Ken's Sewer Drain & Plumbing

Great Service and Excellent Communication.  Ken needed to find a part and then have one of his crew install it.  We got several phone calls and text messages letting us know the options, the prices, how long it would take to get the part, and when it could be installed.  The part was available faster, and the installation was sooner than we expected.  And, we always were kept informed about the timetable.

Called yesterday at 6:00pm due to a clogged kitchen drain that I couldn't unclog.  They were able to get a tech over by 8:00pm.  30 minutes later and everything is working perfectly! Such a quick response and perfect work.  Ken's was a lifesaver!

Overpriced for a simple kitchen sink replacement that took minimal labor & time: $340! Had I known it was so simple I would have done it myself. Lesson learned! Make sure you get the full price before letting them proceed so you are not similarly taken advantage of like I was. There was also few others that could make it in a day or two and though I said it was not an emergency of a same-day nature, they charged me as if it was. The repairman was pleasant enough, but being evasive with the overall cost until after the work is underway earns them a 1 star rating. Still, probably less predatory than Hero - f/k/a Uptown Pluming Heating & Cooling, who are the gold standard for predatory practices and high-pressure selling and astronomical mark ups.

Called Ken's when we found a spraying leak on our main water line where it meets the city's water meter. He got someone out quickly and also contacted the city about getting the special replacement part that was needed. From beginning-to-end, it was a very enjoyable experience and I really got the feeling that they went the extra mile. Also, the final repair cost was less than some of the bigger plumbing companies wanted just to come out and look at the problem. Highly recommended!

Super responsive.  I made an appointment and they showed up first thing in the morning.  Figured out what my problem was with a clogged drain and solved it very quickly.

I'd highly recommend

I used this company to install 2 drains at my house.  They were able to do the work the day after I contacted them.  Upon seeing the situation, they noticed they couldn't do the repair they had planned and immediately phoned with a description of the problem, what the solution was, and how it would change the estimate.  They needed to get behind the drywall to move the drain lower and warned, we're not general contractors, we don't repair walls so I expected to see a smashed wall with exposed pipes behind it, but everything was done very neatly and as discretely as possible.

I was happy with the work, it was done quickly, and the charges were right inline with industry standards for hourly work.

I cannot say enough good things about the professionalism and service Ken's plumbing provides. We recently moved into a new house and have had two surprise plumbing issues within a week of move-in. Both times I was able to call Ken, who by the way is so nice over the phone, who had his technician out that same day. Both times it was a guy named Neal who is nice, professional, fast and really just good at his job.  The silver lining of our plumbing issues is that we found this company. I will recommend them to any homeowner -- they're simply great and take all the pain out of plumbing woes.

I've been using Ken's Sewer for years cleaning out my main line and doing plumbing work.  They are very reasonable and get the job done.  Also good at communication.  I will continue to use them.

Good for the work. Have had these guys do minor jobs (clogged sink pipe I couldn't snake myself) and major repairs (sewer line replacement between house and street). Would use them again.

I've worked with Ken's for many years, fitting in a 'yearly' cleaning about every 14 months. This last year was a bit longer (about 16 months). The line backed up 9 months later. A tech came out, charging $350 and claimed it was just a tp backup. 3 months later, my basement floor was wet again. I called a different company that came with a camera and found 90% blockage due to roots 6 feet from the house. This new company was able to clear the line to the full 6 pipe diameter - Ken's had dropped down to 4 due to 'pipe deterioration'. The camera showed that the pipe is still in decent shape - no signs of partial collapse. I'm so frustrated! Over $600 this year alone and years of worry about pipe collapse, just to have it resolved by calling a different company.

I'll try to summarize this as quickly as possible.

We are now realizing (6 months later) that the poor job Kens and his partner did is going to potentially cost us a lot more money.

In the spring of 2014 we call Kens to clean out our main drain. It had a ton of roots in it. Kens plumbing got two of their snakes caught in there because the roots were so bad. Once the second one got stuck, the Kens worker said, I will need to call someone else to get these out because this is something we can no longer fix.

