F J KERRIGAN PLUMBING CO INC

Kerrigan Plumbing is the best plumber on the North Shore. I have used them for almost 30 years, and they do outstanding work. 5 stars all the way around, no matter how big or small the job.

Prompt, courteous, efficient. Came on time, identified the problem and replaced the check valve quickly. We have used this company before and like supporting a local business though they aren't cheap.

The first visit to fix slow pressure shower head took over 2 hours with no results. The plumber could not find an issue and the work cost us $300. Holidays followed and, frustrated, I called again 1.5 months later (2 weeks after 1 month work warranty). I asked for some leniency given the holidays and the fact that I didn't call them in the midst of the subzero temps which allowed them to service folks in greater need. No leniency offered. They sent a different plumber who fixed problem in less than 5 minutes. Had to pay $125 (which was actually lower than new call but not within warranty). It was frustrating. I will use them again but will specify certain plumbers. I still like Kerrigan because they are generally quick to reply and courteous, but not all plumbers are on staff are created equal.

Arrived on time, but did not have correct filter for maintenance for system, did not wash out the condenser. Did however seem to think we needed a whole new system which was surprising as we knew it was relatively new. We had another company in and they said the system is just fine. Guess they just wanted to sell us a new one.

We contacted Kerrigan to address the following concerns: 1) We needed the water supply to our humidifier (Aprilaire) unit addressed--our home was bone dry as the factory supplied U valve leaked and could not be adjusted to allow water to flow to the unit without a steady drip resulting from the valve. 2) We wanted our furnace serviced (maintenance service only). 3) We needed a quote for re-running our basement waste water lines to have better use of our ceiling space, as well as a quote for a battery back-up sump and 4) We wanted a new faucet installed in our powder room. Two individuals showed up on time for the scheduled morning appointment. One went to work inspecting our furnace / humidifier & change out our air filter. The other went to work installing the new faucet in our powder room. Both of these aspects seemed to go off relatively well. A third gentleman arrived to pick up the one working on the furnace -- I'd assumed his work had completed. During the course of the appointment an estimator arrived to review the issue of low-hanging basement waste water lines in order to provide a quote to adjust their route in order for us to better use the space. When the gentleman installing the powder room faucet completed his task, he and the estimator informed me that they were all done; however, the line to the humidifier--our most urgent issue along with the furnace inspection--had not been addressed. The gentlemen explained that the existing valve installed was junk (which I obviously already knew) & that a proper solution would be costly--they were reticent to simply close off the old U valve & run a new line, which would not be costly. When I insisted that the humidifier be addressed as it was the priority in the list of needs, the plumber obliged with a subtle rolling of eyes--perhaps not a big deal for some, but the affect of this gesture was that I was putting them out, or maybe asking too much of them. In the end, the plumber spent maybe an hour installing a new clear plastic water supply line to the humidifier & the system operates as-intended & the old closed off valve has yet to leak. The project was finished around lunchtime. The short of this experience is that the plumbers did precisely what I asked but it cost nearly $900. Hourly for the plumber was more than I'm charged by my attorney (who's not cheap), but during consultations my attorney does not field calls unrelated to me and bill me for the distraction--these guys will. Our plumber fielded several calls (probably from fellow employees) in need of advice on other project sites--knowing now what they charge per hour, I'm none too happy about the distration. Oh, I never received the quote to reroute the waste water lines nor to install a backup sump. No company follow-up either--I know we're all surveyed to death, but a company that will follow up when the work is done (just to see how things went & get feedback) is a company that 1) practices continued improvement and 2) actually cares about the customer's experience.

This did not go well. We had a broken pipe under our basement floor and called Kerrigan. I explained the situation over the phone and the woman who answered said they could fix the pipe and kindly said she would send a plumber over within the hour. She also explained that there was a base $155 service charge which we agreed to pay. The plumber arrived as promised. He said he could rod out the pipe for approximately an additional $ 100, but could not fix the broken pipe because it was too big a job and we would need to wait several days for Kerrigan's estimator to take a look first. My husband questioned whether rodding the pipe was even a good temporary solution and the plumber agreed that it wouldn't do much. Since the rodding wasn't an effective solution, we decided not to go ahead with it. We paid the service fee of $ 155 even though we did not feel that it was right since no service was performed and since we feel Kerrigan should have told us when we called that the pipe could not be fixed without a preliminary visit from their estimator. If they had been clear over the phone that this visit could do little to correct the problem and would not even provide an estimate, we would not have agreed to the fee and would not have scheduled the visit. When Kerrigan called the next day to set up an appointment with their estimator, I mentioned our unhappiness. I was transferred to their customer service representative who spoke to me in what seemed to me an irritated tone of voice and called me "Mrs." (Not "Mrs. Last Name." Just "Mrs.") He emphasized that we had agreed to the service fee, but I said that we were under the impression that they were going to provide a service-not just come out and tell us we needed their estimator instead. This gentleman said he would speak to the plumber and call me back. This was three months ago and we have heard nothing further. Like I said, I know we agreed to the service fee initially, but that was because we were under the impression they were coming at that time to fix the pipe. I had described the problem over the phone, so if nothing effective could be done until their estimator saw it, we should have been informed of that during the phone call. It does not seem right to come out, offer a service that won't resolve the problem and then claim a service fee.

