The staff was very professional and very courteous, but I still feel we were overcharged. I was expecting the bill to be between $400 and $500 and it was the guts of $1000. I understand it was the weekend and I expected a certain charge, but it was double when I anticipated. And also what I anticipated it to be , we have a few properties, so I'm very familiar with cost, I was shocked that their cost was so extremely high compared to other companies. read more

I want to send a special shout out to Lavon. He exceeded all my expectations. Thank you to everyone at Foster. They have always provided the best service. They installed a new gas furnace 2 years ago, that we are very happy with. They come back every 6 months and do a great job to service and make sure system is working great. read more

EDITED TO ADD: Really impressed by the follow-up by Jennifer of the company, who called me at home and made it clear they wanted to make this situation right. I'm impressed by her customer service and have changed my review stars, as she made it clear that this was an aberration and they wanted to make things right. She offered her personal cell phone to arrange any future service, and that type of attention to remedy an unhappy customer speaks highly of how they do business. ORIGINAL: Wildly incompetent and a waste of our time to hire them. My husband understands plumbing, but works long hours and was trying to "buy back time" by hiring a professional to finalize a toilet kit repair. We hired Foster based on reviews on Angi's List (wish I'd looked here instead, as they're more accurate)... and they sent out someone who was so weirdly patronizing for also being so incompetent. When my husband explained that there was already a new kit installed and it was mostly complete, but there was a small leak that needed finalized tightening, the plumber didn't even get down on the ground to inspect the back of the stool. He just informed us we needed a "major rebuild" and a new toilet. WHAT?!?! I sincerely don't know if he's just poorly trained and didn't understand the problem or whether he was trying to exploit us. It didn't make sense that he didn't understand the problem, especially when someone was telling him explicitly what was needed. It would've made more sense if he'd investigated the toilet before dismissing what my husband said. My husband paid for the service call and declined services, and used his lunch break to fix the toilet completely (no new parts nor rebuild necessary) and install faucets. The plumber had also quoted $299 each for the two faucets replaced, which is the HIGH end of average costs. I don't mind paying more for quality work, but someone without a basic understanding of a toilet leak shouldn't be charging high market value for their work. We were quoted $920.34 for 3 tasks that took an accountant less than 1.5 hours to complete, without any formal plumbing training. That's not okay. Beyond that, I'm completely unimpressed with the management. Before posting a negative review, I make sure to go directly to management and see what they'd like to do to fix the frustration. Shawna (sp?) kept saying "I understand what you're saying," but clearly didn't. She kept talking about there being set prices for parts. WE DIDN'T NEED PARTS. Evidenced by it being fixed without ANY new item -- just time and paying attention. She also kept defending how qualified he was, but that makes no logical sense if someone non-certified can have a better and quicker understanding of how to fix the problem. There are too many other reliable, qualified, reasonably priced plumbers out there. I will never do business with this one again. They might have other good plumbers, but our guy was not one of them. read more

Our furnace died the Friday before Christmas about 10:30 pm and with us leaving Saturday. Foster's on calling guy came out, was here until 1:30 am, figured out that the blower motor had died, so couldn't fix it until early the next week. The next week, it turned out it was a more serious breakdown than first thought. The cost to fix the 18 year old gas furnace was going to be about 2/3 the cost of a new install so on their advice we decided on a new one. The crews were polite, professional and got us up and running with a new 2 stage, 95% efficient system and at the quoted price. We're warm and toasty now! read more

