B & A PLUMBING INC

I called B & A PLUMBING INC around 12:30 AM because a backed up storm drain was causing my basement to flood. I spoke with the answering service. The on-duty person, Bobby, returned my call within 10 minutes. After agreeing to the service, he arrived about 45 minutes later. He looked at the drain and rodded it out. While we found some roots, the drain was still backed up. Next he checked the sump, which was running and seemed to be ok. However, when we looked in the sump pit, we discovered a broken valve. Bobby, replaced the broken valve, cleaned up, then verified the repair solved the problem of the backed up drain. All of this in 1 hour at 1:30AM! Bobby was pleasant despite the hour and being called out to work in a steady rain.

I called at 7pm and they were able to come at 10:30am the next day. It turned out to be an easier fix than I had expected, and they didn't try to upsell me or squeeze me for anything else. They answered all the questions I had, even ones unrelated to the kitchen sink. They were great guys - will use again.

I needed a shower valve installed in an open wall. Plumber was able to come out the day after I called. I was told the plumber would be there around 10am. The plumber showed up at 1130am. The plumber did a decent job and no leaks as of to date. The plumber finished the job at 1240am. I was charged for an hour and a half of work. The plumber talked about BS for about 5 min. I paid for the valve at studio 41. I was charged 37 dollars for parts. Receipt also said valve and trim kit was installed. Which was not , only the valve. The plumber lost the check I gave him. I was refunded the stopped check fee.

When I called, the person who answered the phone explained that, with this type of leak, it may be a two man job and explained the costs. When the two plumbers arrived, they were polite and professional. They checked the leak and quickly determined it was a leak from the toilet upstairs. Gary D., one of the plumbers, took the time to show me the damage and what needed to be done. I was only charged for one hour for one man even though two plumbers were there because the leak wasn't that serious. Great job Gary!

Called B&A and being local the said they can be there in 10 minutes. Considering I had a broken water pipe and no water in the house can not ask for more than that. Repair performed quickly.

I called for help today and they were here in two hours. They were quick. They knew what needed to be done and they were efficient.

There seems to be one woman who handles the calls and appointments, and she's easygoing and friendly. With this year's call the company was booked, so we had to wait two days for the plumbers to come out, which was fine with us as the flooding hadn't gotten too terrible. The woman actually tried to get the plumbers out the first day after the call, but we both had to work during the open time, so she worked hard to have the plumbers come when our schedule allowed. She called back to keep us informed, and then she called just before the appointment time to say the plumbers were coming, which was nice. Two plumbers came. There was one guy who was clearly the leader and knew what to do. He worked through our clean-out outside. From our first experience we knew the main line was the problem, so there was no guesswork. The first time there was a little diagnosis to be done, and the plumber worked through the downstairs toilet drain, not knowing where the clog precisely was at that time, but he cleared out the main line just the same. This latest call, the work was done in 45 minutes. The lead plumber also had us call in the village of Schaumburg to push a camera through the main line to make sure it was clear on our side and the village's side. The village also was very responsive and friendly; they were out in 15 minutes or less. I was impressed the plumber had the village do that and that there was that relationship. B&A both times gave us good advice on short-term and long-term fixes -- possibly replacing the main line pipe in the future. Obviously that would be hugely expensive. I'm not crazy about $285 for a 45-minute job, but that's plumbing. If we have to do this once a year given our tree roots, I'm fine with that before we have to go with the long-term fix. UPDATE AUGUST 2014: The above review was in 2012. B&A was fine like above in 2013. In 2014, the quality diminished somewhat. A different pair came out this time, routed the sewer line. They thought they got it. Village later came with a camera, found they didn't get roots 10 feet down. I called B&A back, and to their credit, the pair returned, routed the pipe again. While we were waiting the public works crewmen told me B&A work had been slipping, with callbacks required, though it used to be the village's primary plumber -- they say the village only sometimes uses B&A now. The crewmen didn't like the claw B&A uses on the edge of the routers because, they say, they don't grab everything in 6-inch pipes, and other plumbing companies have better claws now. For what it's worth.