So, the Kens worker calls someone else, we will call him 'Paul'. Paul comes over. He decides that he and his crew will need take out some of the old pipe, basically to get the snakes out, and push in about 15-20 feet of new PVC pipe.

(I guess we trusted this Paul person, because Kens brought him into the situation. Boy were we stupid).

They proceed to dig up the basement floor take out some of the old 6 inch clay pipe and push in the new 4 inch PVC. This took roughly 3 weeks. We were not a priority of Paul's whatsoever. We paid Paul $4000.

This week, we had a clog in our main drain... thats odd, we just spent $4000. But I thought, well this is likely just a bunch of roots again, as the tree that runs above is growing like crazy. So I call a new plumber.

The new plumber cleans some roots out, but then wants to put his camera in the pipe to see better. What he finds is the new PVC pipe has a significant gash/crack at the end of the pipe where it meets the old 6 inch clay. (the plumber is very confusion on how this could have happened, as this is PVC pipe and should be very strong). My thought it this likely happened when they pushed the pipe in. As they were hammering it so hard to get in there. Paul said, it was likely due to shifting. But there is no way this gash is due to shifting, per the new plumbers.

This is a big problem. As now, the current plumber cannot use the proper blade to clean out the roots, as his blade/snake would get caught on the gash/crack. The solution? We will now have to dig up a portion of the front yard to fix the part of the pipe where the issue is. (estimate is on the way, but it will be a couple thousand, easily.)

I called Kens plumbing when we found this out. Ken Jr, was sure to take NO responsibility for this problem (or apologize) as we were working with Paul for this issue, and not Kens Plumbing! My problem with this was that Kens plumbing called Paul! What were we supposed to do?

At this point, Kens Plumbing and Paul (who actually is now employed by Kens) is not willing to rectify this issue by helping pay for the new work of digging up the front yard. Thus, we are currently exploring other avenues to resolve this issue to our satisfaction.

To summarize, unless you have just a couple tiny roots to clean out, Kens will not be able to help you, and you certainly don't want to work with the people they will call.

I needed a quick question answered and without hesitation, they efficiently answered exactly what I needed to know. They were very kind and helpful!!! THANK YOU!!!

I wish there was a negative star rating. Charged $180 to relight the pilot light on my hot water heater. When I asked how it could be so expensive he said I was also paying for his gas and car maintenance. What? And yes, they do take credit cards, for an additional 3%. Last I heard, this is not legal.

I contacted them and they responded within a very short period of time and were able to come out the same day. The gentleman that came out was extremely professional and very respectful of my time and property. I would highly recommend them and will be using them again

Emailed three companies on a Sunday night and Ken's was the only one to contact us on Monday.  Within AN HOUR after the call the broken valve we had contacted them about was fixed.  Fast, affordable, and willing to discuss other issues with us without selling us on any other unnecessary repairs.  Ken's will be our first call every time we have a plumbing issue from now on.

Amazing company and service! My kitchen sink clogged last night, and I used their online appointment scheduler, which was extremely easy to use. After submitting a request around 10 last night, I had an appointment for this morning at 9:30. They were extremely professional (during this difficult time) and very efficient. Within 20 minutes, water was draining again! I highly recommend!!

Great work whenever I've had them come out. They respond very quickly and I've been very happy with them.

I have used Ken's Sewer Service for over a decade now.  For a less than glamorous business, his guys always take care of me, and fast - often within hours.  Dan is great to deal with, and always follows up as well.  They are stellar!

Quick and competent. Called on a Saturday morning, arrived same day by 11:10am, out by 11:45am.  That was all the time it took to snaked my main line to the street, 70 feet, and remove a bunch of roots. No fuss, no muss. highly recommended.  Quoted the price over the phone, which R.R. won't do, and was less than 1/2 the price of the big names.  Friendly, all business guy in his 40's.  If you want the uniforms and the nicely painted trucks, you'll need to go with one of the national brands. But really, how much do you want to pay for the uniforms and the nice trucks.  It's just a sewer job?

