Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

Alvina D.

We have used this same Livermore-based Roto-Rooter company in the past, and they were fair and timely. However, this time, I felt that they've overcharged me. Here's the situation - I bought a new washer to be installed. However, on the day of installation on 10/18, the washer installer told me the hot water valve would not shut off and that I need to call a plumber out to replace the valve before he could install the hot water valve. Because the old washer was not working and the new washer was delayed by more than 1 week, I decided to get a plumber that day. I called up this Livermore based Roto-Rooter company at 10.58am the same day and found out that they could have someone be out there within 2 hours. I decided to use them because of our positive past experience.

The plumber came at around 12noon to the house. He and I went to the laundry room upstairs to look at the faulty hot water valve. Once inside the laundry room, he proceeded to move the old washer that was sitting in front of the washer valve. He then looked at the washer valves and told me that he needed to cut into the sheetrock so he could replace the entire washer outlet. He took out his cutter and was ready to cut. I was alarmed that he came to this conclusion without even opening up the valve and asked him to please first assess if the hot water valve was leaking. He had a hard time unscrewing the head of the hose from the hot water valve using his bare hands. He also did not bring his wrench with him, so he had to go down the stairs to his van to get it. Before he went down, he verbally told me that the job to cut the sheetrock and put in a new washer outlet was $389/hour+parts. I was willing to pay this price because I really thought we might be going with this solution.

After 10 minutes, the plumber came back with his wrench. He proceeded to unscrew the hot washer valve from the hose attached to the washer, and he confirmed no leak. He also confirmed there was nothing wrong with the insides of the hot water valve. Since he unhooked the hoses from both valves, I told him to just leave them unhooked since the installers will come later to put in the new washer.

I asked him if this would still cost $389/hour, and the answer was yes. The whole job took less than 25 minutes. It took him another 15 minutes to get online so he could process the payment. I felt really bad because I thought I was overcharged. However, I did not want to argue with him because he was a guy and he might get really offended and angry of me questioning his billing practice.

Lesson learnt for me - 1) I should have told him to leave when he gave me the initial quote because I did not want to pay $389/hour just to show me how to turn off the hot water valve, 2) I should have taken my time and shopped for another plumber and asked for a quote as a comparison.

I am giving this company two stars because at least they were able to send a plumber out within a 2-hour window, and the plumber came early.

Susan P.

Outstanding Service! Very professional and responsive. We placed that call and was immediately able to speak to a live person. She was proficient and detailed in every aspect of our request. Within 45 minutes we got a call from Lorenzo. He stated he was in his way. He was not just knowledgeable, but very friendly and identified the plumbing issue within minutes. His team of Luis & Luis did not miss a detail. They were neat and detailed everything for us. We will definitely use them for any future work. THANK YOU, to the three L'S...Lorenzo, Luis and Luis!

Ab K.

Not at all recommended for any service offered by them especially when you have urgent mitigations to be done at home.

Melody P.

I've been using Roto Rooter since I've own my apartment building since 1995.
They are always responsive in a timely manner.
Robert and Alfonso came today and got the job done with a nice clean up.

Thanks guys!

Maddy O.

Garrett was amazing. professional to the max!wonderful service. and attention to detail!

Brandy A.

They came within a few hours of me calling them. Keep in mind this was on a Saturday morning.

The tech got here a little earlier then stated (which I was grateful for). Explained worst case scenario what my estimate would be. Not long after identified the issue. Before fixing it he did again tell me the estimate for the new issue he identified. Also offered video footage for an additional charge. Overall pleased with my visit.

Steve H.

This company is dishonest. I was away and my wife called them about a clog. They quoted us at a fixed fee to clear it with an auger. Then they said they couldn't do it with that and needed to bring in the hydro jet and it would cost another $300. The total came out to be just under $900 to clear a drain. I wasn't around and my wife wanted to get it fixed before the weekend. So they clearly saw that they could take advantage of her. A fixed rate doesn't mean you can jack up the price just because you bring in another tool. And if you can't do the job with one tool you you shouldn't charge that fixed price. Stand by your work, Roto-Rooter!

Alex K.

The service technicians that came to look at our home were very friendly and professional, but I would strongly recommend against hiring them if possible. Their quotes and prices for services are significantly higher than what you will get elsewhere, and they will push you very hard to sign contracts with them before you have a chance to look around.

We had to replace our sewer lateral for our home, which they quoted us at nearly $40,000 to complete. We went with a local company that provided a quote at nearly 25% of their price.

We were in a bit of a bind with some water damage so their water mitigation team came out and to their credit very quickly contained the damage - but again their prices were significantly high and they were very vague on what services they can offer/how payment would work - their onsite technician could not provide answers to our questions and referred us back to someone in the office, who was not much more helpful. On top of that when they took down their containment area their tape tore a bunch of paint off the damaged room, which they did not point out to me - I had to discover it myself (after signing a ""I'm satisfied w/the service"" document).

You are better off looking locally for a plumbing services.

T W.

Quiz time:
Did you know that insurance will not pay for flooding, unless you have ""flood insurance?"" Bonus round: did you know that most people in a drought stricken state do not have ""flood insurance?""

Did you know that insurance companies consider ""flood"" any water coming from outside, unless it's through a hole in the roof?

Did you know insurance will not cover ""leaks""?

Did you know that insurance will not pay for the actual repair of the source of a leak? They will pay for the damage caused by water (unless it's due to flooding-- see above).

Did you know that insurance will not pay for mold damage?

I learned all these from Rhonda at RotoRooter Livermore.

Needless to say, I was nervous right after I signed all sorts of docs to work with them, and started reading these reviews. She had me get on the phone with one of her clients, an elderly woman in Oakland who was raved about her. Not your typical Yelper perhaps. Cautiously, we proceeded.

One job was a broken water line underneath a post-tensioned slab, in the kitchen area of a 20 yr old house. Post-tensioned? Means getting imaging to figure out where not to cut (lest you snap one of those steel cables and possibly behead yourself), drilling into fix, then patching it back. In the meantime, they also deployed dehumidifiers, fans, and moisture detectors to measure residual moisture. Insurance will want all this. Rotorooter handled all this: excavation, repair, and water restoration/remediation.

Another job was a leaking toilet tank that damaged walls, floor and the ceiling and floor underneath.

A third was the full bottom floor flooded because of fridge water supply line. I was literally surfing on the engineered wood floor. This was after Atmospheric River #3. #4? Lost count. I was convinced at first it was water coming in from outside. In which case, the insurance adjuster told me, we would be SOL. Rhonda comes in: the water is clear, no staining on the drywall, no evidence of flooding on the outside patio. She figured out the real cause. Was even able to speak Spanish with our handyman who may have inadvertently caused it. (Pro Tip: if you need a house to stay unoccupied for a length of time, do yourself a favor and shut off the main).

A fourth was a leak from a tub. I described it to her on the phone and she had a hypothesis in seconds, which proved right- almost. Her leak detection team came out and in 5 min. found a 2nd, much slower source of the leak.

If you have any kind of water damage, call her FIRST. Let her talk to insurance. Keep her on speed dial.

Alyssa G.

This company is a life saver! Our toilet was not working at all at our business and on a Friday no less. We needed a really quick solution that would not bankrupt us and Steven from Roto Rooter came through! Within just a short amount of time after calling, Steven came down right away and fixed our issue in a matter of minutes. Very reasonable price and so quick and efficient! Very happy to have called these guys before our customers, employees or the business suffered.

Thanks so much Steven!