Bay Area Sewer Inspections

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.

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 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.

John and Sean were fantastic!  I had an overflow issue in my house driving me insane.  After getting several other quotes, Bay Area Sewer Inspections was the most reasonable ( keep on mind sewer inspection and cleaning isn't the most cheapest).  They came out, showed me the issue via a camera, used sonar equipment to verify the blockage, and promptly hydro cleaned the pipes.  In and out within two hours.  Not only we're they extremely knowledgeable and professional but they were familiar with the homes in my area and the layout.

John was great, he showed up on time and outlined my options in a very easy way to understand. Definitely would recommend.

John came the same day I called and was on-time, professional and so nice to work with!  My main sewer line was clogged with tree roots and backing up. John quickly cleaned the pipe and showed me the condition of the pipe using a camera. He explained what was wrong and my options. He's very familiar with the homes in the area and knew exactly what to do. Highly recommend!

10/10 excellent service! We had a urgent sewer issue at home and John was quick to respond. He came quickly, assessed the problem, and fixed our pipes in no time. He made the entire thing seamless. Very nice guy. If you run into any plumbing/sewer issues, I definitely recommend John!

Back in February 2020, our office was having flooding issues with sewer backflow. So I called up Bay Area Sewer after seeing their positive reviews on Yelp and they sure didn't disappoint. John P was quickly able to point out the source of the problem and fixed it. He also explained to me in layman's terms how to avoid the same problem in the future .

From now on they would be our go-to guys when we need to have the pipes flushed and inspected. Would definitely recommend this company.

We are a real estate broker. John helped us out with a sewer scope on a property we were inspecting. Fast and responsive.

John came right away to give us an inspection while selling our house. He did that for free! He diagnosed the problem with our sewer, and then had a competitive price, and we chose him. Great person, and great work too

Absolutely terrible experience with John. I had him perform an evaluation before purchasing my house and he recommended hydro flushing which he performed as soon as I moved in. Unfortunately, the very next day I had repeat flooding in my garage which has progressively gotten worse.

He said he would come back out and take a look but cancelled on me 3 times and stopped returning calls. When he finally was ready to come back out he said he would give me a $50 discount and only charge me $600 to repeat services he didn't perform adequately the first time.

Do not recommend. Stay away.

Great experience with John.  I was worried we would need a new sewer line after several back-ups in recent months, but John was able to identify the problem as invading roots, and hydro cut them out right then and there.  

John is friendly, professional, and polite.  I highly recommend him for that troublesome sewer!

Referral of a referral that was excellent.  I was connected to John via another plumber.  One email and I had a returned phone call that night.  We set up a time and as promised, right on schedule John kept our time.  Reviewed the issues of my clog.  Helped me diagnose problem and I was up and running.
Reliable.
Professional.
Knowledgeable.

John gets five stars from me.  Done!

Thanks John.  Celeste

John and his team were stellar in quickly resolving our plumbing issue. They were responsive to our call during after hours, arrived at our house promptly, and unclogged our main pipe using a hydro-jet in very little time. He and his son were professional and incredibly friendly, and their pricing was more than fair. I would highly recommend!!

Wanted to share my experience with BASI. I had another contractor come out to evaluate my lateral sewer line because of previous clogging. This contractor recommended to replace the sewer lateral line out to the street. ( BIG $$$$). I call BASI for a 2nd opinion, John and Sean come out right away, did there due diligent on the sewer line identified some root, but the roots was not causing any flow problem. BASI recommendation was not do anything right now. I'm so glad I call BASI, John and Sean are experience and knowledgeable of their craft. If you have problems with your sewer line call BASI they are a honest contractor.

John Prior, you saved the day for my client last week. Just closed on a new house and boom, garage starts flooding from the drain. She called some unknown company that came out, charged her a fortune and said they snaked the drain and cleared the roots... except they didn't. An hour later it was backed up and flooding. I called John, he raced over, ran his camera through the sewer line and showed us both that all the roots were still there. Next step was running his 'warthog' root ripper right through the sewer line and boom, it was clear as day. As he was pulling out this giant wad of roots was clinging to the end for dear life. We ran all the faucets and could see and hear all the water running beautifully straight through to the main sewer line in the street.

John is the best!

I have been using Bay Area Sewer Inspections services for several years. John's been a blessing to me every time. Even when the news may not be so good to hear. Not every sewer line is a straight shot in San Francisco. When I have had the peculiar property to list as a Realtor®, especially on hills, John intuitively knows where the pipes are traveling around, under, through or where ever. He's beyond knowledgable each time. He explains to me what we are seeing in his camera which isn't easy for the novice eye. John is ONE OF MY GO TO PROS in EVERY property listing I have when I need inspections. I've used his group for redoing sewers too and recommend him for power flushing. I trust John. ~ Paul A.