Update 4/3/2011:  Changed rating, main line that Ken's had snaked, clogged up again two weeks later. BUT, they came out and redid their work at no extra charge and no grumbling, and 8 months later, the line is still clear.  I think Ken's uses smaller knives that reduce the risk of breaking the sewer tiles, but the downside is they don't get as many roots as the large knives. (I really have learned more about this than I wanted to.)

I had them come out to clean the main sewer line which was backing up.  Diego came within an hour of calling, and did a great job cleaning it out quickly.  Payment was where things got frustrating.  There was some confusion, and weird conflict of information about pricing.  I was quoted $179 on the phone for a main line clean out (which she immediately scheduled before I had a chance to think about it - but that's fine, I thought, she was just trying to be efficient), and the website had a 10% discount for first time customers, so I agreed and was expecting to pay $162 ($179 - $17)

Diego said the total was $189.  I mentioned the 10% discount and Diego said Yes, normally it's $200, but with the discount, it's $189.  I mentioned that I was quoted $179 on the phone, and he allowed that he could give me a $10 discount and charge me $179.  This was obviously not the $162 I was expecting, but he seemed in a hurry, so I wrote him the check (this was my own mistake), and called in to see what had happened.

Mary wasn't sure what had happened, and also didn't seem to be sure how much a main line clean out was actually supposed to cost anymore, saying the service people can determine on-site what the price for the job should be depending on how the job goes, but she just doesn't want them to go over $200.  Then she recanted and said, no it's not a flexible pricing model, but didn't seem to be able to tell me how much a main line clean out is normally supposed to cost.  Mostly I was just calling for clarification, which I did not end up getting.  Instead she seemed frustrated to be talking to me at all (more of a fast-talking east-coast kind of personality), and was probably just trying to get her job done and go home, but used the classic tactics to get me to take the blame without giving me a straight answer, like talking about how she did me a favor by getting Diego to stop by on his way to pick up his kid, asking if I wanted her to take extraordinary measures like You want me to send out another truck to get a new check, or what? and saying I was half to blame for not mentioning the discount on the phone when I first called (the website didn't mention this requirement - see screenshot - but I was actually going to if I'd had 10 seconds to think about it before the service was scheduled), however she also said that she had already given me the discount in her quote (without mentioning it apparently), and that the discount had changed from 10% to $10 for the new year and they just hadn't updated their website... which would mean a normal service is $189, in which case I don't know what $200 Diego was talking about...

She ended up offering me a $10 discount on my next service, but $10 off what price is anyone's guess apparently.  Overall, it was just... OK.  $17 isn't a big deal, and maybe they really do just need to update their website and/or don't have any fixed pricing model, but the whole thing seemed a little fast and loose, and I ended up feeling like they were just trying to pull the wool over my eyes.  At least my drain is unclogged! So, thanks for that :)

What great service!  Ray the secretary was amazing and Neil H. Was very professional and did a great job!  I had a leak in my basement and they took care of it the same day!

We've used Ken's services twice to snake our kitchen sink.  They are very responsive and reasonably priced.  The servicemen have been really nice and we've recommended them to our friends.

Needed emergency service as I'm closing on my home tomorrow. Even though I called after regular business hours, they had someone arrive within a half hour. Fixed the problem and went over and above to clean up. Really appreciated the good service.

Never using them again. Poor service. One minute of work cost $180. Scraped up my toilet using the auger. Rude on the phone.

We had our old, weird, rusted-out shower fitting break - not an emergency, but annoying. It could have been a DIY fix, but not having tangled with the plumbing in our newly purchased house yet, I didn't want to risk opening the Chamber of Secrets or at least the Chamber of Pipe & Water Damage.

Ken's was the only well-reviewed plumbing company able to come out that day. Neil showed up in 90 minutes. He was friendly, professional, and fast: he had the rare part fetched from the depot and installed within another 40 minutes. The rate for this simple job was pretty reasonable, especially for such a fast response.

The Chamber of Secrets is closed.

I've had some misfires when it came to plumbers...but Ken's Sewer is hands down the best!!! They always do excellent work and their prices are reasonable. I highly recommend them!!!

