Bobby Wimbush
Owner and lead plumber
Reads every wall before the first cut and writes the scope himself. If you want a second opinion on a finding, he is the one to ask.
Plumbing for houses built before 1940, Athens, Georgia
The plumbing is part of the house
We repair, rebuild and re-pipe old houses in copper, brass and iron, and we keep the plaster, the heart pine and the original fixtures wherever they can be kept.
- Licensed and insured, number in the footer
- Written scope before we open a wall
- Methods that can be undone, photographed first
Sample job photos
What we found behind the wall
Every wall tells us something before we repair it. These are the kinds of finds we photograph, caption and hand back to you with the written scope.
Showing 6 of 6
Sample photos.
How we work
Slow on purpose
An old house is a record. We read it before we change it.
We photograph a wall before we open it and again before we close it.
Plaster is cut along the lath lines, so it can be patched back.
Original fixtures stay unless you ask, or they can't be saved.
Pipe we remove is laid out for you to see before it leaves.
You get a call or a text the day before, and again when we are on the way.
What we do
Copper, brass and iron
The work in short. The services page has the rest.
Supply lines
Repair or replace galvanized, copper and mixed runs, one run at a time.
Drains and stacks
Cast-iron stacks, traps and old branches, repaired where the iron is still sound.
Radiators and old heat
Valves, risers and connections for hot-water and steam radiators.
Brass and period fixtures
Taps, tubs and pedestal sinks rebuilt on their own parts.
Repair or replace
How we decide
The answer is in the pipe, not in the quote. This is what we look for.
| We replace when | We repair when | |
|---|---|---|
| A brass tap | We replace whenThe body is cracked, or the casting has thinned through. | We repair whenThe body is sound and the wear is in the seat, washer or stem. |
| Galvanized supply | We replace whenRust has narrowed the bore and pressure drops at more than one fixture. | We repair whenOne short run is bad and the rest holds at every cut we make. |
| A cast-iron stack | We replace whenThe iron flakes or breaks through in several places. | We repair whenA cracked hub or one patched section, with the iron around it ringing sound. |
| Copper | We replace whenPinholes appear in several places along the same run. | We repair whenA single pinhole at a joint or a fitting. |
| A radiator | We replace whenA section is cracked. | We repair whenThe valve or packing leaks and the radiator itself is sound. |
How pricing works in an old house
No two walls match, so we don't quote from a price list. These are the six answers we give before any estimate.
What decides the price
Five things move the number more than any others.
How much of the wall has to open, and what is behind it: plaster on lath, brick or tile
What the pipe turns out to be, and how much of it is sound
Whether a fixture is repaired, rebuilt or replaced with a period reproduction
Access: a crawl space, a tight chase or a finished room
Whether the work needs review by a preservation board
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
The estimate is for plumbing: labor, pipe, fittings, permits we pull and the patching of what we opened where that is plumbing's job.
Not in it: plaster, paint, tile, wallpaper and flooring
Not in it: a preservation board's application fees
Not in it: what we cannot see until the wall is open, which we write up as options
What happens at the visit
A walk-through of an hour or two. We find the shutoff, photograph the lines we can reach and open at most one small inspection point, with your say.
There is a charge for the visit, set by the shop
It is credited toward the work if you hire us for the job
When you get the number
In writing, before we open a wall: a price for what we can see, and written options for what the wall may hide.
If the job changes
If we open a wall and find something else, we stop, photograph it and write a change in plain words before going on. You pick: repair it, replace it, or leave it for later.
Nothing is added without your written yes
After hours
We are a weekday shop and take no night calls. If water is running, shut off the main and call a plumber who answers at night. Then call us the next morning for a repair-first look.
We don't charge a night rate because we don't take night calls
The shop
Six of us, and a box of old washers
An owner, two journeymen, an apprentice and two in the office. Bobby still picks up the first call.
Dimitra Zajac
Journeyman plumber
Does most of the sweat-joint copper and the brass work. She keeps the shop's box of old washers, stems and seats.
Yahir Carmona
Journeyman plumber
Runs the cast-iron and drain jobs. He takes the photographs before a wall is opened and again before it is closed.
Kamari Crump
Apprentice
Learning the trade alongside both journeymen, and in charge of the drop cloths and the shoe covers.
Sample reviews
What owners and architects tell us
“They opened one wall at the bathroom and sent me the photos that afternoon. The galvanized was worse than I thought, and the two options came in writing the next morning.”
Robert B.Homeowner, Boulevard
“I needed the existing plumbing on paper before the drawings. The photo log came sorted by room, with what was original and what had been patched marked on each one.”
Tatiana W.Architect
“They kept the clawfoot tub's brass supply and rebuilt the valves instead of replacing them. The plaster was patched along the lath so you can't tell where the wall was open.”
Satoshi H.Homeowner, Cobbham
Sample reviews.
Counties we serve
Athens and the counties around it
Most of our work is inside Athens-Clarke's older neighborhoods, from Boulevard and Cobbham to Normaltown and Five Points, and in the small towns of the counties around it.
Clarke County
- Athens
- Winterville
Oconee County
- Watkinsville
- Bogart
- Bishop
Oglethorpe County
- Lexington
- Arnoldsville
Madison County
- Danielsville
- Comer
- Colbert
Jackson County
- Jefferson
- Commerce
Barrow County
- Winder
We don't take jobs in metro Atlanta or in new construction anywhere. Our work is houses built before 1940.
Questions
What owners ask first
Do you work only on houses built before 1940?
Mostly. That is the work we know best: lath and plaster, heart-pine floors, cast iron, galvanized and early copper. A house from the 1940s or 1950s with the same problems is fine too. New construction is not our work.
Will you open my walls and ceilings?
As little as we can. We start with the basement, the crawl space, the attic and the back of a closet. When a wall has to open, we cut along the lath lines so the plaster can be patched back, and we photograph it before and after.
Will you keep my original fixtures?
Yes, unless they can't be saved or you ask us to replace them. A brass tap with a worn seat is a repair; a cracked tub or a thinned casting may not be. We tell you which, with a photo.
Could my pipes or solder contain lead?
It is possible in homes built before 1986, when lead pipe, fittings and solder were still in use. We note anything that looks like lead and tell you in writing, but a visual check is not a water test. Your water utility or a lab your state approves for drinking-water tests can test your water, and the EPA's lead pages explain what the results mean.
Do you take emergency calls at night?
No. We are a weekday shop. If water is running, shut off the main valve and call a plumber with a night line. We will see you the next morning for a repair-first look.
Do I get a price before you start?
Yes, in writing, before a wall is opened. Where the wall hides the answer, the price comes in two parts: what we can see, and options for what we may find. The pricing page says how that works.
Walk-through
Tell us about the house
Say when it was built and what you have seen. A photo helps.
Call or text(706) 555-0100
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- Saturday and SundayToday
- Closed