{"id":245080,"date":"2012-05-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/powers-plumbing-a-modern-boneyard-of-tanks-and-parts\/"},"modified":"2012-05-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-25T07:00:00","slug":"powers-plumbing-a-modern-boneyard-of-tanks-and-parts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/powers-plumbing-a-modern-boneyard-of-tanks-and-parts\/","title":{"rendered":"Powers Plumbing, a modern \u2018 boneyard of tanks and parts\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sara Gilman | SDUN Reporter<\/strong> \"Powers<\/p>\n

L.B. Powers & Son Plumbing Company, Inc., operating as Powers Plumbing, is one of San Diego\u2019s oldest plumbing companies. Established in 1914, they are a service, repair and remodel contractor located in the historic district of Mission Hills, at 1705 West Lewis St. <\/p>\n

Powers Plumbing was founded by Luther B. Powers and eventually handed down to his son Calvin, and between the two of them, they ran the company for over 50 years. Ownership turned over twice more with long-standing employees until it was sold to Janet O\u2019Dea in 2010.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea first learned about Powers Plumbing as a customer. \u201cEvery [Powers] plumber came to my house at one point or another,\u201d she said. A toilet fiasco in 2007 changed the course of her career when she went to their store location to retrieve a missing ceramic handle. After a conversation with the then-owner, Phillip Stull, she was hired to do the bookkeeping for the company. <\/p>\n

Soon after, O\u2019Dea started to help with customer service calls. She encouraged the company to acquire a credit card processing machine and develop a website. \u201cI guess I was a go-getter in their eyes,\u201d O\u2019Dea said.<\/p>\n

In only two years, O\u2019Dea was promoted to vice president and began preparations to take over the company, as Stull was ready to retire. Her passion for the industry flourished and she attended San Diego County\u2019s Regional Occupational Program for training. She obtained her Green Plumber certification and non-plumber license. Her courses ranged from pipe soldering, plumbing codes, drawing and planning to the fundamentals of green plumbing. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a nurtured transition when I took over the company,\u201d O\u2019Dea said. \u201cI wanted to emulate the most important traditions of the company by holding the relationships and services as the top priorities.\u201d <\/p>\n

Environmentally conscientious, O\u2019Dea said, \u201cOur motto has always been: repair rather than replace.\u201d The company does not throw anything away if it can be repaired in order to leave less landfill waste, O\u2019Dea said. They encourage their customers to steer towards quality parts, as they typically last longer, require less service calls and help save water. <\/p>\n

Displaying a 1900\u2019s tankless water heater, 1929 Kohler sink as well as tools and parts dating back to that era, the shop is self-proclaimed as San Diego\u2019s closest thing to a plumbing museum. Additionally, visitors can find modern-day; high-end parts mixed in with a random collection of hard-to-find colored toilet covers and discontinued accessories. \u201cWe are a boneyard of tanks and parts,\u201d O\u2019Dea said.<\/p>\n

The company takes a modern approach to the line of old-fashioned, know-your-customers-by-name service. They have high-tech sewer line cameras, iPads for their off-site employees and use social media for marketing. \u201cWe wanted a new approach to problem solving and trouble-shooting,\u201d O\u2019Dea said, \u201cThere was a learning curve at first, but now everything is working out well.\u201d <\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea added that their customer base crosses generations with parents recommending to their children and neighbor word-of-mouth referrals. <\/p>\n

Community involvement plays a large role at Powers Plumbing. As a founding member of the Mission Hills Heritage Organization, O\u2019Dea said she believes in preserving the historic character of the community. <\/p>\n

The company enlisted local historian Allen Hazard to compile a self-guided walking tour booklet, entitled \u201cPower Walks.\u201d It features three separate walks, pointing out over 50 homes and historic sites in Mission Hills. The profits from the sale of the book help raise funds for neighborhood beautification projects. Past proceeds have paid for a new bus bench on Lewis Street. They are currently working towards the goal of raising funds for a Calvary Cemetery\/Pioneer Park marker to honor the founding citizens of San Diego who are buried there. <\/p>\n

For more information regarding the services of Powers Plumbing or to inquire about \u201cPower Walks,\u201d visit bestsandiegoplumber.com.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sara Gilman | SDUN Reporter L.B. Powers & Son Plumbing Company, Inc., operating as Powers Plumbing, is one of San Diego\u2019s oldest plumbing companies. Established in 1914, they are a service, repair and remodel contractor located in the historic district of Mission Hills, at 1705 West Lewis St. Powers Plumbing was founded by Luther […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1361,"featured_media":245081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Powers Plumbing, a modern \u2018 boneyard of tanks and parts\u2019","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}