Rhino Rooter

Do you want a «LIEN» mean, clean sewage line? If so, read on.
First the good — in the spirit of fairness. Our main sewage line from the house, down a hill, and into the city drain far down the hill, had to be completely replaced. The line was repaired/​replaced and was done so on time. We’ve had no further issues with it. The son, a really nice guy, in the operation was formerly In the armed services, and I was happy to give my business to him.
Now the bad. This story should serve as a lesson to anyone who hires a contractor for any work. Be aware that a contractor can file a «mechanic’s lien» against basically any home owner who he feels owes them money. It’s very easy to do and can cause you the home owner a great deal of problems, especially with credit issues. Also, if you want to refinance your house and Joe Blow has filed a lien against you for $ 100, you’re out of luck. Once filed and accepted — it almost always is according to a lawyer I spoke with — you have to either pay to get rid of it — what the contractor wants you to pay — or hire an attorney to get rid of it by proving that it was b.s. But hiring a lawyer to have a lien rescinded because Joe Blow is simply trying to extract more money from you costs money, and so when a contractor threatens you with a lien against your home for something less than $ 5000, you might as well pay because to not pay it and get rid of that lien, you will probably end up paying that much. So the contractor in these situations has a weapon — the «mechanic’s lien» — to place you at his mercy.
The amount in question between Rhino and me was roughly $ 3000. The project required extra work and no estimate was given prior to the work starting. I thought notification of that step up, was required. Mind you this was originally a $ 5000 project that very legitimately went up to $ 7500 in costs. But then the bill came in around $ 10,500. I didn’t want to pay that $ 3000, at least not all of it, without some discussion and some serious questions I had about the nature and costs of some of the additional charges. Quite honestly it looked like the bill was being padded. Regardless, the owner demanded the money, and threatened immediately to file a mechanic’s lien against my house unless I paid that $ 3000 by some deadline. We went back and forth on email and managed to drive the charges in question down to about $ 1500. But he was ready to file that lien at any moment. Fortunately for me, his guys forgot to fill back up a trench in my neighbor’s property, which I didn’t realize until the city told me. So the city couldn’t sign off on it. And the rule is that if the permit hasn’t been signed off, and the work thus not completed, you can’t file that lien. That gave me some time. I had my landscaper «backfill» the trench with surrounding dirt that he charged me $ 50 for rather than have the Rhino guys come back. They would have done it for free because that was part of the project and the initial $ 5000 bid. But I wanted to show the guy that a trench can be back filled for $ 50, not $ 400 or so.
So now Rhino couldn’t file the lien because they had not completed the original work that fell under the $ 5000 estimate. It was an honest mistake, but could have been a problem if my neighbor’s kid would have ventured down there. But no harm no foul, and the permit was signed off by the city. Rhino took the $ 50 off the disputed amount — they paid it. To get this very unpleasant experience behind me, I paid him half the now lower disputed amount which had come down considerably from the original $ 3000. Because once the work is in fact completed — and signed off by the city — by the original contractor or by yourself, the contractor can still come after you with that lien. So the threat was back on and I felt forced to pay.
The amount I ended up paying was acceptable considering that the project did in fact become more complex and required additional work that was not in the spirit of the contract. But the process of getting to that point — being grossly overcharged, in my opinion, being threatened with a lien almost immediately, and then finding out the original work hadn’t actually been completed — was a very unpleasant one. A mechanic’s lien is a scary thing, and Rhino wields that weapon highly effectively and early on. The work was done well and on time (except for the hole that wasn’t back-​filled), but the highly aggressive use of the mechanic’s lien as a way to extract money from a homeowner is in my opinion, deplorable.
I’ve tried my best to be objective and accurate here, and I hesitated to write about this precisely because it was so unpleasant. But homeowners need to be made aware of these incidents, and how easy it is for a contractor to use the threat of a mechanic’s lien against you. I’ve worked with numerous contractors and not once had a lien even come up in any conversation. Here, it came up very quickly

I would give them zero stars if I could. One of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with a service company. We had the outfit do a new trench for our sewer and had nothing but major problems with the work, the crew (the a-​hole owner and his thug of a son) and the price. They will give you one price as a bid and then after the work is finished will hit you with a much larger bill and then intimidate you to pay them by threaten you. These people should be working on sewers because they are compete Sh-​t!!! Beware and steer clear!!!

