Bob Oates Sewer Rooter & Plumbing LLC

Installation was efficient and took less than an hour. He tested the garbage disposal, and all tested satisfactory.

It went well. The only draw back was that his DVD burner did not work. We were suppose to have a DVD of the sewer line that was taken by their camera. Other than that, I was happy about the service. Next time, I'll make sure they bring a camera that has a working DVD burner.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that I purchased. They were excellent. It was very good.

Provided in earlier question. He answered all questions I had about the product and the work done.

He was a pleasant person. He was right on time. They were very complimentary of my house and very careful of everything. He was marvelous.

It was a great experience. Everything we wanted done was finished in no time at all. Great job!

I was quiet pleased with Bob Oates Sewer Rooter & Plumbing. They didn't do the sewer line, the workman who came didn't know about it. The person who came was very prompt, personable, knowledgeable and he cleaned up after himself. I would use him again and the people at the office were very personable too. They were very honest and trustworthy people.I called them and told them what I had and I had the water heater for 6-8 years so I thought I may as well replace it before hand. If I had an emergency, I would call them, there was the trust and honesty factor.

Tim arrived on time and performed the service as described above.

We could not have been more impressed. They took their time and did a very thorough job. We felt them went above and beyond the Angie's list deal we had purchased. Should any problems come up with our sewer in the future and when we are ready to do the major repairs - we will go back to Bob Oates Plumbing. On a personal skill level, Konrad was wonderful to deal with and it was absolutely as good as an emergency sewer response could be. They came out very quickly.

