Rocket Rooter Plumbing

I am completely appalled by the behavior of this company. I called this morning - at the recommendation of another company that ranks high on this list but who could not be available today - to have my main sewer line snaked because it's backed up a few times this week. I also asked for a camera to look for the problem once the line was clear, because I suspect that I will have a very expensive repair to make over the coming weeks to keep this from happening again and making my recently finished basement unusable. . The first person I spoke to said yes, someone with a camera was available, but wouldn't give me a ballpark estimate, or a ETA. The second person I spoke to some hours later also would not give me an estimate or price range but told me the plumber was on his way and that the plumber would diagnose the problem and tell me what it would cost. So it turns out, they have a very straightforward cost scale for precisely what I was asking for and - surprise surprise - what I predicted was exactly what was needed. The cost? $$760 to snake out the sewer (a few hundred dollars cheaper if they don't take off the toilet. I've seen it done several times now, including by people who are not plumbers. It takes roughly 5 minutes to take off and 5 to put back on.) Then, another $359 to put a camera down there to identify what the problem is. After that, it's another $359 for them to locate it and mark it for follow up. People, this is $1,019 to snake out a drain and look down there - on a week day - not an emergency call. RotoRooter just quoted me $545 for the exact same service - including the camera. This is truly disappointing since I went out of my way to a) hire local instead of a big chain; b) follow a recommendation; c) ask repeatedly for information and not received it; and d) I told them several times that I was also in the market for a bigger job because I already know that tree roots are a big problem and my main sewer line is very very old. I feel like I've been scammed, and in the end, after wasting my time, they still charged me $55 for the service call. Oh, and one more thing. I called the management office at 2:45 on a Friday and as of 3:15, no one has bothered to call me back.

The gentleman from Rocket Rooter showed up on time, cleared out the drain using a snake, and left within the hour. No cleanup, but the drain worked. I was at work and was told over the phone that the price would be $387. I may have been given the price once the job was done, but that I can't remember. I agreed to this price, although I was not at all pleased with it. I looked at the invoice when I got home and it had a $332 fee for the work and a $55 service fee. I feel like the service fee adds insult to injury. I called up and asked why this bill was so expensive given that the work didn't take that long or require anything extraordinary. I was told that "this is the going rate." I now use a plumber who shows up on time and does the job. He charges $135 an hour, straight fee. That's Brookland Plumbing, found right here on Angie's List. I do not feel that plumbers or any other tradesmen have the right to charge this kind of money for basic repairs. Snaking a drain is something I can try to do myself, with a hardware bought snake in the future. I'm handy in a basic way. For that kind of skill, I'm sorry, this price is just over the top.

I called to schedule a service call for “slow draining” toilets and to replace an old, leaky shower valve. I spoke with Doug and before jumping right to setting an appointment, he walked me through a series of questions to diagnose the problem(s) and determine what the real issues are and what makes the most sense. Doug gave me some “homework” to do in order to determine if a service call was needed. It was nice to talk to someone who was interested in helping me and not just making a buck. For the leaky shower valve he even gave me the option of buying a new shower valve at Home Depot that suited my needs and didn’t insist that his company supply the valve (and pay the expected marked-up price). How nice is it that the person who answers the phone actually knows plumbing? I have several plumbing upgrades I need to do and I’ll be calling Doug back.

2 guys spent about a half hour feeding an exceptionally long and thick snake into our kitchen drain. It worked, and after a long and frustrating period of sink problems our kitchen sink headaches have been gone now for at least 60 days.

arrived at time promised; technican was professional and took the time to explain what he thought was the problem and what he was going to do to open the drain and the cost to do the job; He cleaned up after job was completed; The price was to do "a job" rather than a rate per hour. The techincan was at the house for approx 75 minutes so I thought the $332.00 price was expensive based on the time spent. In addition, there was a $55 service fee (trip charge) but it was waived since I was a Angie member. I have not used a plumber recently, so I do not know if this price was good or bad but it seemed high to me.

The technician arrived after about 2.5 hours, and cleared the drain in about a half hour. It was quick and efficient. The price did seem a bit steep given the simple job, but the job was done well.

It's July 4th. Everyone is closed, and I have a pool of water in my basement. I went into my basement this morning and found a pool of water on the floor. It had rained last night, but I had also done a load of laundry. I troubleshooted enough to know that the water was coming from inside the house and not outside. I called Rocket Rooter and they answered the phone on the second ring. I got in touch with the dispatcher and within 20 minutes, Chris Gibson showed up at my door. He quickly assessed the situation and got to work. He snaked my main sewer line and found and cleared a blockage about 80-85 feet out between my downstairs toilet and the street. He was done and cleaned up within an hour and a half. Now I know who to call and who will be available around the clock! Thanks Rocket Rooter!

