We had a 60 year old side sewer that failed causing water, being drained from our washing machine, to come up through the floor drain in our basement. Phil was able to come out within a matter of a couple hours, get water flowing again and further assess what the root cause of our problem was (and roots - growing into our sewer line - were just the beginning...). Where it was painful to fork over cash to upgrade a system that we so commonly take for granted and hope never to see, working with Phil and his team made the ordeal FAR more bearable. Here's how: - First, Phil didn't have an 'emergency premium' that he applied to come out and get the 3 inches of standing water out of my basement ASAP. Where I understand this was pretty common practice in the plumbing trade, I was pleasantly surprised when Phil told me on the phone that, "that's not how I do business." - Second, the price Phil quoted us actually stuck. I've heard countless horror stories of "cost creep" when renovating or restoring such integral home systems as a side sewer, so at the outset, I was skeptical when he told me that, "if I have to dig a hole a foot deeper than I thought during the quote, you won't even know about it". Phil stuck to his word - and it's a good thing for me that he did as I was astounded to watch these guys dig multiple holes ranging from about 6-11' deep!!?! - Phil and his crew were punctual, and managed their time well. Unlike some tradesmen I've worked with in the past, Phil and his men showed up early and stayed late. They brought in food so lunch breaks DID NOT turn into a few hours each day with a vacant work-site. - They were tidy and did everything in their power to minimize impact to my house and yard. The trenchless approach to sewer replacement was a great low-impact approach for us but even then, when you consider the holes mentioned above, let me tell you - that dirt has to be put somewhere when it's not in the ground. Phil's crew was extremely conscientious and went out of their way to lay out tarps and position mounds of dirt such as to minimize any adverse impact on our gardens. Additionally, our job required that they remove some concrete to access the existing line. When the work was done, new high strength concrete was skillfully used to patch and replace the existing slab and all of the old concrete was hauled off-site. - Lastly, they were respectful of the fact that my family and I still had to live in the house (and use the plumbing) while they were working. Where our project took multiple days to complete, there wasn't a single evening during which we were unable to use our bathroom. Phil and his men worked to a plan and systematically made sure they didn't destroy more of the old line than they could replace in the span of a working day. As such, they were able to "temp-in" our sewer before the end of each day, ensuring we still had access to these crucial amenities. ...I hope never to deal with my side-sewer again, or any other side-sewer for that matter, though if I should need to, I'll have no reservations about picking up the phone and calling Phil and the guys at Alki Sewer. They're fast, friendly, honest and fair and make the work as fun as it can possibly be while yielding a very professional result. Thanks again Alki Sewer! read more

We were cleaning out the basement and moved some furniture away from the wall to discover mold from an old leak on the foundation. Called several companies for estimates and Phil responded immediately. He promptly came out to take a look at the cause. We live in Kirkland and it was quite a trek for him. He was very professional, patient, and willing to answer millions of questions. His rates were extremely reasonable and he was very flexible to come up with a solid plan to address our needs. He had a crew of 2 to dig a 38ft. long trench, tar 3 thick layers, lay piping, cover & fix our downspouts, and make sure everything was functioning smoothly. They laid down tarp so that the neighbors yard wasn't disturbed by all the dirt and cordoned off the area when they left at the end of the first day. As soon as they arrived at our home they went straight to work and didn't stop except for a quick lunch. They worked hard, were very efficient, and when the job was completed it was left in better condition. Throughout all this work, Phil was very easy to reach if we had questions or requests. He was clear in his communication, giving us updates and making sure we were satisfied with their work. We needed some follow up work done a week later and he promptly responded and addressed further work immediately. His customer service ethic is outstanding! We will definitely call Phil (Alki Sewer) if we need any similar work done in the future. We highly recommend this company and will definitely refer him to friends & family. read more

My experience dealing with Phil and Alki Sewer was extremely positive. We knew it was just a matter of time before the side sewer to our 100+ year old home would need to be replaced. The sewer recently backed up on a night that we had company. I called one of the big sewer rooter companies. They came out but could not clear the "soft plug." Told me I needed to act right away to clear the blockage with a high pressure device at a shockingly high cost. I decided to get other estimates and opinions. I called Phil after reading the reviews here. He came out first thing to take a look and ended up getting the line to clear after spending over an hour manually pushing the blockage with his camera line. No charge! He showed us the reason for our backup with the camera: roots intruding into the old clay pipe and areas of pipe that were breaking up and detached. We decided to replace the old pipes. Phil's bid to replace them was well below than the 1st company's bid for just clearing the pipe. Alki Sewer's pipe replacement started a day or so later using the pipe bursting method. Phil and his crew were great. All good guys. They did everything they said they would do -- no surprises, very considerate, kept us well-informed. Start to finish -- three days. Very low key and extremely competent. The holes were refilled and concrete and lawn perfectly restored. Phil obviously loves his job and takes great pride in the great work that his company does. We couldn't have had a better experience. read more

