Best Leak Detection in Chicago IL

I requested a service call for a broken water heater at 9:00 pm; the pilot light had gone out and would not re-light. The staff member who took my call was courteous and got back to me promptly with confirmation that a technician could arrive within 3 hours. He showed up at 10 pm. Unfortunately, it was a waste of everyone's time. He took one look at our 7 year-old AO Smith water heater and told me it should be replaced with a Bradford White. I had to persuade him to even attempt to relight the pilot. He refused to try with a grill lighter or to do any step-wise trouble-shooting, telling me more than once that when things start to break on an AO Smith water heater, it's best to simply replace them. It was hard to tell if he knew anything about water heaters, but he was happy to charge $125 for the after-hours service call.

2 days later, the water heater has been fixed for less than $500 by my regular plumber from Rocket Plumbing (who don't offer 24-hour service). I requested a refund of at least $100, if not all $125, and I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1 because I received a 50% refund, the staff were friendly, and the service was prompt. Unfortunately, aside from the recommendation to consider a Bradford White for our next water heater, it was of no value.

UPDATE: a few days after posting this, I received a call from Rescue Plumbing's owner, who expressed his commitment to making things right and agreed to provide a full refund. I upgraded the review to 3 stars = OK.

Incredibly expensive for what it is. A simple 5 min job to connect a tube from A to B cost $200! That's just exorbitant. I will say that their receptionist was polite and communicated very well. The plumber arrived on time, was very polite and he did a great job communicating the schedule and the process and making sure I didn't have any questions. He even put on booties in the home so my floors wouldn't get dirty.

It's just that it's soooooo^^^ expensive for the work. I will never use them again because their pricing is not competitive. If they hadn't bilked me for $200 in this first 5 minute job, they probably would've had my repeat business forever. :(

EDIT: After speaking with the owner, I'd like to highlight a few things:
1) The high price relative to the job being done can be explained by this being a small business with a lot of overhead that serves to provide you with the great customer service and professionalism that I experienced (i.e. you will see technicians that actually show up and show up on time and back their work.)

2) However, they do not seem to take criticism well about the prices being high. The owner said he understood and yet continued to defend and justify and not actually change anything or offer any sort of compromise or discount. Seemed to think that this review was unfair and offensive even though I haven't stated anything false or emotionally biased in my review. The owner also seemed to think it was unfair for me to state my personal opinion on the price. I think he said something to the effect of unfair to post your opinions based on your budget. That's what Yelp is!!! A place for people's opinions on businesses. Yelp is not a place of professional critics...it's personal opinions from peers...and readers of Yelp read these reviews and glean what they will from them. (Sorry, didn't mean to rant, I'm just starting to feel like I am noticing things in my conversation in hindsight that were slightly passive-aggressive and overly defensive)

3) In any case, they are very polite and nice and they seem to strive toward excellent customer service and professionalism. Just remember you will be paying the price for the service and all the behind the scenes stuff that happens to guarantee you a smoother experience.

Save yourself some time and just call Jose @ Windy City Plumbing.  These guys have come to my house several times over the past 15 years.  They are quick to call back.  Their work is also done quickly, efficiently and done right.  Jose does not take shortcuts.  He is honest and dependable and prices fairly.  I highly recommend Windy City Plumbing.  You won't be disappointed.

I had a small gas leak that required attention right away and First Chicago saved the day! They gave me a quote via Yelp very quickly and were able to come out the same day. Very reasonable price compared to other estimates and the work was done quickly and well. They assured me that if the leak was still there when the gas was turned back on they would come back for free to address it, but there was no need. Nicor turned the gas back on and the repair did the trick. Thank you First Chicago!

Great work again from Sound Plumbing. We needed some fittings replaced on our service lines and the work was done well and promptly. I will use them again.

I had used Green Tech Plumbing twice in the last two years, both times to install a new ball valve boiler drain for my two exterior water supplies.  Both times they did a great job, but I kind of expected it as they are experienced plumbers.  I used them today for a third time and realized they brought something else to the table.

I submitted a request for a quote over the internet and received a prompt reply with a competitive price to rod my kids bathroom tub and install a new tub spout. When I called the office to schedule the appointment, I spoke with Kevin and he asked when I wanted the work done.  I asked if they could do it the next day and he replied, if the afternoon works. I said can we get something in the early afternoon, as my wife just told me to schedule it in the morning (she was the one that would be home the next day).  He immediately said we'll if the wife needs it done in the morning, lets see what we can do.  What Kevin didn't know is the tub had been clogged since my kids left for college in August and that my wife had been asking me to schedule this work for the last couple weeks.  Next thing I know he's asking me if 9:30am works?  Perfect, the kids are coming home for Thanksgiving break that afternoon, and it looks like I'm going to pull this off after all.

Some quick background on prior plumbing experiences.  I've always had issues with Park Ridge tree roots blocking my sewer line and I've always used the coupon in the Valpak to get the cheap rodding solution. Well, I decided to use those guy the last time the tub was clogged.  The other company left the bathroom a mess and made more of a mess on the way out of the house.  It was obvious that had been a mistake on my part.

