Bills Plumbing & Sewer Inc

AT first I was a little skeptical to hire this new company because my regular plumber retired and sold the company to Bill’s Plumbing. They sent Mr. Kurt, he is as good as if he is not better than my old retired plumber. Kurt is very courteous, he has good knowledge of all his equipment. He use a very small but very powerful machine. He rodded the main sewage line systematically, carefully, and effectively. He rodded out at least 5 pounds of tree root. My clean out is just 6 inches inside the foundation wall. He protected my floor with towels. He made my clean up job easy.
I will put in foaming root killer 4 weeks after the rodding and every spring and fall. Even though Kurt told me that there is a 90 days guarantee, I am sure I don’t need to go through with this ordeal again at least for two years. I gave 5 stars just for Kurt’s job well done.
If possible I can only give 4 stars for the charges. I am still not agree with service call charges. I can understand that if I call your company for an estimate and I decide not to hire your company, then you can charge me 40 dollars. But, now I call up your company and hire you to do my maintenance rodding of mainline from a clean out. I don’t see why you add 40 dollars on top of the hourly rate of 225 dollars per hour.
It is not the total cost but it is the principle of doing business. I have no problem of paying your company 265 dollar per hour of work. This is a hard and dangerous work !

Tim, James and Crew:
I wanted to write and say Thank You for a job well-​done with our Overhead Sewer System in Des Plaines. The installation was extremely quick for such a large job. I would definitely recommend your team to friends and family.
What really made your team better than the rest was your customer service. With our recent storm in April, we somehow got ground water (not sewer water) in our basement. I called the day of the storm requesting service and a call back. Tim called back within minutes and stressed that they do GUARANTEE their work and stand by it 100%. He was very apologetic and then stated that they will find the problem and solve it.
On a Saturday, James came out with an additional crew member (I do not know his name). They found out that there was an old catch basin under our deck in the backyard that no one ever knew about and had never been sealed off 100%. In less than 3 hours, they found the problem and fixed it without hesitation. Both Tim and James were very down to earth and extremely cordial.
Again, thank you to you and your crew.
Benny V

I went with this company because I saw the good reviews on Unilocal and I regret the decision and here is why …
If there was a Zero star option, that is the rating I would give this business.
We called this company to address the issue of an overflowing toilet in the basement. We explained the entire issue that has occurred a few years back about the overgrown tree root in the sewer line and the plumber said, «We can take care of that». The rodding total cost was $ 255, service call $ 30 (which was never mentioned) therefore the flat rate price of the sewer rodding itself is $ 225.00. After finishing the job, the plumber said to me, «okay, so everything is done and the water will run smoothly now, however, you need to get the full clean out work because we can’t do the full run of the sewer since there is a blockage in the pipe. Also, the pipe in the shower and the toilet don’t connect to each other.» Later, to prove that the problem is fixed the plumber turned on the water ONLY in the shower but neglected to check the two bathrooms upstairs as well as the laundry room.
My sister asked, «how long will the rodding work that was done hold me up until I can get the full clean out? I hope not just for a couple of days.»
Plumber: «Noooo, it will last longer than a couple of days but I can’t guarantee any longer than that. There is NO WARRANTY for this rodding.» (After the fact that the job is complete).. .Fast Forward. .. Friday night, we did the laundry and the same issue occurred. The toilet over-​flowed again. I paid $ 255.00 for a plumber to come out and «TRIED» rodding. I called to politely request assistance because not only could I not wash my clothes but now I couldn’t even go to the bathroom upstairs. My boyfriend called to tell them the situation but the lady that picked up the phone said, «sorry, we can’t do anything because there is no warranty on the rodding, it stated on the invoice.
Obviously, there is more to this and I would love to write a whole essay but I need to figure out how I can fix this problem because currently, I do not have clean clothes and usable bathrooms. BTW, Tim called and «apologized that I was mad» about this situation and after I was complaining to him about this craziness, he HUNG UP on me. Now you can decide for yourself if you would want to spend money with them. Bad, arrogant customer service that left me with an incomplete job.

This was the BEST plumbing experience I’ve ever had. First off, today is New Year’s Eve. Every plumber we called was taking the day off. Our problem was a minor one, a backed up kitchen sink. But when I called Bill himself came. Earlier than estimated, I might add.
He was fast, clean and tolerated 100 questions from a 5 year old who wanted to «help.» The job took less than an hour and was far less expensive than I had budgeted.
I will never go to anyone else. Bill has a customer for life.

wow, my mom used these guys 5 years ago to install a kitchen faucet, and in the last week, the handle broke off. i didn’t think a plumber would lift a finger to help after that length of time, but they were happy to take the time to show me how to fix it on my own if i found the screw, and how to contact moen to get new handles if i didn’t. they had a record of the transaction even — it was on a index card — so cool, old school :)

Bill’s Plumbing & Sewer was one of 5 bids we had to fix our basement flooding issues. They offered 2 solutions: 1) Traditional Overhead Sewer, that raises the sewer lines (that are normally under a basement floor) to the basement ceiling and then exits the front of the house and is connected back to the city sewer down a really steep grade by excavating your yard. 2) They also offered a double check valve system by digging a pit in the front yard. Their representative was friendly, on time, and seemed to really know what he was talking about.
Their pricing is competitive — $ 8500 for the overhead sewer option and $ 7500 for the check valve system — also offering $ 1000 off coupon online.
We went with another Company as my husband didn’t want to have our yard excavated.
All in all, Bill’s Plumbing was a firm number2 out of the 5 bids. I wouldn’t hesitate to hire in the future if the opportunity presents itself.

We first used Bill’s back in July or August for a problem with a lift station (causing some serious basement flooding) and installation of a sink/​faucet in our remodeled kitchen. Additionally, they re-​routed a vent in the kitchen that was exposed from the removal of the soffit (sp? who cares — I’ll hopefully never have to spell that again after this review!).
They came out to look at what needed to be done on almost no notice (3pm on the phone — 6pm at the house) and gave me a very reasonable quote. The next day they were here when promised and finished the jobs, as promised. Once the kitchen was done they were here in a flash to install the sink. Excellent.
Until — the basement flooded again — five months after installation of the brand new pump. Sigh. But — I assume that was a manufacturer defect and with one phone call they were here to fix the problem, in a flash (and in the rain). With no charge.
Quite pleased with Bill’s — but they did put my faucet on backwards (not as obvious as it sounds) — so I can’t give them the full five stars… but I’ll certainly call these guys again, assuming I’ll again need a plumber.

I’ve used Bill’s several times over the years. Most recently, they installed an new kitchen faucet and fixed a leaking shower for me. They arrive when they say they’ll be here and they always solve my problem, even if it takes a couple of trips (to get parts they don’t have with them).
I can’t say if their rates are reasonable or not, but they don’t seem too extravagant to me.
So: if you’re near Skokie and you need a plumber (and who doesn’t?), give them a try and let your fellow Unilocalers know what YOU think.

Rude! First thing they said was we charge extra on weekends… minimum 260 for the first hour! Ridiculous! Needless to say, I went elsewhere and found someone who was reliable and charged ½ of that on yes, a SATURDAY!

So far, so good. I had them come to give me an estimate for a pretty big job I need done to my home. Not only was the estimate professional looking but they described, in detail, every part of the job! I’ll definitely be using them for the work. An update to this post will follow when the work is complete. UPDATE! The work was done way back in August 2010 and I never updated until now (Jan 2011). They did a fantastic job, were courteous, efficient and on time! Definitely using them for all of my plumbing needs!