GOOD STUFF 1. They used quality materials for my HVAC installation. 2. The ppl who perform their scheduling are courteous and friendly. BAD STUFF 1. A few months after our HVAC installation, a Fosters tech looked at our top-floor HVAC unit to see why one of our rooms wasn't getting any air. He asked, "who's the idiot that wired this mess?" I told him all work was performed by various Fosters techs. He replied, "never mind... I'll re-wire it all myself". This criticism of his fellow Fosters employees didn't inspire confidence. 2. A year or two after installation, we realized too much air was going to our guest room stealing airflow from higher priority rooms. Fosters corrected it and charged me. Wasn't cheap. Fosters should have gotten our installation right the first time or correct the mistake they caused themselves at no cost. 3. A crew was sent to my house at 5pm one Friday to complete a job. The crew were clearly exhausted upon arrival and so eager to go home that they told me the job was done when it clearly wasn't; and the crew left an exhaust running 24/7 -- putting the motor at risk of burning out. Good thing I spotted it. 4. One of the Fosters managers and I appear to remember our conversation differently about one of the work orders. Good thing I have what we agreed upon in writing. 5. Every company will make mistakes from time to time. In my experience, Fosters never once owned the problems they caused or apologized for their errors. Not good business practice. 6. An example of Fosters work is in the attached pic. Unfortunately, that's in plain view next to our HVAC unit in our attic storage area. Speaks for itself. 7. They aren't reliable with their appointments. if one of their techs calls in sick, it sinks their whole operation. 8. I had to buy an upgraded master controller when I went from 3 zones to 5. They took my old controller (which works fine and is worth $) without my permission. 9. There's more... but you get the point. TIPS 1. Check every room of your house immediately after they perform a whole-house installation to determine if they got the air flow right before Fosters calls the job "done". Better for them to correct any problems right away while under warranty, otherwise they'll charge you to fix it later. 2. Get your work order in writing and be explicit. 3. Do not accept a service appointment at 5pm on any day unless it's an emergency or super simple. 4. Don't schedule anything that depends on Fosters getting their work done on time. UPDATE 6/12/20: Yesterday, Fosters was supposed to complete an installation of 2 new zones for our attic. They called me over to the master controller at 6:30pm and said "ok, job done!". I asked politely that they prove air is flowing. It turns out, the new 2 zones weren't getting any air AND Fosters managed to knock out 3 other zones. 2 hours of diagnosis later -- and now the house is a boiling 82 degrees, they finally got the 5 zones running by rebooting the system. Ugh. On the next day, I came to realize that the 2 new zones DO NOT WORK no matter how low we set their temps to be at... unless the master bedroom zone is also pumping air. There no point of having zones if they are not independent of one another... so I suspect my wiring job was not done correctly. Also, they didn't install one of the return vents, or install any of the registers for the 2 new zones, or install any filters for the 2 new zones. They were supposed to call me today to finish the job. No one called. Meanwhile, I have 2 zones that do not work correctly and zero filters so who knows what harm Fosters is causing my hvac system. I called their emergency line. No answer. Lowered them from 2 to 1. read more

Foster Plumbing & Heating - Crude. And this won't even be hidden behind a wall... it's right next to the main HVAC unit in plain site. - Plumbing Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Tech failed to diagnose a blown fuse. Also told me R22 wasn't available to recharge my system to bandaid it for another year. Didn't give me any other options other than to buy a system. Called the office and they told me it would be $1,200 for 3 pounds of R22. Called another local guy and he recharged my system for $150 per pounds of R22. Seen a lot of positive reviews about the company; maybe just got sent a tech that didn't know his stuff. read more

Service: I was in need of faucet repair and found them after a handyman was unable to fix it. They have options to set up appointments online or by calling in. It was pretty easy to submit my preferences and my situation online, and, within 24 hours, I received a call to schedule and, for my second appointment when I couldn't accept a call at the time, an email to set one up a few days after my request. They gave me an option of 30-minute or 60-minute notice. I received a call and a little over an hour later, the service man had arrived. He assessed the equipment and stated that the previous handyman had irreparably damaged it, and it needed replacing. He gave me a quote for the replacement and his recommendations for the equipment. On the second appointment, a different service man arrived and completely replaced the equipment within 20 minutes. He kept the word of the prior quote and charged only that. I have not had issues since. Value: The cost for the assessment was $150. The cost for the replacement was $300, not including parts, which I obtained on my own. They were upfront about their costs, but I would say $450 to have my equipment in place. It took a few days from when I scheduled to when I could have an appointment. And then it took another few days after I obtained the replacement equipment before my appointment, so it ended up being a couple of weeks without a working faucet. I've had other services were the initial assessment is included in the final price after repair. Overall: They offer relatively quick and efficient services with convenient scheduling. The cost can be a big prohibitive, but, if you decide to move forward with them, then I recommend identifying and obtaining parts before your appointment. read more

I needed a new HVAC system installed. John and Don, (the two techs) were outstanding. They finished in one day and after two weeks all is still well. They arrived on time and wasted zero time in completing the task. They both deserve a raise! read more

I have a service contract with this company that is supposed to give us priority for their scheduling and a discount on their service calls. I recently called them to have someone check why the upstairs bedrooms weren't cooling enough. They sent a very friendly technician who said that that we need to have a damper installed. He wrote it up on the invoice and indicated that someone would call me to schedule it. I was charged for the call even though nothing was fixed. No one ever called and I never got that discount they had promised for the service call. Since then I have called them three times to have the damper installed. Each time the receptionist told me that they would have the manager prepare the estimate and call me back. They never called back. My recommendation, stay away from this company. read more

