Plumbing the Depths

Justin Time Plumbing & Heating Keeps Systems Running

Writer / Angela Cornell
Photographer / Jubilee Edgell

If fall could be described with a single word, it would be crisp. Chili, apple desserts, and pumpkin spice drinks are on nearly every menu. Mother Nature has dressed herself in her most dramatic colors. Most people are reaching for their flannel jackets as they walk out the door. The very air vibrates with fresh, cool energy.

All of this is an indicator of colder times yet to come.

Along with all the beauty of fall comes preparation for winter. According to the owner of Justin Time Plumbing & Heating, Justin Turnage, there are a few vitally important honey-do list items during this time of year to make sure your water heater and furnace are ready for the cooler months. First, check that the heater works before the weather turns cold. Second, change your filter.

For those who don’t have the time or the knowledge to do this themselves, Turnage and his team can clean and service furnaces at the owner’s convenience.

“A lot of people wait until they absolutely have to turn their furnace on,” Turnage says. “This happens every year. Then the cold snap hits and everyone goes to turn on their heat and half of them don’t work.”

Turnage grew up around the heating and plumbing business.

“I remember riding around in the truck when I was little and helping people,” he recalls.

When Turnage joined the family business in 2008, he found it to be a very rewarding vocation.

“It’s a good feeling when you go to save the day,” he says.

It wasn’t until 2014 that Turnage decided to branch out on his own.

“When my dad retired, he just abolished the [business] name,” he says. “I went out and bought a van for $600 and that’s how I started.”

It didn’t take much time for Turnage to outgrow that first van. When he started looking into buying a new one, he wanted to get it professionally wrapped.

“I was talking with my rep from Armstrong Air, our furnace and air conditioning supplier, and just kicking around the idea,” he says. “They offered, ‘If you want to do that and are willing to put our equipment logo on the truck somewhere, we’ll pay for half.’”

It was a deal that Turnage couldn’t refuse. While drafting a mock-up of the wrap, Turnage had to make a decision about his new color scheme.

“I wanted something bright,” he says. “I want to be able to see it from a mile away.”

After perusing several color options, hot pink was suggested.

“At first I laughed,” Turnage says. “Then I thought about it more and more. I was like, ‘Well, that’s not that bad.’ I sent it to a few friends and a couple of them were like, ‘Yes, that is it.’”

Turnage decided to do a trial run with one truck to see if he would like it. The feedback was immediate and highly positive.

“I wouldn’t have any other color now,” he says.

Turnage and his team pride themselves on customer service.

“I believe every single job we do should be five stars,” he says. “That should be normal. You should be happy after every transaction with us. If you’re not, we want to address it and figure out how it could have been better.”

The company offers a wide range of plumbing and heating services. For Turnage, however, his favorite calls are the ones that pose a challenge.

“A customer calls my office, and has a complicated system or not many people have seen them in this area, and they say, ‘I have this system and no one can fix it,’” he says. “I’m champing at the bit.”

For Turnage and his team, the key to customer service is doing everything in their power to make sure that the client gets satisfaction.

“You go to a certain customer’s house and they’re just overjoyed that you even came,” he says. “You fix their situation and they praise you up and down. It’s a good feeling, helping people.”

They also want to make sure that their customers have the best systems possible, whether that system is a new furnace or a tankless water heater.

“I really push high-efficiency, made-in-America products,” Turnage says. “We push products that have the highest warranty and we add to it. For a new furnace and air system that we put in, it’s an easy decade that you’re not going to have any money out of your pocket, no matter what breaks or what time of year it is. It’s all covered.”

Turnage has water heater tanks available as well, however he always recommends tankless, especially since he says it can save homeowners 30% to 60% on their utility bills. Understanding that it is a big step, and one that can make a serious dent in pocketbooks, he also offers financing options.

His products are made by Armstrong, a company he would trust in his own home.

“I took factory tours and I met with the engineers,” he says. “I really did a lot of homework on every product we sell.”

Turnage believes that the product should sell itself, without being pushed on the customer.

“We’re big on trying to educate, not trying to oversell or sell you something you don’t need,” he says. “If I’m in your house and I see a problem, I usually just point it out, offer a solution, then go about my day. If you want it, you’ll call.”

Beyond heating, air and plumbing, he also offers a wide variety of other services like air virus control, and indoor air quality options like filtration, humidification, dehumidification, fresh air intake and mold control, and more.

“A lot of people don’t know that humidity control will keep bugs and insects from coming in your house if you have it set correctly,” Turnage says.

Justin Time Plumbing & Heating is located at 1845 West Jefferson Street in Plymouth. For more info, call 574-780-2245 or visit justintimeplumbingandheating.com.