REI Plumbing & Construction

Karen R.

I was pleased with every aspect of my experience with them. My old water heater

broke and needed to be replaced. I called around to a few places, who also had

good credentials but they offered the best price. They were able to come out 2

hours after the call, exactly when they said they could. A guy named Joe did the work

and he was courteous and professional. There were some challenges along the way

that he quickly sorted out and the price of the phone quote remained the same. The

space was left cleaner than it was before he came. Will definitely be using them

again!

K M.

After reading the wonderful reviews, I suggested my mother call REI to work on some plumbing issues in one of her bathrooms. Apparently known for their honest quotes and quick response times, we were surprised and frustrated by the lack of response to multiple phone calls. We're still unsure of what the issue may have been - if they did not service her area (a South Chicago Suburb), a call back notifying us that they would be unable to help would have been the least they could do. We thankfully ended up finding a WONDERFUL plumber in the area, and will certainly not be giving REI any calls in the future.

Karlie C.

After being given inflated/dishonest estimates by two other plumbing companies for a new hot water heater and installation, we finally got an honest and reasonable quote from REI and they did the work exactly based on their estimate. Everything was well done and they were great guys to work with. They will be our plumbers moving forward. Thanks!

Branko R.

These guys do the Ipod of sewage backflow prevention.

If you're from Chicago, and you've had sewage backflow in your basement after heavy rains (we had it twice in 2013), call REI Plumbing. (Chicago has a combined sewage and rainfall runoff sewer system.) Most firms will dig a pit in your front yard and install backflow prevention valves (we had 3 or 4 such systems installed on our block alone that year). But those need to be inspected yearly, and they can fail: if anything gets trapped to prevent them from sealing, they won't work. Firms get around that by installing two or three backflow valves in succession, but that's still not as reliable as an overhead sewer, which relies on gravity and as far as I know, can't fail. I believe new construction in many places requires the use of overhead sewers.

However, to retrofit an existing house to use an overhead sewer can be very disruptive, and wind up with sewer pipes going through the headspace in your basement. At last that's what the other firms told me when I asked about this option. No thanks!

But Donal, the head of REI Plumbing, has come up with a way to convert an existing house to use overhead sewers with very little disruption, and almost no new exposed piping. It took them three days, with all our sewer connections re-established at the end of each day (so we could use our plumbing). The price was about the same as the cheapest bids I received for backflow prevention systems.

The only downside is this firm is very successful, so you may have to plan ahead to get this kind of job onto their schedule. But once we set up the dates, they were punctual, and everything went according to plan.

David G.

I desperately needed a new hot water heater. They replaced mine the next morning and their price was significantly lower than their competitors. The guys doing the installation were efficient and friendly. I will be recommending REI to any of my friends who need their services. It was a great experience.

Lee H.

We could not asked for better service from Donal. After calling REI after a frozen pipe burst, he was at our home within 40 minutes and had the problem fixed quickly. What a fast response! And he took the time to provide recommendations so that we don't run into the problem again. We have found a new plumber.

Garland B.

I couldn't be anymore satisfied with REI Plumbing. Donal helped me on very short notice and was extremely knowledgeable about my AO Smith water heater that started acting up - so much in fact that he has even visited their manufacturing plant. Another company had visited and recommended a a multitude of options ranging from $750 to replace a part, to over $3000 to buy a new tankless water heater - sheesh, talk about overkill. They were also discouraging about spending the $750 because they didn't have the part in stock and there wouldn't be a warranty.

Anyhow, in comes Donal - a true expert. Turns out all my unit needed was a little calibration. On top of that, like I said, he came on very short notice and was a huge help! I will be sure to call REI Plumbing first anytime I have any issues going forward.

A+. 10/10. 100% Satisfied. Thanks Donal.

Diane V.

REI Plumbing is a fantastic company.
Donal Reilly is super fast at giving very reasonable quotes and getting the work done as soon as possible.
We had a broken Hot Water heater for our 12 unit condo association and they installed a new one in one day after calling them on a Sunday.
They always call back,arrive promptly and are very reliable and great at what they do.
I highly recommend this company and we will hire them on all our plumbing issues and maintenance.
:) !!!

Mark O.

REI recently finished installation of an overhead sewer system for our house. The estimate provided by Donal came in at a price that felt right and was quite a bit less than other estimates we received. Donal was professional, really easy to work with, and was always reachable whenever I had a question about the project. From start to finish the project took about 4 days and was delivered on time and on budget. It is clear that Donal really knows his stuff and is interested in delivering a satisfactory end result without shortcuts. Small things like relocating some copper plumbing for a sink that had to shift over a bit due to the project gives me confidence that the actual sewer work was also completed without cutting corners.

We have yet to fully test the overhead sewer system against an actual sewer backup (just waiting for the next huge rain), but assuming gravity does its job we should be protected from Chicago's inadequate sewer systems for years to come.

It looks like a lot of these Yelp reviews are for smaller projects (leaks, water heaters, etc) but based on my experience REI is fully capable of the bigger ticket items. I'll certainly call them for any future plumbing issues.

Kelsi L.

I called on a Saturday morning because I had just moved into a new house and had no hot water. I left a message and was called back immediately, but no one was in town. However, they kindly walked me through a few things to try over the phone and low and behold the problem was fixed and it saved me the time and money of having to have someone out. I would recommend this company to anyone, as they are knowledgable, fair, and so willing to help!