5 stars for great customer service! His son was unbelievable, Sean! These two lads definitely know their way around a pipe. My downstairs flooded, and we had to use loads of towels until John & Sean showed up to save the day. Our basement was super wet for weeks, now we have no problems. Thank you to John and Sean for taking care of all of our leaks!

John did a great job with our ancient sewer pipe, first removing the roots that had grown into it and then sending in a camera that let us know the pipe hadn't completely collapsed. Yet. Now we can use our shower and washing machine again. He was also very good about explaining to this plumbing ignoramus what he was doing and why.

HANDS DOWN John was the best.  We were having plumbing issues and our builder couldn't figure out why so we had to hire John to come up and help us figure out the problem.  John came out to do the inspection and walked us through the entire way what he was seeing in the camera.  Before he was about to leave, he was able to see that there was a blockage under the house and was more than willing to help us tell the builder that there was something wrong.  Our builders were being very difficult and didn't want to get on the phone with John and were flaky when they were available, but John was so kind to make time for us even though the builders were not responsive and being very last minute.

John came over for the second time, per the builders request, and he found the problem that they've been searching for the last 10 months!!!  Now, the problem can be address and has in fact been due to a builder installation which was all undercovered due to John's amazing work and years of experience.

Thank you JOHN!  We really appreciate it!

Wanted to get my sewer and water lines inspected.  No clogs, but the house is 80 yrs old, wanted to get ahead of any problems that might be developing.  John Prior was a pleasure.  He responded to my email asking to schedule an appointment.  The appointment was scheduled promptly.  He was personable, professional, knowledgeable.  After his evaluation and flushing out the sewer line, I am confident the lines are safe and will continue to function properly.

John and Sean are terrific. They are always on time and are extremely knowledgeable in their trade. I also want to mention that they keep a smile on their face even when performing work in a complete downpour. I highly recommend Bay Area Sewer. Thank you both for the great work over the years!

John and his team are absolutely awesome. These guys have years of experience and it shows. John performed a sewer inspection and lateral root cutting. The job was so well done that we have these guys taking care of our bathroom remodel. Can't wait to see the final product.

John came recommended to me by someone I trust, and I'm glad I hired him.  Scheduling was straightforward, and they were prompt, pleasant, knowledgable, and equipped with video camera and a water jet device for cutting small roots right out of the pipe. Five stars.

I would highly recommend John for your Sewer Lateral work. As a realtor, it is extremely important to move through inspections with the least delays while getting accurate information. He called back the same day and was out to do our inspection within 3 days. Our report came back the same day and his help on one main issue helped us determine the scope of the job. He is a great person and is excellent at his job.

Mr. John Prior has provided us with excellent service for over five years. Our regular plumber, Heise's Plumbing, highly recommended him. We were worried about clogging problems that would require a new sewer line. John came out and video taped our line and showed us the roots of the problem. We had John hydro jet the line and we have him return every year to clear the roots from our line. In addition to John's professionalism and knowledge, he is friendly and fun. Definitely five stars!

Last December I had house guests and my sewer line was completely blocked. We were unable to  use our shower, our toilets or run the water without it backing up and pouring down our driveway.  John explained everything that as he completed a video inspection and cleared the blockage with a hydro jet.  Recently someone stole by sewer line cover from my side walk and John was wonderful to replace this for me.  He is reliable and I a pleasure to work and I highly recommend him.
Julene

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.

Last week I was reminded again why I use Bay Area Sewer Inspections for all my sewer work. I called John for what I thought was an easy cleanup of a toilet sewer blockage in one of my apartments. Only it turned out not to be so routine. In fact it was very complicated with very difficult access. John worked diligently for an hour without success. I was worried that he would do what another plumber would probably do and call it quits and say goodby and good luck. Not John. He doubled down and after a few hours he achieved success. He then went around and cleaned out other areas that other plumbers had only partially cleaned. If you have sewer problems, John Prior of Bay Area Sewer Inspections is the guy to go to. He is a pro. He doesn't give up.

I highly recommend John and BASI for their video inspection services and business integrity. Another, well-known sewer contractor unplugged our line but in the process told us we had major problems that would probably require the replacement of the main trap and connection to the city main. We wanted a second opinion and John with his video equipment showed us this was not the case. Prompt and honest - I give John our highest recommendation.

I had a listing that had an older sewer lateral system, and the Buyers were moving a family of 5 into the home. John came out and not only completed an inspection, but was able to flush out root growth in 3 areas that had almost 90% blockage. John was friendly and reliable, responsive to every question and timely in setting his appointments, and very reasonably priced! This is something that I value greatly in the real estate world. I do not look forward to sewer lateral issues in the future, but if they come up, John Prior is my guy!

