Experience
with Mr. Rooter Waco was extremely sad and horrific. It was awful.
I would never recommend them to anyone at all for any reason.
I
apologize to my friends who read my blog.
This is not pleasant. But… in
order to make certain full information is provided to those who want to check
reviews on Mr. Rooter Waco, it is my best way to get it out there. If this does not impact you, please just
close this one! Will try to post a “good”
post for you soon!
Caveats
regarding Review:
All of the things
discussed below are things we tried to fully comprehend.
The things we
indicate and note did not match what we were told are based on our opinion about
the experiences and results.
The entire post
includes my experiences and my spouse’s experiences which are combined for the
review.
Now then... here
is what we experienced from start to “finish”:
I
began noticing some sounds associated with plumbing items. Felt like plumbing needed to be checked
out. The house was built in 1965 so,
obviously, things will deteriorate over time.
To avoid a possible major event (the house flooding with sewer!), we
tried to get a plumbing company with major abilities out to check on things.
The
first company referred to us did send someone out. Information was provided and we were told we
would hear back by the end of that week.
Over seven weeks have passed as I am typing this post… and we still have
heard nothing at all… and clearly won’t.
The
second company we contacted was Mr. Rooter Waco. They had been seen in our neighborhood
frequently and had (apparently) very good reviews. (We discovered later they do not post
negative reviews to their web site and there were plenty of them posted
elsewhere. So very sad.) Mr. Rooter Waco
was called out to the house for a few repairs mainly due to the guest bath tub
holding water around the drain cover and gurgling sounds that weren’t right.
Mr.
Rooter Waco sent out an individual on Monday (1/10). He went through the system. A camera probe was
inserted into the sewer plumbing line and watched as it moved its way down the
line to the guest bath tub. The camera stopped at the guest bath tub
intersection. When asked what we were
looking at, the individual replied, in essence, that the *sewer line had
collapsed*. He ran the camera down the
line a second time and again was asked at what were we looking? The individual replied again, in essence,
that *your sewer line has collapsed down on that end of the house*. Well, it sounded like a real emergency so we
should get this fixed immediately. Bottom line: He indicated we needed to
replace the cast iron piping that was original to the house as some areas had
corroded and had collapsed.
He
ran an estimate for all of that along with a couple of other minor things we
wanted to have done. Welcome to a $32,000+
estimate, my friends. It included digging
a literal “tunnel” underneath the house, 3’x3’x3’ and 50’ long… front to
rear. Whoa! However, the piping was beneath the slab and
in order to replace it, it was clearly necessary to dig beneath for access and
replacement. He was even “kind” in indicating
he was only going to charge for about 20’ of the new PVC rather than the full
50’. Gee. That sounded nice. I also asked if there was a discount for a
cash payment (he had suggested a firm they refer customers to that would
“finance” the cost…). He mulled about a
bit and did finally subtract another $1,000.
While that sounds nice, just note that $1,000 is a VERY small percentage
of $32,000+!!! He said they would have workers
out the next morning to begin the tunneling if we wanted to go ahead and sign
the “contract.” My largest error was not
reading the entire thing. I assumed (my
stupidity and own fault) it was a standard-type contract for work. I was very wrong. I gave them a check for $10K as a “down
payment.”
Tuesday
morning (1/11), a few individuals arrived and began tearing out the two areas
that would lead to the sewer piping under the slab (one front, one rear) that
were part of my landscape beds. Large
tarps were thrown down and the dirt and rock began being dug out and piled onto
them. It was nightmarish. A jackhammer was being used to tear into the
rock in some areas. Clearly a large concern
about the support of the house once the rock was removed (and, we found later,
would NOT be replaced beneath the slab!).
By
Thursday afternoon (1/13), the tunnel was completely open. After the
tunneling crew left, my spouse went into the tunnel from both north and south
ends and crawled the length. He found no
collapsed pipe anywhere. What he saw was 57-year old pipe in solid condition. He noted all the original cast iron pipe was
completely intact. There was no sign of a collapse anywhere. There appeared to
be no emergency because there was no collapsed pipe. It all appeared solid as shown in the picture
below which he took while underneath the house.
The
actual plumber group (4 individuals) arrived Friday (1/14) to begin replacing
the piping. The old cast iron was pulled out (we found chunks out on the tarps
and did notice corrosion, as expected, but did not see any actual collapse of
the piping which we had been told had occurred). The inside of the
original cast iron piping showed normal wear and the condition you would expect
from 57-year old cast iron pipe that has been buried under your house. Corrosion?
Yes. Collapse? Did not see any at all.