We had the worst experience working with this plumbing service. They will try to perform activities without telling you that it costs extra until after they're done (we got up-charged 3 times the amount we were originally quoted on the phone). Save yourself some money and headache by finding somebody else.

My wife and I had clogged up both the shower drain and the sink drain and it was time for a serious snaking. This morning my wife checked out Yelp and came across Ken's Sewer Drain & Plumbing. She sent them an email describing what our issue was and within a half hour we got a call back. I talked with Dan and he said that they might be able to send someone today, but for sure tomorrow. As this wasn't an emergency and I was available today and tomorrow I was very happy with this response. An hour later I get a call from Dan asking if I was home because he had an employee get done with a job earlier than expected and was able to come over right away. Awesome!

The plumber came over and I explained the drain situation, but there were some other things that we've been dealing with that I thought I would bring up. We had a pretty serious drip coming from the shower faucet and we were also having random issues with our toilet leaking water onto the floor. He was more than happy to check out everything I brought up. He fixed all four of our problems in less than two hours, including taking our toilet and shower faucets apart, and it only cost $200. I was very pleased with the customer service, the price and how quickly everything went down. I would definitely recommend Ken's to anyone needing a plumber. They will get my business for as long as I live here.

The other week it seemed that just about every house in the Minneapolis area was having issues with their basements flooding from all of the sudden rain and melting snow, and our house was no different. To top that, the main drain in our basement had gotten clogged overtime and any water getting into our house had nowhere to go. I called Dan at 6:30am and he got a plumber to me at 8am sharp on a day where it seemed like everyone in town needed a plumber. The plumber was on time, polite, and had our drain fixed within 30 minutes. I was so impressed with the service and will definitely be using them again if we ever need another plumber!

We had an emergency kitchen faucet fix, Neal came within 1 hour of my call, wearing a mask, and was done quickly, charging less than I would have thought for such quick service.

We'll be calling them for all of our plumbing needs.

They came out quickly for an emergency but the plumber was incompetent to fix the problem. Owner is rude and condescending.

I had a plumbing problem and within the hour a plumber came and fixed it. Scott was my plumber and he was very friendly! I saved the phone number for any future services because I was so happy with how responsive and attentive they were and Scott was a great guy and very professional. Thank you!!

Not a good experience and would not recommend anyone using this company. I'll make this brief. I hired them to figure out what was wrong with my sink, then came out and after a half an hour they told me they didn't know what was wrong and had to leave. I asked for more of an  explanation and they said my pipes were possibly frozen, but to know for sure it would be another 600 bucks. I was then asked to pay for the service. I requested a discount or some sort of credit since they didn't do anything. The plumber then left before it was resolved and I was on the phone with the owner. I received a phone call from someone later that day, (after I called another plumber to come out and he told me to simply have everyone turn the heat up high to see if the pipes were frozen and we figured out my deceased neighbors pipes were frozen and not mine.)  Ken's demanded payment and threatened to bring me to court when I pushed back for the lack of service/help I received. My neighbors estate is paying the bill, but has to wait two weeks before mailing payment out. Ken told me they couldn't wait two weeks for payment and since then I have received several rude emails and phone calls threatening me for payment. Extremely unprofessional and disgusted with this company. He even threatened to put a lien on me if payment wasn't made, despite explaining the situation and telling them the payment was on it's way. Highly would not recommend using this company unless.

I called Ken's Sewer to do my annual main drain cleaning. This was done as a preventative measure. And I assumed the drain was clean since they didn't pull out any roots, but about 1 week later the sewer started to back up. I called them and they came and got it cleared up and draining again. They wouldn't guarantee their work unless I paid for extra camera footage.

I then called the people I usually have my drain cleaning done. They told me there's nothing wrong with my sewer line and to just do annual maintenance as usual.

They also pulled out a bunch of roots. This means that Ken's Sewer did NOT clean out my line like I hired them to do.

Kens was quick, helpful and honest. Thanks for saving the day.