On Monday, 3/25 I made an appointment to have our drains cleaned that Friday. Tuesday afternoon, we realized that the drains were slower and the problem was more urgent than we realized initially. I was really pleased when I called around 5:30 Tuesday to ask if we could move out our appointment and was told a plumber could come at 8 am the next day. He arrived at 8:30, and after trying to get us to add on flushing our water heater, he set to work trying to clear our drains. After about 2 hours and several attempts with different size cables, he told us we had a soft blockage about 10 feet from our clean-out and the service manager was on his way to talk to us about next steps. I was surprised when he told me that I needed to pay the tax on the coupon - I did not see that called out when I bought the coupon, nor has it been true when I have purchased other Angie's List coupons. When the service manager arrived, he was very personable and said that the work which was needed was to dig down to where the pipe was blocked (under our driveway), open up the pipe and flush it with the high power water jet. I was frustrated when I asked for a cost breakdown and was told, pretty much, that it costs what it costs. The water jetting was broken out, but the digging, parts to be replaced, permitting, overhead, and whatever else may have been included was just one lump sum. Given that there is a set cost with no breakdown, it took a surprising amount of time to write up the proposal. In retrospect, I wonder about a couple things - why the jetting couldn't be done through the clean-out that was outside the house, just 10' from the blockage, and whether we would have needed a new chunk of pipe if it had been done that way. The pipe did burst in the hole just ahead of where it was broken to insert the hose for the jetting, so it could be that the digging and pipe replacement would have had to happen either way, but I wonder if the earth would have stabilized it, preventing the need to replace it. I don't know, and in the heat of the moment didn't question what was advised. I do know that the impression I had from the first plumber on site was that using the water jet could be used through our clean-out (there was a place to block the water from going back into our house). I DID appreciate that the service manager deducted the cost I paid for my Angie's List coupon from the cost of the later work, since in home drain cleaning wasn't really what we needed. It was the value I paid, not the value of the coupon, but that was still appreciated. There was a one-two hour delay between when the service manager told us what work needed to be done and when the plumber who did the digging, Rigo, arrived. He set to work, and worked until about 7 pm. I appreciate that he was careful to not break the concrete steps which butt up to where he cut our driveway to dig - we'd been warned there was a risk there. When he finished digging, he opened up the pipe with a hammer and flushed out the line with the high power water jet. Once he'd done that, he ran the camera through the line and showed us that there were some cracks and dips and wear along the way. I felt relieved that, though it is old, it was not in TERRIBLE shape, and in no way did I get the impression from him that it needed to be replaced immediately. He told us the service manager would be back in the morning to camera again and talk about next steps. He said it was unlikely he'd be there before I left for work at 7:30, but I knew my fiancee would be home until mid-morning, so I wasn't too concerned by that. At 9:30 Thursday, the service manager still hadn't shown so I called to get an ETA. He told me that he'd had to go to a different job, that someone had a sewer emergency. I feel that the fact there was an open sewer line in my driveway made our job quite urgent, but I understand that a company always wants more business and may put new customers ahead of current ones. At 11 am, he called to let me know there was very, very bad news, that the 4" sewer line from our house was in horrendous shape and absolutely had to be replaced (different from what I'd seen with my admittedly non-professional eye the night before) and that at least some portion of the 6" line it joined to also needed to be replaced. I asked why the impression I'd been given the night before was so different and was told that Rigo was "a digger, not a plumber." This "not a plumber" was apparently competent enough to open up and flush my line independently, run the camera and replace a chunk of pipe the next day. The service manager said he'd have some cost estimates and options for me "in a few." I assumed minutes, but it ended up being a few hours. I left work to discuss the work further in person since it had become such a large job. When I arrived home, Rigo and another plumber were replacing the chunk of pipe which had been broken the night before. I asked the service manager why they were replacing a length of the sewer line when he thought we needed to replace the whole length, I don't feel I got a straight answer. He showed me where he thought our line ran, and where it might tie in to our neighbor's. He was recommending replacing it to just past where the 6" pipe tied in, near the corner of my neighbor's deck. I thought that he was going to write a proposal for doing all of the work from the hole in my driveway and a hole in my neighbor's driveway, so we would not risk harming her porch, but the proposal actually stated that there would need to be a 10' deep 6' long trench right near the corner of her porch. Before he went to write up the proposal (again, a very long time to write a proposal with no price break down, but perhaps he was fielding other calls at the same time), I'd mentioned that since it was a big job I was going to get a second estimate/opinion before proceeding. From that point on, he was just barely not flat out rude. I did not say I would not use the company to complete the work, and even tried to get more information about their financing options, but his attitude made clear that he was done with me. When I got the proposal, I was surprised to see that the trench in my neighbor's yard would be necessary, and asked about it. It may have completely been a misunderstanding on my part, but the curt explanation that he'd never said it was an option was completely unnecessary. When I tried to get information on other options by asking what happened if my neighbor didn't want us to dig so close to her porch, he didn't offer other options, just said I had a right of way and we'd call the sheriff and proceed with the work. I was expecting him to give me proposals, plural, for options, but he gave me one and made clear that I could do the work or not, he had better things to do than keep talking to me. The next day an inspector came out to check the chunk of sewer line they'd replaced, then Rigo filled in the hole and we were finished with this company forever. The abrupt attitude change REALLY made me question whether the work actually needs to be done or whether Bob Oates employees are encouraged to sell, sell, sell and encourage additional work that may not actually be necessary. I will seek a second opinion, but if the work IS actually required I will NOT be hiring this company to complete it! The upselling tactics and the attitude I got for having the nerve to be a responsible consumer make me distrust this company enough that I will not post my review until after I have received and paid my final bill. I've seen some of their responses to negative reviews, and will not be surprised if the company replies with how terrible my sewer line looks and how reckless it is that I am not replacing the sewer line now - that is fine. I will hire a plumber I trust and get the work done if it is needed...

It went very well. things were great.

d I have a property on a shared sewer line w/two other homes, with mine being at the end. Unfortunately the line is broken on the other 2 properties and caused a backup into my home since it had the path of "least resistance". Bob Oates Sewer (BOS) scoped the line and gave me quotes for 1) fixing the existing line (~$30k shared)2) running a new line (~$24k) lining my line up to the next hookup and putting in a backflow valve ($6500 my cost). This was BOS's idea since one of the neighbors had been very uncooperative in discussing a mutual approach to fixing (which we are legally bound to) and had in fact said "It has never affected me or my property". After talking w/a lawyer, I send a note to the other 2 owners with the three options. They didn't want to chip in for a permanent solution so I went with option 3 (least expensive for me too), and now when the line collapses (which it will....soon) it will back up into one of the other two properties. With BOS, I've fixed any potential issue stemming from my property so I will just check into a hotel and wait for one of them to fix. BOS staff were all professional and responsive. I will use them for any issues at my other properties

Realized at Midnight we had a clogged main sewer drain. I felt bad calling but wanted someone at our home 1st thing in the AM. They picked up the phone and took down my information, then called me at 8:00AM. There was someone at my driveway by 8:20AM! luckily we had a clean out so we took advantage of their special...great price for the service. Mark was very professional and showed me a great website where I could see the drain lines for the entire city as well as just my parcel. They were done in less than 30 minutes....I forgot to grab the DVD but the video they showed us was helpful. We decided not to go with any further service, but if I had seen real problems or obstructions I probably would have worked with them further. Thanks.

