Drain Works Plumbing

I wasn't informed immediately that the company doesn't give free estimates, but charges $70 for a plumber to come and give an estimate. This wasn't disclosed until much later, and only after I had already paid for other services. The drain people used high pressure selling to convince me that I needed to pay $1600 for an excavation and $2800 for another excavation outside. The pressure continued even after the snake (which should have cost only $200) removed a piece of root and immediately cleared the drain.

Just had new granite countertops put in, and with them a new and more stylish set of kitchen sinks and different faucet configuration. Nothing aligned with the previous hookups. The person who was going to do the hookup didn't show up, so on a whim I called up Drainworks on a Sunday morning. Got a call back almost immediately, and was given a time for Monday morning, which unfortunately was not possible for me. Got another call back after lunch, things had been arranged a bit, and I could expect someone at noon. Perfect. At noon, the dispatcher phoned to say that a plumber was in the neighbourhood, and Phil showed up within a few minutes of that. Very friendly, clean and professional looking, he immediately gave me company ID, put plastic bags over his shoes before entering, assessed the situation, gave me a quote based on printed list, did exactly as he said he would, tested everything several times to make sure the seals were good (redid one he wasn't satisfied with), and was on his way. From beginning to end, this was one smooth, painless operation. They deserve the high ratings.

The dreamworks crew arrived on time, explained the work to be done clearly and quoted a fair price. The 2 men team did a really good job within a reasonale time. They are real professionals. I would recommend them to anyone who need plumbing service.

We just moved in our new house to find that we had backlow issue. We can't even take a shower before flooding the basement. The lady who sold the house had many flooding herself and her solution was... to repaint the basement. Not to say that the inspection overlooked the issue.
We called a first plumber who worked the shower drain with a bamboo. Didn't worked much but cost $150. Seems that bamboo might be a good opportunity for future stock investment. He called a colleague that did a video-scan only to find a single root. Find one root, snapped it and asked for $350 cash. We asked for an invoice that was never sent: the guy was fired by his boss after forgetting the cash in his pocket. Now the boss refuse to respond our call and we cannot get the invoice. Sounds familiar to you?
We call several other agencies, just to find things that Toronto plumbing industry seems full of Halloween characters. One offered to tube the pipes adding one layer from insie the previous clay pipe. Yes but what about the branches? Another offered to use some herbicide foam after snipping the roots. Well what about the herbicide ban in Ontario?
Eventually some good friends recommended us DrainWorks plumbing. You know what they are still our very good friends. They came the same day. Did a thorough exploration to both ends of the drain. Found 6 majors roots issue (not just one). Open the flow such that we could breathe (breathe would give you an idea). The made a quote that was right to the cent. When we ordered the work they arranged us to have a team the same day. They replaced 70 feets of pipe outside and under our house, worked super clean, minimised damage to our basement and landscape...
Of course I would strongly recommend them. The issue is how to put in jail all the cow-boy working in the field...

the work was performed in a timely manner and I am very satified with the end result. I would definitely recommend this company to others. this was my second time using the services of drainworks and i experienced exceptional service each time

DrainWorks was very professional. Once the problem was identified, they offered me several solutions and allowed me to observe them while they wrok. They did an excellent job clearing my basement drain and cleaned up the area. I highly recommend DrainWorks!

We had a bathroom faucet that had worked its way loose, and would no longer turn on. Despite scratching our heads over it for several days and taking it to the plumbing section of a local big box, we couldn't get it fixed. I called on a Wednesday and Drainworks were able to schedule an appointment for the next afternoon, allowing a slot between 1 and 3pm. I found the company was great about calling to give a more precise time, and the plumber arrived very shortly after the appointed time. Chris was friendly, very polite and professional, and was able to solve the problem with only a little head-scratching on his part. He also took the extra time to investigate another non-plumbing issue I asked him about and referred another tradesman to make that repair. The only comment I would make is that the repair was perhaps a little more expensive than I'd anticipated, but only a little, and probably worth it for how quickly they could schedule an appointment and a quick professional solution to a frustrating plumbing problem. I also appreciated the ability to pay by credit card.

