MERGENTHALER PLUMBING

I really appreciate the professionalism of this company. When I talk through the work needed, I get options presented to me, explanations that are customer-friendly, and I get treated like a human being with a brain and not a helpless woman who wouldn't or doesn't need to understand. The technicians also bring with them the same level of professionalism. The technician that did this work was on time, courteous, cleaned up nicely when he was done, and explained everything to me. He made recommendations for future work without being an alarmist. From top to bottom, these guys are great!

Having them come back to replace the kitchen faucet. I feel like I'm in good hands with these guys.

When I called and set up the appointment I was never told that there would be a fee for an estimate, so I went ahead and cancelled. I was disappointed that no one mentioned this in advance, as it ended up being a waste of time for all parties. Also, surprised as the other estimates that I received were free of charge.

Everything went great! Eugene was here as scheduled, exactly at 8:00. He was very nice and did a great job. We are so pleased with the completed work. Everyone from Steve in the office, to Mike the owner, to all the employees who work for this company, thank you for great customer service and being the best, and, I might add, the most honest Plumbing service on the North Shore!

We called Mergenthaler out on an emergency basis several months ago because we needed to be rodded out and our previous plumber wasn't returning our call. Mike asked if there was someone who could help him physically move the equipment, and since there was someone around to help he took it as a one-man job. This saved us an enormous amount of money. Mike suggested that we consider replacing the compromised section of clay pipe and installing an exterior clean-out, and gave us a quote. Given the frequency with which we were having emergency roddings (twice/year) we decided to go ahead with the repair this spring. We sought out other quotes for comparison, and were very pleased when Mergenthaler's turned out to be very competitive because we already knew we were very pleased with their level of service. They were an absolute pleasure to work with. They scheduled the service promptly, handled the necessary permit and inspection appropriately, and were completely professional throughout. Mike was willing to take the extra time to explain various aspects of the project to me and was never impatient with my questions. While we shouldn't need their services on our sewer line anytime soon, they will definitely be our go to plumbers from now on.

The plumber came out and looked at the leak in the floor below, which fortunately was an unfinished basement. Then, the plumber looked at our master bathroom and suggested that the leak may be coming from the bottom two rows of shower stall tiles. After the plumber left, we put caulking on the sides of all those tiles and the leak stopped! This will give us time to get the shower tiles professionally replaced by another firm. A quick assessment and worth the money spent.

The tank on our toilet started leaking out through the bolts on the bottom. After we got tired of constantly opening and shutting the valve, we called Mergenthaler, because they know our unit and our condo well. Mike or Steve at Mergenthaler gave us some useful advice for toilet shopping and also explained the options for ordering and installing - ordering ourselves, having them do it, and some combinations. The two-man team was on time for the installation and got through it pretty quickly. They left us with instructions on what to check the next day to verify the installation had gone problem- and leak-free and said they would come back to tweak it if we needed, included in the installation service, but that wasn't necessary. Things to check: (1) One of the plumbers is very chatty (he's been here before) but drops it if you're not interested in gabbing; (2) They could do a better job of cleaning up the work site, make sure to look and ask them to do that before you pay.

They were great! They were able to come at a convenient time and showed up exactly as promised. I was told what the job would cost before they came, so I knew what the charge would be (flat rate for faucet replacement). Someone else had tried (for a long time) to remove the old faucet, and they did it very quickly. Putting in the new one was also quick. All was well; no problems at all with the new one.

The plumber identified the problem area and repaired the pipe and was on to his next project in an hour.

It did not go well , they would not give me an estimate even on full repiping of the house. They stated they would do the work in phases.They made holes in ceiling of kitchen to look for the leaking pipes and then informed me they could not find where the pipes were going to the upstairs.They cringed at going into the crawl space.They truly did not seem to know how to deal with my situation other than to charge excessively for the work done.They seemed to be bothered when contacted and it seemed they were doing me a favor to do the work.Maybe because I am female, but I feel very snookered by them.I would not advise using their services.

The last project did not go well but Mergenthauler totally resolved it and apologized. I have complete faith in their company and have recommended them to many friends and family. We will definitely continue to use them as our plumbing company.

Periodic ( 2 - 3 years) cleanout of sewer line (from back of house to street sewer (about 150 ft.). Took about 2 hours because of heavy concentration of tree roots in sewer line. Charged $185/hour + $52 flat fee for service call.

Mergenthaler Plumbing are very, very, very reasonable and they do good work. They do top quality work. I am very pleased with them. I had been a long time customer of a different company that charges a travel charge to get here and are quite a bit more expensive than Mergenthaler. My sister told me about them. Their work is just as good as the other company but yet much more reasonably priced. Sometimes it is difficult to get on their schedule. I would absolutely use them again.

It went great, they were very responsive.

It went great! At first they couldn't get me scheduled right away but when I said I needed it done to close at the end of the week, they squeezed me in. The plumber couldn't have been more courteous, efficient and friendly. He replaced the frozen valve with a brand new one and the total cost was $152. I had gotten a quote from another company for $380. And a 3rd company didn't even call me back for 3 weeks so Mergenthaler saved the day as far as I was concerned. There were no negatives whatsoever.

