Bob Oates Sewer Rooter & Plumbing LLC

Brought in the right tool and did the job quickly.

I've had very bad experiences in the past, but the plumber from Bob Oates was professional, knowledgable and honest. He did not try to talk me into services I didn't really need.

He said that he would get back to us with an estimate the following day, but did not. I called 4 or 5 times afterwards to follow up, but never received an estimate. It was very frustrating to have promised the estimate the following day and not get it at all or even an explanation for it.

I purchased an Angie's List coupon for a outdoor hose faucet replacement at $179. When the plumber arrived I asked if the coupon would cover the entire service. He inspected the site and offered that if everything went smoothly and it was easy to remove the existing faucet then the coupon would cover the entire service, but that he couldn't guarantee the replacement would be routine. Luckily everything went very quickly and smoothly and I was very happy with the quality of the repair. To my surprise at the conclusion the plumber suggested a final price of $300. When I reminded him of the coupon he said he could honor it, but would have to charge extra for parts as a condition of the coupon at an additional $60. This is not a listed exclusion on the coupon anywhere. Based on the quality of the work I would have been happy to write a good review here, but this sort of misleading and disingenuous pricing is unacceptable and degrades the value of the pre-paid coupons on Angie's List.

After experiencing a sewer line backup in the basement, I contracted with Bob Oates plumbing for an initial investigation of sewer line during which it was determined that there was a blockage that could not be cleared by standard sewer cleaning tools (a large motorized snake). In order to clear the line it was required that the sewer line be exposed so that a scour jet (aka hydro jet) could be performed and my old house did not have the required exterior cutout. It was determined that the sewer pipe was underneath the exterior stairs using a pipe locator tool. I was given two options A) jack hammer out and dig to expose the pipe myself ($2,250) B) Let them do the work and repair the stairs ($6,500). As $4,250 is a lot of money for pouring a couple of stairs (a <$1k job) there was quite a markup on contracting with Bob Oates to do the repair work (I believe that they contract out the concrete work also). Jackhammering out the concrete and digging to expose the pipe took about 4 hours, including running to home depot to rent a jackhammer. It was however "dirty" work. The work that was done was effective and solved the issue, the individuals involved were personable and nice enough. There was some confusion due to the project manager who just started working at Bob Oates and coordinated the job, quit unexpectedly and didn't transfer all information accurately. A team that was supposed to bed the pipe did not show up to do the work and due to safety reasons I wanted to fill the hole and bought the gravel and bed the pipe myself. I was reimbursed for the material that I purchased, but not my time or labor which I was not entirely satisfied with. In the end, the work that was done did the trick and I was able to have restored sewer services, however it was not the best experience overall. It is hard to be pleased when you have a large, unexpected bill land in your lap.

Great job! I bought the special online and despite it being a straight forward job, I still wanted it professionally done to make sure nothing was missed. Everything was covered and I'm very pleased with the job!

First the kid that showed up off the bat asked me to pay for taxes and in the coupon it did not say I owed money for taxes. After this, he went and showed me the side sewer and burned a CD with the video. He then said he would take it and show it to his boss and give it to me later. He never gave it to me later and after contacting them multiple times over the past few weeks they still haven't given me it. They were also supposed to call me to get estimates on some other work, but given how they keep track of things, I'll look somewhere else.

Timely (same day) afternoon Bid Estimate made for dig of 5ft by 5ft area and 4ft deep to replace section of pipe and install double sweep cleanouts at this repair site. Bid included city permit, gravel under-fill, and clean sweep after repair. Then, recover after finial inspection. (take off $800 if I dig the first 3ft and make shoring of site workable. ) I made an over the phone quick range estimate before the afternoon arrival. We will be looking at other bids. I'm retired and have time for this (non-emergency) task. We'll see if other Angie services can cut this project cost.

Ran into a few problems and took a few more days to complete. Aaron Flint was awesome from start to finish. Aaron assures us that he will take care of any problems and he did.

