Durance Plumbing

Year after year, we’ve relied on Durance Plumbing for our annual backflow water test in our pediatric dental office. Service is always top-notch. Scheduling is always simple, and Kirk always shows up on time. The whole process is quick and efficient. It’s a huge relief knowing we’re staying compliant without any stress. Highly recommend!

Kirk Durance did a great job inspecting the backflow on my sprinkler system. He let me know what the cost would be for the inspection and the water companies fee in advance, worked with me to find a date and time that would work with my schedule, arrived a promptly, and the inspection was done quickly. In addition, he also answered my question on what he was doing and what a passing score was while he did the testing. The same day, he filed the report with WSSC and sent me a copy. I would definitely recommend him.

We had a collapsed drain overflowing and were told we would have to punch a hole in our foundation which we had just waterproofed. We called Durance for a second opinion and Allan had a smart, creative solution that saved us great trouble and expense. All of the men who worked on our house were courteous and competent. They were quick, communicative and the job was well done. It's very nice to finally know who to call!

My experience was the opposite, overpriced, borderline competent, and untrustworthy. Don’t believe all those glowing reviews. When I returned the feedback survey to the company of one star, the service manager called me next morning and after long conversation saying he wanted us to “part amicably” that he would credit $187 part of the (over) charge. But he never did. That is a disreputable company. There are many more reputable, competent and lower priced plumbers in the DMV. Use those. Don’t call Durrance Plumbing.

More than a month ago, we requested a quote for replacing our water heater with a tankless one. We figured we'd beat the holiday rush, etc. Not with this company. Adam showed up 1/2 hour early for our service call, then promptly left when nobody answered the door. (My husband was in the shower.) Showing up early is all well & good, but I would expect a service provider to at least wait until the appointed time before leaving. We didn't find out what had happened until we called to find out why he was a no-show at the scheduled time. Apparently Durance expects you to sit at the ready for the entire day of your appointment. Don't go to the bathroom! Don't take a shower! Don't walk the dog! Wait. By. The.Door.Or.Else! He did come back to look at the current water heater & gas lines. After that - radio silence. No price quote, no follow up. I called last week to ask when we'd be getting the quote. His partner told us Adam would call us back. Again - radio silence. Apparently a glutton for punishment, I called again this morning. No explanation for why we didn't get the quote or return call, just an apology. "Apparently we're too busy to do this." So, folks, if they're too busy for a $5000 + job, they're probably too busy for your clogged toilet

Update 5/6/2025: I was refunded the $262.50 diagnostic fee from Durance after posting my original 4/16/25 review below. So I've increased my rating from one to two stars for doing the right thing. That said, my initial experience was not ideal, so if you decide to contact them make sure you triple check on any/all potential fees prior to scheduling a visit (which goes for any contractor that visits your home). Original 4/16/2025 review: Warning: deceptive fees. Before contacting Durance's office, I took time to learn about Durance via their website. Specifically, on their Contact Us page, they have listed: • We provide FREE estimate with no service charge. • If we don’t do any work there will be no charge. • We don’t add on travel charges • No charge for overtime • No job is considered too small • We don’t use contractors, all plumbers we send to your home or business are employees of Durance Plumbing. Based on the first four above bullet points, I called Durance and spoke to Phil about specifically setting up a free inspection/free estimate. He said sure and took down my number to have a plumber get back to me. Danny called within the hour to get more details about my issue. I shared that there appeared to be water stains in the basement ceiling drywall that may possibly be from a pinhole leak from an above pipe. Danny said he could come by same-day to inspect and do a diagnostic, and we arranged to come that afternoon. After Danny and another team member arrived, I proceeded to show him the area in question. After viewing, he said he wanted to test for leaks by opening the above kitchen faucet and dishwashing machine. It was at that time that I asked for clarification on how the inspection works that he shared for the first time that for him to come out to do a diagnostic, it would be a fee of $262.50 (!). Since I had specifically asked about a free inspection, (which most would take as being one in the same with a diagnostic since you must inspect before you can diagnose), I was not prepared for the fee. As both Durance plumbers were both already on site, it put me in a very uncomfortable position. Danny further explained that the fee could be applied to any repair they were able to diagnose that day. While I still didn't feel comfortable with having to pay such a high fee that wasn't disclosed before arriving, I went ahead with the diagnostic relying on them finding the issue and repairing same-day, and applying the fee as credit for the repair. Danny opened up the drywall and ran the kitchen sink and dishwashing machine for a few minutes to check for leaks. No leaks were detected. After additional inspection of the stained ceiling area, Danny still was not able to diagnose the reason for the leak and asked me to monitor and call him back if I did notice something. I was then asked to pay the $262.50. I did share my concern about this undisclosed fee and not having found the issue, but he just stated that is their fee to come out. I reluctantly paid. While he did offer to discount a future repair, not having diagnosed or fixed the issue and having to pay a $262.50 fee that was not previously disclosed prior to arrival despite me specifically inquiring in a free estimate/inspection per Durance's website really left a bad first impression on me. Essentially, I was being charged over $260 to run the dishwasher and sink to check for leaks that I could’ve easily done myself, but they call it “expertise,” yet they weren’t even able to diagnose the problem I was being asked to pay. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against inspection/estimate fees and willing to pay a reasonable charge, but only when they are not hidden, such as this case. I relayed this feedback to their owner Walter “Kirk” Durance in an effort to reach a fairer solution, but never got any response other than a forwarded copy of the paid invoice. So, if anything, I’m paying forward my $262.50 by warning would-be potential clients of Durance’s deceptive fee-charging tactics in hopes that you would not incur the same dissatisfactory experience.

