Big City Plumbing, LLC

Called Big City Plumbing after notifications from SAWS about excessive water usage. Chris & James performed a leak detection inside my home. Nothing inside was found. Water meter was still showing "running". Overnight water was flowing front yard down driveway into street. Called; spoke w Rafaela & Alyssa regarding visible leak. James returned to provide a contract to repair. Big City Plumbing took care of the steps w the office staff notifying me of what to expect. Excavation crew was mindful of saving flagstone & where dirt was placed. Chris & James returned to install a new main waterline from meter to house. Excavation crew backfilled & repositioned flagstone. This entire process was well organized w/o any issues. The owner of company came by to check in w me. This process could not have been better! Will definitely use Big City Plumbing if need arises

Big City Plumbing did an excellent job fixing a leak in our yard. They responded quickly, showed up on time, and were very professional throughout the entire process. The repair was done efficiently, and everything was explained clearly. I really appreciate how reliable and responsive their team is. Highly recommend Big City Plumbing if you need fast and professional service.

From my initial contact with Rafaela to schedule service with Gerald Johnson (and his assistant Felix) and even after the service call, I had a very good experience. Gerald was highly recommended by my neighbors who had major work done 2 years - they were very pleased with his “diagnosis” and work completed. Rafaela’s explanation of fees was transparent - she was thorough in requesting I forward images of a situation to share with Gerald in advance of his service call. While here, I asked Gerald to look into another concern I had - he identified a problem with my water softener which is being addressed on a service visit next week. Unlike some of the other companies I’ve called in the past (Jon Wayne), there was no pressure to upsell me. Excellent follow-up by Rafaela confirming an order for a new water softening system and quick installation three days after the initial service call by Gerald. I really appreciate the coordination between the team at Big City Plumbing. I feel like I paid a fair price for the service given by your team. I would not hesitate using or recommending Big City Plumbing in the future.

Unprofessional, incorrect information given by operator on initial call. Didn't fix the issue with the first visit, had to come out again and wanted to charge an additional amount for something that was still broken. Peter and his helper that came out today didn't even want to stay to try and help the issue while I was on the line with the operator trying to understand the wrong quote given on the phone. During which, the guys outside were in a hurry to leave and didn't want to wait while we sorted out the price details. When Travis, the owner, called after the fact he said that the operator doesn't have the correct information because she isn't the technician. Hmm, but she is the front line of your company right? He wanted to argue and be unprofessional. I understand it's Christmas Eve, people want to be home with their families but do not give out incorrect information to begin with, don't schedule your workers to work when the don't want to and don't argue with customers *after* the fact. I am well aware that "services aren't free" as Travis so *professionally* stated, but if the issue is still not working after they've attempted to fix the drain with a snake (even though we told them we already did that), a little ownership and good business ownership should at least be felt and offered try to help the situation and understand where the customer is coming from instead of arguing to try and keep their pride.

We recently had BCP come out to scope our lines during the inspection of our home and our realtor requested a quote on our behalf for the items found during the inspection as well as what was notated on our inspection report. We scheduled the appointment based off this correspondence and the assumption BCP had an understanding of the work that needed to be completed. Upon their arrival, he seemed completed confused about what was supposed to be done and that his scope stated nothing about going under the home (which was called out in the report we provided). He stated taht he called the office and they claimed to have never received this information (our emails contradict this). After wasting an hour I finally told the guy to leave since he had no idea what to do. When we notified them about the issues, Kristin responded stating that it was our fault and took no ownership of their deficiencies and inability to perform other than to offer us a 10% discount...This quote was used as part of our negotiations and now that it seems to have been inadequate we will end up paying more to have the required repairs completed. *Update for Todd's response* Not sure if you read my review or not, but I already tried reaching out and this was your response. You are more than welcome to contact me with an amicable solution, but don't post on here as though you are trying to resolve the issue when no steps are being made on your part

