Gene's Water & Sewer Inc

They showed up on time, explained what they would be doing, what they might find and what that would mean. They used professional equipment throughout, and It took two days, but the problem was resolved. They dug down to 7.5 feet (which was under the gas line!) and had to extend their initial excavation two times. Much dirt moved. The hole was filled in with the dirt taken out, but it was higher than the rest of the lawn, and will take about 12 months to settle back, as we've got clay in St. Anthony Village. I was expecting this.

I initially gave Gene's an overall rating of A.  However, about six months after they repaired the sewer line, I called them back because another hole had formed near the sewer line in my yard.  They re-inspected the line with a camera and found another hole 4 feet from the original break in the line. In addition, a city inspector told me that there is an active rat's nest near the break.
 I believe that Gene's either 1) missed the second break when they did the first repair, or  2) may have caused the break when they filled in the hole.
The owner of Gene's refused to stand behind the quality of their work, claiming the break may have been a new one. The only compensation Gene's offered was to waive the fee of a few hundred dollars to send equipment to my house and do a new repair. 
They proposed fixing the second break for about $3,600 which is in addition to the $3,000 I had already paid. I told a manager that I did not expect them to lose money, but that I did expect them to stand behind the quality of their work and reduce the price. The owner of the company did not return my calls even though I left two messages.
I got a recommendation for Inter- City Sewer who proposed to fix the line for $2600.  Inter-City said if another problem is found six months after they do the work, they will come out and dig up the hole for no cost and fix it for free if it appeared that they missed it or caused it.
I would not recommend Gene's Water and Sewer.

Eric was our contact at Gene's, and leading up to the job he did a great job of keeping in touch via email and responding promptly to my questions.  When the day came to do the work, his team showed up and got the job done exactly as described.  Our neighbors who are in the concrete business even vouched for their professionalism and efficiency.  Although we wish we wouldn't have needed to fix the decrepit sewer line, these guys made it an easy process.  I highly recommend Gene's for this kind of work.

Before repairing the line, they inspected the rest of the line twice and recommended that I not get a liner which would have cost another $3-4,000.  They said the rest of the line looked in good shape.  They were able to save one tree and even replanted it.
They were courteous, fast and clean.  I would highly recommend this company!

Gene's did a great job.  My neighbor and I shared the main line.  During the permit process we discovered a hook up had been installed at the curb in the 70's.  They detached my line from the shared line and ran all new pipe to the curb. Also helped me work to get sidewalk replaced.  Prices are the most reasonable I have found and work was done perfectly. 

Cowardly.  They agreed to come out to fix the water line/shut off valve from the street to the house, as the City of Minneapolis had required.  They came out the day after a 2-3" rain & Craig Peterson called me annoyed because it was too wet & all the sump pumps in the neighborhood were going off constantly.  I'm no expert, but was shocked somebody who claims to be would try it on that date.  Subsequently Craig just put us off & now has been unresponsive.  If the job was too big for his so-called organization he should grow a spine & just say so.  this is the weakest thing I've ever come across, which is saying something since 95% of all contractors in MN are disreputable as the day is long.  Never, under any circumstances, call this company.  Unless you want to agree on something & then be ignored because they found out they're grossly under-qualified to do work they agreed to.  the city of Minneapolis gave me their name as one to call.  I'm going to call them & make sure they know to no longer recommend this spineless unqualified "plumber."

Great in the end...

Worked with me to get the job done as inexpensively as possible. I will definitely use them again.

Main sewer pipe was broken and a drain auger cable was stuck in the pipe from another company that I hired to clear the clogged sewer.  Gene's used a camera to determine where the break in the pipe was and it was very close to a large, 60 year-old tree in the front yard.  Once they dug the hole (about 3'x8'), the pipe turned out to be the dreaded orangeburg which is bitumenized fiber pipe made from layers of wood pulp and pitch pressed together.  The pipe wasn't collapsed from what I saw, but it was brittle and I can imagine how a sewer auger could cut a hole in it pretty easily especially if it already had cracks and tree roots.  The guys removed the bad section of pipe exposed by  the hole.  They lined the remaining pipe to the street and to the house ($100 per foot).  I believe the product they used was called Nuflow and there are some videos on the web that show how it works.  I went for lining the rest of the old pipe since I didn't want to have another problem with the tree right above the pipe and have the yard dug up again and possibly lose the tree.  It's expensive, but hopefully prevents further problems.  They connected the lined sections of pipe with solid PVC and said they put cement or something to hopefully prevent roots from penetrating the joints.  Time will tell, but I think they did the best anyone could do.
They dug the hole and lined the pipe in the first day.  The pipe cured overnight and the next day they finished the job, got inspection approval, filled the hole, compacting the soil a few times as they filled it, cleaned up the lawn and were done by noon.
 I just had new sod installed in the front yard the previous year so it was unfortunate that this had to be done, but the guys did their best to minimize extra damage.  Looking back I would have liked to try putting heavy boards down to hopefully minimize tractor tire indentations by spreading the weight out, but it may not have helped.  I'll see if the indentations go away this spring after the winter freeze/thaw cycle.  I'll also be watching the tree to see if it survives the root damage.  I hope it does, but I don't think the job could have been done any other way to minimize root damage since the pipe break was within 2' of the tree trunk and due to the stuck sewer auger cable they had to dig a hole to get it out.
 The crew was friendly, patient and did a great job.  I really appreciate their hard work and would recommend Gene's Water and Sewer to repair existing sewer pipes and pipe lining.  Check out pipe lining if you have old sewer pipes, large trees and landscaping you don't want damaged.

