Drain Works Plumbing

We had a flood from our basement bathroom due to tree roots growing into our clay pipe. We called Drainworks and from the time we placed the call they had excellent follow-up, were quick, right on time and provided detail explanations of what they were doing and why they were doing it. They tarped the area they worked in, cleaned up well and were very respectful of our space. They replace our clay pipe, put new cement on the floor and everything was left clean and tidy. We would definitely call them again for any drain issues.

My wife and I along with our newborn son moved into our first home in Mimico last September knowing full well that with purchasing a house that was built in the 1930's comes many pocketbook setbacks. During our initial renovations, before we moved in, we discovered that there was a leak in our basement laundry room streaming from the wall. I decided to call the plumbing company I knew best, from seeing Terry Cord's smiling face on vans all around the city. Every review I read was positive so I did not hesitate to make the call. A DrainWorks plumber, who will remain nameless, was dispatched to our home and made me sign a $69 dollar diagnosis initiation fee that was to be waived when work began. Another fee was charged to cut through the drywall so that the problem could be found. When cutting through the drywall could not find the problem he made the diagnosis that the primer line from the laundry tub was backing up and filling the bottom plate of the drywalled wall in the laundry room and running along the plate to where the leak was spilling onto the floor. Myself being a carpenter by trade and not a plumber believed the diagnosis was true and could be taken care of easily enough. The DrainWorks plumber sold me a new tap for the laundry tub removed the primer line and that was to be that. Being impressed by the way DrainWorks had handled themselves so far I agreed to buy a new toilet for the main bathroom at approx. $600 plus installation. A couple of months later I noticed the same leak in the laundry room make its presence known. I inspected more closely and removed the cover plate in the wall of the laundry room and discovered that the valve that lead to the outdoor hose nozzle was leaking and dripping down behind the wall. Not needing the outdoor hose in the winter I decided to shut off the valve and deal with it in the spring, thinking that DrainWorks would help me out with the repairs seeing that the original diagnosis might have been incorrect. Spring came and we started to plant the garden so knowing that DrainWorks would have to get behind the drywall and I didn't want to be charged for something that I do for a living, I tore down the wall. It was lined with black mold and soft to the touch. When the wall came down I noticed that the original primer line was nowhere near the bottom plate of the wall and could have never backed up into it but the leaking valve was directly above the plate and was not able to shut off completely. I immediately made the call to DrainWorks knowing that the leak needed to be fixed ASAP. Upon speaking with their representative on the phone he told me that he could not say anything about a discount or comment about the past work because the warranty had expired and he did not do any of the original work. He gave me a possible appointment for the following Friday, two days from the call, or the following week with the original plumber. Having my hours fixed I could not meet with the original plumber on the Friday and not being able to wait for the following week I opted for another one of DrainWorks plumbers to come in on the Saturday, hoping that they could stay true to their image. Wrong. The new plumber came in, totally disregarded anything I had to say about past work done by the company and again made me sign a $69 diagnosis slip before he quoted me anything. With a new non freeze hose bib I was quoted $369. Watching the water drip into the bucket below the valve I agreed to let the work be done. He drained the pipe. Cut the pipe. Drilled a bigger hole through the original hole leading outside and cracked the brick and mortar two feet in either direction and then told me that the brick was just falling apart everywhere, maybe if he didn't drill though a joint that wouldn't have happened. He couldn't screw the new bib to the brick because he had cracked it so badly so he stuffed the hole with chunks of wood around the pipe and screwed it to that and told me that I should buy some non shrinking cement and fix the cracks to give the pipe some more support. He left and I felt hosed. Pun intended. I will make it my duty to make sure that everyone I know and everyone I do carpentry work for or renovations to never use DrainWorks. I truly had high hopes for them. I do love the toilet I bought from them. Too bad they wouldn't flush the cost of the second repair for me.

When I woke up in the morning I heard a Niagara Falls-like sound from outside. Hoping it wasn't coming from my house, I investigated to find that my hose faucet pipe was gushing water under my deck (where it then leaked into the basement, but that's another problem for another contractor). I tried and failed to reach another plumber, and finally tried DrainWorks at around 12:30 pm. The person who answered the telephone was friendly and efficient, and she arranged for someone to come to my house between 2 and 4.

Chris arrived on time, quickly diagnosed the problem (burst pipe due to freezing, although I don't know why it waited until June to finally give up the ghost) and the cause (no inside shutoff valve to the hose faucet, shoddy plumbing when hose faucet was installed). He gave me an estimate to fix the burst pipe and also install valves on that and my other hose faucet so this wouldn't happen again. He even gave me an instruction sheet on how to shut off the faucets in fall.

The work was completed quickly and (so far as I can tell) correctly, and Chris left everything clean and tidy. He was friendly, good-humoured and patient with my four-year-old's questions. All in all a very satisfying end to a stressful day.

The tech was on time for appointment. After listening carefully to my problem,he assessed the potential causes and quickly gave several solutions to the problem. He answered all questions prior to beginning the work as well and potential pricing.Drain works tech was very courteous and clean and efficient.

Phil was very courteous and professional. Explained the situation
and gave me options. Toilet performs like new. Second time I've
used this company and I've never needed them to come back because the
job wasn't done right the first time!

I'm glad I have this forum to relate that Jeff Wright of Drainworks was just about the best plumber you could imagine having in your house. He was friendly, professional, helpful and thorough. I wouldn't hesitate to choose Drainworks again or recommend them.

Fast and friendly service!
Informative and considerate as he wore covers over his shoes to prevent dirt to other areas. Corrected the problem well and although the machine that he used was loud, he somehow managed to fix the problem and not wake up our little toddler! Appreciated the speedy service!

We needed a plumber for the pipe leading to the outside tap, which had split inside the house over the winter. We've never called a plumber before so we called Drainworks based solely on their reviews here. Service was excellent - from the initial call to the service person, Chris, who not only did a great plumbing job, but went above and beyond what he was asked to do. (When he asked if there was anything else I needed, I jokingly asked if he fixed fences as I had backed into our driveway fence the night before and twisted the post to the point where the gate would not close and lock. Chris put a huge pipe wrench on the post and twisted it back around to where it belonged.) Even without this extra "service" we were very pleased with the job Chris did. The new tap, pipe, and shutoff were installed quickly and we were left with an instruction sheet, as a reminder on how to shut everything off for the winter. We would rate Drainworks higher than a "10" if it were possible. We would definitely call them again.

Phil from Drainworks did an excellent job with a leak we were experiencing. Price was competative and job was finished within two hours. We will use this company again in the future if we need a plumber.

On May 21, we had called Drainworks to look into our clogged kitchen sink as well as a slow drain in our bathroom sink. I was advised that the technician would be at our place around 6:30 pm. I had called at approx 5:30 pm. The technician, Matt, was prompt and was able to diagnose the problems quickly and efficiently. He provided us with a quote for the work to be done and after approval was given by us, promptly went to work. Matt provided top notch customer service and was able to walk me through the steps of what he was doing. He even put back all the stuff that was taken out from the cupboards. I have to say that Drainworks and Matt were great and the company practices what it preaches. Thank you so much for your assistance.