This review is particular Insofar as it does not necessarily reflect on the service provided by the company, but rather they’re integrity. They are a full service professional outfit which has a good reputation in the circles I run with. They were updating and replacing a line of hard wearing workhorse type tools, and selling their old lot off super cheap. I bought one of their old units on a strictly no guarantee, as is, repair it as needed basis, for about a tenth of the new retail value. The unit ran well initially, then soon failed in a freakish and catastrophic manner caused by the shearing of a bolt. Basically an unpredictable and rare event, which irreparably destroyed the machine (if there was any suspicion that this might have occured, a ten minute and two dollar fix would have cured it.) I called Gary back to tell him of my misfortune, and rather unexpectedly, he immediately offered to return the full amount the purchase price. I feel like most folks out there would rightly commiserate in my bad luck, and offer condolences. Since there was no guarantee implicit in the sale, I was not expecting an offer of a full refund whatsoever. Though truth be told, I was fishing for some type of recompense beyond an empathetic understanding of what it means to have such an awesome and new tool destruct within minutes of falling in love with it. In any case, Gary took me for my word and promptly returned the money. I thought that was a righteous move which reflects well upon the integrity and character of his company.

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.

I have to rewrite my first recommendation. Rhino Rooter was out here to clear my sewer line. I spoke to the son and told him last time, 2 years ago they jetted the line and it lasted for 2 years but he told me he could just clear the line with the snake, he did but unfortunately It only lasted for a few weeks. I called them back today but they will not come out and redo it unless I pay full price for jetting. I payed $ 185.00 to have it snaked to have it jetted it is $ 285.00, I would gladly payed the extra $ 100.00 but not the full price when it only lasted a few weeks. Not using them again!!! I also had them fix my toilet the day after the snaking. They told me it would cost $ 300.00 and I say ok. When they were done I gave them the check but he told me it was now $ 443.00. I had to write another check but was surprised they never got my ok or spoke to me about the higher price. I would have been ok with it if everything had been working but after my phone conversation this morning I am now understanding why they got so many bad reviews.

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.

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.

These guys did a great job for us. Dealt with a leaking pipe/​sewer issue very efficiently. Highly recommend!

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.

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.

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 ½ 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.

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.

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 1^st 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).

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!

They seem to have good reviews on Unilocal 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.

Gary arrived early to each of our four appointments to replace our Berkeley sewer lateral. His bid was lower than the competitors, but he is very professional and friendly, and his crew was fast and courteous, and they left the site clean. Although I hope I won’t be needing them again, I’ll definitely be calling Rhino Rooter if we have any sewer issues in the future.

Well, not so satisfied, overall. Got «referred» by another fellow so I didn’t really have chance to research this outfit ahead of time. Seemed to be a little bit of a fast talker, but OK, we take a chance.
First sign: he wanted to move up appointment time because he was ahead of schedule — it was inconvenient for me but I said I’d be there in 15 minutes. Had quoted $ 125 over the phone and again in person though did not specify what was included in that price. I explained what I needed and eventually he agreed to get started. I warned him that there might be water in the line and indeed there was. I procured a garbage can so there’d not be a mess. A good 30 or 40 gallons emptied into the can. Then he started to snake his camera in. It went in maybe 17 ft and hit an obstruction. He then used his magnetic device to try to locate it but we ended up locating it by him rattling the thing and me listening. He offered to cut the pipe at the obstruction for another 495. When I balked because I had an open job with another plumber and it did not make sense to change in mid job and it became clear it wouldn’t be a big payout day, he informed me that this «clearing operation» wouldn’t be covered by that original 125 and that it would be 250 altogether (never mind that he didn’t actually clear the obstruction — just told me it was there — helpful info to be sure — but…). That means I paid a guy 125 to empty a pipe into a trash can and attach a hose and pump to the trash can so we would not have to carry it. And 125 to not succeed at actually videoing the pipe.

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!

Rhino Rooter charged my husband and me $ 3600 to run a new sewer line three days ago. Today we have sewage backing up into our home and along the side of the house because Rhino Rooter never connected the sewer line to the house! I think that’s is something that a company would know is necessary to do! Now we are stuck. It’s Sunday, and Rhino Rooter has no phone number for weekend service! We called another company who came out, and $ 250 later we were told the sad news about what RR didn’t do! Would I recommend this company? Heck NO!

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 ½ 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. ½ hour later he said he was still ½ 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!

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.

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.

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!

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

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!