A fabulous team of professionals from office staff to the field workers! I had a rather complicated situation with the sewer line replacement that was crossing my neighbor property. The work couldn't be done trench-less. It was an incredible effort considering the site topography and trees. They also worked with sanitary district to address the complicated easement situation to obtain the permits. When job was completed, the place was restored to the pristine conditio. Excellent cost for the value! read more

I used this ER Plumbing to replace the sewer lateral (psl) at a house I recently purchased. I contacted David based on a quote he provided the seller of the property, and David was kind enough to honor it months later. $8,500 for a 70' sewer line that was 12' deep in the street. My GC said this was a good price considering the scope, although I'm not 100% sure. David visited the property and started scoping the work. We had sort of a verbal understanding that we wanted to move forward, but nothing formal or finalized. Next thing I knew he was basically texting me a couple days later saying his guys were there to start the work, despite the fact I'd never signed the contract. I sort of brushed it off since I needed the work done, but struck me as not normal and was somewhat inconvenient. The crew left a mess at my property -- soda caps in the yard and some other trash floating around; dirt and gravel not really swept up or finished with care; and a trash bag full of ~30lbs of concrete in my backyard that I had to dispose of. They also didn't put a cover over one of the holes of the cleanout, but David did send one days later. The PSL passed inspection and that's what mattered most. Having made a relationship with David, I asked if he was interested in bidding on other projects at the property. He brought a framer/carpenter and they had large printed blueprints with them. We discussed the whole home remodel and I thought they were serious but never heard back after following up a couple times. TL;DR: the sewer lateral work was satisfactory, despite the crew being messy. Communication is not the company's strong suit. read more

Gary & his crew replaced our sewer... er... something like that-- what do I know, I just sign things & hand over cash... anyway, it was a pretty big job, that included permits, pipes, cement... you get the picture. Rhino Rooter has GREAT customer service-- very prompt, responsive & up front about any unexpected issues/changes to the work that comes up. he worked with us to get the job done before a party (why we scheduled major plumbing work to be done the very same day we were having a bunch of people over is another question) Gary is friendly & knowledgeable. We had another estimate & his price was A LOT less. his office staff helps move the process along (reminder calls for scheduling & getting the contract signed, etc), but not in a pushy way. the workers were great- they had everything cleaned up & looking like they had never been here at the end of the job. we hope we won't need any more plumbing done for a long time, but when we do, we will definitely call Gary & Rhino Rooter! read more

This company provided service above and beyond our expectations. Cannot say enough about this company and their crew. Had problems for years with a lateral sewer backing up. ER plumbing came out and replaced our lateral sewer. The estimate was fair, the crew was professional, they cleaned up completely after the job was done and took care of permits and inspections. They went above and beyond our expectations as it was discovered near the end of the job our pipe was encased in a large amount of cement. The crew had to take extra time and equipment to dig it out and make it right. They did and the job is absolutely perfect. We were grateful for the attention to detail and seeing the job done right. This company is a top notch professional operation that I would recommend to anyone. read more

I got several different quotes for updating my sewer, big job. Juan at Rhino Rooter got my business because he impressed me with his offer of a low-cost inspection and dedication to getting the job done as fast as possible, to keep my cost down. He inspired my confidence from the beginning, and I was not disappointed. The job ended up being more complicated than expected, but they handled it perfectly and passed both inspections, EBMUD and Stege without a hitch. Juan's team members were all very polite and pleasant to have around. They will get all of my plumbing business going forward. read more