I had a leak coming from somewhere(!) causing a wet spot in my basement ceiling. Called these guys out on a Sunday around noon, they were here by 2pm. The guy who came worked with me to try and find the leak. He let me do all the drywall cutting, so that he wouldn't have to charge me for it (very much appreciated this). We finally tracked the leak down to a pinhole leak in a copper supply line in the wall behind the dishwasher. He cut out and replaced a 1 foot section of copper pipe, leak solved. No extra charge for a Sunday. The "service charge" was waived for Angie's List members ($55). All told, it was $132. He said it would have been $267 if he had cut the drywall instead of pointing and telling me where to cut.

The admin who took the appointment was pleasant and efficient. The driver showed up just 15 minutes late (no problem). He was immediately unpleasant and generally unfriendly. First my spouse tried to show him where the tank was. Initially they found the gray water tank but not the septic tank due to grass around the PVC access ports. The driver insisted that the tank could not be where we said it was because it was too far from the house. I was then pulled in to show the driver where the tank was. As we started walking he took a wrench to another PVC pipe next to the house. I told him no, that's not the septic tank, but he silently continued to open and inspect this impertinent port. After putting the cover back on I walked him to the septic tank. He doubted that the system was ever inspected because there's no way a tank could be this far from the house. I assured him that yes, this is the tank, and yes it's inspected. The driver next indicated that the gray water tank was backed up and the system is not working properly. I appreciated that info and asked if it could be a failed pump. He asked if I had a pump and I said yes. Then nothing. No recommendation on how to solve the problem, offer for his company to perform the inspection or to recommend a next step. After begrudgingly driving to the easily accessed tank, the driver begins the pumping and asks "do you have smokes?". I told him I have no cigarettes and he gave a disgruntled "dang" response. I asked about the PVC cap he was to replace. He said no, the admin told him to bring a PVC pipe not a cap. I assured him I told the admin "cap" but that I understood the misunderstanding. He was frustrated about it and insisted on showing me the piece of paper that said "pipe". I don't mind a simple admin mistake, but a good service person would say sorry for the mistake, and we can get one to you or suggest where to go buy one. Instead this technician was just accusatory that I must have said "pipe". When it came time to pay the charge was $510 instead of the quoted amount of "starting at $310". I understand now the disposal fee, but it would have been good to explain it during the appointment setup. In summary, Rocket Rooter pumped my septic tank. However the technician was unprofessional and communicated poorly and in an unfriendly manner. It's the type of experience where you would certainly not allow access to inside your home to perform service were it necessary.

Very courteous, knowledgeable and professional.

I do not feel that the pipe was properly repaired. In December the dishwasher installer attempted to hook up my new dishwasher, and when he touched the pipe it broke and flooded my kitchen which has hardwood floors, as well as my garage below. One gigantic mess! I used the dishwasher installer's plumber to fix the pipe and also called Rocket Rooter to report the problem. I feel that I shod get a partial refund since the pipe was not properly repaired, as well as the plumber who fixed the problem and the damage to my house and MY TIME! They will not refund any of the charges and I will NEVER do business with Rocket Rooter again!

The plumber was very courteous and professional. He successfully unclogged the toilet within about 20 minutes.

Take away is don't let the wife put the whole meal down the disposal. Scraps yes, a lot, no. Alternative, buy a long flexible snake and clean it out yourself if you don't mind hitting your head on the cabinet three or four times.

I can't grade the price because I don't know how much it is supposed to cost to clean a vent, but I never felt overcharged. The quality was excellent. They were very responsive, very punctual and very professional. I have used them repeatedly, I like them very much.

Our toilets started to back up around 10am on a Thursday. I called a different company to come pump the septic tank b/c I assumed that's what the problem was. By the time they made an emergency call and pumped it out, it was 2pm...and the toilets were still backing up when flushed. We then knew that there was a blockage in the line between our house and the septic tank. We were under a significant time crunch b/c I was supposed to leave that evening for a trip and my husband could not take work off the next day, so we had to get the issue fixed that same afternoon. I called Rocket Rooter around 2:15pm and they put us on their list. The tech arrived around 3:30pm, which I thought was a really fast response time. He looked over the situation and came up w/ the cost ($760). I thought that price was a little high (and so did my husband), but I have never priced out this type of work before *and* we had to get the line cleared that afternoon. So the tech went to work. I had errands to run before I left on my trip, so my husband was on site while the work was being done. It took about 1.5 hrs from the tech's arrival to his departure. He said he couldn't tell what caused the problem but it was cleared out and we haven't had any problems since then. The bathroom required some extra clean up after he was done w/ his work, but it wasn't horrible. The biggest issue I have is that the tech didn't put the toilet back on correctly (it became wobbly). My husband had to take it apart and then replace the wax seal and re-install it. I really feel that the tech should have done that correctly. I probably won't use this company again, just b/c I suspect I can get a better price elsewhere and I was unhappy that the toilet was re-installed incorrectly. However, they did respond promptly to an emergency situation and did clear the blocked line. So I give them an overall B grade.