After two other unsuccessful plumber relationships, Bob Oates was exactly what we needed. A full service company that would be there when we needed them, and do the work honestly and to code. I felt comfortable every step of the way. The work itself is great. I feel comfortable with it, not only because Robert took the time to explain every little thing, but because he also checked back with his manager often. It made me feel like the whole team was behind the work. Robert as a person was awesome - respectful of our house, pets, and family. Clearly showed a passion for his work and a desire to do everything perfectly. Will definitely call the up next time we need work. Only issue was him being about an hour late on the second day, but the office did call to let us know he was on his way.

He arrived on time. I was on a call and pointed him in the right direction. He went immediately to work and was done within 15 minutes. Thank you.

We?ve used Bob Oates a number of times over the years as we originally found them here on Angie?s List. Recently, we came back from a trip to find that our sewer had backed up ? water somehow leaked all over the bathroom floor when we went to drain the tub after our daughter took a bath. Note: we had a similar blockage a year before and Bob Oates was able to unclog the problem. So we contacted Bob Oates again and they were able to send someone over the next day to see about fixing the issue. The person they sent over (Eric) was prompt and courteous even though it appeared he was also quite sick (feverish/sweaty). As we don?t have a master clean-out, Eric needed to pop the toilet in order to run the snake to try and clear out the blockage (similar to what they did last year). Eric was able to run the snake to about 40? until it stopped. He tried a number of times but was unable to get beyond that point. He then ran the video camera to see what was going on, but hit same issue and not really able to see the problem with debris blocking. He indicated that the sewer pipe (on outside of house) had broke and was causing the problem (we would fine out later that his assessment was wrong). He said it would need to be repaired and that they would send someone over asap to give me an estimate. I asked Eric why the water had leaked onto the floor and hallway carpet, and he said that the toilet was not properly sealed so that when water backed up while trying to drain from the tub, it leaked thru the bad toilet seal at the bottom. I told Eric that you guys (Bob Oates) had installed this new toilet for us last year so were responsible for the bad seal. I mentioned this several times, but he didn?t seem to care nor that his company should take the blame. I should also note that in addition to the water damage, the carpet leading to the bathroom is now quite dirty as Eric did not put down any protection while dragging all the equipment into the house. We?ll need to get that steam cleaned (I assume at our expense) although the carpet has water damage so not sure if it can be salvaged. I should also note that when the person installed the toilet last year, he took a video of the sewer line. I had requested a copy a number of times over the year, and was only able to finally get it this past week. Soon, another person from Bob Oates named Aaron arrived shortly to give us an estimate on the sewer repair costs. After looking at the situation on the side of the house, he came up with a bid close to $6000. He said it would take 3 days to repair and they could start the next day. Some of the work involved cutting open and replacing concrete on the side. I told Aaron that because the price seemed high, I would need to get some other bids. I got a few more bids and each were significantly less than what Bob Oates offered (including those in which they would not need to break concrete). We?re talking 60-80% less in terms of pricing. I asked one of the other companies why Bob Oates might bid such a high price and he said that they likely high-balled our bid because we live in a nicer Seattle neighborhood and that we appeared desperate to get this repaired asap. I was a bit upset to hear that Bob Oates would do wealth profiling and glad I didn?t jump at the bait. Anyways, we had another company do the repair over the weekend. They did not need to break open any concrete. As it turns out, the sewer pipe was not broke at all but just severely impacted (blocked up). I assume that Eric could have probably gotten it cleared with a bit more persistence but I think because he seemed sick he likely didn?t feel like putting in much effort. We?re OK in having that section of the pipe replaced with a smoother PVC as well as clean-out so that it is less likely to cause problems in the future. So I?m out $350 from Bob Oates this time with nothing much more to show than a damaged hallway carpet to deal with from the faulty toilet seal they did last year (didn?t even get an Angie?s List discount from them). I probably won?t use Bob Oates again because of this recent experience.

