I had a large plumbing company come in to rod a tub. The shower in one bathroom backed up and goop came up tub drain in the bathroom next door. The plumber charged $594 to rod. It wasn't working and then added that he needed to get access to other piping under the bathroom to see what he was working with... at another charge of $415. Opend two foot hole in my drywall under the tub on main floor and proceed to state that they would have to rod through and then correct plumbing related to it through that area. ANother cost and scheduled appoint meant of $1525. After discussing with a friend he said the costs seem very unreasonable and recommend his plumber. His plumber came out and opened a the wall in the linen closet which is located between the shower and tub at the common wall. It appears he drilled a hole in a vent pipe there. He rod the drain then sealed the drill hole with electrical tape. 30 minutes, drain unclogged... cost $155. I am happy abou that, but was the practice of drilling small hole in vent pipe acceptable practice?

Not only does it not sound right why in the world would he seal it with just electrical tape ? If he sealed it by solder or clamped it shut then that would be different. Otherwise he could have dragged everything up to the roofline and went in that way. Was the hole in your ceiling still there? If so he could have removed a section of pipe and went in that way too. Electrical tape isn't going to seal that hole if it backs up again.

Ideally he could have put in a cleanout to make future access easy. I would have used some epoxy, JB weld or solvent cemented a plastic patch over the hole or used a piece of rubber tubing and a band clamp rather than just tape. If you can see the hole, try to improve on what is really a temporary fix.

You just dealt with a thief and a jury rigger, neither should be licensed

I don't know much about plumbing, so how would I fix it, or should I have the 2nd plumber come out to seal that hole better

What's sad is I hire a big company first, who has crazy billing practices, and the second plumber is rated a+ on bbb and A on angies list. Really, what can you trust anymore. Seems the tradesmen of today are just not trustworthy

I am so dismayed at my experiences. I don't trust any of these tradesmen. The 2nd plumber was rated a+ with bbb and great reviews on angies list and glowing referral from my friend. What is one to do? So no that I feel even worse... what would you recommend now... hire yet another plumber... who can I trust?

Here is the problem that most of us consumers have to wade through. Some lists that show recommendations are paid lists.
Your only other out is to ask for references and then call the people on the list. Or have someone that knows a bit about the matter come over and supervise.

Hi Lesann1

You said, "Seems the tradesmen of today are just not trustworthy"... you can imagine that I disagree with you on that... ;)

However, I will agree that there are definitely some hacks out there and in this case, the first contractor sounds like a crook, but it really is hard to say without seeing what he did, right? The second plumber, as stated, should not have used electrical tape to plug the hole.

Here, I would call that 2nd plumber back and I would explain that you are unhappy with him taping the hole and you would like him to come back and install a cleanout or a shielded clamp in place of the hole.. free of charge as he should have done that to begin with... see what he says. Tell him you don't mind waiting a week or two and allow him to do it at his convenience. If he is as reputable as his reviews suggest I am sure he will fix it.

Give him a call... let us know what he tells you, OK?

Thanks...

Mark