KTH from Sarnia

I used Bluewater Plumbing on two occasions. The first occasion was some years ago, when they replaced the hot and cold cartridges in my bath tub taps. On this occasion, they reversed them--the cold water became the hot water, and vice versa. I had to call them back and redo it. The second occasion I phoned Bluewater Plumbing was due to a washing machine overflow, presumably caused by a blockage in the water line. Since it was a Sunday, I paid overtime ($112/hour). The plumber first snaked the drain a few feet, and when that didn't work it became apparent that the blockage was further down, in the sewer line. The plumber then snaked the sewer line 50 feet, and after testing (running water, flushing toilet, etc) the blockage was still there and now NO water was moving. The plumber then said he needed to go back to the office and get the "bigger machine" (a machine which pushes the snake into the line) to snake another 50 feet. 3 1/2 hours later the problem remained. The plumber then contacted his boss, who said to phone the city, who could snake the line past 100 feet. The city came out and snaked the line with their (larger) snake and, after two attempts and only going 80 feet, unblocked the line in about 20 minutes. The city didn't charge me. The city plumbers expressed the view that Bluewater's snake wasn't large enough to push the blockage out. I received a $500 bill from Bluewater Plumbing for 3 1/2 hours of overtime service which didn't correct the problem. Part of the charge was an additional $50 for use of the "big machine." There was nothing unique or special about the "big machine"--apart from being a larger version of the original machine--that would necessitate an added expense of 50 dollars. It was just a beat-up, heavier version of the smaller one that the plumber transported by a dolly. I was glad that Bluewater Plumbing was available and easy to reach on a Sunday. For that they get two stars.