Great, very efficient love that he had confidence. He was young but a Veteran and a local guy. Loved the experience. Mentioned since my kitchen is original I was looking for a plumbing company I could use for the remodel. They are definitely someone I will consider using.

It didn't go and I would like a refund.

They were supposed to fix a drain line, and instead, they called to tell me THAT would be another $350, even though it could be performed in the 1 hour I had already bought from Angie's list. They suggested adding some enzyme, and I said ok. Then they tried to charge me for the extra time to go back to the house (they had left). Sink still does not drain. Not happy.

I was able to get an appointment scheduled within 1 week. I had a list of plumbing issues to address and Andy came and fixed everything in less than 2 hours. My main concern was the drain clogging, he inspected all my outdoor drains and unclogged one by jetting high pressure water through. He then went and fixed my other items promptly. He was professional, quick, and on time. I'm very happy to have contacted Bob Oates and would definitely hire them again if needed in the future.

My master bathroom shower backed up last night, and left me with an inch of standing water in the shower pan that wouldn't drain. I tried to resolve the issue myself, but failed miserably. I finally gave up and called Bob Oates at 9:30 AM this morning, and Konrad arrived at my house at 1:00 PM. Konrad was very friendly and professional. He asked me a couple questions to pinpoint the issue and determined he needed to snake the bath line back to the main house line. Within minutes he had completed and pulled out what looked like an entire ponytail worth of hair. It's no wonder my attempts with the plunger failed! He was done so quickly he even asked if there were any other plumbing issues I've been having around the house. He ended up tightening up a valve on a water line in my garage that has been leaking for 4 years. He also re-seated and caulked around a toilet that was coming loose. He gave me advice on how to fix a squeak I've been having when one of my toilets refills with water. He didn't charge me anything extra for doing any of this. I used an Angie's List coupon for a $99 drain cleaning, so all this work was completed for just over a hundred dollars and within hours of me calling them. Konrad really went above and beyond what was necessary, and I would highly recommend both him and his company to anyone.

Super prompt response to schedule and amazing next day service. They didn't try to sell me something I didn't need but did fast, clean great work.

Our plumbing is unfortunately complex, and often defeats "average" plumbers, but never Bob Oats. Our previous attempt at clearing this obstruction had another plumbing company cutting holes in our walls, and causing all sorts of havoc. But not these guys. They showed up within 3 hours of us calling, and worked until everything was done and proven to work. Very clean workspace, very good communication.

Robert the plumber was on time; identified the problem and explained the solution and got to work right away. Worked diligently in a tight corner and fixed the problem quickly.

Eric service tech was clean, thorough and friendly. Very confident in their service and would absolutely call them again!

Office called prior to anticipated arrival time to inform us Erik was on his way. Put booties over his shoes upon entering, Examined hot water tank and system and checked for problems we might not have detected. Presented his findings and explained possible solutions. Suggested that the solution that could be installed would be of minimal help. Appreciated the explanation, and honesty about totally being able to solve a problem that was more inconvenient to us than essential. This is our new plumbing company.

Eric was prompt and friendly and got right to work. He was efficient with his time even though he needed to unexpectedly change my water pressure regulator. I would definitely use Bob Oates again and request Eric, specifically. He was great!

Garbage disposal R&R went flawlessly. I decided to try the faucet myself. Now that I've eventually gotten around to it, I'm finding removing the old one is a little too much, so I'm taking them up on their offer to install the new faucet and repipe the drain.

Managed to get the root cutter all the way down to the main sewer line despite extensive roots. During the camera inspection, he talked me through and explained what we were seeing. Overall it went really well. Very helpful - even took a quick look under the sink when I mentioned that there was a funny smell and provided advice on what to do. I was informed upon arrival that there would be an additional charge of $55 due to the line being difficult to access. This was because the root cutting machine would need to be transported down about 5 stairs, followed by a bit of an incline to reach our line. This wasn't a problem and I appreciated being told straight away. However, I did not expect it, so just be prepared for the additional charge if you don't have a flat plot (which I imagine is very common in Seattle!).