Pipe Spy Inc.

Replacing your sewer line is never something you look forward to as a homeowner. But Pipespy made it as painless as possible. They were professional and nice to deal with and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone who needs this kind of work done. They don’t come cheap, but we saw how many men were underneath the ground for this job… and it’s not easy work.

Had company come out to camera my sewer line which has root intrusion so we could figure out how to fix it without paying thousands of dollars for a procedure they wanted to do years ago. The guy said he would get back to me with a plan and an estimate. Followed up over a week later and was told he would get back to me. Almost a month later still nothing. On top of that, I just called another company that said they would camera the line for free to give me an estimate. I paid Pipe Spy $ 150!

We recently needed urgent sewer lateral replacement, as vines had gotten into the very old clay pipes and were causing gray water leaks. Ray came out to do the camera inspection, explained what was needed, and quoted what seemed like a fair price for trenchless replacement. He got us on the schedule quickly. The crew was professional and thorough, and they did the work exactly as promised — two days start to finish, with minimal digging and water turned back on in the evening. Now we have a new sewer lateral complete with inspection certificate, and you can’t even tell where they dug their access point. I couldn’t be happier!

We just moved into a new home and had to take care of our sewer lateral and Pipe Spy lived up to their reputation. Professional, timely, straightforward — pretty much everything we need to give them five stars. Now that the work is done it’s pretty much as if nothing ever happened; everything is back in place and only very limited evidence of the digging and other work they had to do. The compliance certificate is already in hand, only a few days after the work was completed. Thanks, Pipe Spy, for your quick and clear communications and making this out to not be the ordeal that it very easily could have been.

If you have a non-​trivial PSL and/​or potentially irate neighbors, then the Pipe Spy premium is worth it. I had three other plumbing operations come out to give an estimate and they each would have started digging in the wrong places! Since they could not agree with one another, even with their pipe locating equipment and camera in the pipes, I reluctantly talked to a fourth who pointed out the existence of the city sewer line maps. I decided to go with Pipe Spy because the PSL connection actually terminated on my neighbor’s property and Pipe Spy’s Raymond Braggs was by far the most professional estimator that I worked with. He’s also simply a nice guy with a team led by another very responsible, capable, and hands-​on individual. By the time the work was underway, I figured out how the multiple PSL branches all worked inside and outside the house. Even if I hadn’t though, Raymond’s foreman came into the house to make certain that every drain was accounted for. Had I hired any other company, their costs would likely have ended up higher than Pipe Spy’s to account for correcting their mistakes.

We had a great experience with Pipe Spy. The crew was was nice, professional and hard working. Raymond was patient with our questions. When they found more issues underground than they bargained for they went ahead and made it all work. Thanks!

their motto is ‘flush with confidence.’ we weren’t very confident when we called — in fact we were afraid to run the water at all, in case everything backed up into the yard. pipespy came out right away and cleared the drains for $ 150. whew! they saved our lives. their plumber, ray, is the best — he’s been doing this for 25 years, so he knows what he’s doing.

excellent. Met with Paul who did exactly what he said he’d do which is getting more rare these days, also appreciated good communication from the office with alex and others, very happy, thank you. Jeffrey

A first rate company. Their technical contact person, Ray, was very smart in seeing
what we would need to solve our sewer problem by finding an old clean out
connection that no one had ever found. The bid they sent us was through and clear,
in the same price range as other companies that also did an estimate. The work itself
was done quickly and professionally. In all, a excellent business to work with
all along the way. I recommend them to anyone who needs a sewer line
replacement, and I am sure all their work would be of the highest quality.
So glad to have the problem solved for the next decades ahead.

I am a Pipespy customer — twice actually for each home I have purchased in Oakland.
I currently have a serious issue with the Company. Hey, things happen… people make mistakes… I’m a pretty reasonable guy. Let’s see how this shakes out.
My issue has the owner’s attention, so that gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling.
Will happily double-​back to this review pending satisfactory resolution of my issue which — for the sake of all the kids in the audience — shall go un-​detailed.
Some customer service philosophy says that a Company can earn a stronger advocate by turning around an unhappy customer than by just delivering a good experience in the first place. We’ll see!

These guys are great — very professional and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. We have a large site in West Berkeley that had to inspect/​renovate multiple laterals due to site construction permits. I had two other firms out who couldn’t even get the inspection part done correctly. Heiko and crew came out, gave me an accurate estimate, and handled the entire job including repair work. Additionally, they are well know at the Berkeley City Engineers office and have an excellent working relationship there. They handled all the paperwork and reviews meaning I had no hassles at all.
If you have a large old or complex industrial site needing renovations, these are your guys in the East Bay area.

I just hired pipe spy to look into a problem at a friends restaurant. They only have a camera for larger pipes and we needed a camera for 2 inch or so.
No go for pipe spy and it cost us 150.
I have worked for a few plumbing co and we had a camera to inspect smaller waste lines… Not happy at all!

A Company to depend on.
I recently had to put in a sewer lateral as a result of sale of one of my clients properties. I did three quotes and Pipe Spy, Inc. was professional from beginning to end. They to came to the property first assessed the situation, then used cameras to review the pipes, and then gave me a quote that my clients felt was the most fair.
They said the job would take three days and they were done in three days!!!
I am very impressed with the professionalism of the whole company from the first call to the issuance of the digital certificate of compliance.
Thanks Pipe Spy, Inc., you made me a hero with my clients!

