We consider Ace Drain to not only be the gold standard in plumbing (for jobs big OR small), but one…read moreof the few flawless contractors we've ever used. It's a family-run business which Shane took over from his dad, so Shane has seen it all: his plumbing knowledge runs deep and he's a terrific problem solver.
Our story: we discovered that we had a below-slab break in our kitchen sink drain, which was our rude awakening to the fact that cast iron drains have a shelf life of about 60 years before crumbling -- not good news, since we live in a 60 year old house (!). Clearly, this was the beginning of what promised to be an ongoing problem.
We had met Shane and the Ace Drain team as the go-to plumber for the contractor who had just completed what we were hoping was going to be the final household renovation project for some time, so learning of the extent of the drain problem was sobering: it sounded like it was going to be messy, invasive and expensive. (Important side note: if you're planning to renovate an old house, redo the drains before doing cosmetic renovation -- "ground up." It will be so much easier during the demo phase, since you don't want the mess and expense of having to rip up floors and redo them later -- major life lesson learned). Shane had already done excellent work for us in the recent past like rootering our sewer line and installing our tankless water heater, so we were confident with his abilities. It was initially looking like he would have to tear up the floor of our kitchen to get at the root of the problem, which would have forced an unwanted kitchen remodel and tons of additional expense. But after further investigation and problem solving, Shane was able to bypass our kitchen entirely and replace our crumbling drains via "trenchless pipe bursting," which is accomplished via two entry points: one in our backyard just outside the kitchen, and one in our laundry area (which thankfully meant being able to section off the messiest part of the job). From there, along with a third entry point in the garage, Shane and his team were able to access and replace the entire network of drains on that side of our three-bathroom house. With two more openings in our front yard, we were able to access the drains on the opposite side of our house which we decided to proactively "sheath" (line the interiors with new coating) to extend their life another 30 years or more since they still had not deteriorated to the extent that the others had. And the no-brainer was to proactively replace any exterior sewer drains that we hadn't yet done piecemeal over the years (as various sewer backups forced the situation).
Our biggest takeaway: through experience, anything that can go wrong in renovation projects will go wrong -- and the scale of this drain renovation project was such that we were awaiting the inevitable complications and/or human error. But Shane and his team exceeded expectations: contrary to the scope of the operation, the drain replacement was the smoothest renovation we've ever experienced. Any problems were anticipated and solved, and the team was focused, respectful and tidy.
A note about the expense: whole-house drain replacement is a major job so it's going to be costly no matter who you use (encompassing not just the plumbing, but the demo and subsequent replacement of floors, paint, etc). Most insurance carriers will not reimburse for the plumbing, which they consider ordinary wear and tear rather than a disaster. HOWEVER, our carrier DID reimburse for what they call "access and egress" -- basically, the demolition, floor replacement, concrete, paint and finishing work. That cost was literally HALF of the overall job total, so if you find yourself in our predicament, press your insurance carrier to pony up.
We've attached some photos from the job: 3 shots of our 60 year old deteriorated iron pipes; the two-entry-point trenchless in front for the sewer line replacement; the "after" of the exterior kitchen; and the "before" access point on the back side of our laundry room
