RJ Graham Plumbing Inc

Very quick and competent service. No complaints.

Steve Suarez showed up on Jan 9th as was our appointment. He came in the house with no equipment. Nothing! He asked me "why" I had purchased that Angie's list item. I said I get backup water in my basement when ever there is a heavy rain. He asked how soon after the rain stops does the water go down. Then he proceeds to tell me how much a backup system would cost. I told him I didn't have $2,200 to spend on his least expensive system. I said I wanted a stand pipe in my drain. He said he didn't do stand pipes. Then he said he would give me my $99 as a credit on any plumbing problems I would have this year or as a credit on the backup system. I am 78 years old and I feel that I was taken. I finally told my daughter about this and that is why I am writing this letter so late after the incident. I want what I paid for!

Things went as expected. The only issue was that I was told a timeframe of 11am to 1pm. I called before 11am to confirm when they would show. I was told a delay of 1-2 hours. He showed at 2PM.

I purchased an Angie's List Big Deal. Right around the time we called them for service our pipes clogged with some nasty celery we put down the garbage disposal (lesson learned). They came out and cleared the whole mess for us. They also took a look at our drains and reassured us that everything looked good. We have had smooth water flow since. They were very professional and also gave us realistic recommendations for future projects that we will plan to take on at a later date. They were so helpful and did not try to sell us on anything. I will definitely use them again and recommend their services to others.

They were on time, very helpful, informative and showed me the tree roots that were causing the problem. They even gave me suggestions for keeping my sewer clear in the future.

Steve came out quickly to take care of 2 slow bathroom drains I had. He was professional, made sure to clean up and even had shoe coverings so that he didn't make a mess on the floor. My tub drain and lavatory drain were both slow and Steve used his experience to save me money. I greatly appreciated that. He took time to show me where the issue was with the lavatory and that it did not require rodding. He also explained his work as he went along. His actual price was a little lower than the original quoted price so I was happy about that as well. Steve and Empire plumbing are the type of contractors that can restore confidence in the Trades industry. I would recommend him to anyone.

Overall Steve was very informative and offered future help if needed for that same issue. I will call this company for any future plumbing issues.

I liked everything he did. He actually noticed some things that I didn't notice. I would work with him again.

The appliance company said there was a bunch of copper and she estimated that it would be very expensive but then Empire estimated less and the work even came in under the estimate. It was just one guy who cleaned everything up; it was immaculate. It was an excellent experience and I talk about them to others. I would absolutely use them again for anything they would be willing to do.

After two unsuccessful attempts to repair my water heater they said I needed a part which they could not locate from local suppliers. I called the manufacturer. They had the part, and told me the repair was simple enough to do myself. I called Empire and told them happened, and they promised me a refund which admittedly they did not have to do. My only complaint is it took two months to get the refund.

They were very informative, honest and do quality work. I had to wait for them a bit at times, but at least they kept me updated on their location via phone. I highly recommend them!

It went very well he was prompt, friendly, and courteous. He answered all my questions about why the old pump had stopped working and the life expectancy of the pump. He retested the pump before putting the new one in to make sure it was actually broken. I took several of his cards to hand out at my Association meetings because I was so happy with the services.

Steve and his crew did a great job getting my plumbing installed. They identified issues and resoulved them quickly as well as returned when the village inspector came out. I would use them again and again. Very nice job!!

I called Empire on Friday, September 30th at about 11am. I left a message and got a call back by 1pm. They said they could be out that evening between 3pm and 4pm.I got a call at around 3:30 because they were running late on another job. They could still make it out but it would now be between 5:00 and 5:30pm and they asked if that was still ok with me or did I want them to come in the morning instead. I told them I'd still like them to come that night. I appreciated their professionalism and the fact that they left it up to me. Steve arrived at 5:30 and took a look at the problem. He determined it it was probably just the wax ring but would have to remove the toilet to be sure, and check it out more closely. When I explained I also wanted a new toilet installed, and the type (a power flush type) he took the time and explained the different types there are and recommended a couple brands. I already had a couple brands in mind but I went with the one Steve recommended. He said he could come back the next day (Saturday) as early as I wanted and do the job. He gave me the estimate and offered to pickup the toilet himself, on the way in, to save me the trouble. I took hin up on the offer. They arrived on Staurday right on time. They completed the job in about an hour and a half. They thoroughly checked the new toilet, flushing it at least 10 times. Checked for the leak and it was all good. They did a great job, quicker than I expected, and came in about $75.00 under the estimate. I had a very good experience with Empire and would not hesitate to use them again.

