Ray Lusk Plumbing

Great experience with Lusk Plumbing. They scheduled promptly, showed up on time, communicated well with me, and quoted a price before starting the work. Excellent service! I recommend them without any hesitation. One of the rare times, when I called a business to say … THANK YOU!

This review is a mixed bag. I’ve used Ray Lusk Plumbing for 2 separate water line repairs (2 different houses). Both times the scheduling was easy & the ladies I spoke with were very courteous. In 2022, they got right out & everything was perfect. They located the damaged line underground, made repairs, and were on their way for less than $400 total! On the most recent (Oct. 2024) they were able to move my appointment forward by 1 day which was great. The technicians that arrived were kind and professional. My reduction of stars comes from the transparency of pricing and the experience that followed. On their website it says “$299 leak detection special” That is misleading as it is $299 for first hour then $175 per hour after that, which does not include the actual repair… As it shouldn’t and I would not expect it to. What I would expect is that if there is an error in locating the leak that extends the time drastically that time should not be on the homeowner. For example: When locating our leak, they probed for gas all around the property multiple times only to find that the gas was not turned on and pressurizing the line. That led to the first hour being gone with 0% chance of finding it due to an error. Then after that they fish taped the line and dug two separate holes where they thought the leak was only to find it wasn’t there. After going back to the gas and drilling holes along water line route they got a hit on the gas & dug down. No leak and by this time it was 4:30pm so it was time to go home. They then told me I owed $999 dollars (5 hours) for the leak detection, and it had to be paid same day and that the hourly rate would pick back up whenever they could fit us back in. Stated I should expect a call from their office first thing in the morning. Water was turned back on and before I could verify everything was working, they were wheels up. Again, I understand the quick exit as OT is expensive these days and I do not put that on the technicians. But to be $1000 dollars lighter and in the same boat was a little jarring. The next morning came and went with no call, again no biggie as people get busy, so I called in around 10am and again spoke to a very pleasant lady who stated she would try to get them out asap, but just in case she scheduled me for first available. I brought up my concerns with the cost and time it took to locate (which was still not fully complete) and she stated she would pass it along to the service manager. They were able to get out same day and the leak was easy to find as the hole that was left open was full of water and it was easy to see where the leak was as the water was flowing and it was just outside of the hole dug. Fast forward an hour or so and the leak was repaired. For an additional $475. This was higher than the previous repair amount by $135, the repair increase is understandable with inflation, so I expected it to be around 25% more. They replaced a 1′ section of PVC to repair a radial crack around a joint. I was happy with the repair and was told that I would receive communication on any adjustments to the cost for the locating. They stated there was no additional cost today for “locating” the leak per their manager, which I would hope not as the leak was essentially already located just at the edge of the third and final hole. I thanked the 2 gentlemen and paid them in full, as I know that anything with payment is not on them so did not want to stress them out concerning the matter. Again, I am happy with the repair and the scheduling. Just wish there was more transparency on the pricing as well as some commonsense adjustments made due to errors that were made that led to a doubling of the time to locate. Fast forward over 1 week and no call from the service manager and both of the checks totaling $1474 have cleared. If the 2.5 hours of misplaced time during locating the leak were adjusted, we would be at $1036.50 total. I would use Ray Lusk plumbing again, but next time would thoroughly discuss pricing as this instance was drastically different than before.

Asking for a review at this point is meaningless for no work has been performed. A review after the job would have been much better for I could have truly indicated what I thought was appropriate.

However your Estimator did arrive on time, (James P.), he was personable and attentive. We reviewed the work to be accomplished (a few different jobs), then James prepared an estimate. We discussed the items to be done and the amount for each task. Total time on site was about an hour. I ‘signed his pad, indicating I had discussed the items with James.

He left and I went on line to check the specifics of ‘items’ he had quoted. I had a couple of questions so I called him and we discussed those items. His explanations were satisfactory. To my surprise, when I checked my mail shortly after the estimator left, there was my job explanation, complete with price for each task. That was a surprise for sure. I called the main office and told the young lady I wanted the work done. She told she would check with scheduling and call me back. In less than twenty minutes, I received her call and some prospective dates and time. We selected a time and she then told me it may take two days. (It really should not for I have been down this road previously.) However, the times were scheduled and I look forward to seeing the fellows arrive in just a couple of days.

I decided to allow Ray Lusk to do the work, even though the estimate was the highest of the four I had received. I chose Lusk because the estimator was attentive to my questions and did not seem to be in a hurry to dash out the door until I was finished with my questions and receved his explanation. None of the other three estimators took the time for explanations, hence they lost the work.

I am waiting to see if the work ‘to be done’ is equal to the price I will pay. I presume I will be asked for a ‘review’ after that work is complete.
Bernard M.