Found my plumber for life! We had a toilet backing up and called one of the big guys. They really couldn't find the problem but charged us anyway. Than they gave us a quote for a fix that in the end was not the problem, for big $. I decided to look around and found Alki Sewer on Yelp and was blown away by the reviews. Phil and his crew came out and found the problem which they corrected in a few quick hours. After the fix the toilet still backed up and I started to worry as I wasn't sure how Phil would react. I had no need to worry, Phil came back the first thing next morning and after a considerable amount of trouble shooting found a broken sewer line. He dug up several feet of dirt and made the fix. The amazing thing is he didn't charge a cent more, he stood by his original bid to fix the problem. Phil is a standup guy in an industry that can be shady. Very friendly and personable also as is his crew. This is a guy that really knows his stuff and is honest. I can't recommend him highly enough. read more

When our shower and toilet kept backing up, we decided it was time to call in the professionals. The quote from Alki Sewer was half the amount of the other 2 quotes I got. Phil and his crew were fantastic! There were 3 obstacles they encountered...excess concrete from a contractor in the 90's, a storm drain & a 2" diameter schedule 80 steel pipe driven through half of the sewer pipe, which was the cause of the yearly back-up. The other companies wanted extra money for every obstacle. Phil's quote stayed the same even though the obstacles made the job much more difficult. They completed the job in 12 hours and they hauled away all of the debris that I said I would take care of. I had no choice but to tip them after seeing what they went through to fix the problem. I will never look anywhere else for sewer repair and definitely recommend Alki Sewer to anyone who is looking for sewer repair work to be done. Thanks for being honest & hard working with a good sense of humor. GREAT JOB!! read more

Absolutely horrible person and terrible service. The owner of this business is racist and bigoted. Openly hates lesbians and Indian people. He is currently charged with MANSLAUGHTER for being so negligent on a job site that he killed his own employee. That's right, Phillip is so terrible at his job he literally killed his employee, leaving behind a wife and children. Do not use him. Never use him. Avoid him at all costs. The "work" he did at my house was completely wrong and was not what I asked for. When I asked him to fix it he more or less told me no. He demanded to be paid in all cash. He used vulgar language and drank on the job site, in the morning nonetheless. He promised he would clean up the mess he made but never did. When I commented on it he got very angry. Again, avoid this person. Look up his MANSLAUGHTER case. It is the first of the kind. Also look up his OSHA violations. This person is terrible both as a sewage worker and as a human. read more

I live in Capitol Hill in a house built in 1960. I started to have flow problems with my toilets and I called a large plumbing company. They showed by, messed up my bathroom, and then wanted to do a huge job digging up my whole back yard. I asked them to leave and called Phil. I learned about him from reading other Yelp reviews. He came to my house in one hour and immediately knew what was wrong. He used a high-tech, expensive diagnostic camera, which confirmed his initial guess. The next day he came with two very fast working (and cute too :-) ) guys and in eight hours I had everything back in order in my house. The problem was with a tree root, which grew into my old pipe. They dug a big hole, replaced an old pipe with a new one and restored my walkway in one day. The work was fairly priced and had full warranty. I will call Phil again for all my sewer needs. read more

Alki should DEFINITELY be one of the contractors you contact - of the three I reached out to about our side sewer, Phil was by far the most responsive, knowledgeable, and (as my wife said) "most passionate about sewers." Most importantly, he truly wanted to help us solve our side sewer issue at least cost to us, even advising us on how to push back with the city when the responsibility for our particular issue was unclear (which was not in his financial interest ). He rescoped our line even after the official video inspection to better understand the work himself, and gave us great advice with zero pressure. His price was a little higher than the other contractor we considered for our particular issue, but if you value integrity, reliability, and diligence in your contractors, you will also find yourself writing a five star review. read more

We had a challenging project: replace the sewer pipe from our Mt Baker house to the middle of the street, with the pipe going under our deck and retaining wall. I checked out a couple other contractors first, but didn't move forward because their proposed approach and $$ quote didn't pass the common sense test. I found Alki through their Yelp reviews. Phil assessed the project and developed a plan of action. His crew finished the work with no sweat and handled a couple unexpected items without any further charge from the original quote. I appreciated that Phil took the time to explain what needed to be done and why. It's no fun having to replace sewer pipes. But at least we got it done right and for a reasonable price, with confidence that it's going to last. One of the best experiences with a contractor that we've had. read more

Although I wish we had never had a sewer problem and I'd have to be writing this review, we couldn't have asked to work with a better contractor for this no-fun-at-all issue. Phil came out within a day of our shower downstairs backing up with sewage and he quickly found our sewer line was broken and cracked where it Y'd in our yard (and having a Y caused it to drain slowly too.) The next day he came out, had his worker dig a big hole in our yard, and replaced the line with a brand new high-quality line that is now a 90-degree angle instead of the Y design. Our line has been draining wonderfully and we are so happy we called Phil! He really is the best in the business and very knowledgeable of this field. He was reasonably priced, responsive, professional and thorough. And fun to talk to to-boot! read more