Ok here is an update on my experience with Rhino Rooter.. I have had time to think and have read Gary's response to my review which was not the greatest. However up until my last interaction with them they did a really good job which is why I hired them more than once. I stick by the one star for that particular really poor example of customer service.. It's amazing how one bad interaction can sour a person-me in this instance that is. So because the work up until then had been just fine. ( My roommate described Gary as a wiseass in previous interactions-but competent) So I think if I had reviewed them before my last interaction I would have given them 4 stars so I'm revising the stars from negative one to three.. We used Rhino Rooter 3x in the last few years. Unfortunately we will not be using them again. Ever. Last Friday I called Rhino Rooter because my 'outtake valve'(?) or whatever the thing is outside the house that connects our sewer line to the street was overflowing. Sam came out on time, last minute, Friday afternoon and was terrific. He was thorough, polite, and knowledgeable. He cleared the line and I paid him the $175 they required plus gave him a $20.00 tip cus he seemed so trustworthy and efficient. And for coming out on a Friday afternoon! I thought I heard him say to me that if we had any problems to call and that there work was guaranteed maybe for 30 days? A week? I don't recall..Terrific! Switch to today which was a nightmare. Over the weekend we tried to flush upstairs toilet and it didn't work..and it didn't really work well all weekend even after vigorous plunging. So today I called the office and spoke with Denise and she very kindly called me back and said someone would be over in about half an hour to an hour. So the Rhino Rooter van pulls up in front of our house and I go out to greet them. The owner Gary and another guy got out of the van both looking extremely disgruntled and really pissed off. Uh oh I thought these guys had a bad day.. Well As it turns out I don't give a rats ass how bad their day was Gary was downright rude and nasty. He kept insisting that he had been to our house "at least 5x in the past" and that he was not going to do anymore work for free. Huh? I paid them each time without question and both he and Sam told us that they would come out and clean the lateral if we didn't want to get a new one which costs $5000. Gary had even said to my roommate when he came out for an estimate we should wait on replacing the lateral until the moratorium on street repair was over and instead we could call them to do the quick clean out for $150-$175. Fine, no problem. I guess Gary thought that I was expecting him to clean out the lateral for free which I hadn't dreamed of. I thought he wold check out the toilets. When I told him that, he said that'll be $125.00. But by that time he had been so obnoxious and almost threatening there was no way I was letting him anywhere near my house or my pissoir. As soon as they left I called the office hoping to speak with Denise and find out who let Gary's evil twin out of the box.. No I called to see if she could look us up and see if we ever got work for free which I knew we never had and which The evil Gary twin kept insisting we did. We had planned on using Rhino Rooter to replace our sewer lateral but uh ah beware the rhino. Sam good. Rhino bad. The first time was fine I don't recall who came out but they did a fine job and may have given us an estimate for a sewer lateral. And of course we paid them! Then 6 months or so ago even though nothing was wrong we decided to get three estimates for replacing the sewer lateral. My roommate said that the owner was kind of a wise ass but thought they would do a good job. Nope not gonna happen. read more

Just met with Gary today for a camera inspection of a sewer lateral on a home I may purchase. Scheduled an appointment for 3pm. 3pm rolls around, no Gary. Thought traffic might be an issue so I gave him until 3:45. Called him and it seemed like he completely forgot, even though he told me that he just lost track of time.\ He said it would take him 1/2 hour to get there. I live 1+ hour away, so anything under 2 hours would be worth it to me so I wouldn't have to make another trip. 1/2 hour later he said he was still 1/2 hour away stuck in traffic. 50 mins after that, he arrives. ~2 hrs late. He does his inspection, and that is why he is getting 2 stars, everything was fine with the inspection, he was quick and efficient. After, I was given an estimate for the work that was recommended and I asked for a discount on the $200 inspection fee due to his late arrival. He said no, immediately. I was ok with that, stuff happens and I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, then he says, "Sometimes we show up early and we don't charge extra for that." Like his time is worth everything and my time is worth nothing. Lets just say, it was the flush that broke the sewer pipe, so to speak. That is why I am on here right now writing this review. If you want someone who will be 2 hours late and then condescend to you about the value of your time, then Gary is your guy! read more

I normally don't write reviews for service experience, only food. However, credit is due when credit is deserved. Also, not to forget, this review is for Will. Long story short, Will was very easy going, knew his stuff, and pin pointed what my problem was (kitchen sink pipe wasn't connected to the sewer lateral) within 1.5 hrs. He completely made me wish I called him first before the the other plumber. I gave him 5 stars: 1 - I called in the AM and he scheduled me in on the same day. Will was also on time. 2 - Went above and beyond by crawling under the house to diagnose the problem. Also helping me fix the hinge on my crawl space door. 3 - Very thorough in his work. He did a lot of testing to really key on what was happening. 4 - I'm a 1st time home owner and didn't know much about plumbing and sewer laterals, but Will helped explain to me what was going on and what had to be done to get the problem fixed. 5. Most importantly, he got me an answer and figured out the problem! I put his contact info into my phone after he left. I would definitely recommend him to anyone that is having plumbing issues within the area (El Cerrito). read more

Henry came through again. He was professional and straightforward from beginning to end and led his crew accordingly. We had a sewage overflow 8 months ago and knew that we had rootballs in our sewage system. We got a quote for a "starting price" from another company. They would dig up (and replace) our garden in order to replace the sewage pipes. The problem was, they couldn't tell us what the price would end up being...it was going to depend on what they found. A few weeks ago, we had our second sewage backup and it was not pretty. My workspace was flooded with sewage...ew. Although Rhino Rooter's fee was significantly higher than the "starting price" of the other company, it seemed perfectly reasonable and was a solid number. It felt much safer to go with them. After getting a referral from a neighbor and reading Nicollete's review, I made sure Henry was going to be on board from start to finish to assure that our experience was a positive one. They scheduled the work within a week and only made noise for a few hours. They were done quickly and I trust their work. I did not get any competing bids...so barring that qualification, I would recommend them, absolutely! read more