I would actually give them something between a 3 and a 4. Adam, the plumber they sent, was very good. He's done two projects at our house. He's nice and done excellent work both times. Truly. I'm very happy with the work that Adam did and the price was good...with a caveat. The second time he came out, his project was to add piping that required connecting to some old galvanized steel under the kitchen sink. The work caused a tiny bit a debris to knock loose from the old piping, and after he left the sink above started to leak. The main problem was that Durance Plumbing does not provide customers with the contact number of their individual plumbers so I could not call Adam back even though he had only been gone for about 30-60 minutes when I noticed the leak. I had to call the general number which others have pointed out is most often not answered. You have to leave a message and wait to be called back by Mr. Durance -- not the plumber doing the work. When Mr. Durance finally returned my call, he was extremely agitated. He said it was "impossible" that his plumber could have made any mistake. I told him that everyone makes mistakes sometimes and that maybe if I could talk to Adam directly, he could help me diagnose the issue over the phone. Mr. Durance did not want to give me the number and then started complaining about how he could never go on vacation. It was shocking, a 180 degree difference in temperament from Adam. Additionally, one of the things I had asked Durance Plumbing to do was to determine if the kitchen supply lines were lead and give me a quote about how much it would cost to replace them. Adam had told me they were galvanized steel. But later over the phone Mr. Durance said that galvanized steel has lead in it. I had never heard that before and when I tried to ask him a question to clarify, he became irritated and told me he "wasn't an expert" and that I should go online and order a water testing kit. So I'm not sure how to rate the company. Their prices are very good and Adam is very good. Their phone system is bad and Mr. Durance is very unpleasant. So...3 stars? 4 stars? Somewhere in between?

I was getting reminders from WSSC about backflow prevention testing. Turns out I have a non testable device and the part needs to be replaced every 5 years. It had come up on our home inspection but I had forgotten to get it taken cared of. I consulted the list on WSSC site for approved companies to work with and selected a competitor. That competitor was mostly responsive but did not have the part with them and gave me a very high quote to replace. I read the reviews here on Yelp and decided to reach out to Durance. Not five minutes after leaving a voicemail, I got a call back and an appointment on the day I had chosen. I got a follow up reminder the day before and the gentleman, didn't catch his name, appeared bright and early and got right to work. He told me what needed to be done and the amount the part would cost and got right to it. He even took a quick look at a leaky bath faucet I had and suggested the part be replaced- even suggested I try to contact the manufacturer in case they could replace it for me as it would be costly. I didn't follow up on that but did appreciate the diagnosis and tip. I left for work but my husband told me the part was tagged and an invoice was left so that I would be all set if the WSSC came after me again! I'm pretty sure they even contacted WSSC for me but I wasn't there so I am not 100% certain. All I can say is I am extremely pleased with the customer service- prompt and professional and got the job done in one visit for a fraction of the cost the competitor was trying to squeeze out of me. Thank you Durance!

I almost want to keep these guys as a secret, but in fairness to them they deserve more than a 5-star rating. These guys are terrific! They come in, within the timeframe they set, assess the problem and do the repair for a reasonable fee. They replaced a crumbling leaking p-trap, a kitchen faucet and located and repaired a leak in our bathroom. No crying about how crappy your existing plumbing is; if it's got a problem, they figure it out and and fix it. No unsupervised plumbing technicians sent to do the job , actual master plumbers in your house doing the work, or the master plumber closely supervising the work of their technician. Kirk once came to our house to advise us on the work done by another plumber, no charge. He and Adam are both stand-up guys, willing to get their hands dirty, not just sit back and let people without skills try to do the job. We used to be a frequent customer of a well-known plumbing company which we found to be overly expensive and sadly, lacking in the honesty department. We moved on. And we are so glad we did. It's nerve-wracking having new people as service providers in your home. These guys made me feel comfortable from the outset and their high-quality work did not disappoint.

