Bob Oates Sewer, Rooter, & Plumbing

Bob Oates plumber Shane Martin showed up on time, struggled with getting large machine down steep stairs (warning: this costs extra so let them know in advance), quickly cleaned the sewer and then sent a camera through. Shane was efficient and friendly, and kudos to Bob Oates team, who get high marks from fellow residents.

We had clogged toilet that no amount of plunging would fix. We called Bob Oates and they were very responsive; even calling me the day of my appointment because they had a cancellation and wanted to know if I wanted them to come out earlier. Shane was our technician and he was super. Fast, very friendly, and knowledgeable. Couldn’t be more satisfied with the service provided.

Fine, fast, friendly and efficient work and workmanship. I’m using them for more work as well. Obviously pro’s at what they do as is the service they provide. Jeremy knew what he was doing, took the time to explain every question I asked and offered suggestions to give me a range of options to consider for the work needed. Very helpful.
And they offered a new customer deal that was appreciated as well.
Thanks
Mike

We had a backed up sewer line and called Bob Oates on a Saturday morning. The kind receptionist transferred our call to a tech right away. After the tech assured us they could handle the problem, the receptionist scheduled Jeremy to come over within two hours. Jeremy presented himself professionally and was a pleasure to work with through the entire process! Within 30 min of setting up, Jeremy was able to rooter out the drain and solve the problem! It was overall a great experience! Jeremy was on time, knowledgeable and friendly. Jeremy gave us good advice to unclog another slow moving tub drain in another part of the house. He was careful to put on shoe covers when he came into our house and did a great job cleaning up after the work was completed. We highly recommend Bob Oates and Jeremy. We will definitely call Bob Oates in the future!

We had Shane come out to do some routine maintenance /​cleaning of the sewer line. It was overall a great experience — he was able to come out as soon as the day after I made the appointment, was on time, friendly + knowledgeable, and communicated all the steps they were doing. He was at our place for less than an hour, and they did a great job cleaning up. We got the video from him less than 24 hours later. We’ve had several companies do these kinds of jobs over the last 5 – 10 years, and can’t recommend these guys or Shane highly enough. Great work!

Just had an incredibly pleasant experience getting drain service from Bob Oates! Had a laundry drain that got clogged and flooded the laundry room last night. Called Bob Oates first thing this morning at 8am and they arranged Shane to be out by 9am, which was as fast scheduling as I have ever encountered.
Shane was the ultimate professional trying to resolve the drainage issue. He communicated very clearly the issues regarding the drain and was able to fix the issue by pulling up the hairball/​lint that was the cause of the clog. Shane also suggested a potential preventative fix.
I highly recommend Bob Oates and Shane’s professional service!

Had a good customer service experience. Plumbers were very friendly and efficient. Also took off their shoes! They tried quite a few things to fix our issue and when we found out it was a bigger problem they called in the outdoor specialist to get us a quote right away. The price seem on the high side but very pleased with service.

As the homeowner living in the SF Bay Area for my rental property on Queen Anne, my tenants elected or were told by American Home Shield (AHS) with whom they have a policy they «do not fix plumbing problems w/​a kitchen faucet!» They do, but clearly may not employ the best company for the job. They called Bob Oates, no doubt from the many positive reviews below.
I spoke to the technician regarding the kitchen faucet and was quoted a «flat rate of $ 550.» Excessive I thought, but being over a thousand miles away and wanting to assure my tenants had no drawn out issues with this, agreed.
I have received the bill and it is $ 742! Very disappointed, that the technician quoted a «flat rate» (again that I thought was excessive), but he did apparently fix the faucet, so you tell me-​is $ 190+ excess bill fair?

Highly recommended! We had a plugged-​up sink and Shane was very helpful. What could have been a serious problem turned out to be easily solvable thanks to his expertise. He also provided a drain solution to help keep the drain clear. Excellent service.

These guys are great. I had 2 other plumbers come over and could not figure out how to fix my hot water problem, they told me I either needed a whole new tank or at least a $ 300+ fix.. Erik came out and fixed it in about 10 minutes flat FOR FREE. He knew how to adjust the locking temp gauge and the others just didn’t.They thought it was just broken and/​or wanted to gauge me for $$$. Call Erik!!!