I'm like most people in that I look at and rely on reviews all the time however, I rarely take the time the leave a review myself so, here is an attempt to do better. This is my experience with Big City Plumbing and why I cannot recommend them. I was experiencing some intermittent issues with both water pressure & hot water availability in parts of my home and called Big City Plumbing after finding them via reviews on Google & Reddit. They came out within a couple of days and diagnosed my issues as being a bad PRV valve and shower cartridge. The gentlemen seemed knowledgeable & confident and could complete the work that day for a reasonable amount of money so they started work. They ended up replacing the PRV valve in my front yard first and that seemed to go smoothly. The shower cartridge did not go as well. After 40mins of brute force banging the plumber informed me that it was not coming out due to the fact that it was old and they would need to replace the entire shower valve by either cutting into the tile from the front or cutting into the closet from behind. We agreed that it would be easier repairing the closet drywall then the shower tile so they went in that direction. The two plumbers spent about 5hrs that day completing the work. After using the shower that night I noticed the new valve was wet. Upon further testing I discovered it was dripping down inside my wall anytime the shower was turned on. To their credit, they sent someone back out promptly the next day to fix this new issue they had created however, it was done using different materials and also now included blocking & strapping that wasn't present initially. It left me wondering why it wasn't done that way to begin with. There was a certain level of janky (for lack of a better word) to the finished work...at least to my untrained eye. Out of curiosity I elicited some feedback from folks who know more about plumbing then I do and their feedback was not kind: "That looks like a homeowner did it, not a experienced plumber. I would be embarrassed, then he puts galvanized on the bottom not brass wow." "It's janky...using a valve that requires sweating onto in a house where everything else is already PEX seems strange" "I give this install a 2.7/10 it is guaranteed to lead to problems within 1-3 years" "Next level Jank 2.0" "No way this was an actual plumber." A few days after their work was complete my intermittent issues with both hot water & low pressure were back so, back to square one. I called them back up and requested a different plumber as I did not have much confidence in the original one due to both the misdiagnosis and brand new leaking shower valve he left me with. The next fella who came out ended up suggesting that my issues may be due to a bad cartridge at the kitchen sink, the master bath tub, and a second shower upstairs as they were all original to the home. He stated that they would most likely run into the same issue in removing the cartridges and would have to cut into the drywall in two more areas to replace the entire valves just like they did in the first shower. He also recommended replacing the hot water heater as it was an old unit original to the home as well. He made sure to mention when giving me the proposal that doing all this work may still not fix my issues and that at least they were not charging me for this final visit. Needless to say at this point but, I did not choose to have Big City Plumbing do any additional work. I just lived with the issues for a bit longer and then started fresh with another plumbing company who was able to get the issues resolved. Incidentally, they were also able to replace all of the remaining original cartridges while they were here and had no issues pulling them out in a matter of minutes and therefore, did not have to replace any more valves or cut into any tile or drywall. Anyways, that was my experience and of course, yours may vary however, at least it's out there now and may just help someone in the future who is in need of a plumber.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Big City Plumbing in San Antonio. From beginning to end, the entire experience was exceptional during a very difficult plumbing situation. Their team demonstrated extraordinary courtesy, kindness, professionalism, and integrity throughout the entire process. Communication was absolutely outstanding — we received frequent updates on timelines, prompt responses to questions, and immediate notification of any unexpected delays. That level of transparency and respect for the customer is rare and deeply appreciated. A very special thank you to Rafaela, Alissa, and Patricia in the office, who were consistently compassionate, organized, reassuring, and incredibly helpful every step of the way. Their professionalism and warmth made a stressful situation much easier to navigate. And heartfelt gratitude to Gerald, whose plumbing work in the field was truly superb. The quality of workmanship, attention to detail, and dedication to doing the job correctly were outstanding. The service provided was excellent in every respect. Their pricing was also a tremendous value for the caliber of service and workmanship delivered. Big City Plumbing has absolutely earned my trust and highest recommendation. I would recommend this company without hesitation to any family member, friend, or colleague as the very first plumbing company to call. Thank you again to the entire Big City Plumbing team for helping us through such a challenging problem with professionalism, kindness, and excellence.

Contacted Big City Plumbing through Yelp's messaging system on January 14, 2020 at 9:31 A.M. Travis C. replied five minutes later with a list of availability dates and times. He also provided a preliminary quote. When I explained to Travis C. that I could not schedule an appointment by phone, he scheduled the appointment for me. At 12:47 P.M., Travis C. confirmed my appointment for Monday, January 20, 2020 between 12:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M. On Monday, January 20, 2020 at 12:57 P.M., Tony and Josh arrived at my home. Prior to beginning work, they wore disposable shoe covers. They also provided upfront pricing. $295 for the following: (1) Haul away water heater. (2) Remove corrugated copper pipes and solder on male adapters for easy unthreading in the future. (3) Remove cold-water supply shut off valve and solder on new lead-free copper-alloy ball valve (KITZ No. 858 600 WOG). (4) Install stainless-steel connector (3/4 in. FIP x 3/4 in. FIP x 24 in.). (5) Provide an extra stainless-steel connector for hot-water outlet. (6) 90-day warranty that covers service and labor; however, "parts installed as part of the work by Big City Plumbing, LLC is covered by the manufactures warranty only. Customer shall have no recourse against Big City Plumbing, LLC for the defects in parts utilized." At 2:11 P.M., work and billing were done. It has been three days since Tony and Josh were at my home; no defect in workmanship has been detected so far. I look forward to hiring Big City Plumbing again.

Big City Plumbing totally came to the rescue for my family. After a full year of dealing with several plumbing companies, we finally found one we can count on. We bought a very old home and with that comes issues here and there. Most of the time when we had other plumbing companies come by to service our home it felt like saving me money was not their priority. They felt like salesman more than service technicians. A friend of ours recommended Big City, which is how you hear about them because they don't spend a bunch of money on advertising. My wife was immediately impressed with the professionalism of Travis (owner). He was able to get James over to our home the next morning. As soon as I met James I could tell right away that he loves his job and he enjoys helping people. He accessed the situation and got the job done no problem - all while keeping us laughing with his great sense of humor. When he told us the price of the job we were amazed. The job would only cost us an amazingly fair price. This is after we had some other plumbing company come by and THE OWNER came into our house - heard what we had to say, somehow knew exactly what the problem was, somehow knew he would have to excavate, and somehow came up with a $6,000 estimate!!! I know, insane. Big City Plumbing is the REAL DEAL, and if you go anywhere else, good luck.