I appreciate a business that will take the time to answer questions and explain different options. Juan was respectful and professional and prompt, will I call them again. Yes I will. read more

Any time your 4-year old fills the toilet with an unhealthy combo of poop and baby wipes, there's bound to be a plumbing emergency. Well try BOTH toilets in the house. It happened. Fortunately for us, Clint at Rhino Rooter saved the day. He showed up within a half hour of my call and fixed the clogged toilets in about 15 minutes. He was friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and did not cause us any further embarrassment about the treasures he encountered in our toilets. Not to be gross, but my kid did have a lot of carrots the night before. So, to sum it up: POOP + WIPES + CHEAP TOILET = RHINO ROOTER read more

We didn't end up using Rhino Rooter for our job because it was a repair on something that another plumber botched. But we had a great experience with Rhino Rooter in terms of the estimate and follow through. They showed up when they said they would and gave a very prompt and reasonable estimate of costs with a good explanation of everything they were charging for. When I called the City planning department in my City to ask about Rhino Rooter, they told me they have a very good track record of work. I would definitely use them in the future. read more

If you are interested in a no call no show waste of your time, give Rhino Rooter a call. Rhino Rooter was in the neighborhood on an EBMUD contract when I asked twice if they would be willing to do a small job on some exposed plumbing within my home. I made the appointment with multiple phone calls for the next week, to be at their convenience. I received a message in the morning of my appointment saying it could be done but wanted to know if I were flexible for my 3pm appointment. I returned the call and left my message for my appointment to be the same day, but that I was flexible. I prepared the area for the work and planned most of my day to be present for the work. NO call. NO show. NO work. And now, weeks later, my shared advise is to look elsewhere or be prepared for some lip service and then their disappointing experience. read more

I was referred to David Ball in early 2020 by another contractor to address a sewer leak, uncovered by Alameda County Vector Control, that was allowing rodents to enter my crawlspace. David gave an estimate of $2500 to address the issue, which involved cutting a small piece of concrete and patching the leak. They uncovered a missing connection, added a new one, and poured new concrete. Unfortunately, they damaged a part of the foundation in the process, but this didn't stop David from coming to collect payment for the work. He assured me his team would be back later to fix it. Fast-forward 12 months and my rodent problem is back. I hired a pest control expert who mentioned there could still be a leak in the sewer, which would allow larger sized rats to enter the crawlspace. Vector Control came out to do another smoke test and, lo and behold, there's smoke coming around the concrete patch they cut to perform repairs. I contacted David again to give him a chance to come and correct the shoddy work his team performed. I texted him for a week straight and he promised to come by each day. He never showed up and stopped returning my texts/calls. Don't trust ER Plumbing for any plumbing work, even something as simple as a leak. They (1) partially damaged part of my foundation and didn't initially patch it until I complained, (2) didn't fully address the original sewer leak, and (3) no-showed when the leak was rediscovered. They have no warranty or guarantees for the quality of their work. read more

Can't say enough about the work these guys did. Great job!! I wanted to get my sewer inspected and certified by the city. This can be a huge undertaking and cost if it is not done right. Sam took time to inspect and reinspect all area to help avoid any additional cost and make sure it was done right. Sam is an exceptional technician. He walks you through the whole process, cost and any hiccups that show up along the way. They had to expose a good amount of the pipe to insure there were no crack or broken seals (digging 6 to 7 ft down and just as wide around) but at the end of the three days you couldn't tell they were there. Highly recommend them for your sewer needs. read more

Sloppy work, left a "patch" in the street where they dug that was third world quality. Finally came back weeks later to do a better but still not great patch. read more

If you want bad service, this is the company to call. After installing various aspects of a bath renovation, the wall hung toilet was too high resulting in a do over and an additional expenditure of $250 for wall tiles, the "specialty plumber" they enlisted to install Graff ( high end ) faucets did not do it properly and it had to be redone, the plumber carried off the cast iron piping they removed without my permission and on and on. There isn't a rating low enough to give them. Bad news. read more

