Provider profile
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup
Provider snapshot
What this listing says
Louisville homeowners dealing with water damage that led to mold growth, where having plumbing repair and remediation handled by one company under IICRC and AMRT standards saves time and coordination.
Best for
- Louisville and Jefferson County homeowners who need mold remediation tied to an active water damage or plumbing problem, where one company can fix the source and handle the cleanup.
- Commercial property managers needing 24/7 emergency water extraction and mold work with insurance documentation handled in-house.
- Homeowners in flood-prone neighborhoods like Portland and South Louisville who want a single point of contact for basement flooding, drying, and mold prevention.
- Buyers who value same-day or next-day scheduling and are less price-sensitive, since Roto-Rooter charges a premium over smaller local operators.
About this company
Roto-Rooter in Louisville is a national plumbing franchise that also handles water damage restoration and mold remediation. The Louisville location at 1600 S Preston St operates as an independent contractor managed by James and Tiffany Burch. Mold remediation is one piece of a much larger operation focused on plumbing, drain cleaning, and water heater service.
What stands out here is the in-house plumbing and restoration combination. Most mold remediation companies call a third-party plumber to fix the moisture source before they start. Roto-Rooter sends its own plumbers and its own IICRC-certified restoration crew, which means one company handles the leak, the water extraction, the drying, and the mold work. Their mold page lists HEPA air filtration, air scrubbers, dehumidifiers, and antimicrobial treatments. Technicians hold AMRT (Applied Microbial Remediation Technician) credentials.
Roto-Rooter has operated nationally since 1935. The Louisville franchise serves Jefferson County and surrounding communities including Jeffersontown, St. Matthews, Shepherdsville, Elizabethtown, and several southern Indiana cities. They hold Kentucky plumbing license M638588 and Indiana license PC10400469. The location is a member of Greater Louisville Inc. and BBB accredited.
At 4.6 stars across 433 Google reviews, the Louisville location performs well for a high-volume franchise. That rating holds despite a steady stream of pricing complaints, which suggests the service quality is strong enough that most customers rate them highly even when the bill stings.
Services
Service area
Roto-Rooter Louisville is headquartered at 1600 S Preston St in Louisville, Kentucky. They serve Jefferson County and surrounding communities including Jeffersontown, St. Matthews, Shively, Lyndon, Shepherdsville, Elizabethtown, Bardstown, and LaGrange in Kentucky, plus Clarksville, New Albany, Jeffersonville, and Charlestown across the river in Indiana. The service area spans Shelby, Hardin, Jefferson, Bullitt, Nelson, Meade, and Oldham counties in Kentucky, and Floyd, Harrison, Clark, Jefferson, and Scott counties in Indiana.
Review consensus
Field technicians get strong individual praise. Kyle appears in more reviews than any other tech, with customers noting his promptness, courtesy, and knowledge across drain cleaning and plumbing jobs. Dalton draws praise for sewer line work, pipe replacement, and after-hours calls, with multiple customers highlighting how he explains his work as he goes. Chris (multiple technicians share this first name) gets repeated praise for weekend and emergency response. Frank Phelps earns mentions for plumbing diagnosis and friendly demeanor. Gavin receives praise for drain work and clear explanations. Ed gets credit for persistent drain clearing, including one memorable tree root extraction. Collin drew praise for commercial and residential drain work over the 2025 holiday season. Brian Kelty earned a standout review for refusing to quit on a stubborn kitchen drain clog late on a Friday. Owner James Burch showed up personally to help on at least one multi-tech job.