John Prior and his son Sean are awesome. We have an old SF house with some crazy plumbing issues, on a hill, etc. Blockage happens. Knowing that John is around and can make these problems go away is key. And.... he's an awesome guy and I always look forward to a few laughs. Highly recommended!!

I had a blockage in my sewer lateral - a national chain came out, tried to clear it, failed to do so satisfactorily, and was only partially able to complete a video inspection.  

I found John Prior based on these Yelp reviews and called him at around 3:00 PM.  He was able to come to my house within an hour, complete a video inspection (which he insisted that I watch), and solve the problem with a high-pressure flush of the lateral - in a little over an hour.  John did this all with a great attitude.  Highly recommended.

Sean was referred to me by a trusted family friend. My sewer line was constantly getting clogged and after having it snaked several times within a month he said there was a problem with the trap and it would need to be replaced. I asked for and received a proper estimate including scope of work and a payment schedule. After approving it we set up a time for him to come out and start the work. He arrived when he said he would and started the work. My house is located on a hill so the ground was clay and the dig was difficult. When Sean got to the trap he did some extra digging and found the pipe was also broken thus causing the line to fill with mud. He replaced the broken pipe and put in a new trap and made sure it was securely packed in stone to prevent underground movement. During the entire job Sean arrived on time and was very conscientious about the quality of his work. I could not be more pleased with Sean Prior's work from start to finish. Using Bay Area Sewer Inspections was the right choice and having the A Team in Sean made the experience that much better. I would highly recommend them!

omg - john ......is the best - he cleaned my clients sewer out in no time and was very very thourough and very fair in his pricing, i am a busy real estate agent in san francisco and he is my go to man in san francisco for any sewer lateral work i ever need -my clients adored him as well!!!  this guy knows his stuff.  he has his two sons working for him - this is a very knowledgeable team - best sewer lateral guy ever!!!  hands down!!!

John is a very friendly guy and he not only inspected my line but also gave me very good advice on whether or not I should replace the line.

Peter

John was fast, good natured and honest. His prices were fair and transparent. He earned my highest regard and recommendation.

I am a realtor in San Francisco and have used John for at least a dozen lateral sewer line inspection over the last 2 years.  He is always on time, completes the inspections in a timely manner and gives a thorough review of his findings to the home buyer.

I would recommend his services without reservation.

John succeeded where others failed!  After calling one of those on-call 24/7 rooter services to clear out our clogged main line, they had to come back twice to re-blast so the line wouldn't back up into our garage (yuck).  And it still wasn't fully cleared.  Finally I called my realtor who recommended John Prior.  John came out as scheduled, found the clog that they couldn't get out, blasted it out quickly and we were good to go!  Go with the expert.  Go with Bay Area Sewer Inspections.

Amazing service!!!  John came to the rescue this weekend. We had a major plumbing back up which prevented us from doing any wash.  He was attentive and professional and got the job the done. Separately, he also identified roots in our pipes.  He was able to cut the roots and get the water flowing again. I highly recommend John.  You won't regret his service!!!

John and his team came to our house to inspect our sewer lateral, advised us to clean it, and cleaned it quickly. They are professional, honest and very responsive! We will work with them again in the future.

I'm a Realtor in San Francisco and John is my go-to guy for sewer inspections. He has performed MANY sewer line inspections for me. He is extremely professional, prompt, thorough and hard working. For a while, we had a running joke about just how bad of a sewer line I could present to him for inspection.  It seemed like each situation I brought him into was worse than the last, as these old Victorians often lack access points, or the clean outs are under the house, or in someone else's ground floor condo unit, or just non-existent.  John is very creative and determined.. if there is a way to get into the sewer line for the inspection, he will find it!

I think that the prior poster's review is a bit off.  John can't make his line and camera pass through a particularly difficult obstruction in a sewer line, and it is really unfair to expect that he could. We had a similar situation on one of my inspections recently where he came up across an offset pipe and could not get past it to continue the inspection, so he went in the other end of the sewer lateral.. from the street.. to try to access it that way. He found yet another obstruction. That was enough to determine that the line needed to be replaced, and how much of it would have to go.  He has also maneuvered around many crazy pipe angles to get the videos we needed.

John always posts his videos to his You Tube channel, which is convenient because I can just direct my buyers and and the listing agent to this channel to watch the video. Ideally, there will be no problems, but when there are.. everyone wants to see the video.

John only does inspections, he does not do repairs. I like this.. it means he is not biased about whether or not a sewer line needs to be replaced! However, he does have great plumber partners that he can refer to quote or do the actual sewer repairs.  John will mark the obstructions with paint and let the plumber know how deep the pipe is, then they  can use his videos, drive by the property, and provide a quote very quickly.. and their prices are very reasonable.