My appointment was set for between 10AM and Noon. The company called and asked if they could come earlier. Tim R arrived around 8:45AM. He cleared the drain and then took the time to describe a process we could use to prevent future clogs and which would also prevent possible septic problems. He was knowledgeable, efficient and very helpful. I will use Bob Oates in the future and will ask for Tim R in the event of future plumbing needs.

They were very prompt and easy to work with.

I phoned them on a Saturday afternoon and Konrad showed up within the hour. He was very professional - polite, seemed very knowledgeable about my drain problem, got right to work and worked fast and efficiently. He gave me an estimate and even though it appeared to me that he had to work harder and longer than he anticipated, he stuck to the estimate. The invoice described his service as such: "Ran cable out 40 feet, grabbing rootball. Ran cable several more times grabbing more roots and cleared blockage." I paid $195.00, plus tax. Overall, very satisfied with the company for prompt service and for sending out an experienced technician who seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I highly recommend this company and would hire them again.

.Bob Oates Sewer Rooter & Plumbing were very responsive when the toilet that was on special offer did not fit and they had to fit another one, they did extra plumbing work for me and did not charge me anything for it. They were very good.

Bought this house one month earlier and had not moved in yet or used the bathrooms to any extent. Toilet and bathtub started draining very slowly in a hall bathroom. Oates came out to snake it pulling the toilet out to do so. Showed me a video of the pipe. There was obvious "stuff" in the cast iron portion and apparently rust from the pipe. He said the iron portion should probably be replaced as it was rusting out and I also needed a cleanout drain. He gave a bid for the cleanout drain of $3,250 which included $700 for the permit. Did not give a bid on replacing the iron pipe. I was angry as I'd had a sewer inspection done prior to purchase and wanted to know why this was not found/disclosed then so I contacted Action Jackson who had done the inspection. They came out again and long story short, said the iron pipe was fine, just needed some water run through it to flush it out. Suggested that the rust flakes indicated the plumbing hadn't been used for a while and when the iron pipe sits, it tends to flake after a while. This was true as the previous owners had not lived in the house much at all for the past five years. Action Jackson had recommended a cleanout drain in their initial sewer scope and I asked what their price would be. They initially quoted $2,200 but said they'd knock $200 off if I got the required permit. I had Action Jackson do the cleanout drain and I got the permit myself which cost $25. I can understand paying a contractor extra for his time to pull a permit but the $500 difference seems way excessive and I appreciated finding out that I could pull it myself and save even more. Bottom line, I felt the $386 was excessive for the original snaking, the charge for the cleanout drain was excessive, and I felt scare tactics were used to get me to replace the cast iron pipe. I would not use Bob Oates again.

They did fabulous job. He came on the spot. He was very prompt. He had done in the nick of time. They were nice, very personable. They do good thorough professional work and they clean up after themselves.

I purchased this using an Angie's List Coupon special. I had purchased 2 new low flow toilets and wanted to make sure that the sewer line was clean and adequate. Other than the workman not arriving at the specified time of day and not being informed about the delay, I was very pleased with his work.

I would not use this company again because of the up-selling. I detest people who try and sell you more than you need, or people who try and take advantage of female homeowners. And I have learned that contractors can really take advantage of homeowners with roots growing in their sewer line.

My crawl space was flooded, so I crawled in and took out the sump pump. I bought a new sump pump on Amazon to replace it. Exactly the same model. My drainage system had been completely replaced by a very reputable company twenty years ago. I called Bob Oakes to install the sump pump that I had purchased. I planned to have the sump pump installed ASAP to get rid of the water and then later to hire an external sewer company to have some of the gutter/down spout run off diverted externally through PVC pipes to a dry well to be built in my back yard. The Bob Oakes estimate was $1300 for sump pump installation only (I supplied the $700 sump pump myself). The estimator was professional, knowledgeable and helpful, but I was shocked at the price. The estimator told me that my sump pump well was not up to code and that they had to calibrate this and that with the sump pump. I replied, but I had purchased and was furnishing the sump pump myself. He said that it would have been $2000 if they supplied the sump pump. I decided not to go with them and to have the external sewer company install my sump pump when they built the external gutter/down spout drain piping system to a new dry well outside -- thinking I might be able to save some money by combining the jobs, even though I would have to wait. When the external sewer company came, they said they would charge me $300 to install the sump pump. When I asked about the well not being up to code, they said it was fine and that my system was originally designed and installed by one of the best companies that was considered the Cadillac of the field. The external sewer company installed my sump pump and ran piping for three gutter downspouts to a newly built dry well in my backyard and charged $2300 for everything, including tax. If you can go with a specialized construction company, use them and avoid the plumbers. The plumbing fees can be so outrageous.

