The Burke job book, since 1981
Dick Burke opened the book in December 1981, when he bought the plumbing side of Hoydar-Buck. His son Lance keeps it now, and the list is longer than a short menu can hold. Four headings cover it. Every heading opens onto its own pages, with the long list of smaller jobs written out underneath.
Open 24 hours, 7 days. Licensed and insured, WA BURKEP*795N5.
Hot water and clean waterTank, tankless and heat pump heaters, softeners and filtration.
Drains, sewer and the line to the streetRooter, jetting, camera, side sewer replacement and locating.
Gas, repairs and the rest of the houseGas lines, leaks, remodels and repipes.
CommercialRestaurants, wineries, fruit packers and offices.
Heading 01
The two calls that come in first on a cold morning: no hot water, and water that leaves the kettle white with scale.
Electric, gas and heat pump tanks, wall-hung tankless units and the commercial banks that feed a kitchen. We size the heater to the house, set the expansion tank and the venting, and show you how it runs.
How we do water heatersHard water is the Yakima Valley's quiet tax on every fixture. The Nuvo citrus conditioning system, salt and saltless softeners, whole-house filtration and reverse osmosis all go in on the same visit as the plumbing they feed.
Also covered under this heading
Water heater repair and replacement, solar and tankless repair, recirculation systems, pressure tank repair and replacement, well repair, water pressure problems, saltless water softeners, reverse osmosis systems and flood-stopping systems.
Heading 02
Everything that happens below the floor: a slow kitchen drain, roots in the main, a sewer that needs to be seen and, when it is past cleaning, dug out.
Kitchen lines, tubs, showers, toilets, laundry and the main to the street. Rooter service is named for the roots it cuts out of the line, and we check the line before we leave.
How we do drain & sewer cleaningWhen an auger only opens a hole in the grease, a camera finds the blockage and a pressurized jet scours the pipe wall. The same truck clears parking-lot catch basins.
A recorded camera run through the cleanout, so you see the root, the crack or the sag before a remodel or a bathroom addition.
Broken side sewers and water service lines dug out with our own machines, new cleanouts set, the yard cleaned up behind us.
Find the buried line, the break or the septic tank lid before the shovel goes in.
Also covered under this heading
Clean-out installations, drain installation, backwater valves, drain line repair and replacement, water line repair and replacement, re-piping on any drain system, and the sewer smell that has no obvious source.
Heading 03
The work most people never think to call a plumber for until something drips, hisses or freezes.
Repair of damaged gas lines, new gas piping, gas water heaters and gas logs for the fireplace. Gas and water installations should always be done by a professional plumber, because even a small mistake can cause major damage.
How we do gas linesLeaky faucets, toilets, garbage disposals, frost-free faucets and frozen pipes; kitchen and bathroom remodels from planning to completion; whole-house and mobile home repipes.
Also covered under this heading
Faucet repair and replacement, leaking pipes, kitchen and bath fixtures, toilets for homes and businesses, food waste disposers, backflow repair and replacement, and maintenance inspections to catch early signs of damage.
Heading 04
Restaurants, wineries, fruit packers and offices: water heater banks, backflow, floor drains, eye wash stations and after-hours repairs. The office answers around the clock, so a business that cannot close the kitchen has a number to call.
Also covered under this heading
Repairs and new construction, eye wash stations, floor drains, smoke testing to locate odors, pipe and septic tank location, drinking fountains, service sinks, water heaters, boilers and tankless water heaters, hydraulic heating systems, water softeners, and backflow repair and replacement.
The full list, as the trucks carry it
Water supply
Drains
Under the yard
Around the house
Heat and hot water
Commercial fixtures
Most calls start with a symptom: a smell, a stain, a pilot light that will not stay lit. Describe it to the office and a plumber works out the heading. Before you book a re-pipe, a toilet or a water heater, check the coupons, and read what customers say about the crew.