Excellent job.

Extremely responsive, very easy to talk to and VERY clear regarding what to expect.  Prompt and professional.  I called around and they came in between $500 and $3,000 (yes, $3,000) less than all the other estimates just to do the stop block/line replacement.  They threw in the inside valves for free.  My only point I am less than absolutely thrilled with is the asphalt patch in the road where they did the work, but with this summer's heat, maybe it never got a chance to harden before people started parking on it.  It is now deeply rutted.  TO BE FAIR, I have not yet called and given them a chance to fix this.

We had about 10 feet of bellied pipe in our sewer line that we decided to fix before we had a back-up.  Gene's estimate was over $2,000 less than another bid we received for the exact same work and the final bill came in spot-on with the estimate.  Very professional crew showed up on time and had to dig a hole in the front yard to replace the pipe.  Luckily no concrete had to be broken through to dig the hole.  They started around 8AM and were out at 3PM.  They did a good job refilling the hole when they were complete.  Overall we were very satisfied with the service.  Communication was clear, the crew was professional, and they completed the work on time and succesfully.

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I called for the initial bid in the late morning, and the estimator came out over the noon hour.  The bid came in roughly $1,300 less than another company from whom I obtained a bid.  The estimator was very good about keeping me informed as to their availability to schedule the work.

The guys who did the work arrived on time, were extremely professional and very good about causing minimal disruption to the front lawn, landscaping and retaining wall.  The section of the pipe in need of replacement started at our foundation and extended out 6-8 feet into the front lawn.  They had to jackhammer through a section of the sidewalk and used a rather large backhoe to dig down to the sewer line.  The hole they dug and worked in was just large enough to do the job.  Once the pipe was replaced, they did a thorough job refilling the hole making sure to tamp down the earth.  In the end, there was little dirt left behind on my lawn and very virtually no additional settling of the filled in hole (due to the tamping).  Frankly, I was amazed at how adeptly they worked the backhoe and how they managed to not tear up our front lawn.  They were great to work with and I would recommend this company to others. 

Our sewer main backed up a year ago. After the plumber had removed the blockage, they said there was sizable damage to the pipe and it should be replaced sooner than later or it was likely to break down completely. After getting many estimates, we signed a contract with Gene's Water & Sewer. About two weeks from the time we signed the contract, they came out to scope the pipe and complete the work. They were very friendly and courteous, taking the time to explain specifically what they would have to do and answered my questions. The work was done in one day, which we were very pleased by. 
Overall, it was a very good experience. The only thing I was unhappy with was that since the pipe was underneath our front walk, they broke the concrete up and put it in a pile in my yard. Given the season, I can't find anyone willing to lay new concrete for me and take the old blocks away. Thus, the front walkway is in bad shape.

I can't say enough good things about Gene's Water & Sewer. From the initial visit where it was determined that we had a broken sewer main...to the final clean-up and replacement of curb and blacktop...everyone from Gene's was prompt, thorough, friendly, and generally pleasant to be around! I spent a LOT of time "looking over the shoulders" of the two young guys who did all the "dirty work" and never once did they ever make me feel that I was being intrusive...annoying...or frustrating. They always took all the time necessary to answer any of my questions, no matter how dumb some of them probably seemed.

I really want to compliment Gene's for how they handled what could have been a very easy (and profitable!) upsell opportunity for them once we had the ground opened and the break spotted. As part of the initial estimate, it was agreed that they would repair the break and line the existing sewer line from the break point (which was just on the lawn side of the curb line) to where it met with the city main. I had talked with Eric previously about the pros and cons of lining the remainder of the sewer line (which was 60+ years old!) from the break point back to the house. Instead of pressuring me to spend the additional $4,500.00 to line the rest of the sewer line, he told me that, while it might be a good idea, it certainly was NOT necessary. He told me that he's seen lots of clay tile sewer pipes last for years and years. He NEVER even once gave me the slightest hint of pressure. If anything, it seemed that he was trying to assure me that, if money was an object, we'd be just fine without lining the pipe.

However, when the ground was opened up, I decided that it would be cheap "insurance" to go ahead and spend the extra money to line the entire length of the sewer back to the house. In my mind, the benefits far outweighed the additional cost. Plus, since we had already dug up the lawn, it only made sense to do it now as opposed to at another time when there would be an additional charge for digging things up again.