I feel that everything went very well for us. Steve and his assistant came out very late on a Saturday night (6:00pm) due to previous calls and us wanting to get this completed. They actually came a couple of days before this but realized that it was late and the work was a little more involved than they anticipated so we all decided it's best to schedule another appointment in a couple of days. They were very understanding of the situation and knowledgeable of what the simplest and cost efficient way of getting everything setup properly so that if there was still a problem then the dishwasher guy should have no excuse to resolve. The price at the end was less than the original estimate which was nice, The work was high quality and thought out. They took their time and finished in a couple of hours and were willing to come back if any more problems were to come up that needed their assistance. As it turned out the dishwasher still did not drain properly but after the discharge hose and pump were replaced by the manufacturer we have not had any further problems. They are very good at working with the customers needs and want to do everything to make sure the customer is completely satisfied. My only suggestion would be for them to get a little better at calling the customers back when things come up and there are delays in coming out on time. The first day we had that issue but the second day they did let us know and we appreciated that. Luckily we are the kind of people that are understanding of when unexpected issues come up that throw you off schedule. All in all we are very happy and will call Empire Plumbing again for future needs whether big or small.

The house flooded on two floors on Sunday Sept 11th. I went to Angie's list and called Steve - he was here within 30 minutes. He identified the problem as a sewer main issue but went ahead and attempted to snake out the sewer main but we could see that the rodder (router?) was not going anywhere - so really bad news - we had to fix the sewer main. Steve thought it was a partial separation or slippage but in fact, the exterior pipe had severed six feet under ground. (Although we did not know this yet as this could only be known once the hole had been dug and pipes actually located.) He was back with his crew at 7am the next morning, they hand-dug the hole to remove an evergreen bush to spare our newly landscaped lawn from much more damage. For such an awful thing - he made it a satisfying experience. Steve is prompt, knowledgeable, bonded, insured and experienced. He even had the work inspected by the village inspector the very same day that he did the job - pretty spectacular considering the situation we were in. In addition, he added an outside access pipe which should have been placed there by the builders as we have a walk out basement. All and all, Empire Plumbing is a fantastic, small, family company and I will definitely use them in the future for any plumbing needs that we may have.

The three toilet tanks in the house were "filling" despite not being flushed at random times during the day. This has been going on for months. Finally, after researching the many possibilities that could cause this, I decided to have a professional look at it. I called Empire Plumbing based on the outstanding reviews on Angieslist on 9-6-11 and the nice woman who answered the phone asked when I would be home and said that Steve would be out that day between 4:30-5:30 (the time I would be home from work). Steve got to my house within the given time frame and immediately covered his shoes with shoe covers and was very professional and polite. Of course, when I took him to the first toilet and explained to him what was going on, it was perfectly normal, as were the other two toilets! Steve then instructed me to put food color in the toilet tanks and if the bowl was colored, it is a leakage problem. if not, we would have to figure it out later. Steve left, didn't charge me to come out, and said to call him the next morning and let him know what was going on. The next morning, two out of the three toilets had colored water in it. I called Empire again on 9-7-11 and the same nice woman told me that Steve would be by that day to fix the leaks. Steve arrived later than expected (I called to find out if he was still coming and the same nice lady on the phone told me his earlier jobs went longer than expected but promised me he would show up) and he was very apologetic that he was late. I understood. Steve put the shoe covers on again, keeping my floors and carpet clean, and then proceeded to replace the rubber rings inside two of the three toilets and we asked him to replace the third one because although it did not show any signs of leaks at the time Steve was there, my wife and I figured to replace it anyway because we had heard it "fill up" without flushes. Throughout the whole process Steve was very professional, polite, and most importantly, HONEST. He didn't try to sell me anything I didn't need. I even asked him about another issue I had with low water pressure in one of my bathrooms and also about a back up sump pump and he took the time to explain to me everything I needed to know despite already finishing the job he was paid to do. I am definitely hiring him again for future plumbing issues!

Overall, Steve was on time, friendly and informative, and even did me a favor by televising my sump pump drain tile, free of charge. They seem to be an honest shop. The one gripe I had was on pricing - not the price itself, but just the number of different offers, discounts, etc. that were advertised vs. what we discussed over the phone and in person. Even Steve was somewhat confused as to which offer was in play what discount to use. At the end of the day, the price of the rodding was applied to the cost of the replacement work as promised, and was fair, but I did recommend to Steve that he cleanup all the various offers on Angie'sList. I rate that as a professionalism and a pricing issue.