I live in a 100+ year old building and am in the process of remodeling my (probably) 45 year old kitchen. The work has been complicated by the age of the building, the city code revisions and the somewhat questionable quality of the work done in the past 100 years. Gary Trapp, from Derrigan Plumbing, came in, listened to what my needs were and understood the issues almost immediately. He explained what he could do to cut off the live gas lines that ran through my unit (for the gaslights used in the early 1900's) and how he could move the water lines to the kitchen to accommodate the (planned) new fixtures and appliances. During the project (which at this time remains ongoing) we ran into major problems that had been created in earlier remodeling of this building. The entire project was stopped until these issues could be addressed. Kerrigan Plumbing was quick to respond to phone calls and immediately reviewed and re-visited what would become a somewhat costly but effective resolution to this situation. They offered me two options, with good explanations for both, and once I made a decision they immediately returned and not only contained but very professionally resolved the problem. It would have been nice if the problem (the live gas line in the walls and ceilings and the unseen problems from earlier renovations) had been addressed when this building was converted to a condo, but that didn't happen. Kerrigan resolved the problems for me and I feel safe in my home and happy with the plumbing job that Kerrigan Plumbing did. I would use them again and would recommend them to friends.

The pump failure happened during the major rainstorm of 2013 which impacted much of the area. Kerrigan was able to get a plumber out to me within 24 hours of me calling. Plumber arrived early in promised time frame. I was surprised he didn't seem prepared to crawl into a still wet crawl space - much of our suburb had flooded basements and the entire Chicago area had received record rainfall. I expected that the plumber would come prepared with rubber boots or old shoes since I'd indicated the pump was in a crawl space. Kerrigan has replaced other sumps in the same crawl for me previously, but perhaps no records are kept of previous work. Plumber had the replacement pump which he installed after demonstrating that the old motor was smoking. I was surprised when he simply tossed aside the old shaft, motor and pump into the crawl. When I asked how to remove the old parts, he said to call Kerrigan for removal after the crawl dried out fully. I don't know if Kerrigan would have charged for this "service"; I found others to carry out and discard the old pump, shaft and motor. I was surprised that disposal of the old equipment is apparently not in the installer's "job description". I've used Kerrigan over 15 years for various services, including replacing other sumps. The service seems very much tied to who ever their contracted plumber-of-the-day is. I can understand that following the rains we experienced in late April, every plumber in the area was overworked and tired, but I was never unpleasant to or demanding of the plumber who appeared at my doorstep and I did not experience an appropriate level of professionalism in return. Saying "I'm not hurting my back dragging that old pump out" to my polite inquiry regarding removal is not acceptable. If the physical demands of a job are too much for any individual plumber, Kerrigan should make appropriate arrangements for follow-up. I am planning on having our sumps evaluated and probably replaced and I am actively searching for a different company.

I was completely satisfied. See above for details.

Pete was very nice and professional, and did a good job keeping things clean. He explained everything he was doing, and what the issues with the toilets seemed to be. When replacing them, he said they do not caulk in the bottom because that results in you not knowing if you have a leak, which is exactly what happened to us after the last time we replaced one toilet years ago (we got leakage into the ceiling below instead of seeing some water in the bathroom). The new toilets that they recommended work very well so far. Kerrigan's rates are high, but from our experience you'll get very good quality work and responsiveness, which for us justified the price, because we really don't want to have a plumber back to fix something again.

Although it took a long time to get the village to sign off on the permit, my end result is worth the hassle. Overhead sewers are part of code so getting this old house up to speed to prevent sewer back up was long overdue. We finally bit the bullet. Although other bids were lower, Kerrigan ALWAYS called me back in a timely manner--some of the other bids never called me back to discuss my questions. I loathe dealing with the "trades" because in my job I am expected to be on time and where I am supposed to be. I know I could depend on Kerrigan, I have used them for my routine plumbing needs.

