We had a major plumbing issue and got a quote from another nationwide company. I was pretty out of…read moremy depth to know if this was an appropriate amount or if I was being fleeced. I reached out to my brother-in-law, who does plumbing, and he said it was a fair amount. Still, he lives in another state and wanted a second opinion here in Chicago. I found VanderBosch because they ranked high on Google when I asked about the job. Actually, they had a whole blog post about the service and I learned a lot. Jordan called me back and let me run down the whole project and told me what they would charge. I walked away from the conversation really wanting to give the job to VanderBosch, but Jordan is a straight-shooter and told me that they couldn't finish the job as fast as his competitor (for boring, but significant reasons). So, this competitor to the initial company took the time to call me back, listen to my issue, give me the straight facts, and all because he was so focused on the well-being of a potential customer that in the end, couldn't even book his company. Why can't everybody be like this? This is some real "city of big shoulder" stuff from a Chicago-based company. In the end, I wasn't able to hire VanDerBosch, but they have a down payment on a future customer.

Van Der Bosch Plumbing's Hugh, Jordan and crew did an excellent job…read morerunning the plumbing & exhaust lines for my new laundry room! Their professionalism and skilled staff is the main reason why these guys are my GO TO plumbers for every one of my projects.

Used them in 2015 to fix something for our tub. Wrote a check for the service. A week later, our…read morechecking account info was stolen. How do I know it was them? We had written exactly one check from that account - to Your "Helpful" Plumber. For what it's worth, their work was shoddy as well. A few months later we had another plumber in to do another project. He ended up tearing out everything they had done and replaced it for us at cost because he felt bad that a fellow plumber had done such a shitty job.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! My downstairs neighbor was seeing…read moresome leaks in his ceiling that we thought might be coming from somewhere in our apartment. So I called Your Helpful Plumber to have someone come out for an inspection. On the phone, they were very helpful and friendly. They said they'd be able to get someone out the next day and that we wouldn't be charged for the inspection, only for any work that came after the inspection. The next day, the plumber came by to take a look, and he concluded that the leak was a result of recent heavy rains getting in through cracks in the exterior brick wall, not a plumbing issue. So I thought, great, we're all set then. BUT, then he charged me $250 for the inspection despite having told me that the inspection would be free. Now, 2 weeks later, our neighbor is still seeing leaks despite there having been no rain at all recently. So I tried to contact the company to have them send someone back out. But, every time I call, it goes straight to voicemail. I have left messages and sent several texts (I believe the number listed is the owner's cell, as he had texted me previously about scheduling the first appt) but have not heard anything from them. I texted the actual plumber who had come out for the inspection as well, and he said that they'd be happy to come back out for a second look at no charge, but that I'd have to contact the owner for scheduling. Now after 3 days of trying to contact them, our hardwood floors outside of the bathroom are buckling very severely, so I am pretty certain there is some kind of leaky pipe under there that needs to be addressed immediately, but I have still not been able to get a hold of them. I ended up having to schedule a different plumber, and now I'm on the line for an additional $150 after this company basically robbed me of $250 for not doing any actual work and then disappearing. Do yourself a favor and find a different plumber, these guys are super shady.

Ahmad: Five stars Marcus: Four stars…read morePete: Only came for consultation, brief convo Paul: Zero stars Bill (owner): Five stars because he's friendly while being very busy but NOT a fan of him sending Paul Adam: 5 stars (more of an apprentice but particular about cleaning and restocking: LOVE THAT!) I've wiped my hands of 4S Plumbing when it comes to one particular plumber. Kaycee is cool and she tries to keep everything organized, but some of the team members leave much to be desired. I'm fed up with Paul's temper tantrums and outbursts every time he arrives. It is easier to not talk to him at all and quietly let him work than to converse with him for too long. His son is surprisingly even-tempered, and I wish Adam would've showed up without him. Paul has been to our condo a couple of times to fix various issues and he's usually very good at his job. The problem is you have to stomach the attitude with the work. It is a 99% chance that he's going to start snapping and yelling about something. He'd replaced a wax ring in another unit when I was the condo board president, so when a pool of water appeared around my own toilet, I assumed it was the same issue. Although it's way less drama when Marcus or Ahmad show up, minus one time when Marcus couldn't figure out which pipe connected to which bathroom in the basement (and Paul easily figured this out even with 21 units to narrow down), I knew Paul had done this job before. He seemed to have a really tough time unscrewing the bolts and scratched up one side of my toilet. I can get a pumice stone or Barkeepers to fix that later. As far as I'm aware, he did replace the wax ring. I have no reason to believe he didn't before he put the toilet back in place. But then he demanded payment after it. I've hired 4S Plumbing at least a handful of times (possibly up to 10) and always pay electronically through their online platform. No one informed me that they no longer used it due to fees. Paul kept demanding payment via his private Zelle account even though I have always paid the company. Even when Zelle was an option, I paid the owner's company Zelle account, not the plumber's private one. He was so furious that I wouldn't pay him that he told Adam to stop packing up supplies when the job was done and said he was not leaving until he got paid. We both had to call the owner, Bill, who confirmed on speakerphone that I could "pay however I want." I've ALWAYS paid. Not only have I always paid, I've had to nag them to send me an invoice so I could pay. The last thing I'm going to do is cheat a contractor out of payment. After Paul hung up the phone on Bill (yet another disrespectful moment) and complained about how he's worked for the company for 15 years and never heard about an online site, he apologized a bunch of times and left. A month later, I have water pooling around my toilet again. I'm not dealing with this guy anymore. I asked for a different plumber to check his work. If it turned out to be something else wrong, I'd deal with that. But water was dripping behind my toilet and alongside it all over again. I don't think the wax ring he used worked or possibly caulking needs to be done. But the plumber who was supposed to come Thursday was a no-call, no-show. I called 3x and only heard he was on another job. A full 24 hours passed, and no one bothered to tell me what happened. Not cool. After complaining to the office, a plumber I'd never met before did a video call (after telling me repeatedly how far him driving here would be) to check Paul's work. He had other suggestions, which are useful. Regardless, Paul is NEVER welcome in my home again. This is the third time he's had an outburst. I'm over it. I'll hire another plumbing company if he's the only option that day! Side note: Tim did an amazing job on bath and shower upgrades for a family member's bathroom. It looked like a magazine photo when he was done. All of Ahmad's plumbing work is strategic, careful, often quick and never heard a complaint.