We have used B&A for several things, but this was the biggest job. They charged us time and materials to save us money and they were efficient and clean. They spoke to us daily for a week, trying to get it scheduled, because the job couldn't be done until it stopped raining as there would be no sump pump for the day. They were very nice and again, shared the process with us. They had to go through the bathroom and this is a relatively new and beautiful room, we were heartsick at cutting through it, but working with them they replaced the pipe with the least damage. We were thrilled. Upon completion, they showed us the 'sludge' that had been building for 50 years and was the cause of the back up. They never forced any solution, and gave us all options, allowing us to decide based on what we wanted to spend. There were no surprises, and when they left, they said "Well, its been nice knowing you, but you probably won't need us any longer!" Very personable, and we have met several of the plumbers over these last 5 years. We are including them here because we have met many other local plumbers and spent thousands on this issue with really bad experiences. We are very satisfied with B&A.

Work was done on time and at the price they gave us. They did run into a complication due to the way the home was originally built but they handled this very professionally. Great service and very helpful with recommendations

They were courteous and efficient in their work and left the site clean. I most appreciated being told up front before scheduling their fee per hour plus any additional supplies used. I used their service once before joining Angies List and was very satisfied as well.

For both jobs, I was surprised at how much materials and labor came out to. I have used this company several times in the past because repairs were so cheap. Well, things have really changed quite dramatically. Both jobs came out costing substantially more than I thought. The cost of materials were communicated to me, but when the guy is actually on the job doing the work then says the part is going to cost you $150.00, well, not much of a choice there. Both times he ran over the estimated time to do the job. Furthermore, on job number 2, I had to call him back twice to fix stuff that was not right the first time. (1) He forgot to saw off the screws sticking out of the new toilet. I was not working at the time so it was no big deal to go back to my rental house to meet him to have him fix it. He arrived and sawed off the screws. But then the pipes in the new sink started leaking water. Once again, I had to have him come back and fix the problem. Good thing I was not working and available to have him do the repair. Now I am working downtown I would have gotten into work 2 hours late on two different days to have these issues fixed. I need the work done right and done right the first time. I'm hourly and cannot be unavailable and risking my career so that I can have work re-done that was supposed to be done right the first time. Therefore, I will not use the services of B&A again. Things have changed since I gave them a glowing review a year or two ago.

I chose this contractor because the management company for the condo said they knew the building and knew if the water to the building needed to be turned off to repair the shower. When I called them, the plumber who had worked on the building before said it did need to be turned off, so I had to schedule a week in advance and post notices in the building that the water would be off for a four hour period. On the day they were scheduled to come they called to reschedule because they had an emergency. I explained that the building required advanced posting and it would be difficult to change, so they sent a plumber out. He was punctual and polite and brought the part with him because I had given them the information in advance. He was not the plumber who had worked there before and found that there was a turnoff at the shower and I had not needed to post the notices. He brought a young man with him who observed his 20 minutes of work and charged me for an hour and a half. They arrived at 9:20 and left before 10. They were accommodating but I think this is very expensive to swap out a cartridge.

They said that it would take about 4 hours for the work to be done. We asked them to delay coming, because our tile guy needed a bit more time to finish in one bathroom. They said not to worry, since they would do the valve in the other bathroom first. It only took about an hour to do the first valve, and then he talked to our tile guy about the size of hole that he needed cut for the second valve. He gave a measurement, and the hole was cut, but he then decided that it was too small, so he had the tile guy cut a hole a second time. He seemed to be waiting around for the right time to get the second valve in. When he finished, his bill was more than 6 hours for a job they quoted for 4. After arguing with my wife, they removed their travel time and a half hour for lunch. But we still paid a bill for 5 hours of work - $594.47. When we went to use the shower (in the bathtub) for the first time, the hot and cold water piping was reversed, and we called them to come out a second time to fix it. It only involved flipping the valve around, but they needed to come out, shut off the water to the house, and flip the valve. Then we realized that the piping to the shower heads and the bathtub faucet weren't secured well, and we could move the piping a good two inches in each direction. We grumbled about it to each other, and we went to the Home Depot and talked to them about what we could use to tighten the pipes. They said "call the plumber to come back to do the job right!!" because they said that the pipes would eventually get loose, and possibly leak and we needed to have them secured. So we called a third time to have them return. When we called, the girl who answered the phone accused us of making the pipes loose. But they came out and secured the pipes so that they didn't move anymore. After three visits, the job was nearly done right, They eventually finished it, but I still have a bad taste in my mouth, because I needed to cut the bathtub spout piping shorter so that the spout would fit flush against the wall, and had to install the handle to the shower myself. Next time, I'll find a different plumber to use.

