B in Cochrane

Schmidt installed the original plumbing in a new build. We immediately noticed that the hot water in the kitchen lost almost 1/2 of its temperature in 2 minutes by testing with a digital thermometer repeatedly. Installed insulation on all HW lines to kitchen _ no change. Contacted builder + Schmidt & response was that was typical installation. After months of putting up with this nonsense I personally removed the T-fitting that fed off the 3/4" line that goes upstairs to the 1/2" line to the kitchen & installed a new 1/2" line immediately above the hot water tank - problem solved - now a 3°C change in 2 minutes. I questioned where the syphoning of cold water was occurring though as before testing I'd closed the valves to the washing machine upstairs after I'd heard these could get stuck open. Then I noticed a "Thermostatic Mixing Valve" under the sink in the master bathroom. The builder had left the box & installation instructions for this unit in the furnace room and it clearly stated that installation was to be installed on the lines above the hot water tank to avoid scalding hot water - not 2 floors up in the master bath. I again inquired with both the builder & Schmidt and received no response on either inquiry to Schmidt. I'm noticing pressure pulsing in the shower stream of the master bath & will eventually remove this mixing valve entirely - I assume its either faulty or a POS from the manufacturer.

We had a great relationship until my first experience with warranty. There was a temporary 2x6 column poured into the basement floor. Warranty insisted it was structural even though it was 22" from steel column. 2nd experience was with grading. Work was great but material supplied was garbage. Removed 4" thick asphalt, a no excavating sign & rocks as big as your head. Zero organics in the rubble. Warranty insists its loam even though field staff contradict this. Update: an email was sent to Trico’s president 16Oct2020 & 1 of the issues noted was that 3 customers within a 1-block radius refused to deal with 1 of their warranty staff. The response was that the case gave them the opportunity to learn & improve. Time will tell. I wouldn't deal with them again though.

Edit May 3rd - I received a call from the management team on April 26 explaining that the employee handling issues & reviews was currently on extended leave, but that they took these issues very seriously & would respond ASAP. They called back May 2nd & the billing was explained & the bill adjusted. Apparently the parts were much more than $50, so I must apologize for assuming this cost. I called Knight Plumbing on April 9, 2018 because my main waterline was leaking between the valve on the street & my main shutoff in the house. The City had to be involved to shut off the street valve so we had to wait a week to address the issue. The tech arrived 25 minutes late so the city employee was long gone. He stated that the company had given him an hour to do the job which was plenty of time. He checked out the issue, quoted me $333 to replace the valve and since I was somewhat committed by this point I signed off on this. I was taken back by the cost but after working in the oil industry had heard that ball valves are very pricey. The quality of the work was great. After the tech finished the city water works employee showed up to open the valve outside & when I told him the charge he mentioned that the valve was worth about $20. My total bill was $430. I quoted the exact 1” valve at Emco for $31.36 retail - about $20 for a company to purchase. Parts for the job are roughly $50 + $75 callout fee leaving a 1 hour labour fee of $283 after tax. I requested a breakdown of the bill on their online form but after 3 days with no response decided to leave a voicemail with Mark Coffin, since his name was on responses on the Homestars review site. So here we are another 3 days later writing a review. Funny thing is the tech that did the work left me a card for Homestars to do a review. Clearly these guys don’t need the business, so I encourage you to not give them yours.