John is excellent.  I refer him for all my sewer lateral inspection needs when selling real estate.  These tricky pipes can be an unexpected cost and John is great at doing the inspection and explaining in plain english what needs to be done.  

I think it's great that they only do inspections.  Being able to access the videos so easily and quickly is wonderful because everyone in a transaction can easily see what going on.  John is ON IT and i know he's trustworthy and understands his trade!!  I highly recommend him.

John made an appointment with me for a sewer line inspection.  I even confirmed over text message with all of the details, but he didn't show up.  We had to coordinate agents and tenants and take time off work.  He also didn't apologize when he realized he missed the appointment.

John is fantastic! I used to be in real estate, and this is the guy I used all the time.

He is very thorough and knows his stuff. Since he does not do the sewer repairs himself, he will give you an accurate description of what the problem is. He definitely is one to trust and will not gouge you like other sewer inspection services. If you need a true description of what your sewer issue is, call John

John has provided services several times and is consistently professional, friendly and efficient.  My high rating is based on consistency of services - always the best. Friendly manner - highly recommend.

I wouldn't say not to use this company, but I would proceed with caution.  Please read on.

I hired Bay Area Sewer Inspections to conduct a sewer inspection of a home in the Excelsior district.  John arrived on time, was courteous and business-like, and promptly got to work after I showed him the clean-out.  With him was an impressive computer device - think 1990s luggable, and you'll be close to the size and heft --  connected with a plumber's snake like device with a video gizmo on the business end.  The video gizmo is fed into the sewer line, and shows what's in your sewer line on the computer monitor.  If there's a problem, the customer can see it.

That's what's supposed to happen.

After about ten minutes, John announced a problem.  There was a bump in the interior of the pipe - not a blockage, but a kind of ridge, perhaps caused by shifting of the foundation over the years.  The video gizmo could go no more than four feet into the sewer line.  The inspection couldn't be completed.

John offered to remove the toilet, and to try to complete the inspection there ... and this offer is why I give him three stars, rather than two.  I told him that I couldn't see letting him remove the toilet of a home I don't own.

So much for my inspection.

I asked how much I would be charged.  $195, John said ... the full amount of the inspection, even though he hadn't completed it.  I felt that $50 or $100 would have been more reasonable for such incomplete work, and said so ... but John held firm, and I wound up writing a check, although with a comment on the work order that I wasn't satisfied with the job.

He had said earlier that I would receive video footage of the sewer interior.  I never did.

I can see closing out the inspection and charging the full price if the inspection device failed to get past a real blockage in the sewer line.  But this was different.  The ridge wasn't that big, and I think the 'video gizmo' was large enough to have trouble with other, small obstructions in a sewer line.  Apparently the manufacturer doesn't make one that's smaller.

Could you choose this company for a sewer line inspection?  We-elll, maybe.  He did show up on time, was courteous and professional, and did offer to remove the toilet.  But I would have a frank conversation with him before the appointment about what happens if there's a ridge or bump in the pipe that prevents the inspection from going forward.   I'm hardly an expert on sewer lines, but do think that what happened to me could happen to others.

John Prior did a great job clearing my sewer line so my basement did not flood. He's the best and what a find! Marilyn H.

I had a new bathroom installed in the basement of my house--permitted and inspected--and it soon suffered regular backups.   I had it professionally snaked which worked for a period.  I later purchased my own snake and cleared it as necessary it the bathroom in not used often.  I had the original plumber and two other plumbers try to assess the problem to no avail.

In comes John Prior with his drain camera.  He feeds it down the primary trap, sends it down toward the bathroom and finds the blockage.  He then proceeds to manipulate the camera to break up the blockage.  Problem solved!

He is courteous, professional, thorough, and explained the process throughout.  Highly recommended

I have been recommending Jon to my clients for years.  He is always willing to do his best to accomodate everyone's schedule and if he is running late (which in the business of inspections is to be expected) I always get a courtesy call from him with an ETA.  I've had many situations where no matter what, the camera was just not making it thru the sewer line and he has always taken the extra time to find a solution (like removing the toilet) which sounds more daunting than it is.  In another instance with a completely redone home he was looking and looking for an access pipe (since so much was hidden during the construction) and he climbed under everywhere he could fit and finally found a situation that was not ideal but at the end of the day did the trick and he was able to get the inspection completed.  As these homes in SF and sewer lines are getting older - I always recommend to my sellers (specifically of older Single family homes) to get an inspection and put the buyer at ease.  I wouldn't dream of using anyone else (and I've been doing this for 20 years) and many of my clients have called Jon after my work was done with them when they had questions about their own homes.

John and is son were prompt (even on very short notice), professional (he went the extra mile to ensure I had the full story on my issue), and polite.  I would highly recommend him for sewer service and inspection.