What’s up with my Water?

Mar 12, 2022

The team here at Kokesh Plumbing knows that people have a lot of questions about water and the quality of water that we have here in Saint Louis. We would like to help ease your mind and answer some frequently asked questions we have had about the water that comes into our homes.

  • How safe is our water?
    • Our water is clean, reliable and without a doubt, safe. Year after year, our drinking water meets or surpasses all state and federal drinking water regulations. In fact, Missouri American Water performs more than 500,000 test on our water annually

 

  • Why is my water not flowing like usual?
    • This could be due to a water main break. In particularly, during the cold winter month, water mains freeze causing them to crack and burst. You can be assured that Kokesh and our partner, Missouri American Water are working hard and around the clock to make emergency repairs to get the mains fixed.

 

  • Why is my water cloudy?
    • Water that looks cloudy can happen when the temperature drops and water entering into your home warms as it comes in. The warm- up creates very small air bubbles that are absolutely harmless. To check to see if this is what is causing the cloudiness, simply place a glass of water on the counter for a couple of minutes and after that check to see if the water has cleared up as the air bubbles dissipate. If this doesn’t seem to be the case, please call us at 636 391-1233 so that we can help you solve this issue!

 

  • Why does my water have a change in taste or has an odor?
    • Our water is sourced from different locations through the state including the Meramec River, Missouri River, Shoal Creek and various wells. There are different factors that could cause the water to smell or taste differently such as seasonal changes and river conditions, but the most important thing to realize is that it is still safe to drink.

Hopefully this helps with any questions that you may have about our water and water supply. As always if you have any questions about this or any other plumbing related issues please give us a call at: 636-391-1233.

 

 

New Year’s Tips for Saving Water and Money

Jan 1, 2022

Happy New Year! We love to make New Year’s resolutions and we think that saving water and money should be a part of your New Year’s goals. Making sure that your house is in tip-top shape at the beginning of the year helps set the tone for how the rest of your year will go. Here are a few tips that get you home in order for a smooth year:

 

  • Insulate water pipes by wrapping them with insulation tubes made from polyethylene of fiberglass in unheated areas of your home. This will help them from freezing during the coldest days of winter.
  • Use low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators that will reduce the water flow without reducing the pressure
  • You should check your pipes, toilets and faucets often for leaks, and if you do find a leak, please give us a call at 636-391-1233 so that we can help you fix that leak.
  • Make sure to drip your faucets when the temperature stays below freezing by letting a small trickle run over night. This should help prevent the pipes from freeing over
  • Check for leaks in and out of your home after the first big thaw
  • Have us come out to walk your property line after the first thaw to inspect waterlines
  • Only run your dish and clothing washers when they are full and use the water-saving cycle if available on your washers

100 Neediest

Dec 7, 2021

Happy Holidays!

We here at Kokesh Plumbing are extremely thankful for all our wonderful customers, amazing team, and making it through such a difficult year and we would like to pay that forward by adopting a local family needing support this holiday season. Through the United Way’s 100 Neediest Cases, we are adopting a family who needs some extra cheer this year.

Ms. L is a single mother of three boys who has also taken in her niece and nephews due to their parents being unable to care for them. Ms. L is working a full time job and cannot afford to take care of much beyond each month’s bills and their basic needs. If you would like to join us in helping make this time of year alittle more special for this family, here is a list of their needs:

  • Clothing- size 4T and shoes- size 9 for a 3 year old boy
  • Clothing- size 12/14 and shoes- size 5.5 for a 9 year old boy
  • Clothing- size 12/14 and shoes- size 6.5 for a 10 year old boy
  • Clothing- size men’s medium/ 34 pants and shoes- size 11 for a 13 year old boy
  • Clothing- size women’s small and shoes- size 6 for a 16 year old girl
  • Clothing- size 18/20 and shoes- size 9.5 for an adult woman
  • Learning toys & books for a 3 year old boy
  • Toys or gifts for 9 and 10 year old boys
  • Gifts for 13 and 16 year old boy and girl
  • Bikes for 3, 9, and 10 year old boys
  • Gifts for an adult woman
  • Cleaning supplies
  • Food items for Christmas dinner/ Groceries
  • Gift Cards are an easy way to send some cheer if you don’t know quite what to give, for groceries, clothes, or gas!

We will be accepting donations between now and Friday December 17th, you can either drop by our office location: 408 Kehrs Mill Rd, Ballwin, Mo 63011 or if you are having a service done give it to one of our guys.

Thank you so much for helping us make this season brighter for a local family!

In Memory of Lawrence Kokesh

Oct 20, 2021

Our family is sad to announce the passing of Lawrence Kokesh Sr.