2^nd time I have used Bob Oates services. I called around 9am asking for help with my 12-​year old hot water heater not providing hot water. I was initially scheduled for appointment the next day, which was fine. 10 minutes later I get a call back, due to a cancellation someone could come immediately — and that’s what happened! Daniel arrived, assessed the problem (new water heater needed), installed it and done. Very professional, knowledgeable and nice. He gave me hot water heater 101 education in a pleasant manner and answered all of my questions,
I love this company, it’s a small-​locally owned business. I would give them more than five stars if I could.

Shane diagnosed a complex drainage issue in a short amount of time. His customer service was exemplary and he showcased great skillz in his field.

Service for my backed up sewer the same day that I called, and even though I’m «on borrowed time», until I need to do a bigger project the two guys that came out to my house helped me think through options for getting the bigger fix (replace part of the main) done for the best cost. Overall, I’m happy I called them.

There is a reason a company gets multiple 5 star reviews. It’s because of their outstanding customer service. From the moment I called, to the moment the truck left my driveway (5 minutes ago) I received nothing but outstanding service at extremely reasonable pricing. Shane was great, on time, thoughtful, and informative. I called 3 places before making a decision and I am so glad I chose to give my business to Bob Oates. I will use them anytime I have the need for a plumber and I will recommend them to anyone I know who needs a plumber, They are an outstanding company.

Bob Oates (more specifically, Daniel and Cameron) saved the day (Month, actually).
We started experiencing some drain backup in our basement (could not use master shower, kitchen sink, dishwasher, laundry room sink or washing machine) so we called our Home Warranty company to send someone out to fix it. The first company (Incompetent Company #1) sent a technician that was absolutely worthless! He charged us $ 75.00 to tell us that he didn’t know what the problem was, but that it would most likely be a collapsed pipe and might cost about $ 13,000. He offered no solutions or help and just said «Sorry, I can’t help you». Obviously, not what we were hoping to hear.
I called Home Warranty back, and requested another company (More Incompetent Company #2). The first guy was HOURS late and never called, etc. to say he was on the way. He finally arrived, found an issue at about 50′ with the snake and was going to have a camera guy come out the following week. This is where it started to go downhill. The camera guy first brought the wrong size camera and was going to have to come back another day. I called them and said that was unacceptable as my husband had taken the day off to be there. They ended up driving out another camera and the guy came back later that night. He said that he found a collapse at 10′ and that we would have to jackhammer up our basement to fix it. We said OK and they were scheduled to come out the next week. The day before he came, we requested that they double check his work as we were concerned about jack hammering up the concrete in our house without a 100% conviction of the location of the problem. We were informed that he was no longer with the company and that they would send another guy out the next day to figure it out. When he showed up, he said that the problem was NOT in the floor (SERIOUSLY?!?) but in the wall. However, they couldn’t take care of it then, but would have to come back out another day. This is now trip # 4 and a MONTH later. He comes out a few days later and cuts a hole in the drywall of my finished basement. Oops. That isn’t where the problem was! Now they have to go through the wall behind my shower, which would ruin the bathroom and cause us to have to replace the shower. However, they couldn’t do it then (of course) and would have to come back out…
This was where we drew the line. We had now waited over a Month for this problem to be fixed without being able to use our kitchen at all, do any laundry or use the master shower.
I called Bob Oates in desperation around 2:00 in the afternoon on the day that the other guys cut a hole in my wall. They quoted me $ 250 to send someone out that night to at least try and get the clog (or whatever) open. Daniel and Cameron showed up ON TIME and were extremely professional and really knew what they were talking about. They asked us if either company tried going at the clog from another location (both other companies only went through the laundry drain). He then proceeded to try to unclog from multiple other locations and finally was able to get it unclogged after going through the top floor master bathroom!
They gave us the impression that they were going to do whatever they needed to do to make sure that we got working plumbing again that night, and stayed well later than they were originally supposed to. Bob Oates even re-​arranged other appointments that evening in order to give them enough time to stay and help us… Excellent service.
Unfortunately, the problem isn’t totally fixed as we need to get the lines Hydro-​Jetted, but we will be calling Bob Oates soon to get it done! I won’t go anywhere else.
Thank you Bob Oates and Daniel and Cameron. You rescued us when we were so frustrated and at the end of our ropes, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
My ONLY criticism is that the woman on the phone quoted us $ 250 for the after hour service which was wrong as it ended up being over $ 400. I would make sure that the person who is quoting the service has the prices correct, as that was a little frustrating. However, it was well worth it!