Mattrew was the 3rd plummer from a different company to come out to unclog the tub drain in 3 years. He was the only one to provide simple yet preventative advice to avoid such frequent clogs. The stopper mechanism in tub faucet was catching everything on the way down the drain but Mattrew suggested removing it and using a simple rubber stopper. That advice alone was priceless!

Thanks Matthew

Work happened in mid-2008 - finally posting now, so forgive the tardiness. This will be long but I believe value is in detail.

We had water appearing through the ceiling below our main bathroom. There's a landing and stairway to the basement below that area, so we pulled down the drywall above and discovered the leak to be around the toilet drain. Yikes.

I called one company which we had used on a prior project (way overpriced we learned later, but emergencies make you feel like you're backed into a corner and their reputation was pretty good - the work was very good but the price was way high) to have a look. The guy just kind of shone a flashlight around from below, had me flush the toilet while he watched the leak happen, took the toilet off the flange to see what could be seen, then headed out to the truck for 10-15min and came back with a quote for $2k to replace what amounted to about 18" of pipe (the toilet is very near the main stack) and a toilet flange - basically a "go away" type of quote. Having a second bathroom this was a non-emergency so we decided to shop.

I found DrainWorks on this site and was happy to give them a call given not only the good rating but the volume of reviews. I also learned that whoever they send is a licensed plumber with a van fully stocked with the supplies necessary to fix most problems on the spot, which I can say is true and very nice. There is a reasonable fee to visit, which in my case was waived since work was eventually done.

Phil arrived and explained how things work. Before anything was done, he walked me through a *price list* so I knew what I was in for. If this, then it costs that. If a more involved solution is needed, then it costs this much, etc. He had me sign my agreement then began diagnosing the problem. It took a little while but the exact problem was identified, rather than a general diagnosis, and a solution devised. (Problem: picture a handyman special where a newer toilet flange is connected to an original toilet flange 4" below (due to a raised floor over an old bathroom - old houses have such charm... :)) with a ton of caulking that eventually dried out gave way. Add to that a hole in the old copper drain piping. Solution: new flange and proper piping from that flange to the stack.) I had no idea from the previous guy that this was the problem - only just planning for a new flange + piping to the stack which was very close.

Work began, and I assisted because I'm interested and the working space was awkward. Phil was fully capable of handling everything himself, I just wanted to make things easier while I watched and learned. While the work was going on, I asked how he ended up at DrainWorks and why he liked it. Having been an independent businessman for many many years, he grew tired of giving free quotes which turned in to no work, and competing against unlicensed people given the time he put into his training and skill development. DrainWorks has a good name and a price list which is clear, they don't jerk their employees around, and standards need to be met, which he agrees is a smart approach worth paying for. (Phil, I'm paraphrasing from memory so correct me if I've misquoted you.)

The work itself was about $500 (diagnosis + new pipe + new flange over 3+ hours of effort) vs the previous $2k quote. I elected to purchase a new toilet as well, which pushed the cost up another $700 - high quality, low flow, dual flush unit which qualified for a City of Toronto eco rebate and solved the problem of having to mate a 1960s unit with a protruding exit to current toilet flange design which expects a fairly flush exit.) I certainly could have gone to my local big box store and scored a cheaper toilet to install myself, but I felt confident that I was getting a good unit and after a year of use with no problems can confirm. Later research proved the quality was indeed high and the price was very reasonable. Also, the unit, one of a few models, was in the van so Phil was able to supply it on the spot versus having to come back another day. Keep in mind the other quote was $2k just for new pipe and no new toilet.

After the work was completed, Phil offered a free inspection of our plumbing which I very much valued given plans for several reno projects and during which he identified a few issues and I asked lots of questions and got a ballpark cost of what I was in for for those projects.

I've since used DrainWorks for another big project (to be reviewed shortly) and will use them tomorrow for a third. If you have any hesitations, remember that after agreeing to the reasonable fee to visit your home (nothing is free, and quality is worth paying for) you will get excellent work at a fair price. Your agreement is required before any further work is done so if you feel uncomfortable, stop and you're done after paying what you've already agreed to.

All the staff were respectful of any mess or damage done from the digging work. I have had contractors come in my house with muddy boots and not even offer to take the boots off, and walk on my carpets.
The staff here was careful about that, and did an amazing job putting back a bush and the grass after digging. Having a separate person check the job thoroughly was also great.