My toilet was clogged and wouldn't flush. I was surprised when I called and they said they could be here within the hour. The person who came out, Chris, was extremely professional and courteous. He tried to plunge the toilet but turned out he needed to snake it. It wasn't a difficult job and he was done in less than 15 minutes. I had a coupon from Angie's list so instead of costing $254, it cost $199. I was extremely happy with the work and response time, just think it was expensive - BUT, that God I had the coupon.

My sewer line backed up into my basement the morning of Sunday, Nov 13. I was scheduled to leave for Spain at 5:40 pm that evening. I called a couple of plumbers that did emergency sewer work (found on Angies List), but no one was available to come right then. One of the plumbers suggested I call Rocket Rooter - which I did. The plumber showed up less than 1 hour after I called. He checked out the problem, determined the blockage was outside, and cleared it within 15 minutes. He also determined that the blockage was in WSSC territory. He was quick, efficient, and professional. When I returned home from my trip, I learned that he had reported the problem to WSSC and gave me the case number assigned to me. Hopefully I will NEVER have this problem again, but if I do, you better believe I'll call this company again.

. No argument, no non sense, this is what the example should be. This company was the last I called and it was the first to show up and get the job done.

I called Rocket Rooter Plubming based on the recommendation from Angie List. They showed up very quick, within half an hour. And they identified the problem quickly. It is due to the leaking in one of the connector which is connected to the toilet upstairs. In this perspective, they are pretty good.However, their price is way too expensive. They charged me 267$ for one valve which later I found at homedepot for 6$. And 149$ for an extender which I can buy from homedepot for 5$. They waive the 55$ labor after I use the coupons from Angie's list.The quality of their work is good but the price is just ridiculous. I used them this time due to leaking emergency but I guess I will not use them again in the future.

Veni, Vidi, Vici. We had a problem. Called... They indicated they could come the same day. Gave me a window. They came within the promised window. Looked at the problem. Tinkered. Took the wall panel off that provided access to the drain mechanism. Identified the disconnected link. Reconnected. (I used a safety pin as a replacement for the missing cotter pin.) Closed up. Drain works perfectly. Charged for an initial house call diagnosis, $55. Fair. They were professional and pleasant.

They were very good. We will use them again. They showed up when they said they would. They cleaned up after themselves.

They were very responsive, and said they would come within the hour (although it ended up being more like 2 hours). The plumber evaluated the problem and quoted us a price. We had used them last fall for the same problem, at which time the plumber (different than this time) had cleaned out most but not all of the pipe, but didn't do the chemical application (which was our choice--he left the chemical with us, and we never got around to using it). We didn't have a problem with having to clean out the pipe again because we knew the roots would grow back, particularly without the chemical application. However, we were very surprised when the quote this time, for essentially the same service plus the chemical application, came out about $370 more than the last time. He also based this on an estimate of the length of the pipe. When we questioned both the estimate of the length of pipe and the price, and showed him the invoice from last time, he measured the pipe (which was in fact about 20% shorter than his estimate) and, after calling the office, he offered us $200 dollars off the estimate (he said it was a credit because of the previous work performed). He also applied the Angie's List discount to the reduced total. We accepted this because he was going to clean out the full pipe and do the chemical application, and taking that into account it was consistent with the price from before. If he had not offered the $200 off, I'm not sure we would have used them; at a minimum we would have called another plumber for an estimate (the problem was not urgent because the other toilets were working fine). We are rating them a B for price based on what we paid, but it would have been a C without the credit. It was clear to us, based on the form used for the previous invoice, that their pricing structure has changed significantly.

I spent less than $300 on that work. I thought they did a very good job and were economical too. The price was lesser than we expected. I think they came on the weekend too.

The initial plan was to reline the pipe, but due to weather delays, the pieces had shifted and replacement was necessary. Other companies had said digging would have to occur both outside and inside (basement floor), but this company was able to make the repair through outside access, which saved much money and considerable inconvenience. At first the 2 men digging could not find the pipe, but used a camera to locate it and discovered they were just inches away. Once the work could start (i.e., the weather cleared) it went well and only took 2 days, one to dig and replace and the inspector came the next day to give a stamp of approval. Then the dirt was replaced. They were considerate of the landscaping and on the whole did all they could to make a difficult situation bearable.

I got an appointment quickly, and Rocket Rooter was punctual and professional. They figured out the problem in about 10 minutes, fixed it and were gone in a total of 20 minutes (it was just a bad back-flow regulator). Only complaint I have is price - $56 to come to our house, another $56 for the job (which involved pulling a little piece of metal out of the spigot....that was all). They asked how I heard of them - I told them I found them on Angie's List - but no discount for that. Would I recommend them? Only with reservation - they definitely got the job done, though if I ever have a bigger plumbing job, I will look for someone that's a little more reasonable.