Their pricing is pretty reasonable for plumbers. They are knowledgeable and show up on time. They communicate with me so I know exactly what they are going to do.

Great! He finished fixing the toilet and stopper in just over an hour but only billed me for an hour. Mike was very knowledgeable and funny too! He called me over when he discovered the issue with the clogged toilet and it ended up that a previous tenant's toddler threw a toy in it. As he worked to extract the toy from the base of the toilet, he said "look, a leg". Then he said "kind of like delivering a baby". He ended up "delivering" Sponge Bob from the toilet :) I need to have my hot water heater fixed and would definitely use B&A for this service, but I have logistical problems with getting off work by 2:30 during the week. So I'll have to go with a company who has Saturday hours.

He was a nice guy, and he was courteous.

He arrived on time. The actual replacement of the nut took about 5 to 10 minutes. The charge was reasonable factoring in travel time.

I explained the situation to the person answering the phone. They explained their service and the likely cost. They arranged to have a plumber out within the hour. Within 2 hours from the time I made the call the problem was fixed. Because there is a minimum time I got charged (one hour) the plumber fixed another small problem with a sink. It was all done in 45 minutes. Gary was clean and very professional. The cost was as estimated for time with additional charges for parts.

Very well, service was prompt, plumber arrived right on time, took the time quoted and cleaned up and removed all boxes from new toilet that I had purchased and took the old toilet with him.

Very professional, gave us a rough estimate via phone, they came, did the work and then left. They were here in one and a half hours or less. Everything works fine.

Great! The plumber arrived on time and was professional and courteous. The Plumber was not that experienced and called his supervisor 2 times for help. Due to the fact that the company was charging me for time and materials, I was concerned that I was going to be charged more for the job, because it was taking the plumber longer than it would of a very experienced plumber. However, when they completed the job, without me saying anything, they only charged me for 2 hours of labor, rather than the 3 it took the novice plumber to complete the work. No leaks and a job well done. I will definitely use them again for any plumbing work.

I was very happy with the work that was done and with the time he took explaining what had happened and what needed to be done in the future. I will definitely call this company again if I have a true plumbing problem.

We had been without hot water for several days and needed a water heater quickly. They were very responsive and were able to get one in for us the same day. They said they would call before they came, which they did not do, but they did show up the same day. Although the heater was not leveled properly, my primary concern is the way the ductwork was connected to the other ductwork from the furnace. The furnace ductwork had been recently installed by another company which had carefully fitted and screwed the ductwork together. When the water heater installer connected the ductwork from the heater, he just used duct tape - a quick but short-term solution which may not meet code.

I called and asked if they could come out within a week. They called me back and scheduled the appointment in 5 days. They arrived on time and were very professional and personable. They spent the time to explain every thing to us and even came out the next day to help me attach the gas line to the dryer. I have already recommended this company to several of my friends and would definitely use them for any future plumbing needs.

Jake (the plumber that was assigned to my job) arrived right on time. Proceeded to examine the problem and give me an estimate of $350.00 maximum. After I authorized the repairs he started the job. To my surprise he not only replaced the horizontal section of pipe but also replaced the vertical drop from the sink pipe that was exposed in the basement. I was surprised because we did not talk about replacing any vertical pipe but only the horizontal run. Work was done in a clean, professional manner. After spending over 40 years in business repairing other peoples cars, I was concerned that the person dispatched to repair my problem would not be up to the task. I will say that B&A Plumbing and Jake in particular was more than up to the task and I would not hesitate to hire them again. I should mention that the price came in UNDER estimate.