I can not speak for the install--but I can speak toward many, many shortcuts that were made throughout the rehab. When we first purchased this home their name was stamped all over the vanity so I knew who had done the job. I noticed that the sweating on the pipes was VERY sloppy but they were not leaking so--whatever. Also, instead of shutoffs they installed a shortcut--known in the industry as fast and dirty but that leak long term. I also noticed that they had not put down any sealer on the grout. I called out the owner. He was VERY smug and arrogant. Basically asked me what I wanted him to do. I said that it would be nice if he could put in the proper shut offs. He did that. Fast forward five years---we are now "unrehabbing" the bathroom they did in 99. We take down the tub surround. It had been installed on REGULAR DRYWALL. You NEVER put regular drywall in a bathroom. Always greenboard or concrete board. So, we had moisture damage. Then we remove the toilet. THREE WAX RINGS. They were too lazy to put on a collar so they just threw down extra rings. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Called the owner and pretended I was looking into doing a bath rehab. Asked what they used on the walls. His response was greenboard and concreteboard. I said--insteresting, since you did not do that at my house. He was silent for a moment and then said that my call "sounded like entrapment" and asked what I wanted him to do. No apology, no "wow! I am shocked". Nope. Instantly to "entrapment". I'm not expert, but it sure sounds like someone who had fielded calls like this before. If you don't understand plumbing I'm not sure I would hire this guy. It seems to me they cut corners everywhere they can to save a few dollars while charging you over $100 an hour for labor.

Found a damp spot where paint had bubbled on a wall. Had plumber come out to determine the cause. Sergio opened up the wall and found a very corroded pipe leaking very slowly. He estimated cost of repair and time that water for multiple units would need to be shut down. He returned at the scheduled time and did the repairs needed within the estimated time. Sergio did a good job and was good to deal with.

Scheduled a routine sewer rodding visit including use of a camera to view the line. Tree roots that were discovered in the line were starting to cause a blockage. Sergio dilgently worked his way thru the roots starting with a 2 inch cutter and eventually cleaned the entire line with either 4 or 6 inch cutter. Professional job and the price paid was as expected.

Went very well. Repairman was friendly and explained everything very well. He took his time being thorough but still gave us quick service. He didn't leave a mess either.

Sergio also (confirmed) told me that it looked like someone (I believe, a plumber previously called, during the period of my dis-satisfaction with Mergenthaler) had purposely dis-abled the float sensor from my sump-pump. That other plumber had tried to sell me a whole new sump pump, but I had watched as he broke the float. (That's when I decided to call Mergenthaler again; requesting that they not send the plumber I had the previous bad experience with; I learned then that he had caused them many other problems, which they had done their best to right; and he had been fired long ago.) Sergio fixed the dis-abled part in a minute or two. The sump-pump is still working, years later. Since then, Mergenthaler has also sent other plumbers who I have been happy with. My only criticism is that, on one of our service calls a couple of years ago, the scheduler called and left a message on my answering machine, while their plumber was here, rodding to the sewer; I didn't hear the message until later, but it said that the scheduler wanted to pull the plumber off the job & send him somewhere else, because they had an emergency & he was the only plumber available. Fortunately (for me, but not for whoever called with an emergency), I was outdoors & did not retrieve the message until after-the-fact; but I was miffed that, after I waited all afternoon for the promised plumber, they would have sent him elsewhere in mid-job. It was hard to believe that they had no one else available to handle an emergency call. I checked Angie's list to see if there was a more economical company to hire for routine rodding and plumbing work, since Mergenthaler is located in high-rent Glenview, and might have higher overhead costs than companies in other areas. I have concluded that, with the treatment I have most recently received from Mergenthaler (including rounding down the time spent on my projects, instead of rounding it up), it does not make sense to switch...what they have charged me in recent years is competitive. This includes an emergency installation of a new hot-water heater!

They always make it so easy and nice. It's really nice to deal with them. They wear booties and keep the home clean.

They do great work and they are extremely responsive. I have since moved away and I still call them out to my new home and the service has been just as good. I trust them and I would definitely recommend them.

Sergio rodded out the line with a 2' cutter, then a 3" cutter that became dislodged in the line. He ultimately rodded out the line with a 4" cutter, pushing the lost 3" cutter into the main sewer line and pulling up some pretty gnarly looking root clumps. He maintained a great attitude, joking about the Bears game (he knew he'd be called in so he didn't take Bears tickets when offered). He tallied the bill while watching the end of the first half with my husband. Overall, they were responsive, prompt, and lower in cost than I expected (although maybe we got a deal because of work affiliations).

WE USE THEM FOR OUR ANNUAL SEWER RODDING. THEY ALWAYS DO A GREAT JOB, THIS YEAR THEY EVEN SENT A REMINDER AND A DISCOUNT OFFER. THEY MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITHIN THE WEEK OF MY CALL, CAME ON TIME AND DID A GREAT JOB.

THEY'RE VERY COMPETENT AND VERY FRIENDLY, BUT THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT THE LOWEST PRICED.