I found Pipe Spy a pleasure to deal with. The workers were confident and capable in performing there tasks. The work was done without complications and on time. I am happy to recommend them. Phil

We were required by EB-​MUD to have the ‘lateral sewer’ inspected and brought to regulatory standard. We chose Pipe Spy Inc to do the job. Partner Heiko made the inspection, discussed the work to be done and submitted a competitive and coherent estimate. I must state they were NOT inexpensive to do the whole show. In the end this included a 2 part, right angle «trenchless» replacement of our 109 year old sewer lines including a section running across the lot underneath the house to connect up to the lateral line to the street !
The work was done to a high standard, the crew on the job were professional, and the outcome met full standard with the certificate issued by EB-​MUD within 2 days of the final inspection.
The lateral sewer process is the functional equivalent of giving your home a full blown colonoscopy followed by a major GI Tract bi-​pass operation. Doing right the first time is important.
Recommended !

Talk about crisis: Our old pipes (house built 1890) started backing up right around New Years Eve. After two different plumbers were hired over two weeks time, PipeSpy got it done after a few days. It wasn’t easy, we have old clay pipes under our home, and odd connections all over the place.
I was impressed with Paul’s technical analysis of our problem and resolve to get the job done. yes this is a glowing review, because I have three kids and three adults that depend on first world water conditions in our home– raw sewage floating down the street past our neighbors wasnt a good look. It was a tough grease plug that two other plumbers couldn’t get with over 6 hrs of snaking. I was already in the hole for more than I wanted to pay.
Paul, Craig, Sonny and their crew brought all their pro equipment, cameras and hyrdro jets and took care of any ugly plug. (nasty looked like a dead alligator when it floated out)
Paul gives great direction and analysis that any Oaklander dealing with these issues long term needs to know. Everyone was personal and invested, even if they couldn’t solve the problem on their first try.
In the end, they cleared a stubborn pipe, installed a cleanout in a 7ft deep clay lateral, and diagnosed the bigger system problems that brought EBMud out the next day. They also cleaned up afterwards, hauled out sh*t that wasn’t their own, and left my yard looking better than they found it. 100 percent professional, and money well spent.
PS This is my first Unilocal review: I said I wouldn’t write anything until I had something good to say. This is it, thanks. R

They made the process of replacing a 13′-deep sewer lateral in the hills completely painless. The job was done quickly and painlessly, without wasting a second of our time. The compliance certificate was issued almost immediately, and the next day we had the $ 4500 deposit back from EBMUD. It was a pleasure to see a $ 500 discount over the quoted amount on the invoice. Our real estate agent recommended them as the best in the business, and I won’t disagree.

This is a company I can comfortably recommend.
They scoped our sewer lateral last year but didn’t get it completely right. I had an old house, and I know now after seeing the lateral dug up how big of a mess it was. I can accept that nobody gets it right all the time — that’s a universal truth regardless of what any salesperson says.
The owner, Paul, went out of his way to address my dissatisfaction with their report and refunded my money. THIS is the hallmark of a good business, and it shows their willingness to go beyond short-​sighted practices that characterize many of their competitors.
Pipe Spy has earned my repeat business through their professionalism and customer service.

About 6 years ago we re-​did our back yard – a masonry wall, flagstone patio. Should we have replaced our sewer line then? Of course, but who has the dough?
Fast forward six years, ankle deep in the overflow from our downstairs toilet. I’m calculating…”$ 10k to redo the masonary wall, $ 10k for the sewer repair, kids are looking at colleges…” A friend recommends Pipe Spy. Paul comes out, researches where the sewer main is, «You know that the sewer main runs right under this tree and through this wall – probably just underneath the wall, actually.» I recalculate…”$ 15k for the sewer repair” I’m sweaty. Paul says, «We can take care of it, we’ll dig down here and tunnel over.» On one hand I’m relieved, on the other I’m thinking, «Is this guy full of baloney?» I’m sure that this will be one of those projects that will double in scope and cost.
Paul gives me an estimate. It isn’t cheap, but it’s competitive. His crew arrives when he says it will. I’m figuring we’ll be without water for a week. His crew has the new pipe in that day and they stay late and hook it up so we can use the shower and toilet that night. Simply amazing. The crew of six guys they throw at this job are quick, professional, and skilled. The following day the inspections are done, and the dirt goes back into the holes.
When they are finished, the back yard looks EXACTLY like it did before they started, only cleaner. The cement work they did was perfect. The workmanship was superb. The estimate was honored to the penny. I told Paul about how impressed I was with his crew’s skill, and he said, «We pay our workers well, they have medical benefits, paid vacation, retirement plan and profit sharing… they’re taken care of. They work hard and stay with us.» Clearly a good investment, and a terrific business.

We used Pipe Spy to replace our sewer lateral (the pipe connecting our house with the sewer main in the street). They did an excellent job on the work itself — got it done within one day, then the city inspectors came the next day and they closed up the holes — and they cleaned up well. They also did a good job when they gave us their initial estimate of explaining the issues, looking for the least expensive solution etc.
The reason I’m giving them only three stars was in scheduling the job. They scheduled it once, then called to reschedule. Then they didn’t show up on the day they had rescheduled. I stayed home from work waiting for them — I finally called them, and the guy in charge of our job said «oops, we had something else come up yesterday.»
Unprofessional and annoying. How hard is it to call the night before to say «hey, can we reschedule again?»
On the other hand, they did a good job on fixing the pipe.