My water heater went out and I spoke with Will at Rhino Rooter. Will was super helpful and worked with me to get my water heater replaced at a fair price and on a short time schedule. I've also been able to call him back a few times and get advice on how to handle a few different things. Will is always down to help, and as such, Rhino Rooter has me as a client for life. Will is THE BEST! I see other reviews talking about Gary, but honestly I only ever dealt with Will. Will is who you want to talk to. SUPER HELPFUL and good guy! read more

David helped our lateral sewage work get completed when the original contractor went AWOL. Got everything taken care of in a relatively quick manner. Thanks again David for helping cleanup the mess left by the previous contractor. read more

Rhino Rooter did our sewer lateral and they were great! It was easy to schedule and the entire process was smooth. Will was very communicative and a pleasure to work with. I will call them again for future work. Thanks Rhino Rooter! read more

Highly recommended. After a few bids on replacing our sewer lateral, we selected rhino rooter as the work they did a block away looked good, their trucks/equipment looked maintained, and their estimate was competitive. I worked with Sam and I have to say he bent over backwards to accomodate us. We had a situation where our lateral was tied into the neighbors lateral so we couldn't go with a trenchless replacement. Angel and the crew dug out and laid a new lateral and also redirected the neighbors 1/2 bath line to their lateral. I was home and watched a lot of the work going on, and they did a solid job. I would not hesistate to call them again. For those who didn't get a call back, try to understand that sometimes jobs that are hidden (wiring, plumbing, termite, etc.) crop up with "unforeseen conditions" and throw everyone's schedule out of whack. This happens and you just have to call again, no matter who the contractor. read more

Rhino Rooter has been out to my house a couple of times and they've always done great work. Most recently, Will Feliciano pointed out some shoddy work that had been done by a different plumbing company. I was having a tough time tracking down the other company, but Will was able to put me in touch with their owner and they ultimately came out and fixed their work for free. Will went above and beyond to help me out in this case even though there was no money in it for him or Rhino Rooter. I highly recommend them for any job! read more

Only 1 star rating. This Will Feliciano of Rhino Rooter is very careless in his work. Sloppy work at a clean-out. He tried to do work "on the side" for his personal business for cash, and there are no reviews in Yelp for this Will guy. He said that his personal business had "positive" reviews for his personal business, although he was also associated with Rhino Rooter in the East Bay area. This guy is insensitive to certain customers and does not behave professionally, i.e. unprofessional to the customer. In this example, with us, he neglected an important detail and something got damaged in the clean-out. read more

Will was fantastic to work with. Very professional. He finished a job on my street early and called/texted to confirm if he could come early. I had a backup that turned out to be an easy fix. He was recommended to me by neighbors, and had been the one to work on both of our sewer laterals previously. read more

Called this company with a plumbing emergency. Had sewage coming up from the bath tub due to a blocked sewer main between the house and the city pipe in the street. Juan arrived promptly, assessed the situation, and after using a camera down the pipe, dug a small trench to install a modern two-way sewer clean-out which our house was lacking since it is so old. After that, he was able to clear the sewer line (tree roots), and get us functional again. It was a messy and unexpected problem, but Juan did a great job, provided clear communication throughout, and kept to his original cost estimate even though there were a few surprises along the way. Very trustworthy and reliable guy, highly recommended! read more

I had to have my sewer lateral replaced as part of my house purchase. My realitor recommended several companies and Rhino was the one I picked. Gary came out and spent all the time necessary to check out what was needed told me of the possibility that there could be added costs and explained what the additional parts were and why, the connection was fine and he didn't need to charge, There were some problems with scheduling the inspection and permits and Gary kept me informed through the whole process. Great customer service everything was completed on schedule and the landscape and concrete walk replaced as if they had never been touched. These guys are as good as it gets. read more

We recently had our sewer lateral replaced by Henry and his team. They replaced the sewer line that wraps all the way around our house by digging one hole at the curbside that was neatly re-poured with concrete at the end of the day. Henry also poured a slab of concrete around our sewer downspout where rodents were tunneling. Everything was left in great shape at the completion of the job, which only took one day. Everyone I dealt with at Rhino Rooter, the owner, the foreman, and the workers, were very friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. This is our third time using Rhino Rooter (we've also used them for sewer inspections before buying a house), and each time their service has remained consistent. I highly recommend them. read more

FIVE STARS plus....I'm a landlord with several properties in Albany and El Cerrito.. Gary Ball at Rhino Rooter has done several jobs for me over the past 10 years. Whether it be complete sewer replacement, or a water heater emergency, he has been there for us. On time, fair price and and most pleasant to deal with..Can't get any better than that.... read more

