Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

When I noticed that my toilet was backing up slightly and draining slowly, I contacted Roto Rooter. This was on a Thursday and they arrived within a few hours that day. Shane (their service guy) first snaked the toilet, then accessed the drain to auger that and cut any roots that may have grown into the line. Not able to get very far, he then contacted one of their service people with video equipment to view the line. By early afternoon Tony arrived with the equipment and found a break in the line. He, like Shane, made several attempts to clear some of the line (losing a cutting blade in the process) to allow some drainage and allow the camera to go further down the line. Unable to do this, they marked the location of the break and made arrangements for their excavator to come out and give an estimate on repairs. For all the work that they did, I was only charged for the video service ($232 w/ fuel charge). Next week when their excavator, Scott, was available, he came out and examined the area where the work would be done and gave me an estimate of $2480 to dig to the break, clear and video the rest of the line, repair the break and fill the hole. Then he asked if I had paid for the video service last week, and when I told him I had he said that that amount would be credited to the bill. He also made sure to explain potential additional fees if more work needed to be done if they found more damage down the line. So later that day, Scott and an assistant arrived and dug to the break (by hand due to the location of a buried power line), and ran the camera down the line. They found what looked to be another break and Scott said that for the additional work they would only charge for the use of the tractor (the power line not an issue at that location) and parts, about $500 - $650 more. I approved this additional work and they arrived the next day with the tractor, completely exposed the original break, ran their cutting tool down and were able to clear past where the second break had appeared to be, and after videoing the rest of the line determined that the second break was in fact an obstruction which was now cleared out and no further work would be required. This done, they repaired the break and did a good job of cleaning up after themselves. All in all, I have to say that the service people; Shane, Tony and especially Scott-were thoroughly professional, worked hard to satisfy the customer and really worked with me to keep the cost very reasonable. I did not pay for any work that was not successfully completed and everything was very above-board and clear. The only thing that I might criticize would be the communication from their office. There was a bit of confusion at one point that did cause me some anxiety, and I would have appreciated a call letting me know of a delay. I think this is one area where the office can learn from their field personnel (they would call if they were going to be even just an hour or so late).

They were wonderful. He was here when he said he would be. He was quick and clean. I would recommend them to anyone that needed the service they provide.

We originally called Roto-Rooter out to check on a leaking bathroom sink that we found after 1 week of vacation. We had used Roto-Rooter in the past for an emergency plumbing issue. We were so pleased we used them again and was not disappointed. The service man took his time in finding the leak and then upon doing so made other recommendations in fixing the problem that in the long run would save us money. He did not even charge us for his assessment. We then had him look at our kitchen sink. Again he was able to provide us advice in correcting the problem while at the same time saving us some extra cash. The service men have always been professional and courteous. I definitely would use them again if needed.

I got a different company to start with. It didn't work out well at all. Then I looked on Angie's List, found these guys and they came out and they did the necessary work. They did okay.

Water was backed up in my basement drain. I called Roto-Rooter and they said someone would contact us within 2 hours. They were at the house within 30 minutes. The blocked line has a known dip (to be fixed soon). Even though there was a faster way to fix the blockage, Scott worked for 2.5 hours in order to avoid the faster and more costly method.

I called in the morning and they said they could have someone out in 2 hours, even though it wasn't an emergency. Michael was great and very nice. He explained the procedure and cost prior to his beginning work and finished in less than 2 hours.

I was impressed with the timeliness and efficiency. I was told it would be 2-3 hours before someone would be out on a Saturday evening. Someone was out within an hour.

We were pleased to get the problem solved and intend to try their pipe shield product as preventive maintenance.

They were great! They even noticed another problem with my A/C that I later had fixed.

The office said that he would be there within 2 hours and he showed up in 1 hour. He was prompt and cleaned up afterwards. I was very well pleased.

They do a good job with cleaning the drains. They show up on time and are able to get it taken care of well.