TWO VISITS. I had a leaky shower faucet because the hot water knob wasn't sealed right. They replaced it and it worked fine for a bit, but the same thing happened. They gave me about $100 discount for the previous work, applied it to the new work, and replaced the two knob system with a single knob. Works great thus far. Small complaints. I think they could improve their service if they left itemized receipts of any parts they bought as well as the services provided. Speaking of parts, if parts are required and they know that ahead of time, they should have let me know so I can go out and find a set I like so they can install it. When installing the single shower knob, they left dust everywhere from the tile drilling. Obviously, I don't expect them to clean my whole bathroom, but at least the tub area where they were working. They also kept leaving and coming back because they "didn't have the right equipment". I understand there are different models, but surely there are general tools you should expect to have especially when the issue was explained before setting the appointment, ie "oh, I'm working on installing [item], so I usually need these tools". It's just little things that added up. In conclusion, good work, could be better executed. Thank you

Update: during the January chilly weather, my water heater tank stayed very quiet (perfect!). Installing the SmartJacket is very straightforward/DIY. But if your water heater tank is powered by natural gas it would be wise to have Big City Plumbing do the installation, because there are a couple of (safety related) things that need to be done that you may not be aware of. Chris (Journeyman Plumber) and James (working towards becoming a Journeyman Plumber) did a great job prepping my home for wintry weather. During last February's freeze my gas water heater had to run overtime, out in my frigid garage. Today Chris flushed the tank, spotted and fixed its dripping leak, and installed a SmartJacket Water Heater Blanket (I bought mine on Amazon) which is sure to pay for itself in reduced utility bills. Also last February, despite slow-dripping I had several frozen water pipes. James wrapped my outside faucets, and the interior lines that froze last year. I feel so much better prepared for if/when there's another cold spell in San Antonio. I highly recommend Big City Plumbing. They have a very positive reputation, and they treat their employees well.

I have to give this company 5 stars. Professional from the immediate call back, to the patience in answering my questions, to prompt scheduling, called 30 minutes out, arrived on time, efficiently and expertly installed my RO system, answered all my annoying questions, lived up to the quoted price, no problem, cleaned up when done, made sure I was happy and no more questions etc etc. This was just for the RO system, which I had already purchased from Amazon. Secondly, I had double the amount of questions regarding a future water heater replacement project. Travis patiently answered my questions, researched other models for me, etc etc. They forwarded me spec sheets on two heaters for me to see the difference. When Peter arrived for the RO system install, he stopped and asked me to make sure I had received the emailed spec sheets on the heater. I had interaction with 3 folks - Travis, Peter the installer, and the nice lady on the phone (Kristen? sorry I didn't write your name down...). All top notch professional, and did everything one could want from a customer-service oriented business. Good job, and thank you very much.

About a month ago, on a weekend, I found out that my hot water heater had kicked the bucket. I looked up several places and decided to give Big City Plumbing a shot. I called and left a message, mind you they are closed on the weekend, but within a matter of minutes I got a call from Travis, I believe the owner. Super nice guy who told me that they would take care of me on Monday. I can't remember a service that showed up on time but sure enough, Peter the plumber was there right when he said he would be. This guy was all business and got right to work. Two hours of hard work later he had installed a new tank, which was a huge upgrade from what I had, and he took time to take care of a few small things that would make sure everything would last. I did some price searching before these guys came and the final charge from Big City Plumbing was awesome. I just want to say thank you again Travis, Peter, and Big City Plumbing. I'll be calling on you in the future.

Today was an eventful day in the crazy sense!! After watching what looked like a river running from my front lawn and having to learn from circumstance how to shut off my water main I was able to identify the issue was "our" problem. I reached for my phone and yelp! Guess what? I found Big City Plumbing! They are beyond what you would or could expect! PLEASE KNOW THIS IS MY HONEST OPINION! They called back within 3 minutes of my request for a quote! They promised to be here within 2 hours. They sent their supervisor because he was closest and available. I can't tell you how satisfied I am!!! Fair pricing!! Beyond fair! They came and assessed the problem and had to run for parts.. after running and competing the repair (with smiles) they cleaned up my area with integrity and respect for the area. Did I mention fairly priced?! CALL THEM! You'll be amazed and I'm so impressed they are in my contacts list

Big problems call for Big City Plumbing! I had a leaking pipe that I needed taken care of ASAP! It was flooding the basement, and help was required stat! I searched up here on Yelp, and found these guys. Trinity, the receptionist was empathetic to my concerns and promised a speedy repair! Not long afterwords, Gilbert and Craig were headed out to my place, and got the problem taken care of fast, fast, fast. They made some recommendations on other potential problems that they saw, and gave fair prices to make some other repairs that I'd been considering. They were full of great information. I was happy to see the pipe stop leaking, and was happy about the fair prices that they charged for such little notice. The plumbers were clean around the house and didn't make a mess, and they showed up in uniform with a marked van. Things went well- I'll hire them again! Thanks, Big City Plumbing!