A very pleasant experience. I will use them again! A townhouse I own and currently rent, was up for sale and one hour before the open house was set to begin, we noticed that a section of the basement carpet was wet and realized that a pipe to an exterior faucet had leaked. After calling 4 plumbers who were recommended to us by friends, some of who weren't open on a Saturday or couldn't see me for a week, I discovered Durance on Yelp. I left a message for Kirk who called me back 2 minutes later. He told me he could send Adam first thing Monday morning and gave me a 1-hour time frame as opposed to the 4-hour timeframe the big name company provided. Adam arrived on time, was pleasant, friendly, helpful, and competent. He told me exactly what he was going to do and was very conscientious about cleaning up and not leaving a mess. He helped me move some of my tenants' electronics and furniture that was in/near the water damaged area and even helped me roll back the damaged, wet carpet so that I could dry out the floor. They are now our Go-To Plumber if we ever need one again.

I called on Thursday, and I was able to get an appointment for Saturday. He called when he was on his way to let me know, and he arrived within the timeframe he had originally guessed he'd be coming. He was friendly, professional, and he explained things along the way to let me know what he found and what he recommended. While he found other concerns along the way, he indicated that since they weren't causing problems, there was no need to address them until there's an issue. Overall, he took care of the problem I called about initially, but that ended up being one piece of a larger problem (in my older home with older plumbing). He did what was needed to make sure that my bathroom fixtures are functional and properly plumbed and was here 3-4x longer than he'd anticipated. In the end, though, the cost was very reasonable, and he made suggestions about how things might be addressed down the road if/when they become problematic. I'll definitely call him again when needed, and I highly recommend him!

I had a great experience with Durance Plumbing. I made an appointment to have someone come out to diagnose an issue and give me a quote, with no plans of getting the work done that day. Bobby came within the window indicated and quickly diagnosed the issue. He advised there would be two ways to fix it- either total replacement or a repair of the broken elements in my bath fixtures. Others I got quotes from didn't even mention a repair as an option. The quote he gave me was very reasonable, much less than others (which may be due to doing it as a repair rather than replacement). When I inquired about scheduling, he informed me he had time that day, but just needed to go grab a part. He was back an hour later and wrapped up the work about an hour after he arrive back with the correct parts. He ran into a few unexpected issues along the way, but the price I paid at the end stayed consistent with the quote. I will absolutely use Durance next time I need a plumber.

Such a wonderful experience! When we first moved to the area, we needed an estimate for a project and the big name company was trying to repair more than was needed and charge as much as possible. We called Durance (along with several other plumbing companies) for assistance with a clogged kitchen sink/garbage disposal. We didn't even get a call back from other companies. When Durance called back they explained they were very busy, but would get someone out to us. A call back goes a long way!! When Adam came to fix our sink he was so kind, empathetic of the fact that we have newborn babies at home, and worked quickly with integrity and efficiency! He didn't try to repair more than what was needed, charged a very reasonable price, and even gave us avery fair estimate on another project we will want completed in the near future. I HIGHLY recommend Durance Plumbing!

We had a leak coming through our ceiling light in the shower over a weekend. It was very easy to schedule an appointment through Yelp messaging, and the plumber Adam showed up promptly in the promised window. Adam wore PPE during the entire visit and was careful to use gloves and shoe covers as needed. He efficiently ran tests to determine the problem and took a picture for me so I didn't need to poke my head into cut up drywall and wet insulation. He was careful to laydown dropcloths and bundle them up at the end so I wasn't left with dust everywhere. He also made sure to explain everything very thoroughly and even drew a picture of the drain above so we understood what the issue was. We had a question later about the repair, and Adam was happy to explain. Timeliness, efficiency, and communication were top notch.

This review is long overdue. We used Durance Plumbing last year and Adam specifically was really awesome. During the beginning of the pandemic with work from home, we were at the house all of the time. At some point, we had drain flies and we hired a number of exterminators to no avail, we then hired Durance and Adam did a top-notch job. He was a problem solver and we found out the source of the drain flies which was a slow leak in our upstairs bathroom's toilet causing these drain flies. Though this was an expensive repair (ripping out drywall, etc), we finally got to the bottom of the problem and it was thanks to Adam that we got it resolved. So any future plumbing issues, we will definitely be using Durance and encourage others to do that as well!