I would like to say that 4S plumbing was great but unfortunately I was never contacted or serviced…read morefor my scheduled estimate. I reached out for a help with a project via Yelp on 3/8/2021. The response from 4S was timely and provided me with all the information necessary to schedule my estimate. It was recommended that I schedule my estimate by texting William/Bill for the quickest response. I texted the number provided on 3/9/2021 and scheduled an estimate for my project with William/Bill for 3/10/2021 between 1pm and 3pm. It definitely was a quick and efficient way for scheduling a time that worked for both of us. A little bit before 1pm on 3/10 I texted asking for him to let me know when he was en route to my location so I could crate my dog prior to his arrival. I never heard back. I never received a phone call or text. Heck, not when even an email which he had as he asked for it when I provided all of my contact information. Nothing. Zilch. Zero. This is unfortunate and has lead me to be believe that I will most likely not be reaching out for 4S for an future plumbing needs.

Just a straightforward review based on my experience that hopefully provides some clarity for those…read morein need of urgent plumbing service. In my case, a faulty water heater needing to be replaced. The Good: incredibly responsive, tried to troubleshoot over the phone and worked to visit the immediate next day. The (Real) Bad: they price gouged me in a time of peril. Unacceptable. Knowing I was up against the ropes, they charged me what was nearly 3.5 times a normal charge for a water heater replacement! I asked for them to be more accommodating on the quote but came back with 'nothing we can do'. I guess they assumed I'd pay that exorbinant price. I didn't. I got quotes from two other responsive plumbers which proved Plumbing Department was attempting to gouge me. I'm glad I went elsewhere. It's a shame they have such speedy, friendly initial support, but followed it with egregious quotes. Hope they can do better in the future. UPDATE: spoke with owner, Jeff, to discuss the experience. To provide further details underscoring the notable pricepoint disparity: Plumbing Department - install Bradford White water heater with licensed, bonded and insured company Other Plumber Quotes at 3-3.5x less - install a Rheems Performance water heater from licensed, bonded, and insured company. I have no qualms with how Jeff chooses to operate and appreciated their initial support, but found the pricepoints for the install, at a moment of peril, arresting and glad I didn't settle with what was clearly an elevated pricepoint. I'm only sharing my experience and the notable pricepoint disparity.

I can't say enough good things about this entire company!…read moreEveryone in the office is great and the plumbers are outstanding. They do quality work and leave everything perfect when finished. I have worked with Reggie, Jeff and Brandon! They explain what's causing the problem and what they will do to fix it. Their work is top notch.

I am a Care Plan member of First Chicago Plumbing. During routine water heater maintenance, Eugene…read moredispatched a worker who left the water heater valve open and flooded my basement. While my basement was flooding, they were at their car doing who knows what. Their insurance formally admitted fault in writing, but are still denying liability. This has become a massive legal headache requiring us to retain an attorney. Avoid this company and it's owner Eugene at all costs. They also do business as AP Construction Inc Chicago Plumber's License: SBC198939 Don't fall for the positive reviews. If/when they mess up, you'll regret having to deal with these unethical people.