I contacted Empire by email on 8/22/11 using an email link on Angie's List. I received a quick response. Since no one was home that day, email was used to set an appointment for the next afternoon. On the afternoon of 8/23, Steve arrived to assess the problem. He arrived somewhat later than originally scheduled, but Empire's office kept me apprised of his situation; so that was all fine. Steve and I discussed the likelihood of the problem being with the well or with the sump pump line. Since nearby grass and a shrub had died, we agreed that the sump line was the most likely culprit. Salt goes into our sump hole when the water softener recycles. Steve gave me a preliminary minimum estimate of $275 just to do the digging. After that, the additional cost would depend on what they found. Talking with Steve was the same pleasant and professional experience that it was last month. We scheduled an appointment for the next afternoon. Steve and an assistant arrived mid-afternoon as scheduled. They found a break in the sump pump ejector pipe and repaired it. The total bill was $375 but we had a 10% discount coupon from the Angie's List website making the total $337.50. We noticed a dryer basement floor before the day was over.

On the morning of Mon, Aug 8th I called and got the company's voicemail (I know I called the correct number, because the greeting identified them as "Empire Plumbing & Sewers"). I left a message with my phone number saying I had 2 clogged pipes. No call back. The next morning, Tues Aug 9th, I called again. This time I left two numbers, my home phone and my cell phone. Still, no call back. Completely unprofessional. Oh well, guess I'll look on Angie's List for another plumber who actually wants my business.

Things went very well. They arrived a little past the approximate time frame they gave me but no big deal. They came the same day I called to schedule and appointment which I thought was excellent. I was impressed that they were willing to do work as late as 8pm. They actually didn't finish the job until around 10pm! Those guys work hard! I would recommend them for sure!

He arrived on time and performed the services needed. The coupon was a plus as it helped bring the cost down.

After doing research on Angie's List, I called Empire Plumbing in New Lenox. The lady on the phone did not identify herself but said she would have Steve at the house between 11:30 and 12:00 today to look at our leaky outside spigot. Steve and his assistant arrived at 12:15 p.m. They estimated the replacement of the front outside spigot to be $255. For $450 they would have replaced spigots on both the front and back of the house, but we decided to just have them do the front. They completed the job for the estimated $255 and left a little after 2 p.m. In order to stretch the distance the pipe needed to travel inside the basement, they also added a shutoff valve for no additional cost. Steve carefully explained how the new spigot worked compared to our older model. It wasn’t until a couple days later that I remembered Angie's List mentioning both 10% and 15% discounts in two different places. I had mentioned the discounts to the lady who answered at their office. In fact, I asked her why I saw those two conflicting numbers on the web site. She did not know, but conjectured that sometimes Angie's List posts their own discounts separate from Empire. She said I would get whatever is more. However, I forgot to bring the discount up to Steve while he was here. I guess you don’t get the discount unless you ask on the site and not just over the phone. Lesson learned for me.

The garbage disposal in our sink was stopped up and had been broken for some time and we were not sure to simply remove it or replace it. We decided to replace it. Steve came in, assessed what needed to be done, gave us a price, and we agreed to have the disposal installed. Steve and the other plumber here from Empire installed the disposal, checked its function, made sure there were no leaks and then discussed the features on the disposal. They were efficient, neat and very professional. I am happy to have found a go to plumbing company for any plumbing needs we may face in the future. Likewise, I would have no problem recommending Empire Plumbing to others. The price quoted was the price charged and, as an Angie's List member, we received $25.00 off. Admittedly, I did not get any other estimates and relied on the over all rating of Empire as given by other Angie's List members. We are very pleased with the service.

When the exterior drain by my basement back door clogged I called several companies and received estimates that seemed a little on the high side. When I got the estimate from Empire it was considerably less. I was a little concerned that maybe the work would not be as good as the other companies, but after an extended conversation I was assured the work would be quality work and it would also have a guaranty. I agreed to have them come out to take a look and give me a more exact estimate, they showed up right on time and were very professional. He said it would be the amount he had quoted me on the phone, so I set up an appointment to have them do the work. Again, on the day of the job, they showed up on time and had the work done sooner than they had originally said. They did a great job, they showed me exactly what the problem was and what they did. They also told me what I needed to do to maintain the drain to avoid this problem again. I'm very happy with the work they did and I plan on calling them the next time I need any plumbing work and I will definitely recommend them to friends and family.