 The Celebration of Life will be held at Salem Methodist November 6th at 11am with a Reception to follow at Vlassis Park Pavilion.

Lawrence (Larry) Edward Kokesh Sr. was born on December 22, 1936 to Helen and Edward Kokesh. He passed on August 12, 2021 at the age of 84 in Thomasville GA, after an extended illness. He is survived by his wife Jeanne Kokesh, and his children with Charleen Parmley; son Lawrence E. Kokesh Jr. (JR) and his wife Lark, daughter Elizabeth A. Kokesh, son Joseph R. Kokesh and his wife Megan, grandchildren Jackson and Charlotte, siblings Alice Krechel, Carol Meyer, and Jerry Kokesh, and many nieces and nephews.

Larry was very active in his community. He was on the Board of Meremac Valley Bank, a Member of the West County Jaycees, served on the Ballwin Days Committee for many years, a Member of the West County Chamber of Commerce, and a Director of the Manchester Fire Protection District.

Larry lived his life to the fullest. He was a loving father and grandfather, an avid cyclist, hunter, world traveler, outdoorsman, and the 3rd generation owner of J.J. Kokesh and Son. Larry was loved and respected by all who met him and will be greatly missed.

Services will be held at Salem Methodist Church, 14825 Manchester Rd Ballwin, MO 63011 at 11:00 on November 6th 2021, with a reception to follow at Vlasis Park Pavilion. Alternate location due to inclement weather will be at Ballwin North Pointe.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital at 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or www.stjude.org.

We have moved!

Sep 2, 2020

We have exciting news!!

After over 20 years at our shop on Manchester, We Are Moving!!!

 

Our new address is 408 Kehrs Mill Road

One of our priorities was staying in West County where we have been for over 127 years, we were even luckier to find a wonderful place in Ballwin. We are excited to have found wonderful new space right off Manchester road to help serve you all better and to help facilitate the customer service that you have come to expect from us.

Come by and visit us!

Jackson helping us clean up the old shop!

Here is a look back at our past locations and a look to our bright new future at our new location…

Exclusive TOTO factory authorized, warranty service

Jan 25, 2020

JJ Kokesh and Son Plumbing is proud to announce that we are now the St. Louis exclusive TOTO factory authorized, warranty service, for the Toto Neorest and Washlet.

Toto is the largest toilet manufacturer in the world, their focus is enriching lives with clean technology. At the root of that focus is the Neorest and Washlet collections, integrated or attachable bidets whose seats open and close automatically, have seat warmers, deodorizers, blow dryers, night lights, and auto- flush!

Joe Kokesh, our owner, recently flew to Ontario, California for a few weeks to go through TOTO’s extensive training program. Every day Joe took apart, reassembled, and studied 18 different models of Neorest and the Washlets at their facility. He is now a certified installer and factory authorized service technician.

Neorest

Washlet

Please give us a call if you want to know more or have any questions about installing or serving your TOTO product, our number is (636) 391-1233.

It’s Our 125th Anniversary!

May 9, 2019

We are incredibly proud to celebrate the 125th anniversary of JJ Kokesh and Son plumbing! 

There has been an amazing amount of change since 1894 when JJ Kokesh first started plumbing throughout what is now West County on just his horse.  What hasn’t changed is our guiding principle – our family taking care of your family.  This approach to knowing and caring for our customers has served us well.  It’s treating our customers the way we want to be treated – good relationships make for good business; we treat our employees like family (and sometimes they really are family).  Our family approach has allowed us to greatly expand our products and services over the years while still keeping individualized customer service our priority.

Thank you to our employees:    Being in business for 125 years would not have been possible without you – the amazing people in our organization.  We are incredibly grateful to each and every one for your hard work and dedication.

Thank you to our customers:    It has been your loyalty and trust throughout the years which challenges us to strive for excellence in all we do.  That support has allowed us to embrace new boundaries so our family continues to grow with your family.

Please join us in our 125th year celebration with special offers, discounts, and giveaways all year long!

2018 Holiday Toy Drive

Dec 8, 2018

Joe and I feel strongly about supporting our community throughout the year but even more so during the holidays. We do this by picking a charity each December to focus our efforts and this year we chose, “Friends of Kids with Cancer”.

This organization is devoted to enriching the daily lives of children undergoing treatment for, and survivors of cancer and blood-related diseases. Their mission is to be an advocate for these special kids and provide them and their families with the educational, emotional and recreational support needed as a result of the long hours of chemotherapy, illness and isolation.

