Best Businesses in Massachusetts

No one likes to call a plumber.  No one wants to call a plumber on a weekend with a clog so bad 3 other people couldn't snake it clear.

Somehow I stumbled across Big Blue on the interweb and wow, was I impressed.  Kevin the Plumber called me back promptly after I left a message with his service and had one of his guys at my house at exactly the promised time Monday morning (OK so the clog wasn't THAT bad that I needed him on Sunday evening).  My clog was a mystery.  Well, really, my *pipes* were a mystery and it took a *long* time and 5 of his guys to sort out the problem.  The point is, they kept trying to figure it out, and repeatedly said We'll try this before that so we can save you some cash.  The entire time, all the plumbers who trundled through my house and up and down 4 flights of stairs and up a ladder on to the roof, were completely polite and tidy with their work.

The clog mystery was eventually solved and the price tag was less than I was imagining, AND I got a thank you card in the mail about a week after I paid my bill.  I highly recommend Kevin the Plumber and his team!

I can't believe nobody has reviewed Mike the plumber.  We have had two good experiences with him.  He replaced all of the disintegrating WWII era bronze pipes in our basement for a a very reasonable price on a Monday morning after a Sunday evening call.  He fixed my poor installation of a gas stove.  Sadly, he does not work outside of East Cambridge.   If you have a plumbing problem and you live in East Cambridge, use him.

I asked Gregg to come to my home because I wanted him to install a new gas cooktop and also do some plumbing repairs around my home. He came by, took a look, and said it did not look like a difficult job. Gregg told me to call him after I bought the cooktop. We never discussed any prices. I have had Gregg do some work at my home in the past and he was always top notch in every way.
Two weeks later when the $1700 cooktop arrived, I called and then emailed to Greg asking when would be a good time for him to do the job. He never replied. Phone calls, email, text messages. All were never responded to. Very strange. If he decided he did not want to do the job, I think the professional thing to do would have been to just let me know.  However to simply not respond does not seem right. I have a small business myself and would never treat a customer that way.

We needed our toilet replaced quickly following a klutzy accident that left part of our toilet rim cracked off, causing water to leak out with each toilet flush. My husband and I called at least 5 other companies, none of whom could fit us into their schedules for the next couple days. Then we called J&B's Plumbing - My husband called at 1:43pm and got a call back from Jerry 3 minutes later. He was super accommodating and moved us up in their call list due to our urgent situation. One of his employees (Brian I believe) showed up to the house quickly, assessed the situation, dismantled the broke throne, went out and purchased a new toilet, returned with a coworker and installed the new toilet quickly. The whole process beginning to end was under 3 hours (from 1:43pm to 4:25pm)! Amazing service! Brian was pleasant and professional throughout. Both of the men who were here were great workers, cleaned up after themselves (!!!) and we're very happy with the service we received. Price quote was upfront and reasonable, and nothing changed from the original quote my husband received from the first call. We paid by check but they were able to accommodate cash/card/check.

I called on New Year's day about a frozen pipe burst situation and Angel called me back within 10 minutes. He came over the the apartment promptly and provided a reasonable estimate. He spent time with me explaining everything he saw and what needed to be done. This is all on New Year's Day. He was amazingly patient and nice.

Absolutely, hands down the best plumber and one of the best contractors I have ever worked with. Jodie, office manager, is on top of everything.  Every phone call is returned promptly.  I manage a large museum-lots of plumbing-and Consolidated Plumbing has been a pleasure to work with.  And I've been working with them for years.  Never a disappointment.  Can't say enough nice things about this company.

I ended up getting a followup from Wayne who wanted to check in and see whether the service he and his team provided was still up to my standards.  No doubt it was.  I was informed to call Wayne up personally if anything should go wrong.  He really has bent over backwards to accommodate me and make sure that the service provided was done well.

My original review said:


Wayne was just fantastic.  Honest, earnest and willing to do whatever was necessary to make sure that the issue was fixed.

My particular issue was seemingly easy: a clog, somewhere in the assembly of my tub, was not allowing water to drain through.  Wayne answered his phone immediately (I had not ever met him, I relied on Yelp) and came the next day (a Sunday no less!) at 9am to fix the problem.  Turns out the problem was bigger than he had thought and, as the building is 150 years old, I'm not surprised.  