New
PVC was put in as replacement. The original sewer pipe that runs north and south was replaced with PVC
pipe. The point where the alleged collapse was supposed to be replaced did not
appear to be replaced. The new PVC pipe
was connected to the “Y” fitting and the guest bathtub still has water over the
drain cover, which was one of the things we were told would be “resolved” by
the piping replacement. The line to the guest bathtub, toilet, and sink were
left with the original cast iron piping.
On the north end of the house was the original cast
iron piping going to the master bath toilet. Note how vertically straight it
is. The pipe is in the far left side of the picture below.
The picture below shows how it was replaced. It is hard to see but, in the background, the new PVC toilet pipe has a 20 degree lean to the left of vertical (which did not exist
before). This may be why the toilet rocks now?
The
main plumber advised we could expect the City Inspector out the following
Tuesday (1/18) (Monday the 17th was a federal holiday) to check the
installation. This is when things began
becoming problematic.
The
main plumber indicated he would be out Monday (1/17) to do the minor things
unrelated to the piping. It was Friday
evening (1/14), after the plumbing group had left, that I was walking into my
“dressing room” (a front bedroom where I keep my items) when my foot was caught
on a tall, pointed portion of the vinyl planking nearly causing me to fall! What?
It was ridiculous. The flooring
had been damaged during the replacement of the piping on Friday!! Checking other areas, we found several spots
where the flooring had been literally “pushed” up and away from the slab! It was so incredibly upsetting! Additionally, while in the Master Bathroom
(which was directly above the tunnel), it was discovered the toilet was no
longer attached to the floor!! It tilted
forward pulling the back portion up off of the floor! Clearly there had been damage done to our
slab/flooring when the piping was being replaced. These problems did NOT occur until Friday
evening, after the old piping was pulled and the new piping put in place. It had not occurred during the tunneling. I was so upset over the weekend, I could
barely sleep.
The
next section will provide information about what is likely to have caused the
flooring and toilet problems.
Due to the plumbers using hammer drills to place
anchors from which the PVC would be hung, we believe the slab sustained damage
to the top as well as the penetration points on the bottom of the slab.
See the spalling (def. “to break up or reduce by or as if by chipping
with a hammer” – Merriam-Webster.com) around the anchor point in the picture below. The concrete is chipped
away in a circle mostly due to a hammer drill being used to drill the hole for
the anchor. With the repetitive
hammering of the hammer drill, the spalling must have continued to the top of
the slab which would cause flooring damage. The flooring cover has not been
removed to ascertain the damage from the drilling.
The damage to the flooring lines up with where the
pipe hangers/anchors are placed. You can
see the progression/outline where the tunnel was by the bumps under the
flooring. If a standard drill was used
with a masonry drill bit then perhaps the spalling would not have occurred?
Monday
morning (1/17), the main plumber was supposed to come out. He did not show up. No one contacted us. We called the office near Noon and were told
he was sick and had a doctor’s appointment scheduled.
Tuesday
morning (1/18), the main plumber arrived at the front door… hacking, sick,
discussing his weekend of vomiting… and was not allowed into our house!!! We asked if the Inspector was coming that day
(which he had told us the week before) since he had told us to NOT answer the
door or leave access to the back yard when the inspector arrived. Why?
Because, he told us, the piping from the other end of the house, where
it connected to the piping that had been replaced, was about ½ inch lower than
the replaced piping. He told us that was
“not really a problem”… but if the inspector saw it, he would not approve it
AND it would cost us another $1,200 to dig a trench to lower the drain, etc.,
etc., etc. BUT… he specifically advised
it had been that way since Day One and it was NOT causing any problem and it
really did NOT need to be changed… so… make sure the inspector couldn’t get to
the back of the house to see it. AND…
when he was asked why he was there if the Inspector was coming that day, he
indicated he had “forgotten” he wanted to make certain he was not there. Really?
He also indicated the Engineering Report had to be done before the
inspection was done AND before the tunnel could be filled. He left to go somewhere else. Neither the Engineer nor the Inspector showed
up that day.
Wednesday
morning (1/19), we called the office. We
asked why the Inspector did not come on the 18th? And when was he coming? We also asked when the Engineer was supposed
to be out since we had been told the Engineering Report had to be done prior to
the inspection? We were told they had
been trying to reach the Engineer but were unable to do so. Didn’t know where he was or when he would be
out. Really? Then why was the Inspector scheduled? We were told the Inspector would be out
either Thursday or Friday (20th or 21st). No information about the Engineer was
included. They would get back with us
(which did not happen).