I had Foster replace my bathroom faucet. I should have asked the price before he started because they charge by the job not by the hour. I had the faucet and it took the plumber exactly 20 mins to install. cost: $299.32! my advice, ask how much before the job begins. read more

They charged over $900 for a two man team to do less than three hours of work. They installed two standard Delta bathroom faucets and a Kohler toilet--all supplied by me and at the premises when they arrived. I did not get an estimate in advance and was shocked by the charge. In addition, one plumber gouged the vanity countertop when installing one of the sinks, causing several deep and noticeable marks. The manager later came to our home and inspected the countertop. He said the plumber who damaged it was no longer with the company. The manager also said he would have the countertop repaired. The manager is currently working with a contractor to arrange for repair or replacement. read more

Foster is the best I've found in Richmond. Great service, really good quality technicians who know what they're doing, and fair prices. I'm a huge fan! I just did a plumbing project/ bathroom addition. My sales contact was Matt, service Sheryl & techs Wayne & Lydia. All are fantastic!! I've also used for HVAC and had a great experience. Thanks Foster team ... you guys rock! read more

My mother has used this company maybe 2 or 3 times and has been highly disappointed with the lack of communication and doing a quick job rather than doing the job correctly. About a month ago after her checkup for the year we called back because our Hvac unit was still having issues after it was checked out, so they sent a man the next day who was rude, did not wear a mask, left dirt on her floor. I called the next day to speak to Holly or Harly and she was the absolute worst customer service manager ever. DONT USE THIS COMPANY, plenty of better, reliable, family business that will help. I've been waiting for a call from Jeff for a long time but clearly the owner doesn't care. read more

We have done business with Foster for years and years and have always been satisfied,,,,Awhile back I believe the company went thru some changes with management, I'm not sure...but for years we did not need plumbing services,,,But on 5/20/2023 we noticed that our kitchen sink had a little drip from the faucet and one of the faucets in my bathroom sink and tub was dripping. So we called Foster Plumbing and heating,,A tech was sent out on 05/23/2023 to evaluate/fix the problems..The Tech worked on the kitchen sink and the tub faucet..( which we were charged $440.00 for), needless to say the problem was not corrected. My husband called Foster again to let them know we are having the same problem,,so Foster did send another Tech out to evaluate the problem again, they agreed to reimburse us some of our monies back minus the service charge,,,ok we agreed to that, so a Tech came out on 6/2/2023 to replace the faucets in the kitchen and bathroom sink,,,( Now keep in mind we never had any type of leak from the pipes under either of the sinks), but once the tech that came out on 6/2/2023 replaced the faucet in my bathroom he said there's a leak under the sink..which was not there all the time..( 2 different techs came out and looked at what needed to be done prior to 6/2/2023 and NEVER SAID OR DOCUMENTED ANYTHING ABOUT A LEAK UNDER THE BATHROOM SINK,!!!!) I have several items under my bathroom vanity that was removed just before the tech got there and NOTHING, NOT ONE THING WAS WET !!!!..which lead me to believe the tech did something in error which has now caused a leak in the pipe under the sink...We are not pleased with the service we received...I had to put a BUCKET !!!!! under my sink to catch the water, which I'VE NEVER HAD TO DO BEFORE THE TECH CAME!!!!!! read more

Foster Plumbing & Heating replaced my heat pump 20 years ago. They did a fast, efficient, and affordable job. The unit is still going strong! read more

Fosters is always on point. Heat pump went out, called the next morning 7:30 spoke to a young lady, very nice, explained my situation. She set up a service call, said tech will call 30mins out, which he did. Tech arrived 11:30, very professional, masked up per covid, did some trouble shooting, found the issue, fixed it. I was back up and running a couple of hours. Very Thankful for the fast and courteous service. I have and will continue to Highly recommend Fosters to anyone with heating and plumbing needs. read more

First visit from Foster Plumbing last week after my clothes washer backed up and flooded all over the floor. Two guys working diligently unclogged the sewer line that ran from my house to the street/county system. The clog was almost at the street and they had to snake through maybe 35-40 feet of pipe to even get to it, then discovered it was complicated by tree roots and had to get through those. $159. Crazy good price for the amount of effort they put in. Will definitely use them in the future. read more

My mother has used there service once before and has nothing but bad things to say about this company. She's elderly and for a company that claims 24 hour emergency service, absolute false advertising. I spoke to harly once before and she knew what she was talking about but came off entirely rude after having to send a technician back a 3rd time to fix what they should have taken care of the first time!. They clearly pick and choose who they want to help in that office. Better off contacting howells or any other local. This company isn't worth the money. read more

