than an hour to unclog drain. I reluctantly agreed to have the trap replaced. Chris left to go to back of house during multiple occasions. Concerned this could increase quote. 1:20pm-1:26pm, 1:48pm-157pm, (my Niece noticed he was smoking) 2:16pm-2:24pm, 3:46pm, 4:10pm, 4:13pm-I brought rest of his equipment down to save time as he was sitting in his truck back of house. Final tally $552.57 post tax. In passing he said he (weird thing to say) doesn't want to have to unclog my drain again". I said I don't want him to either since it's so costly. I would have thought that a company that is in the business of "drain works" would want the business? In fact when I emailed Drain Works for appointment originally I was surprised to get offered one same day.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Maydone responded to my Homestar query for assistance with fridge freezer. Scheduled service call June 30, 2021 regarding ice forming on top freezer. I also mentioned that the lower fridge was not very cold so I had put dial setting on max cold -took 3 days to take affect. I pointed out icicles were dripping from the ceiling of freezer. I removed contents and he did an inspection. He checked rubber door seals on freezer and fridge areas and increased freezer dial to colder. He said there was too much food blocking circulation and door was not square which he adjusted. With him leaving door opened so long the ice melted. I think the visit lasted about 45 mins and bill came out to $112.99 which would be credited towards the total cost later. The Tech called back 2 days later. I said there was still ice in the freezer. I later called Maydone regarding what to do regarding the ice issue and was told to email them a photo of the ice which they would send to the Tech. It's been over a week and Tech has not reached out to me. The fridge is not any better prior to the service call. Have two additional fridges in the home. Both have zero frost and both are packed with food. Igor from Maydone called me (5 minutes after I submitted my review) offered to send the Tech back to my home as I already paid for the service call. He was very apologetic and tried to be helpful. I suggested wait a few weeks and monitor if this issue doesn't get worse. *UPDATE: Hinge/rubber seal was (45 mins) replaced by Maydone July 27 ($101.70 labour on top of initial service charge) and now only 1.5 weeks later show minimal residual frost. Frost was disappearing prior to the second service call so I don’t know if replacing hinge/seal fixed the issue? So perhaps waiting 5x weeks after first service call helped? IN CONCLUSION: Rating is not always a reliable factor of which contractor to go with. I didn’t find dealing with the Tech all that pleasant. Never smiled, complain about my review and mentioned to me and my niece several times that there was too much (3/4 full) food in freezer. My other fridges are way more packed with no frost. Discovered a company on Homestars. Used their services 2x over the years. They are great and the Tech is very friendly and chatty. He even fixed toilet flushing issue unrelated to the job for free. With the final payment (the $345 charge didn’t include labour) the cost is as follows: Labour $214.69 Freezer door Hinge/ rubber seal $345.12 TOTAL $598.81 In conclusion if I knew the cost of replacing the hinge/rubber seal would cost $600 I would not have bothered. For that price I could live with some frost or use the $$$ towards a new fridge. Would I recommend this Contractor? No. ***Update 7 months later. The refrigerator is not keeping food cold. Milk is going sour quickly. Will be purchasing a new refrigerator.

Very happy with how Matt from DrainWorks resolved my clogged drain. He was patient and very careful not to make a mess by laying down a waterproof cloth. He provided a walkthrough while he showed me how to remove the plastic pipe. Detected the clog (10' down the pipe) while snaking. He did some extra work addressing a light leak at the bottom of the pipe.