Thought I had a sewer pipe issue because I was occasionally smelling an odor outside my front door this past summer/fall. Scheduled an appointment with Phil who came over, scoped the sewer pipe for free and explained what he saw. There was nothing obvious in the sewer pipe except it being old. He further investigated and noticed that the problem was with the low lying drain by my basement front door. He recommended simple fixes that we could do ourselves and there was no charge for the visit. He did not give me a sales pitch which I appreciated. He just informed me that since my pipes were from the 1930s and did not have seals in the joints that we should consider updating them eventually. He was down to earth, knowledgeable and I felt comfortable relying on him. A 5 star experience indeed. read more

I am a new homeowner and just moved into my house 3 months ago, and when I heard water constantly running through the pipes in my house I called several different companies to come out and take a look at what was going on. I was a nervous wreck after speaking with the different plumbers who came to give me estimates. After getting several outrageous bids for fixing the main water line to my house, I called Alki Sewer. Phil was awesome and came over immediately. He diagnosed the problem and walked me through what was going on with the pipes. He gave me a very reasonable bid to run a new line to my house and was very reassuring. Ultimately I went with another company for the work because of scheduling, however if I ever have problems in the future I will definitely call Alki Sewer. read more

I called Phil on a Thursday to come assess the blocked sewer line at a house my son just purchased in South Seattle. He came out the next day to assess the situation and showed up the following Monday (the house was vacant so there was no great hurry to fix the line) to repair a collapse next to the house and assess the rest of the line. After fixing the collapse near the house he identified another problem near the street and fixed it the following day. Phil left the property cleaner than he found it. Phil provided excellent service at a very reasonable price, and was a pleasure to work with. And with Phil you are dealing with the guy who owns the business and does much of the work himself, not a salesman you'll never see again once you sign the contract. read more

Not enough can be said about Phil at Alki Sewer. In addition to being personable and friendly, he is an expert in his field. I have had sewer problems off and on for years, and after a major flood I found Phil. I chose him because of all the great reviews he had received. Not only did he fix my problem, but when there was a minor glitch, he came right over without hesitation and it was after 8PM. He came back and fixed the issue and with all the rain we have had the last two weeks, I can thankfully say my basement is dry. BTW, he was very reasonable and fair about the price and never charged me for repeated visits until the job was done. Thank you Phil. You are a gem. read more

Phil at Alki Sewer is amazing! We had a major backup in our only bathroom right before we were expecting out of town visitors. After calling several places with no one returning our calls, Phil personally came out on a Sunday to clear the blockage. Turned out the sewer line was in danger of collapsing! Phil was extremely informative of the problem and very considerate negotiating the costs considering the emergency we were facing. Phil and his crew came out promptly the next day, did a ton of work and finished it all before 2pm. I am very grateful Phil answered my call and I will definitely use Alki Sewer for any future needs. These guys get my highest recommendations. read more

Phil came out to look at my sewer lines because I thought I was having a problem with tree roots. He inspected both lines and determined that there was not a major problem, but recommended installing a cleanout on one side of the house where he couldn't fit the scope to see what was going on. His quote for the job was very reasonable -- I haven't decided yet if or when I'll follow up to do the work, but overall I was very impressed with his willingness to walk through and explain everything and overall honesty. He makes a point not to up-sell you on things you don't need, which is a huge relief for a new homeowner! read more

Phil is definitely knowledgeable and passionate about sewer lines- if you let him, he'll talk your ear off about sewer lines! But the guy knows his stuff. His bid was much lower than another one I received from another large west seattle plumbing outfit, he completed the work even faster than he estimated, and everything has been great since. I didn't believe him when he said he could dig several giant pits in our yard, replace all that pipe, and afterwards it would be like they'd never been there- but that's exactly what happened. Which is, I suppose, the best one can hope for in a sewer replacement. read more

Phil is terrific. I called one of the Rooter companies to come out and clean my line. It was a two man tag team, it felt like the old used car lot scams. I called Phil, he came out with his camera and explained everything we saw and what would be needed to make a complete and lasting result. I went online and looked up everything that was said to me by both parties, Phil's advice was correct, and his bid was under the national average. He is a working dynamo and he kept adding things to the job to make it better without raising the price. I recommend him to anyone without reservation. read more

Phil is as good as the previous reviews reflect. I left a message this evening (Saturday) for Phil, explained that I needed a septic inspection and was hoping he might be able to help and asked for it to occur on Monday. He responded within 10 minutes via text, explained that an inspection was beyond his scope of work but provided me with a very good referral. Ladies and gentlemen: Customer Service is not dead, just hard to find.... Just give Phil a call and you won't regret it. If ever I need repair or replacement, Phil will be the guy I'm calling!!! :) read more