So back to Green Tech Plumbing........The next day I got a text from my wife at 10:32am that said OMG best plumber ever.  Kyle was the guy that did the work and not only did he do a good job and fix the problem, but he didn't make a mess, cleaned up the bathroom and didn't leave a trail back out to the truck.  This company does a little bit more and it makes a big difference.  I'll continue to use them for my future jobs.

I was referred to Walter through my water tank repairman and was very happy with the service received. I had a very small issue (broken flapper) and he took his time to show me how to replace it myself next time. He also took a look over both toilets to check their general condition and give me some maintenance advice. Overall the $65 service fee was money well spent, and I'd be happy to call Walter again in the future with plumbing needs.

Although they did not do any work for me, they were very responsive and professional.  I will keep this company in mind for our future plumbing needs.

I had an excellent experience with Sims & Sons. The workers knew right away what the issue was, and went to get supplies to fix it. They were prompt and professional. They worked quickly and communication was very clear. I won't use another electrician in Chicago and really appreciate their services!

I like i got a Quote on Yelp instead of being told they cant give a price without someone coming to the house and then you are potentially wasting days and then you get a too high quote but feel pressured to go with them, so when i got a quote from ABV and thought it fair i made a appointment and they came the next day.

I called them after multiple pipes had frozen, thawed, and burst in our home. They got back to us right away and helped us the following morning. Dmitry methodically figured out each issue, checked in to explain what was happening, fixed the issue, and got us back on our feet in a day. And did so with care to preserve as much of our fixtures and bathroom as possible. An honest, responsive plumbing company we will be sure to call the next time we have an issue.

Juan is the only plumber provided the estimate of the water heater model that I wanted.  He arrived on schedule and performed the installation.  The unit was defective, not Juan's fault, where he called Rheem to expedite the part.  The part arrived the next day and Juan came the following day and got my new water heater resolved.
Recommend A&Y Plumbing and Juan is responsive and provide good service.

Called to have a leaky toilet fixed.  Geoff was out the next morning, on time, called to let me know they were on their way.  He showed me the problem from the last plumber and he fixed everything!  Great job!  Will definitely be using Apex for ALL my plumbing needs from now on!

really nice man; came on time, did the work, cleaned up, and price was fair.

Victor (owner of Plumbing 123) was great!

My mom's house had a clogged drain line from the bathroom but the rest of the house's drains worked. I called several plumbers, described the situation,  and Victor gave me an estimate that was fair, stating I was 4th in line for the day should I accept.  I did accept.

He came before his estimated time and texted me to ask if that was OK.

He ran a camera up the drain line and showed me the roots that were causing the clog. He then cleared the clog with the machine that cuts the inside of the pipe clear and showed me the result by running the camera up the drain line again. My mom's clogged drain line problems were solved.

But Victor went above and beyond: He ran the camera towards the city's sewer line under the street (which had been draining well all along). He showed me a place where the main drain line had separated and one pipe had settled downward with respect to another, causing a narrowing of the sewer line. He suggested the city may own this part of the sewer line and that they need to fix it (rather than my mom having to hire a plumber).

I've kept Victor's number so I can call him next time my mom has a plumbing problem.

I really appreciate Fixer.com service.

I've had minor repair work that I've noticed living in my home for the past 10 years.. Whenever I'd get the enthusiasm to reach out to any other company on Yelp to request a quote, I'd be met with: That project is too small of a job, so we're not coming out for just that.  

I'm glad that I got the whim to check yelp again recently and came upon Fixer.com.  They charge hourly, so they don't really care if a job is too little.  You just start out by going on the website, creating an account, and then selecting a date/time (it can be the same day even), and then Jayme will respond right away to confirm the appointment.

I had a crumbling wall amongst many other issues in my home.  Jayme coordinated for Chang and Katie out to my home today and they did a fantastic job of tackling the problems I had requested to be addressed.  They were both very knowledgeable about what they were doing and they did a great job explaining things to me.  And I feel like they both had strong integrity, as they would state that they were stopping the clock whenever appropriate so that I wouldn't be charged for any moments where they weren't working.

I really appreciate that a service such as this exists for people who are not confident in repairing small jobs on their own.  I'm excited to continue to work with Fixer.com on other projects that I had been thinking about over the past 10 years.  I fully believe in them and have the utmost confidence in Katie, Chang, Jayme and the whole team.

Drain works was great and responsive. They got back to me quickly and had the work completed within the week. Eric was very helpful

I called this company after suspecting that my sewage drain was being overrun by roots.

Bert is honest and spends the time explaining the issue and did not rush me through my questions. I especially liked how he kept me in the know by sending me pictures of my sewage drain as he was snaking his camera around.

I would like to thank Zach and Vinny from Kevin Szabo Plumbing for the great job they did replacing a section of pipe under my basement floor. I highly recommend them for your plumbing needs.

Gary and the team at Plumbing Pros were awesome.  Explained everything to us in simple English as we decided how to relocate an entire bathroom.  The work they did was excellent and we also had them redo all the water pipes in our house.  If you want someone that will be honest and fair, I highly recommend Plumbing Pros.  We had a few issues with other areas of our house and Plumbing Pros walked us though fixes over the phone so they didn't need to come out for a small item and bill us.