Woke up at 7:30 AM on a Sunday to these guys starting work. They left a 3 foot long, massive pothole in the middle of the road. For the last month I have watched cars pop tires and swerve into the hillside to avoid the huge hole. Didn't want to have to come to yelp to leave a bad review, as I figured the pot hole might be something they could come back and fix, but I've been trying to call for the last month, nearly every day and no one is answering the phone. read more

They seem to have good reviews on Yelp so I called Rhino Rooter for a quote to replace the sewer lateral of my new house. He wanted to charge me for a video inspection of the current system and I told him that the city had told me that this house is over 50 years old and for houses over 50 years old they don't need video inspections. The city told me that I should replace the whole thing and I will get a partial rebate from the city. The guy from Rhino Rooter told me that the city doesn't know what they are talking about and said I should pay him for a video inspection first before he can give me any estimate. Luckily this wasn't my first call to a sewer lateral company and I know what I'm doing! The other companies had given me free quotes (to qualify for the city rebate I need to get three written quotes). I decided not to use Rhino Rooters as I feel they would try to rip me off. read more

No call no show. Left message. No call backs. If you want to be disappointed, then try them. They're good at ruining your day.

I had my sewer lateral replaced by Rhino Rooter, they did an awesome job, done in one day. The price was reasonable and I must say that especially I was very impressed with Henry, he was proffesional, though personable and very friendly. read more

Wish I had read some of these reviews before hiring these guys. I needed a gas line installed for my dryer, the guy who came out was nice enough and seemed to know what he was talking about with comparable rates so I went for it. It took over a MONTH to get this work completed. Every time he started the work he suddenly claimed a new thing was needed, ended up costing twice the original estimate. They left our garage a total mess and didn't even come pick up their garbage until I clarified that I would with hold payment until this was done. The only positive thing I can say is at least the guy I worked with answered my calls/messages throughout the process. read more

Upstairs and downstairs toilets were increasingly sluggish, which I assumed was due to sewer issues (rather than 2 old toilets acting their age simultaneously). BPN had old but good reviews of Rhino,. The owner,Gary, was in the area so came right over himself. He could easily have gone ahead and done the sewer cleaning, but instead gary listened to the sewer after flushings and said the sewer was fine but the toilets were just old and needed replacing. He did not propose his company for that work. I asked and was given a fair estimate. Because Gary was so honest about the sewer not needing work and also easy to deal with, Rhino will get the job. read more

Rhino Rooter was great! Gary came out and did the estimate promptly; he took the time to answer all of my questions. He worked with my schedule for completion - we had just bought the house and had 6 months to complete the sewer lateral and of course I waited until the last minute. His workers were great as well and always let me poke around to see what they were doing. Great service, fast and efficient without nickel-and-diming me. I'd hire them again in a heartbeat! read more

Great experience - reasonable prices and came out to unclog our sewer line right on time and exactly as they said they would. Friendly guys too. read more

I needed the lateral sewer replaced on our home last week. This was a big job. Our main sewer line is about a 115ft from the street (a very steep hill) and another 30ft line that services our lower level baths. We had tree root infested, and extremely clogged lines. Gary and his crew did a great job finishing in 2 days. His quote was the best we had(we had 6 bids). We had ridiculous quotes from places ($12-14,000), and time estimates to 4 to 5 days to complete. If you need your sewer line replaced, call rhino rooter. read more

After contacting about 6 different sewer companies no one had managed to figure out our sewer leak much less fix it! Sam from rhino rooter came out and was friendly and efficient. I thought the cost was very reasonable and when our original plan to fix encountered some problems (not his fault) he came by on a Saturday to investigate the problem and fixed it Monday! He went above and beyond and he and his crews were clean, friendly, and easy to deal with. Highly recommended! read more

Just had a great service call from Sam at Rhino Rooter. He is neat, clean, careful to change gloves and stay clean as he works. He is respectful with the landscaping, and did a great job locating my blockage and clearing it. He explained everything as he did it. He also gave me an estimate what it would take to permanently repair the old sewer lateral all the way to the sewer. He was right on time for our previously planned Saturday appointment, cheerful, pleasant and competent. When I called to set the appointment I described the situation to Gary; he told me exactly what to expect, and that's what happened when Sam came out. AAAAA plus! read more

the 1-day, $4500, sewer lateral replacement has turned into a nightmare. this company left the dug up concrete pile on the neighbors lawn instead of taking it with them at the end of the day. 4 days later, we're still waiting for them to come back to get it. needless to say the neighbor is up in arms, calling the city and the police dept and all rhino can say is another job has run over and they'll get the concrete (ie FINISH the job they started last week and billed the credit card for) when they can. do yourself a favor, call someone else. read more