Had Ken's Sewer Service out to cure a very slow kitchen sink drain.  Technician came out promptly and snaked the sink.  Tech stated that the clean-out was cemented shut and he could not access. Two months later, same issue and I had city inspectors out and they said there was nothing preventing access to the clean-out, only plumbers putty.  I called to see if Tech had left any notes or comments or if Ken's was interested in working to make things right.  Nope, back to square one.  I will find another service.

We had a negative experience as Ken does not stand behind the work of his subcontractors. He was disrespectful to me.

We had a clogged toilet in the basement and listened to the advice of the first subcontractor who said that the toilet had to be replaced. He had said that he would snake the line when switching toilets. He didn't. At this point I had paid $450 plus buying a toilet at Home Depot myself for $90. A week after the new toilet was installed, the washing machine water began to flow out of it. The hall carpet and pad were ruined. Ken sent a new plumber who said he would have to charge the full amount to snake. After haggling with Ken who didn't want to accept responsibility for the wrong initial diagnosis and subsequent damage, I had to pay $75 to have it snaked. The new plumbers said that there was something, possible a backflow flap, lodged in the pipe, and partially blocking. They said that although the wash water would flow that we couldn't use the toilet and that they needed to break up the concrete floor and remove it at an estimate of $1800. I agreed.

Then Ken called me that evening to schedule and was so rude to me. He quizzed me about what I was agreeing to and what I had been told and seen. He acted as if I were the one who hadn't acted professionally or followed through. I was appalled that someone could speak in such a manner to me. I told him that I would find another plumber. Thank heavens I did! Grabow came out the next day and was wonderful. Mike, the owner of the company, heard the situation and said that he thought that they could probably pull out the object - never offered by Ken. The nicest drain cleaner came with his camera and looked at the pipe. There was nothing there as it had apparently been pushed out by the wash water. The plumber looked as well. They said that even had there been something partially blocking that it would not have needed to be removed. So I paid a final $200 to Grabow. I still have to replace the carpet.

I probably didn't need the toilet replaced at all. The clogged toilet should have been around $200 for a snaked line. Instead, I am out $800 and still need to get a new carpet.

Terrible customer service. Agree w/ other reviews that whoever the main contact is was slightly rude & unprofessional. Only getting 2 stars because the plumber on site was friendly enough and did the job quickly.

First searched Google for a Minneapolis plumber and came across Hiawatha Plumbing, who I found out later subcontracts to Ken's (not stated anywhere on Hiawatha's website). Also, Hiawatha claims they do free quotes, but after exchanging a couple emails with Ken's, was told that they do not provide free quotes. So I gave a detailed description of the work to be done (swapping a faucet on a utility sink w/ drop down water lines; pretty standard) and was told just did one yesterday for a lady and I bet it'll be under $350. So you did the work yesterday but don't know the cost today? Should've been my first clue to look elsewhere...

Tried scheduling a specific time to meet the plumber there as this was at a rental unit & we had to be respectful of the tenants time/privacy. Was given a two day window they would be able to do the work in & no specific time of day, but they'd call me an hour in advance (nice, right?). I didn't have time to deal w/ calling around to other plumbers so I made my schedule flexible to just get the job done. Then received a call that night the total was $360. He said he figured he'd told me around $350 and an extra $10 didn't matter. Stated at least a half dozen times they'd been in business for over 40yrs. With service like that, good luck making it to 50yrs. Never again will I call Ken's (or use a Hiawatha sub-contractor).

I just called Ken's for drain cleaning and additional plumbing work. I asked him if the people he would send out would be his employees or subcontractors. He avoided a direct answer by saying that he had a lot of people that work for me. I repeated the question and he said what difference does it make whether they are employees or not. When I said he was not answering my question, he hung up.

Needed a drain unclogged on a Sunday afternoon. Ken's Sewer Service was thorough, very professional, and reasonably priced. Did not overcharge me even though it was a Sunday. Will definitely use them again if I have any more plumbing mishaps!

Great work at a very reasonable price!

Fast friendly and clean service I will use them again.

I recommend them to anyone!