I can't express how comfortable it felt to be able to make the decision to spend the additional dollars in the absence of any pressure from Gene's.This was so far removed from some of the "horror stories" I've heard from other companies that use every tactic under the sun to maximize the profit that they make from every job. It truly was a breath of fresh air.

When everything was said and done, the guys really went above and beyond the call of duty to clean up the lawn as much as possible. A hose that was pulled out was put back neatly where they found it...and they left the lawn in as good shape as could be expected, considering that they'd dug up a 3' x 5' hole.

These guys get my highest recommendation!

These guys were great, they showed up right when they said they'd be there and they were very courteous & professional. They did some initial locating of the pipe/breaks in our front yard and this is when they realized that the old pipe angled off to on side, then back towards the street. They said that was unusual and not really a great situation so they decided rather than repair the breaks (which would involve digging two holes) they would have to just dig out a whole trench and put in a new section of pipe. The old pipe was lined from the first break back to our house, then from the curb out to the street so I guess it's all new and/or lined now. Seemed like the work went pretty quickly and they were very pleasant and communicated what was going on, approximately timeline, etc. They were also super nice about retrieving the numerous old glass bottles that were mysteriously buried in my front yard.

We hired Gene's a couple of years ago and are still talking about what a great job they did.  They spent a lot of time explaining their product and patiently addressing our questions.  The guys who performed the work were friendly, professional and respectful of our property.  They seemed to actually be enjoying their work.  They certainly worked well together and got the job done efficiently.  We were very impressed and pleased with the service we received from Gene's Water & Sewer and would highly recommend them to anyone.

They seemed pretty honest but I don’t know the business well and there aren’t a lot of people doing it.  I went with them because they seemed well-regarded on Angie’s List.  I think they seem honest because it ended up not being as bad as they expected so it was less than I was expecting.

How many times, in home repairs, do you get to experience contractors who do a BETTER job than they estimate, complete the work in LESS TIME than estimated, at a cost BELOW what they estimated?? Let's face it, repairing a damaged sewer line is not the most fun way to spend money but these guys made the whole process easy! They warned us that trenching an 8-10 foot deep gouge in one's yard makes a mess but in the end, the damage to the yard was far less than what we expected and they finished in record time and the bill was less than the original estimate! Wow! On top of that, Craig and the on-site crew were polite, professional, and responsive. I couldn't recommend them more highly! Just a warning---don't panic when you come home from work to see a 20-foot long trench in your yard and an eight-foot-tall mound of dirt...it looks worse than it is...by noon of the next day, all will be fine!

Unline Dean's who tried to upsell me for $5000+ in work, they did the job, and I paid extra to have the main scoped to view it after. Overall, very satisfied.

Not only did the crew from Gene's do a better job cleaning the drain out, but they couldn't find the shifted tile that the previous guy from another company had pointed out to me. The folks from Gene's gave me the impression that they knew what they were talking about, and perhaps the other guy didn't, and they recommended not doing any costly repair right away. In their experience, the pipe looked pretty typical for what you'd find in a 1919 house, so I'll keep an eye on it with regular root removal. If I get any more backups, then perhaps I'll change my tune about the repair, but in the meantime, I think their professionalism and willingness not to charge me unnecessarily is pretty great.

We are more than pleased with the final result of this job. Our sewer line was extremely long from the basement to the city sewer line in the middle of our street. We always had trouble with thoroughly clearing the sewer line due to the 150ft+ length of our existing pipe. What amazed us about this particular job was that the crew of two (very fit) men HAND DUG a 3X3, 14ft deep hole all the way down to our sewer line and installed a cleanout line up to ground level in under just under four hours. What was also impressive, is that when they were done, outside of a small mound of dirt and reattached sod which wore down through the Winter and was nearly level by Spring, our front lawn was relatively unmarred due to the hand digging method instead of what we may have had to contend with (large tire grooves etc) in the event they had used heavy machinery to dig the hole. Not the most glamorous line of work but these guys were friendly, curtious and efficient. A definite thumbs up for this company for sure.

Went exactly as planned and came in just slightly under the estimate because they needed two less feet of liner. They also threw in the camera work on both sections of the pipe and the cleaning for nothing. They were very helpful, reassuring me along the way and were sensitive to my concerns about cost overruns and overall cost of the job.

In November we had normal maintenance on our sewer line and found that it was collapsing. We decided to replace it before we had a crisis. Eric Peterson of Gene's Water and Sewer provided us with several options to repair our sewer line, speaking to the pluses and minuses of each option. Because the temperatures were rapidly dropping he put a double crew on the job and finished it in one day (the temp dropped to -15 degrees that night), minimizing the chance of our having additional problems. While the excavation was filled in, the soil didn't settle because it was frozen. Gene's came back in April, after the earth had thawed, and tamped the remaining fill back into place. Eric was excellent at helping us understand our options, listening to our concerns and responding to our needs. He stayed in touch and was always professional in his communications and actions. His crew members were excellent; the worked hard, were polite and happily helped me better understand what they were doing and why. I felt they treated our property as if it were their own. I am recommending Gene's Water and Sewer to my family, friends and neighbors.