On November 8, 2019 I placed a service call to repair my gas furnace. The pilot light would not stay on. I was told I needed a new Gas Valve and I gave the go ahead. For 9 more days I was left without heat throughout my downstairs when temperatures were in the 30s and 40s. When I called their office a few times, I was told the part was still on order. On the 18th I cancelled Foster's return service and called a competitor who made a service call within 2 hours, left for an hour and returned with the Gas Valve he got from a local distributor. I requested a refund for the service call from Foster (it was supposed to be applied to the repair) and got no response. read more

Called Foster P&H on a Friday afternoon and they came out same day to look at a heat pump that wasn't working. Unfortunately that's the only positive thing I have to say here. The technician said all of the freon had leaked out of our system and he strongly recommended that we need a completely new unit. What??? We had only lived in the house 4 years and the heat pump was 5.5 years old (new construction vacant for 1.5 years). With alarms going off everywhere that this company was a little shady I called another HVAC company and this technician diagnosed the same freon leak, pointed out the leak in honestly less than 30 seconds because there was visible evidence and all said and done the whole repair will be just over $500. Lesson here always get a second opinion! read more

Charges double the going rate even on spring weekdays. Will NEVER use them again. read more

These guys are ALWAYS there when I need them, and they are HONEST to the letter! I have dealt with several "businesses" over the past ten years, most of which are in business only to RIPOFF customers. Foster Plumbing and Heating have always given me nothing but Great service, and at an HONEST price which is what other companies did not. Thanks Foster P&H for being the exception to the rule! read more

After two different times (December 2018 and March 2019) just trying to get a call I gave up. I do have voicemail so there should be no excuse of not being able to reach me. I was told the second time I called that they were short staffed, which is understandable as it happens, and was told that someone would call me back. Well guess what it is now May and no one has ever called back. In December I left at least 5 messages for a call back and no one returned my call. Fosters was recommended by many in Fordwich but I really don't understand why. Thankfully I found a more reliable business that actually returned my call, let alone assisted with my needs. For someone who lives in Fordwich and believe in supporting local businesses, this one for sure will not receive my support again. read more

Technician showed up on time (actually early, before 7:30 am). That is the best thing I can say about my brief experience with Foster Plumbing and Heating. He did not introduce himself as he was invited to enter my home, with his coffee cup in tow. I told him I needed him to look at a leak in a tub/shower combination unit. The diverter mechanism was stuck in the up/shower position and there was a very slow drip in the tub faucet. He proceeded to bang on the diverter, hard, unit he was satisfied that it was, in fact, stuck. After which he simply stated the whole thing had to be replaced. When I asked follow up questions, about the repair process and the price he was very arrogant and condescending to the point that I had to ask him to leave. He was irritated by my questions and seemed annoyed to have to explain anything to me. He was unprofessional and carried an aggressive manner. He acted like he was doing me a favor, instead of being hired to do a job. read more

Very unprofessional. Sent someone out and charged $126 for nothing. The tech that came was great, and said the banging we were hearing was a classic symptom of dirty fiters. They should have reminded us that could be a problem over the phone and not wasted both of our time. We called them out b/c the system was still under warranty so we didn't put much thought into it. Since filters don't fall under warranty, they charged us for the visit. And this was after they had sent someone to the house the day before when we had told them we were getting ready to leave. Apparently, they thought he could get there and finish the job in under 5 minutes. And add to that, when I asked 3 times to speak to a manager about the bill, no one ever returned my call. read more

I received an estimate to replace some old cast iron pipes from another plumbing company for $3000. Foster's just left my house after completing the work for $680. Very prompt, professional, and fair! read more

I'm college student and haven't had water in my apartment for 5 days because of a pipe bursting. The original problem, day 1, was behind the sink where I could clearly see water dripping in from the foundation. Day 2, the landlord called some random plumber and this plumber concluded the problem was with the city pipes but the city claimed it was the house pipes (which it obviously was because there was water coming in out of my back wall). Day 5, My landlord was negligent in finding a competent plumber within reasonable time and was set on the fact that it was the city pipes because the random plumber said so. So I took the job of finding a plumber into my own hands. When the pipes unfroze on Sunday, I discovered a new, bigger leak in the same bathroom on the adjacent wall and the previous issue behind the sink had somehow "fixed itself". There was now only one clear leak spewing out of the wall and puddling in the corner of the bathroom. Given it was Sunday at around 3-4pm, I called and left a message to Foster's Plumbing & Heating and they called me back within 15 minutes and was able to get someone out here promptly within the next hour. Jacob was our plumber - he was able to diagnose the problem pipe within about 5 minutes. After Jacob, quickly and efficiently fixed the pipe that was causing the puddle in our bathroom I explained to him what the original issue was behind/under the sink and that somehow it's not leaking anymore. After explaining this to Jacob, he was able also to find the original burst pipe from day 1 behind the sink (it was still frozen, so it didn't fix itself) and fix that pipe promptly as well. I am VERY appreciative and thankful for this company and employee! You guys are the best! Thank you SO much! read more