The plumber called ahead and gave us an ETA for his arrival. He arrived on time. His equipment was too large to fit into the room where our clean out was located. We said that we would pull the toilet for them so he could perform the task the next day. He also looked at the valve and leaking supply line. He came back the next day. The company had purchased a smaller camera/grinder machine so they could do the . job, but we had the toilet removed, so he used that access. He also replaced the gate valve and repaired the supply line. I had to lend him a cookie sheet because he did not have anything to protect the surface from his torch. He was reasonably tidy. The point that was a bit troubling was the calculation of the bill for services. He made an error in the calculation of over $400. The company did refund the overcharge very quickly. We were satisfied with the work, but thought their costs were quite high. We had the company return to provide an estimate to install several storm drain clean outs. The cost was so high, that we decided to do the excavation ourselves.

Our sewer drain unexpectedly clogged, all drains in the house were backed up. We called Bob Oates at 7:30am and they had someone out at 9am, the beginning of their window. The dispatcher when I called did not provide any estimates, she said there were too many variables, but I at least got her to give me a range, $150 to $250, in line with my expectations, so we went ahead. When John the plumber showed up, he immediately took stock and estimated $375 to pull a toilet (we have no accessible cleanout), run an auger, and do a video inspection. Caveat #1: no phone quotes. The plumber only needed a few key pieces of information to give me a price. They do flat rates, not time & materials, for this type of job. Why couldn't they ask me the same questions on the phone and give me the same flat-rate price? Caveat #2: John explained the most likely culprit was the transition outside the house, and digging there, fixing the clog, and fixing the transition would be the "right" thing to do, at a cost of several thousand dollars. He said using an auger rarely fixes the root cause, it just buys you time. I get the feeling he would have provided no push back if I had agreed to start with the "right" fix. Caveat #3: the bid was significantly higher than expected at $375. I asked "what if I pulled the toilet myself", and John said it would only be $175. Company pricing and policy. I cannot fathom how pulling a toilet and reseating it costs $200 -- more than the snake and video! -- it literally took me 5 minutes each to do it myself. I presume they offer a warranty on reseating the toilet, but even with a 100% failure and return rate on every single one, it's STILL an outrageous number. John was fantastic. He gave me a few minutes to pull the toilet, then got to work. He wore booties, was friendly, explained things, and did a great job. Turns out our sewer line is in great shape, this was just a plug from diaper liners. The transition most certainly did not need to be dug up for $3000. With the video inspection and John's work, his timeliness, and his willingness to let me remove my own toilet for him, I'm very happy with the $175 charge. I do not appreciate that if I had been more naive, I would have easily paid $375 or even $3000. Because of this, I'm not sure I would trust this company for future work, especially something more complicated where I WOULD be naive. If you use them, proceed with caution...

We didn't like them. They were overpriced. They were almost $1,000 more than everybody else in the area. We didn't know if they sent a good technical person because we got a second opinion. Their communication at the office was poor. The person they sent to give the estimate didn't relay the information back correctly to the office manager. There was some sort of miscommunication or disconnect between what we wanted them to do so they weren't sure what they were supposed to be doing so they would call back. It was poor communication overall. They were vastly overpriced compared to other folks doing plumbing. While they were trying to troubleshoot the plumbing they attempted to do some work and they billed us for it even after they didn't solve the problem. They did a snake job and billed us $200. The snake job didn't do anything but they shouldn't have charged full price. I asked to speak to an owner or someone and they said that was their price. I didn't like the tone of voice they took with me. They didn't really understand what we were trying to solve. We initially thought it was a simple plumbing job. When they went underneath the house, they determined they had to reroute the pipes because they were some more severe issues. The $1,900 was the maximum and they didn't give us a range. They didn't give us anything in writing listing the scope of the work. Because the communication was poor from the get-go, it made everything else terrible. They are not registered with the Better Business Bureau.