Overflow problem has been resolved. Drains appear to be working fine now. Very professional, but I think the cost was on the high side. In Dec 2005 I had the exact same work done, excluding the replaced plug, and was only charged $50. I didn't use the first company this time because I was looking for a more professional, local company. Roto Rooter came out a second time and gave me excellent advice on a problem with my toilet overflow value. Their estimate was too high and I'm going to try to get a friend to do it instead. No work was performed on the second visit, and their was no charge.

Three different plumbers from Roto-rooter came out three different times. Quick response. Did not charge any more after first time. Commendable. However, each time I told them I thought the problem was in the drain, but they talked me out of going that route. The last plumber suggested selling me a new toilet (I had just had a new Toto toilet installed). He also suggested calling the Toto rep to possibly replace the toilet. I did this. The rep had his own plumber who cleaned out the drain. My toilet runs great now. It must be a tricky business to analyze plumbing problems. I've read other reports here where people had more than one plumber involved. I will say no to hiring them again, but I am really unsure about what I will do.

This was the second company we called after a late-night weekend basement drain backup. Having a bad experience with the first company we called, we were very happy when Roto-Rooter showed up quickly, and the technician knew just what to do. He was knowledgeable, efficient, and polite, and he gave us quite a bit of information about our drains, things we hadn't known after living in this house over 30 years. We're now on an annual maintenance plan, and happy that we probably will never have to clean up a nasty mess again.

They claimed the only way that I would be able to unclog my upstairs bathroom sink was to tear out all the lead piping that supplied both of my house bathrooms (meaning they would have to rip out the ceiling and half the wall of my downstairs bathroom) in order to clear the drain. I then called another company, and they came out and did the work (no pipe removal involved), effectively unclogging the drain for less than $150. After Roto-Rooter called twice to follow up with me regarding the estimate, I informed them about the huge difference in their proposed cost and the other company's actual cost. They were extremely apologetic and handled the situation as best as they could at that point. However, it definitely pays to do your research so you don't sign away your life savings to someone who's trying to up-sell their services.

This guy succeeded where another plumber failed twice. The biggest difference seems to be superior equipment. My pipes, according to the failed plumber, are below the ''normal'' size. Roto Rooter had no trouble with them.

They were polite & explained the problem. I appreciated having more than 1 employee check out the problem since I think sometimes another opinion or another person's experience can be helpful.

THE PLUMBER WAS POLITE AND EFFICIENT. HE GAVE ME INFORMATION ABOUT PROS AND CONS OF NEW STOOLS.

I CALLED AND THE SERVICE MAN WAS TIED UP WITH ANOTHER JOB, BUT HE CAME LATER THAT NIGHT AND WORKED TILL AFTER MIDNIGHT.

THEY WERE POLITE. DID THEIR WORK QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY. WOULD USE THEM AGAIN IF NEEDED.

THE PLUMBER CAME WITHIN ONE HOUR OF BEING CALLED. THE WORK WAS DONE QUICKLY AND CLEANLY.

ROTO-ROOTER IS RESPONSIVE TO CALLS. THEY CALL TO LET YOU KNOW WHEN THEY ARE COMING. THEY DO GOOD WORK.

THE SERVICEMAN SMELLED LIKE HE HAD CLEANED SEWER DRAINS BEFORE HE CAME TO OUR HOUSE. BESIDES THAT HE DID A GREAT JOB.

WAS CHARGED AN EXTREMEMLY HIGH TRIP CHARGE. TECHNICIAN DID NOT EXPLAIN CHARGE TO WIFE PRIOR TO COMPLETING SERVICE. OFFICE MANAGER WOULD NOT RESOLVE ISSUE WITH NOT PROVIDING ESTIMATE PRIOR TO WORK

WE HAVE CALLED ROTO ROOTER SEVERAL TIMES FOR SEWER LINE CLOGS, AND HAVE ALWAYS GOTTEN A GOOD RESPONSE AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE. I WOULD CALL THEM AGAIN.