Gilbert's Drain & Video Leak Detection

For many years, we have hired Gilbert's to clear the main drain line of roots. He also snaked the tub. Prompt, friendly honest service.

We had drain problems and called Gilbert's Sewer and Drain Service since we had used him before and liked his
service. He found a blockage that could not be cleared so we brought in a plumber and Gilbert used his camera to pinpoint the sewage line and depths. The blockage was just off the driveway and over 5 feet down. The plumber, Raymond and his crew, began digging and found the break on Tuesday at a depth of 6 feet and repaired the bad section. Gilbert had come back to double
check the location when they got to 5 feet, and even with his busy schedule, he returned again today to look at the rest of the sewage line with suggestions along with a DVD Video.
Gilbert is great guy and easy to work with and I heartily recommend Gilbert's Sewer and Drain Service.

Serviceman arrived less than an hour after I called. He was friendly and courteous and did the job in a very short time. This is a long time local family business. I would definitely use again and recommend to others.

The service was OK but they don`t take credit cards and they never heard of the free service call worth $30. It was a straight $75 charge.

He is just so polite and Christian-like. He is just a real caring young man that makes sure he does the job right. He isn't that expensive either, we always feel like we got a good deal with him.

I called Gilbert's on Saturday. They called me back later that day and told me that someone would be available on Monday to clear the drain. This was fine, as my drain had been slow for quite a while. The man showed up right on time. He got the job in just a few minutes. He was very friendly. I would hire them again to clear a drain.

The next day the gentleman arrived a little early and I explained the problem. He went up on the roof with his 60 foot snake and proceeded to snake out the waste pipe, which took about a half hour. He then checked the toilet and the problem hadn't gone away, so he then used a smaller snake in the toilet and pulled out a clump of roots that oddly looked like mermaid hair! That was our problem (not mermaids, but tree roots) just as I'd thought. He did as much as he could with the snake, pulling out a few more bits of roots, but he said it might makes sense to take the toilet up off the floor to get a better view of what was going on and do a better job of clearing any remaining roots. I asked how much extra this would cost, and he explained what the charges were so far ($135 for the snaking from the roof + $20 to drive up to me since I lived in North County and he had to come all the way from La Mesa, and that it would cost $20 more to lift the toilet and do that work, so I figured that $20 would be well spent if it gave us a better view and the ability to get rid of more roots.

When he lifted the toilet we could see exactly what was going on. The roots were not coming through any cracks in the waste pipe. They were actually coming from around the waste pipe where it meets the bottom of the toilet and growing through that tiny gap into the path of the waste water. Amazing. I've included a photo to show this. I was relieved there were no cracks in the waste pipe and figured this is something that would have to be cleared up every 3 years or so. The gentleman from Gilbert's asked for some common table salt which he used to seat the new wax ring that the toilet sit on. He reinstalled the toilet, cleaned up, and everything worked great.

He then did something that was most helpful of all. He explained to me that the next time ts happened I didn't really need to call him. He explained that I could turn off the water to the toilet, detach the water line, unscrew the nuts holding the toilet to the floor, lift it off myself, and get to the roots that way and clear them myself next time. He said when I'm done I then put some salt around the hole, put a new wax ring down (available at any hardware store/Lowe's/Home Depot) ad reinstall the toilet. I'm handy with home DIY stuff, so this is something I could definitely handle now that I know what to do. I was very impressed that he shared that information with me. It's the whole and quot;give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetimeand quot; thing. I'm confident I can deal with this on my own next time.

Overall I was very pleased with the quality of the work and how nice and hard working the man from Gilbert's was (don't know his name, but I believe he's the founder's/owner's son). My only gripe was that when I phoned for the appointment I wish the receptionist had told me there'd be a $20 extra charge for travel up to North County. Not a big deal, but I like to know these things up front. I thought the price of $175 for clearing the roots and getting the toilet working was fair, but with the information he gave me on how to fix it myself it became a bargain! I'd use Gilbert's again, without reservation and I would recommend them to my friends.

They do what they say they will, and they also offer suggestions so they won't have to come out again. They were quick to respond and friendly. They also are able to get out quick to help me, and if they aren't able to come out right away they let you know up front.

I received the number for Gilbert's Sewer and Drain Service from another plumber I'd hired to do a separate job. The total time between when I called Gilbert's and when the guy showed up and left was literally less than 30 minutes! I know that's not usually the norm on a service call and he admitted he was just finishing up with someone else in my area when his dispatcher called to tell him about my job. He arrived and got right to work doing in about 5 minutes what took me 2 months to not be able to fix. I'll call them again anytime I have sewer or drain problems.