10 found across 433 total reviews at 4.6 stars. Pricing is the dominant complaint. Duncan McNeill paid nearly $500 with a coupon for a 45-minute kitchen drain unclog he had previously had done for under $150. Myra Trihey's bill started at $550 for a toilet auger job, with ad hoc discounts applied during the visit, and her debit card was charged $899 before being credited back. Nino Hinkle was quoted $700 to snake a main line after paying an $80 service call fee. After-hours reliability is the second pattern: Cathy Rice called the 24/7 line at 10:30pm and never got a callback, eventually calling the fire department. James Weeks made five emergency calls at 8:30pm with no response. Office staff rudeness appears in complaints from C N and summer s, though the owner response to summer s explains a complicated situation involving a mobile home park waterline job where communication broke down between the park management and tenants. William Vincent reported a tech who forgot his camera, charged $682, and left the job unfinished. The owner response to Myra Trihey's complaint stands out: they acknowledged the behavior was unacceptable, visited her home for a follow-up, and offered a direct phone number.
Owner responses run at 92% on recent negatives and show a split personality. Tiffany Burch and James Burch write personalized, substantive responses that engage with specifics -- the response to Myra Trihey included a home visit, and the response to summer s explained the mobile home park situation in detail. But several responses claim they cannot find the reviewer in their system (C N, Nino Hinkle, Duncan McNeill), which either indicates fake reviews or a pattern of deflection. The pricing complaints are structural: as a national franchise, Roto-Rooter's rates are set above local market rates, and the gap between their pricing and independent plumbers drives the most detailed negative reviews.
Kyle (technician -- strong positive, mentioned in 8+ reviews for drain and plumbing work). Chris (technician -- positive, multiple reviews praise emergency and weekend response; Chris Kiper praised for garbage disposal work; Chris Mosby praised alongside Ed Clark for multi-day job). Dalton (technician -- strong positive, praised for sewer line work, pipe replacement, explanations, and after-hours response; one prior reviewer noted Kyle left a job unfinished and Dalton completed it). Frank Phelps (technician -- positive, praised for plumbing diagnosis and friendliness). Gavin (technician -- positive, praised for drain work and explanations). Ed / Ed Clark (technician -- positive, praised for persistent drain clearing). Collin (technician -- positive, praised for commercial and residential holiday-season work). Brian Kelty (technician -- positive, praised for persistence on a difficult Friday evening job). Brian (technician -- positive, paired with Chris and Kyle on separate jobs). Emmanuel (technician -- mixed, Martha S praised his efficiency but felt she paid for 2 hours and only got 40 minutes of work on one side of the line). Joseph (technician -- positive, paired with Dalton for after-hours sewer work). James Burch (manager/owner -- positive, showed up to help on jobs, responsive to complaints). Tiffany Burch (manager -- positive, personally followed up on a 3-star complaint). Shay (staff -- positive, mentioned for guiding scheduling). Brandon (supervisor -- positive, helped with paperwork and supervision on an excavation job).
Ask for Kyle, Dalton, or Frank Phelps by name if you can. Get a written estimate before any work starts and compare it to a local independent quote, because Roto-Rooter's franchise pricing runs 2-3x above some competitors for the same job. If you need after-hours emergency service, confirm a technician callback time on the call and have a backup plan if they do not respond within 30 minutes.
Keep in mind
- Pricing runs high. Multiple reviewers report paying $470-$700 for routine drain work that competitors quote at $150-$300. The franchise model sets pricing centrally, and individual technicians have limited flexibility. Get a written estimate before work starts and compare it to at least one local competitor.
- After-hours phone response is inconsistent. Two reviewers called the 24/7 line for emergencies and never received a callback, with one having to call the fire department instead. The answering service does not always reach a technician.
- Mold remediation is a small part of their business. Roto-Rooter is primarily a plumbing and drain company. None of the 433 Google reviews mention mold work specifically, so there is no review-based evidence of their mold remediation quality in Louisville.
- Office staff interactions draw complaints. Several reviewers describe being hung up on or receiving dismissive responses when asking about pricing or scheduling. Owner responses indicate these calls are on recorded lines.
- This is a franchise, not a local independent shop. Service quality varies by technician. Reviewer John Woodruff, who works with them regularly, notes that some techs need more training on checking their work before leaving.