Plumbing Today HVAC: build vs. modeled comp (burkhardt)
Comp pattern: Burkhardt Heating (Round 1, revision 2 finalist): branded-vehicle diagonal-split hero + icon service quick-nav row. Structure borrowed, palette re-expressed in Plumbing Today's sampled logo hexes (orange #EE6A2A, charcoal #16181B, steel #737373). Typography: Archivo Black + Hanken Grotesk, matched to the logo's bold grotesque genre.
6 wins
3 ties
1 loss
4 uncontested
Desktop hero
Mobile fold
Mobile menu open
Full page
Section-by-section scorecard
| Section | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hero | WIN | Same diagonal-split branded-van pattern, but with trust merchandised inside the fold: live-verified 4.8/374 Google line, BBB A+ chip, Master Plumber chip. Burkhardt's hero has the van and a single tenure line, no review count, no trust chips. |
| Icon quick-nav | TIE | Both implement the signature row. Burkhardt: 5 icons incl. Specials. Ours: 6 icons covering both trades plus a color-accented 24/7 Emergency tile that click-to-calls. Even trade. |
| Header / nav chrome | WIN | Both have dropdown navs. Ours adds a utility bar (24/7 + financing), a phone block with live-operator subline, and a full-screen mobile flyout drawer with accordions and an in-drawer conversion footer, exercised programmatically (open/close, one-at-a-time, scroll-lock all pass). |
| Trust merchandising | WIN | Credential strip, animated stat band (374 reviews, 16 years, 30+ combined, 24/7), BBB-anchored comparison table, and a footer trust strip. Burkhardt states "2,100 verified online reviews" once in body copy and a pill band. |
| Services | WIN | Six icon service cards with blunt copy covering both trades, plus a commercial CTA. Burkhardt's homepage has no service cards beyond the quick-nav; services live in copy paragraphs. |
| Reviews / social proof | WIN | Review summary pill linking to the live Google profile plus four verbatim named quotes pulled from GBP this week (incl. "Don't let the name confuse you... They know HVAC"). Burkhardt has no review content on the page. |
| Team / about | TIE | Burkhardt has a genuine third-generation family story section. Ours counters with the real crew-and-fleet photo scraped from Plumbing Today's own site plus the named Master Plumber owner. Different strengths, honest tie. |
| Online booking | LOSS | Burkhardt embeds a real calendar-picker booking widget in the page. Our build has a callback request form only. Production fix: embed the client's GHL calendar (or ServiceTitan/Housecall booking) in the request-service section; noted for the pitch. |
| Offers / membership | TIE | Burkhardt: promo pill band + View All Promotions. Ours: Peak Performance membership band + insurance-claim and financing duo cards. Comparable weight, different mix. |
| Process steps | UNCONTESTED | Three-step how-it-works with upfront-quote framing. No equivalent on the comp's homepage. |
| FAQ | UNCONTESTED | Six blunt FAQs with FAQPage JSON-LD. No FAQ anywhere on the comp's homepage. |
| Comparison table | UNCONTESTED | "One call, both trades vs two separate contractors" table turns the multi-trade positioning into a visual argument. No equivalent on the comp. |
| Real job proof | UNCONTESTED | Six real job photos from their own gallery (dual tankless, tech-at-furnace, tech-at-AC, copper work), honestly captioned. Comp homepage has no job photography. |
| Footer | WIN | Trust strip, 4-column grid, service-area coverage block, exit CTA, back-to-top. Burkhardt's footer is a legal-links row. |
| Mobile UX | TIE* | Ours: sticky 3-way Call/Text/Book bar, no h-scroll at 375 (measured: scrollWidth 375 = clientWidth 375), one shared 20px gutter (measured), even 2-col grids with no orphans. Burkhardt mobile is competent; *their menu-open capture partially failed, so full comparison is not possible. Scored conservatively as a tie. |
Honest gaps & provenance (verify before the pitch)
- The wrapped van is a mockup-only composite. Generated with their real logo as reference; Plumbing Today's actual fleet wrap (visible in the team photo) is different. Swap in real fleet photography before production.
- Peak Performance Membership perks are described at purpose level only (tune-ups, checkups, priority). Their site's membership page is an empty template shell, so specifics need confirmation from the prospect before production copy.
- Service-area town list beyond "Omaha, Council Bluffs, and Surrounding Areas" (their own claim) is standard-metro inference; confirm the real coverage list.
- License numbers (NE/IA) not published anywhere; needed for footer trust in production.
- Trust numbers verified 2026-07-06: 4.8/374 via live GBP pull (DataForSEO google/reviews task), BBB A+ accredited since 2016-08-04, established Nov 2009, owner Ken R. Pringle (BBB). Review quotes are verbatim from GBP with real reviewer names.
- Online booking is the one scored loss; embed the booking calendar in production (see scorecard).