My call was answered promptly and service scheduled for mid-morning the following day (I think the window was 8:30 to noon, but I'm not certain about that). The next day I got a call when the plumber was on his way (they're only 2 blocks from my house). It was the same plumber that I'd had out for another problem last year. He's very knowledgeable and professional. He repaired my valve issue and gave me a couple tips to keep it from leaking going forward. We also discussed the water hammer problem, its likely causes and options for repair. Kerrigan has been my plumber of choice for the 15 years we've lived in Wilmette. The service has always been top-notch. They may not be the cheapest (although that's only a guess) but I love what they do.

The process was fairly simple. Kerrigan's truck has the AC power for the sewer rodding machine. All I had to do was show them the location of the clean out trap and run water while while they worked. The crew is very conscientious and professional. They worked well as a team, worked fast, did a great job of rodding the sewer, and cleaned up when they finished. Prior to using Kerrigan I used other plumbers, including those whose speciality is sewer rodding. They never used a cutter larger than three inches - I would be lucky if the roots didn't return within a year. In addition, some were outright deceptive , saying my sewer line was broken and needed to be replaced. Although pricey, the piece of mind of having a plumber that isn't tring to sell unnecessay services and is focused on a doing a good and thorough job is worth the price. On price alone the are expensive so I gave them a B, but on value they get an A+.

Performed a number of repairs and replaced a huge old pipe. Andy seemed very experienced and was able to work quickly. He came both times the day after I called. He used the pictures we had to zero in on the problem. Did a very good job.

They examined our system thoroughly, and determined that the best course was a combination of hot-water jetting and high-powered rodding equipment. It took 2 days, but they were able to clear ALL of the blocked and semi-blocked drains and send cameras down all of them. They were also able to discuss matters of building code regarding the need for a grease trap (our building is small enough and old enough that it is recommended but not required. Our problem was so bad that they recommended that we contact a specialist company to then pump out the chunks of grease and debris from the catch basin after they finished. They recommended another company who came out and did the work promptly and well. With a little care and regular maintenance, we should be able to maintain the system in good working order while we address our financial issues. As their work was so good, and they are now familiar with our rather cranky system, we intend to continue to use them for regular drain maintenance even if they aren't the lowest bid. We are very satisfied with their work, and hope to remain a regular customer.

In a nutshell: pricey but reliable, competent and professional. They were prompt and despite some very heavy root build-up the first time we had it done, their equipment got through it.

Excellent work but expensive. There also seems to be a problem with communication and efficiency in their office. The gentleman who came to do the estimate was very nice, professional and explained my options. He said that I would receive an estimate the next day. However, I actually received the estimate six days later and only after I called the office to inquire about it. Also, the office never notified me when the plumber was to arrive to do the work and I just happened to return home one day and found his truck there.. The plumber who installed the toilet was very nice, did an excellent job and cleaned up perfectly.

From start to finish, no matter how big the project or how small, Kerrigan is superb. They help in emergencies, they have a "leak detective" who found a leak in one of showers that has caused some major damage on a lower floor, and they are on time, within budget and simply do superb work. Kerrigan is one of my favorite contractors with which to work.

Some of the technicians are excellent. The serious problems arose with communication of technicians with the Kerrigan Management. We had worked with Kerrigan for many years but it is if the policy has shifted to squeeze clients for money at the expense of goodwill.

Plumbers from F J Kerrigan Plumbing Co Inc seemed thorough. They seemed knowledgeable. They cleaned up well. They were responsive. It was a good experience all in all. However, I thought that they were a little expensive. I would use them again in the future.

Prompt, professional and thorough service, quite expensive

They were very pleasant and informative. They were quick and good. I would use them again. The person who came out explained what was going on in the way that I understood. He was efficient and quick.

They were very professional. I didn't need to be there to watch anything or answer any questions. They knew what they were doing. This was a condo they worked on. They handled everything correctly, shutting off the water in the building. It was just an easy job experience from my point of view and I would recommend them.

After dealing with Perma Seal and a number of plumbers who gave us all kinds of outrageous estimates for keeping our basement dry, it was refreshing to get an honest overview of our basement issues. They clarified many issues that Perma Seal had not been forthright about when they sold us their waterproofing system and took care of our problem by relatively inexpensively routing our sewer line and sealing the old system.

The men were very nice when they discovered the complication of the flood control system and the fact that it would not just be rodding the sewer. They kept us informed and as much as we were afraid to see 3 people and special equipment, they worked hard and kept the price as low as possible. I was very impressed with their work.