Friends of Kids with Cancer has a proud 25-year history exclusively in St. Louis of helping kids with cancer…be kids. Jill Turec, Developmental Specialist at Mercy Clinic Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center, along with concerned parents, Molly Henry and Susie Snowden, saw the great need to enrich the daily lives and divert the attention of the patients outside of the medical treatments. These three women shared a dream that every child with cancer would experience as much fun, laughter, support and normalcy as possible. It was this idea that was the birth of Friends of Kids with Cancer. Starting in the office of Dr. Bob Bergamini in 1992, “The Toy Closet”, was launched to brighten the long gloomy and painful days spent in the treatment center.

Friends has been driven to meet the ever-evolving needs of not only the patients but their entire families. Everything they do is suggested by medical professionals and patient families. Dr. Bob’s philosophy is to “treat the needs of the entire child…not only the cancer”. Friends is such an important and unique charity because it gives back something that medicine can’t. The Educational, Emotional and Recreational programs build self-esteem and improve the quality of life to assure that the patients and their families remain positive, focused and prepared to meet their future needs.

JJ Kokesh and Son is working towards filling up “The Toy Closet” this Christmas… so that each child can choose something that provides the distraction from treatment and brings much needed joy in their lives. We are collecting:

-Toys for all ages                            -Legos                                  – Barbies, babydolls

-crafts/craft kits                                                       -gift certificates for teenagers 

 -Art supplies                                                                   -comics and coloring books

Every year, we do our best to encourage our customers,suppliers and employees to GIVE… and every single year, we are blown away by the incredible outpouring of love and generous support that we receive. We cannot begin to express our humble gratitude to all who help make this possible. Please think about how you may help us to make Christmas 2018 the most successful year ever!

Happy Holidays!

Megan, Joseph and Jackson Kokesh

Officer Mike Flamion and The Gary Sinise Foundation

Jun 12, 2017

Last year Officer Mike Flamion was shot while on duty at a routine traffic stop, leaving him paralyzed for the rest of his life.  Joe and I decided that we wanted to help Officer Flamion in some way.  It wasn’t until The Gary Sinise Foundation announced that they were building a smart home for Officer Flamion and his wife that we knew what we could do.  We immediately applied to donate the plumbing in the home.  Out of a number of other great companies, who also wanted to donate their time, we were lucky to have been chosen to complete the work.

Being part of this build has really been amazing, from learning about what Officer Flamion has been through in the last year, to getting to work with so many wonderful companies and individuals who have given their time and energy to make this home a reality.

When we started this project it began as giving back to Office Flamion but now half way through I have begun to realize how much we have also gotten out of it.  At every turn we have been inspired by our subcontractors, suppliers, employees, and customers who have come forward to ask how they can help.  Many have donated materials, money, and time.  We are part of a community of people who have stepped up to give back and it makes me really happy and proud to be a part of Ballwin.

One way that I have continued to urge people to give is by contributing to the “Buy a Brick” Program.  An American flag proudly soars in front of every home The Gary Sinise Foundation builds. The bricks that form the flagpole base are customizable with your message of gratitude. Together, these bricks form a lasting tribute to the sacrifices our heroes have made.  You can either print the form below or go to www.garysinisefoundation.org/blog/article/buy-brick to fill out the form.

-Megan Kokesh

JJ Kokesh and Son Plumber Wins Gold!

Jan 26, 2016

Our newest plumber Billy Hanning Jr. took time off this past week to fly to Nova Scotia to play for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.  The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team defeated Canada, 3-2, to win the 2016 World Sled Hockey Challenge, making this the second consecutive year!

We are beyond proud of Billy and how hard he works on and off the ice.  While he said he wouldn’t actually wear the gold medal while on jobs, if he comes to your home make sure you congratulate him!

His stats are:

USA Hockey

  • As a member of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, has played in one International Paralympic Committee Sled Hockey World Championship (gold – 2015) and two World Sled Hockey Challenge tournaments (first – 2015, 2016)
  • Was called up to the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team for the 2012 World Sled Hockey Challenge (first place)
  • Three-time U.S. National Developmental Sled Hockey Team member (2012-14)

IPC Sled Hockey World Championship

  • 2015: Posted one assist in four games

World Sled Hockey Challenge

  • 2016: Notched two assists in five games
  • 2015: Tallied two assists over five games
  • 2012: Skated in all five games

Series vs. Canada

  • 2015: Skated in all three games

 

USA v Canada at the Harborcenter in Buffalo, NY. May 3, 2015. Gold Medal Game - 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool. Photo by Bill Wippert

Billy is seventh from the right

Read more about the game here:

http://www.teamusa.org/US-Paralympics/Features/2016/January/25/US-National-Sled-Team-Wins-2016-World-Sled-Hockey-Challenge