Our front bathtub began backing up on Saturday, August 1, and my usual attempts to clear the…read moreblockage weren't working. I requested estimates from several plumbers, and A-Team Plumbing Services stood out by offering to clear the blockage for a flat $49. Thinking this would be a relatively simple drain-clearing job, I scheduled them to come out that morning.
Giulio arrived right on time and attempted to snake the tub drain, but unfortunately the blockage wouldn't clear. He then asked whether we had a cleanout somewhere on the property. We weren't aware of one, so he went underneath the house to investigate the plumbing.
What he found was quite a bit more complicated than a simple clog. There was a cracked pipe, aging cast iron, improperly installed and graded ABS, and poorly sealed joints. Essentially, our drainage system was a "Frankenstein" assembly of old and new plumbing that had been pieced together over many decades. While it was still technically functioning, it was clear that we were eventually going to have a much more serious--and potentially much more expensive--problem.
The team also brought in a camera to inspect portions of the system, and during that process they discovered a deceased rat inside one of the pipes. Not exactly what you hope to find under your house, but it was another indication of just how much had accumulated and gone wrong with the old system over the years.
We ultimately decided to have A-Team install a bullhorn cleanout along the side of the house, which required jackhammering through the concrete. This gives us much better access to the drainage system for future maintenance. Robert, the owner, then came out personally to evaluate the remainder of the system and provide an estimate.
Although the larger project was certainly not inexpensive, Robert's proposal made sense: replace the old, mismatched plumbing with a completely new, uniform, properly installed drainage system serving both bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry area. We decided it made more sense to address the underlying problems now rather than wait for a major failure later.
The work took about five days overall, with roughly three days devoted to re-piping everything under the house. The A-Team crew was extremely professional, courteous, and thoughtful about working in and around our home. They clearly took care with the work and with our property.
Robert also offered, at no additional charge, to install a recessed box in the laundry area that would better contain the hot and cold water connections for the washing machine. We ultimately declined because doing so would have required moving the machines and cutting into the wall--and, frankly, we already had enough going on with the plumbing project! Still, we appreciated the offer and the fact that he was thinking about ways to improve the finished installation.
Robert's sons, Stevie and Benjamin, helped manage portions of the project from the main office and were very responsive to our questions and text messages throughout the process.
We're very happy with the finished result. We now have a completely new and properly installed drainage system rather than continuing to rely on a collection of aging and poorly configured pipes. The project also includes a 10-year parts-and-labor warranty and a two-year clog-free warranty, which gives us considerable peace of mind.
What began as a $49 attempt to clear a clogged bathtub turned into a much larger plumbing project, but we're ultimately glad we called A-Team. Giulio's willingness to investigate the underlying problem rather than simply clear the immediate symptom was what led us to discover the condition of the existing system in the first place.
We're pleased with the work and would recommend A-Team Plumbing Services to others.