Thursday
(1/20), nothing happened. No one
came. No one called. We were left sitting wondering what was going
on.
Friday
(1/21), the Inspector did arrive. He was
on our Security Camera from 12:44-12:47 p.m.
He never rang the doorbell,
popped down into the hole in the front of the house, then popped right
back out. Surely did not seem like much
of an inspection? Wonder what he looked
at?
Monday
(1/24), the office was called for two reasons.
First, where was the Engineer? He
has not been out (which our Security Camera could verify). Our main plumber had told us he had to be out
before the Inspector. The office advised
that the Engineer was supposed to be out AFTER the Inspector. Really?
At that point, it was questionable which party was “lying” to us. Those were two completely opposite timelines…
and it certainly seemed as though that would not be the case in an office that
booked things?
Tuesday
(1/25), nothing happened. No one
came. No one called. Again, we were left sitting wondering what we
should expect? The Engineer? He did not arrive (again… not on our Security
Camera).
Wednesday
(1/26), the workers arrived early in the morning to fill the tunnel!!! The office was called. Where is the Engineering Report? The Engineer has not been here. We have not seen him on the Security
Camera. The office tells us they now
HAVE the Engineering Report… and they emailed it to us that day, 1/26/2022 at
11:32 a.m…. and it is DATED 1/26/2022.
If the workers arrived early this morning and we have yet to see the
Engineer on the Security Camera at all since the beginning, when exactly was he
out to do the Report? The office
couldn’t tell us anything about when it was done… but they said we could
try to reach the Engineer (who they told us they could NOT reach the week
before) to ask him when he was here.
Sigh. Is this really a report
from him? It’s a very standard
letter-form, unsigned by an actual person (just a name stamp), with our address
filled in like on an existing form AND… with the seal approval date shown as
“1-26-21.” That was a year ago. Hmmmmmm.
Also
on Wednesday (1/26), the workers nearly filled a long trailer attached to their
pickup with the rocks from under the house… AND with a substantial amount of
dirt, as well. Excuse me? Please explain to me how you can literally
remove a LARGE amount of cubic feet of earth/rock from underneath my house and
it will be as well-supported as it has been since 1965? Wonder if/when I should expect things to
begin shifting at that end of the house and creating cracks in the sheetrock?
By
Friday (1/28), problems continued when the main plumber still had not been out
to finish do the “minor” things that had been included in the estimate. Once again, we called the office to ask when
he would be out? They apparently
contacted him and sent him to our house.
At that time, he saw the damaged flooring in the two bedrooms. He also, allegedly, reattached the
Master Bathroom toilet to the floor (remember… it had been disconnected when
the other damage was done during the installation of the PVC). Note that it was not reattached and
continues, to this day, to lift from the flooring. Oh… and the Jack and Jill bathroom toilet has
also been found to be detached. Clearly
neither can be reattached due to the damage done during the “hammering” of the
slab in order to set up the lines to hold the new PVC.
Monday
(1/31), the main plumber came out with a woman from the office to “assess” the
flooring damage.
We
were told the anchors placed in the slab to hold the PVC piping had to be
placed at a specific depth to meet code.
The main plumber and the woman both told me that my
house slab was too thin and not of the “correct” depth/thickness. He continued
to repeat the slab was only 4 to 4.5 inches thick and that the slab, to be “correct”
thickness, must be 8 to 12 inches thick! The woman agreed with Bill that the slab was
not the correct thickness and said she knew this because she is in the process
of getting her Master Plumbers License. I
went to the City of Woodway (where we live) Permit Department and asked what
was the regulation for the thickness of a house slab, either new construction
or older construction? The Permit Department
employee stated the concrete slab thickness and material makeup is whatever the
engineer who drew the plans specifies. That
doesn’t sound like there is a “code” thickness of 8”-12”, does it? Our question?
If the slab was poured and met code in 1965, wouldn’t a good
company check to see if there might be any problems arising should the “current
code” need to be met (questionable) without checking the property (the slab, in
our case)? Their response was simply
they had to follow the “current code”… regardless. Interesting.
She said they would contact us that afternoon to let us know when they
would send out restoration people to check out the flooring problem. She also indicated the Franchise Owner would
arrive on Thursday (2/3) to discuss the flooring situation. As of today (2/28/2022),
we have never heard from anyone. Oh… and
she also
Demanded the balance of the original estimate be paid immediately. It was.
So… we have now spent a substantial amount of money for questionable
purposes with problems remaining and new damage done. So sad.