Called to schedule annual jet washing of sewer line for our condo building. Was put on hold 2 times before I actually could speak to scheduler. Set appointment for next day and took the day off work. I was outside waiting for the technician and missed the call that they were cancelling the appointment due to complications of some sort and would need to re-​schedule. I called to re-​schedule and was again put on hold.
They seem to be over-​booked or do not have enough plumbers.

So far, Bob Oates has been great to work with. We are in the middle of a kitchen remodel and we also have a new baby so my mind is all over the place!
Susan has been so gracious with helping me reschedule and get plumbers out to our house in the small time windows that I have available. She really has taken about 8 calls from me in 1.5 days. Thank you Susan for not hanging up on me!
Robert was the plumber that came to our house. He was super helpful and very knowledgeable about what needed to be done. He gave me what I think are fair estimates for the work and was great about answering ALL my questions.
I look forward to having Robert back to finish up our kitchen this next week.

John and Robert we excellent — they arrived later than originally planned, but they still get 5 stars. Here is why:
My tankless water heater stopped heating water on Tuesday. I called and got a Wednesday appointment for arrival between 2 and 4.
John didn’t arrive until about 7PM. (minus 2 stars… but wait!)
Starting at about 3:00, Susan (who took my call) at Bob Oates was in contact with me explaining the prior project was pretty big and John’s start time was up in the air. When she left for the work day (at about 5:00) she called to give me John’s cell phone number in case I needed to get ahold of him (rather than going to the messaging service.) I let her know John could come any time that night as long as he could fix the problem. I didn’t want to reschedule.
When John and Robert arrived they were professional and friendly, went to the water heater, did about 15 minutes of trouble shooting, and John figured out the problem — a filter thing — which should be cleaned annually — was gunked up. (it was the first time it had been cleaned in the 7 years I have had it.) John cleaned it, showed me how to clean it in the future. And he was done in about 20 minutes, (5 star work, minus the two stars for the late arrival)
Since it was a quick fix I asked him for a bonus item — I have an outdoor spigot that worked once, then didn’t work any longer (you could turn the handle, but no water came out.) In about 30 seconds he figured it out, got a wrench from Robert, and loosened something that was over-​tightened, and I got a SECOND item done in about 22 minutes. (plus 1 star, so now we are at 4 stars)
I was grateful for the two fixes, then I asked — do I write a check now or will I be billed? He said it was on the house (I think because the fixes were quick and I wasn’t a banshee about the late start) I was just happy to have someone come to the house to fix the problem, and Susan was able to re-​set my expectations that the start was going to be up in the air.
I am a new loyal customer of Bob Oates.

UPDATE!
We just moved into our new house in Magnolia and were told by the inspector that our water pressure was too high (so high that it could damage our appliances).
I called Bob Oates Plumbing and requested a service call to check it out.
They were able to come out within the next day or two– and arrived shortly before our 8am appointment.
Eric did some tests and confirmed that the water pressure was crazy high (I’m told 70−75psi is normal– ours was reading at 125−130psi).
Eric was quick, courteous, and did a terrific job at explaining what the problem was and how they were going to fix it. I know zero about plumbing– so it was great having a plumber who could explain it in simple terms that I could easily understand. I was really impressed at the transparency he offered when explaining the fix.
Top quality from start to finish.
I would absolutely be a reference for Bob Oates plumbing.
If you are considering using their services– please send me a message on Unilocal– as I’d be happy to tell you all about the excellent work they’ve done for me on the two occasions I’ve used them for a job.

There was standing water in our dishwasher this weekend, so we started looking for plumbers! Bob Oates was the only plumber we called on Saturday that actually picked up their phone, and I called quite a few, so props to them for that!
They arrived quickly and fixed the problem without having to run out to the store to get stuff — success in my book!