Bay Area Sewer Inspections

Just had John here to check out my 1928 cast iron lines.

I had flushed a small rag down a toilet by mistake and wanted to avoid any problems. Everything was working fine, but I called out Benjamin Franklin, a Diamond Certified full service plumber, to inspect the lines. They said that the rag was gone from the pipes to the sewer...but, a $7000 cast iron line partial replacement was recommended by Benjamin Franklin. The work recommended would have caused a lot of collateral damage to my exterior stucco, etc. etc. It would been $10000 or so to me if I did the job when all is said and done. From the B. Franklin guy..."You don't want them to break and put sewage in your house." -- "They're fragile from corrosion." Lots of my cast iron piping is inside the exterior walls above ground in utility areas and in the sub area of the house.

I called John to check my lines to verify the need for replacement. I did not tell him about the Ben. Franklin recommendation.

He gave my lines a very positive clean bill of health. I'm relieved and appalled all at the same time. Relieved to know my pipes are in great shape all the way to the sewer (a long run, above and below ground...100-plus feet.) Grateful to John for his expertise and appalled that a so-called Diamond Certified plumber is operating this way. I am so tired of the "rip-off" mentality in our world today.

I got in touch with John immediately when I saw signs of blockage in my sewage pipe. He diagnosed my issue over the phone and immediately knew what needed to be done. He arrived at the agreed time and serviced my sewage pipe with a hydrojet clearing the blockage of tree roots and other debris. Post service, John gave me clear advice on how to keep the pipe clear of blockage and also how to properly clean the mess made from the drainage backing up. I highly recommend Bay Area Sewer Inspections because of the high level of service and the reasonable price.

I contacted John after receiving a referral from one of his colleagues. I needed to schedule a Sewer Lateral Inspection for an upcoming listing and he responded immediately. He was professional and cordial and completed the inspection the very next day.

Based on his recommendation, John and his crew also hydro jetted the home's kitchen drain pipe and sewer lateral to clear out accumulated grease and debris, and to prevent a future blockage. This procedure was done within several days of the initial inspection. I highly recommend Bay Area Sewer Inspections -- John is a pleasure to work with and his service is exemplary.

I called John and he came over within 2 hours and immediately diagnosed the issue. He hydrojetted and cleared the blockage immediately. John also provided good guidance around keeping the pipes clean and created an action plan if the issue returned. Super lovely guy and able to get the job done. Highly recommend.

I've been waiting to write this to see if our problem was finally fixed. It was!
We had been experiencing a clogged drain sewer to the main line for a year. Each time we called a plumbing company and they came out and flushed and snaked the line. It would last 2-3 months and same problem arose. When we called back the companies they gave us a huge estimate to repair the pipe and problem.
We finally called John from BA Sewer and he came out and scoped the line. He told us our line had several cracks and roots growing in pipe. He didn't recommend snaking it as it was a waste of money. He told us to replace the cracked pipe from house to street. Estimate was half of the other companies. He and Sean came out and finished the job in 2 1/2 days. Very efficient, communication was great and work was outstanding. John and Sean are very down to earth people who will not give you any BS. They're honest local people who did a fantastic job. I would highly recommend them. You can call other plumbers but you'll be let down if you don't compare John's company.

Needed camera work for a recurring issue. Sean and John were responsive, quick to schedule, up front pricing with no hidden gotcha fees and provided reliable advice with little bs.
Would for sure recommend for any inspection. They are bidding on a bigger job and will let you know how the work is when it's done!

My kitchen drain pipe and sewer lateral were clogged and backing up into my garage. After wasting money on a different plumber who said the pipe needed to be replaced ($$$$), I called John. John came the same day, and quickly diagnosed the problem by running a video camera into the sewer lateral and pipe. He hydro-jetted the line and now everything has been running smoothly. John has years of experience and is very knowledgeable in working with San Francisco sewer lines.

They have been very responsive, professional and extremely competitive, price wise. This is their expertise. Do not even bother with some plumbing companies that also do sewer lateral. I have already referred them more than once and everyone is happy with them. Great job and thank you.

John and Sean are both fantastic - truly terrific service. We had a fully blocked pipe that they hydro-jetted as well as used a camera to see clearly any issues. The day following service I even received a check-in call to make sure everything is flowing smoothly. Two really good honest guys who I will certainly be using again

I had recently paid another company to camera and clear my sewer as it became slow and then very slow. Previous company came out and did work but 3 weeks later, the same problem was backing up into my lower level bathroom. I quickly stopped all water use but the 3am heavy rain also overwhelmed my slow sewer drain. I was a bit over a barrel on a Saturday so I made a few calls/emails and described my situation. I could limit our water use to keep the issue from happening but I wanted a resolution come Monday. John and Bay Sewer called later on Saturday and we talked through my issue and set up a site visit to resolve on Monday. Problem was diagnosed with John and his son, both very good straight up guys. They fixed my issue for the near term 3-6 months and have determined where my issue is for a fix in the new year that will require a section of clay pipe to be replaced as I have pesky roots in the joints that will cause my problems to return. I have trust in their plan of attack for the new year.

John and his son Sean are honest, easy to work with, competent, and extremely knowledgeable about sewer systems. They evaluated a problematic main sewer line that another plumber told me would be a $60k replacement project and determined they could solve my problem much less expensively and equally effectively by creating a new cleanout and power jetting the line. Instead of a major replacement, I will have them re-jet the line every 12-18 months. I would highly recommend them for any external sewer project.