Just
as a little bit of confirmation of what we believe to be true regarding slab
depths, here are a few pictures:
These
are from the house behind us. Built
about the same time. It is currently
under a full renovation so the plumbing is being accessed from above. As you can see, the slab on this particular
house is between 3.75 and 4 inches in depth.
The third picture shows the tape measure being held at the bottom of the
slab itself. (Are Master Plumbers taught
something incorrect? Hmmmmmmmmm?)
Interestingly
enough, one of the local HEB grocery stores is under a remodel. While not knowing the year it was built
originally, guessing it was not any earlier than 1965? Here are a few pictures of the building slab
where the work is being done. As you can
see, the commercial retail building slab is between
4.5 and 5 inches. Where does Mr. Rooter Waco come up with a resedential house
slab needing to be between 8 and 12 inches to be in compliance with code? We just are never able to get responses to
questions… or any communication at all.
Now
then… as I type this (2/28) preparing it for my blog, it has been 20 business
days since Monday, 1/31. We have not
heard a single word from anyone at Mr. Rooter Waco. The check, however, did make it to the bank
immediately! Perhaps there was a concern
a stop-payment would be generated? Oh…
no… we are honest, reasonable adults who meet the agreement(s) we make… even if
things aren’t exactly as they should be based on an original discussion. It certainly appears as though Mr. Rooter
Waco may not be honest and reasonable.
*Update 2/15/2022: A message was left for me on Monday (2/14) from a
young lady at “Mr. Rooter Corporate” here in Waco. She indicated she had received my complaint
(I submitted a survey indicating I would never refer anyone to Mr. Rooter) and
wanted to discuss it. I contacted her on
Tuesday (2/15). She was very nice. I gave her the “Reader’s Digest” version of
how horrible our experience was and the things remaining damaged. She indicated
she would contact the Franchise Owner (who we were told by the main plumber
would be out on Thursday, 2/3, to discuss the situation but had not done so)
regarding my situation. I told her to
please make certain I was not going to be simply called and told that Mr.
Rooter had no responsibility for damage (which I mentioned is in the
“contract”). If that was the case, I
would prefer to NOT receive any communication from the Franchise Owner. Period.
*Update 2/28/2022: Have heard nothing at all from either the young
lady or the Franchise Owner who were both mentioned above. Not surprised.
So…
$31,000+ later, we have work done that we cannot see nor can we confirm any
inspection or engineering was done in a manner that would verify it was done
properly. We have two specific problems
that were generated by the company… 1) flooring damage in two rooms, and 2) two
toilets that aren’t safe to use without extreme caution. About all I can guess is we will have to pay
additional funds for flooring work, a real plumber to come fix the toilets… and
some landscaping help to put the areas where the work was done back into
reasonable shape, including replacing any plants that were killed during
digging.
Negative
Mr. Rooter Waco issues:
1)
Communication
– No contact made. We were left never
knowing whether we needed to stay home on given days to allow access for
repairs. We were never provided
information we requested when we were told they would have to “check” on it.
2)
Honesty
– Why do different people from the same company in the same office tell
completely opposite things? And who is
telling the truth… and who is lying?
Additionally, if you tell me to expect a call or a visit… why does
neither occur?
3)
Lack
of Concern – Upon checking the actual “estimate”, page 2 where stuff is
included, I discovered Mr. Rooter completely refuses
any responsibility for any damage for any reason while working. Wow. Guess they have done so much damage over the
years, they want to be certain to avoid having to pay repairs in the future.
My
point for you all is this: We have
worked for different companies over many years (spousal-unit and I). Regardless of what might have occurred during
our work, we always made it our goal to provide excellent service, keep our
clients notified of everything, and make sure we “fixed” anything we “damaged”,
whether physically or related to the contract/agreement we had with them… even
if it wasn’t necessarily something that was our fault!! Quite honestly, as a child, I was taught how
to properly offer service to clients. I
was taught how to do the right thing… business- or personally-related. It truly saddens me that this has completely
deteriorated over the years.
Since
relocating to Waco, our experiences with those whom provide various services
have not been that great. There have
been a very few individuals (a cabinet-maker, an individual
plumber, and a roofer) who have actually done a wonderful job at a reasonable
rate for us. Most others have either
done a limited job (not up to my standards) or a pathetic job (although Mr.
Rooter has won the top-of-the-pathetic-job-award now!). It’s not just Waco. I’m sure it is everywhere these days.
So…
if you have read this due to finding my review and the link to this extensive
post, I hope you have figured out you need to keep looking for a plumbing
firm. If you have read it just because
you are my friend and subscribe to my blog, I apologize for boring you with
such sad information.
Until
next post...