We moved into a newly renovated house a year ago and have had many plumbing issues, something I have very little experience with. Foster Plumbing has been here 4 times in the last two months. The upfront customer service is not great, not friendly and will not give any priority to emergency calls. You have to be available all day, no specific time given. However, the plumber has been great and if he couldn't fix it, led me to someone who could. Their fixed start rate for a visit is $125, I think that might be standard but I haven't had that much previous experience. We did purchase a home warranty with this house that did not cover any of this work. I've learned they have very limited coverage. read more

We woke up with no heat on a 38 degree day. My wife and I have an 18 month old child. It was 55 degrees in our house and getting lower and lower. We called into Foster Plumbing and heating and they sent someone out within 2 hours. The 2 guys the came were professional and fast. They had our heat back up in no time. They did such a good job, we are going to sign up for their service contract. read more

Called Foster Plumbing about a leak in my family room downstairs they came out tightened a packing nut charged me a WHOLE lot of money said it was fixed nothing is leaking but whole family room is flooded. Husband asked about financing if they found a bigger problem he said they don't finance but on there website it CLEARLY shows they do. Water still going into family room but they swear nothing is leaking. Plumber wants to charge us again if he comes out there but I'd rather take that lost and go to another company that is trustworthy and honest. I will NEVER use them again. I learn from my MISTAKES. As far as financing goes I guess they only want to let certain folks know that financing is an option. They don't deserve a star at all. read more

My Mother-in-law's shower was stopped up and it was about to be a rather stinky holiday season until we called Foster's early in the AM. Our message was immediately returned to let us know a truck had been dispatched and help was on the way. Our plumber, Dan, sized up the situation in moments, called off the back-up truck (in case it was a bigger job) and removed a hair clog the size of a ferret. Ewwwwww...he was funny, prompt, and even made sure to wipe his boots before entering the house (much to the delight of my MIL.) An excellent service call all around from a family biz that has installed all my family's water heaters for years-- I wouldn't call anyone else :) read more

We've used Fosters for the past 3 years, and they've installed a mini split system for us, installed a bathroom, and maintained our plumbing and HVAC systems for us. We've been very happy with service. We are currently having a new HVAC system installed to replace an older system, and the whole process has been easy. We had several other estimates, and as always, Fosters was reasonable, honest, and accommodating. We recommend them to anyone who needs a good company to help maintain their home. read more

Technician came to my house, I was at work so I left keys out, and did his diagnosis which revealed his solution; clean the blades and take out a pound of Freon(R22) because there was too much in the unit. 3 days later, nothing had changed so I call Foster's and ask what will happen next, what sort of guarantee do I have since someone just came out. The answer was none, he would come out again and I would need to pay for whatever services were performed. I was irritated so I called someone else. When this other company came out, they told me the problem was that the unit was low on Freon and the caps had been left off which probably allowed some coolant to escape. He ended up putting 1.5 pounds of coolant back in the unit and it has been running great ever since. I don't like to jump to conclusions but I don't feel I was treated fairly at all; I also spent a lot of money which is frustrating. read more

We woke up one (Sunday) morning to the unpleasant surprise of our gas furnace not working. We called Foster Plumbing & Heating and within 5 minutes our call had been dispatched to the on-call technician who took the time to troubleshoot our problem over the phone before scheduling an appt. When we realized that it was a system problem, the technician squeezed us into his morning schedule and was at our house within 2 hours. The technician was extremely professional and respectful and explained everything in layman's terms so I knew what needed to be repaired/replaced. Since the technician did not have the necessary part on hand, he had to come back out the next day to finish the job. However, instead of literally leaving us in the cold, he was able to apply a quick fix to our furnace to get us through the day/night. This saved us from having to pack up and leave our house for the night. The technician was back the very next morning and we were back up and running in no time. We were very pleased with our experience and highly recommend Foster Plumbing & Heating to anyone looking for a company they can trust. read more