Paid 1600 for jetting maintence on our kitchen line not 3 weeks later kitchen floor drains backed…read moreup .. called for emergency service left many messages no call back no response . I got A &P grease Trappers Inc they came out on a Sunday explained what a half ass job First Chicago Plumbing did . They jetted the inside and the main line and cleaned out the triple basin for 1300 . Beware i am guessing First Chicago has new crew new ownership from when i used them last year . Using them costed me a busy Sunday lost sales and still no response any questions call Wishbone restaurant

The team came out in a matter of days to install a new spigot (so, not an emergency). They faced…read moresome complications with the install but didn't charge us extra and stood by their estimate. Really pleased with the work and the professionalism of the team and office support staff.

It's been a while (2022), but they came out to look at a leak with one of our water heaters. They…read morefound multiple issues and said the equipment was too old and they needed to replace both of them. They quoted us $5k and some additional cost to check the HVAC while they were there. The HVAC check seemed like everything was fine, but they used it as a sales op to try and sell me new furnace and humidifier, which was working fine at the time (and continues to function 4 years later). Thankfully their 1-year VIP service was the most valuable part of it, because one of the joins for the new water heaters started leaking again almost 12 months later. However, when they came out, they couldn't get the water main to close in our unit, so they quoted me to replace it as an additional cost instead. We said no, and gradually loosened the water main valve to the point where we could get it to close. We believe it was debris from the water main for the building being shut off multiple times for other work recently. Once we resolved that issue, we were able to get them to actually repair their failing original work at no cost. Not sure I would recommend.

I own a town home. I've had numerous problems with my sewer and have had several plumbers look at…read moreit. Most recently about 25 feet of sewer line outside my garage crashed. The first plumber knew there was a problem because he put about 40 feet of rod through the clean out in the kitchen, which came with the house. He noted that it was only about 17 feet to the sewer main. He didn't have a camera and never came back. I called the plumber I normally use. I thought that if I was going to change a pipe, I might as well have a clean out installed. He located the problem and dug a hole about 5 feet down. There wasn't a pipe there. Before talking to me, he dug a hole a couple feet away and changed a pipe to install a clean out. He threw out the pipe before I could see it and tried to convince me that there was a second problem. He didn't come back to seal the hole until I called the Illinois Attorney General. I called a third plumber who located the problem in the common area. He dug a hole so deep they hand to dig a stairway so they could get in and out. I called a fourth plumber who located the break on a 45 degree angle in the common area. I contacted All Star Plumbing and Sewer. Michael found the problem right away. They dug a hole about 3 feet deep 6 inches from where the second plumber dug his first hole around 2 feet from the end of the clean out. The pipe actually went straight down. It kind of makes sense because some units had basements, but the issue is I had about 15 feet of unnecessary pipe and about 3 unnecessary turns. All Star fixed that design flaw by putting an elbow on the end of the pipe and turning it out. They verified that there were no tie ins after that point. I put gallons of water through that pipe to test it. It works great. The other thing is All Star is legit. As part of the due diligence, I checked his license with both Chicago and Illinois on their web site. He gave me a copy of his insurance certificate. I even checked his business with the State of Illinois and it's in good standing. He gave me the permit and dig numbers. I could see where the utility companies marked the lines. I was there with the building inspector when he examined the work. He wouldn't take Bill or my word for anything. He wanted to see it. The inspection passed with flying colors. He was listed as A+ on the Better Business Bureau's web site. His Yelp reviews were all 5 Star. I agree All Star Plumbing and Sewer deserves all the stars so I'm giving them another 5 start review. The icing on the cake is their price is reasonable.

Not good service. Mike charged me $725 to change stems and handles in my shower. Put them in wrong…read more. The shower continues to leak. Call the number on the website. The father said he went to Tennessee don't know when he's coming back. Told me he's got other customers to take of why am I letting a little drip bother me. I just have to wait. I told him I'm trying to rent out the apartment ASAP. Bill said , well they aren't moving in tonight are they? What a piece of work. They didn't have to wait to get paid Ripped me off and I'm a 70 year old woman.

A neighbor referred me to Netzel Plumbing after I discovered a leak coming from an upstairs unit…read more They were prompt in following up and arrived within their scheduled window. I am handy but decided to call a professional for this job. I was informed that I would pay about $235 for the first hour. I was a bit surprised that it was nearly $800 in labor and parts to replace a shower cartridge and make a minor tweak to the spout. I paid for probably 30 minutes of time just having water run to confirm there was no leak. I cannot complain about their quality, but due to the cost, I will request a formal written quote and reach out to other plumbers in the future.

Service was excellent. I've been using Netzel Plumbing Inc since 2022 and their plumbers are…read moreconsistently professional and skilled. The company owner (Jacob) is very knowledgeable and accommodating, and stands by his company's work. For my most recent issue he sent Fredy who was amazing; very professional, respectful and extremely quality and detail oriented (I plan to ask for Fredy in the future if needed). I'm not sure how Netzel's charges are compared to other Chicagoland plumbing services, but I feel no need to "call around" as I'd rather stay with a company I trust which is Netzel Plumbing