As asked me if it was OK to call in an associate who had a particular familiarity with drains.  The other man (Tony from Drain Flow in Hyde Park, who is amazing as well) worked tirelessly until they found the problem.  And what a problem it was.

During this entire 2 hours they two men were here they kept me apprised of the situation.  Finally after informing me that the issue was something much larger than either could fix that day, they told me that they could come the next day (a holiday) and fix it first thing.  Amazing.  After another 2 hours the problem was resolved and Wayne showed me the issue offending item that caused such damage in these ancient pipes.  Absolutely amazing work and, not to mention, amazing skill and knowledge.  I can see why Wayne is such an expert in his field, not only is he very smart and capable around the history of plumbing and the genesis of plumbing fixtures in houses (very helpful for the old converted brownstones in Boston), he has a very strong network of associates who can lend assistance should other issues (such as this) get in the way of success.

Wayne was absolutely a pleasure to work with, a real gentleman and very competitively priced.  He kept every promise he made and kept me informed throughout the entire process.  I would use him for as long as he practices his art.

Heard of this company on a neighborhood feed.  Spoken of very highly by several folks.  Had a plumbing issue and called Monday morning.  Dave showed up the next day.  Replaced a 26 y/o frozen shower valve with a brand new one and was here and gone in 45 minutes.  As nice and knowledgeable a fellow as you could want.  Just got the bill.  Very fair.

1)  Quick response
2) Super qualified and nice guy-tradesman
3) Immediate and perfect repair
4) Completely reasonable bill

Am I missing something?

I've been using these guys for years and they are always so kind, their work is fantastic and - on the off chance something doesn't work perfectly - they always come back quickly to make sure it does. Can't ask for better.

Brian came the same day as I called for service. Had the repair done promptly.  I definitely recommend Damaso Plumbing and Heating

We hired Mario to install a new heating system at our home in Dec. 2015.  He was very thorough with his work and very professional.  The job was finished in a timely manner without any issues.  We are extremely happy with our new hot water heater and boiler!  We highly recommend Panza Plumbing & Heating!!

I'm very glad to have found Hinchey Brothers Plumbing, thanks to other positive yelp reviews. I've had them out for 2 projects now. One was a simple outdoor spigot replacement, and the other was a (semi emergency) bathroom remodel. With short notice, Mike came in 1st thing in the morning to remove a leaking toilet flange, the vanity, and capped the pipes. After the new tile floor was laid down, he came back right one time, and worked hard throughout the day to replace the toilet and flange, replace all the shut-offs in the bathroom, put the vanity back in, and even replace the main water shutoff with a new ball valve. THANK YOU MIKE for your hard work! And Thank you Hinchey Brothers for being able to come out and get my tenants bathroom back to them as fast as possible.  As a new homeowner, I'm thrilled to know you're close by.

10/2018 update:
Bill at Hinchey just replaced 2 boilers and 2 hot water tanks in my house. His work was impeccable! Meticulous! I'm beyond impressed with the quality of the installation. Ken, the owner worked closely with me to ensure the project fell within the guidelines in order to receive the MA Save rebates. A+ experience once again.

Showed up on time with a mask on. Checked entire AC system and then provided a detailed summary of his findings. Also had no difficulty scheduling visit. Very pleased with the service. Technician David was professional and very friendly.

Call this company because I needed a water heater replaced they came on time and did a
Great job a highly recommend this company great service

Called last night because my furnace stopped working.  The receptionist put out a page.  This morning I removed the part (a powerpile) that was not working, bought a replacement at a plumbing supply store, and installed it.  Now my furnace is working, but I still haven't gotten a call back.

I bought my house in Somerville 4 years ago and filled it with tenants. When the heater broke on a weekend, I was up a creek - so I called about twenty plumbers, and Barrell were the only ones who were willing to schlep out here.

They are pricey, I agree. This is not my problem with Barrell plumbing & heating.

They did fix my heater in a hurry, and I give them points for availability and being willing to schlep out here, even if I am being charged ~$100/hr of their driving time. I asked the guy at the time if I needed to replace my heater - and he said it was fine, its not an old heater, it should work great.

However, my problem is that my heater broke again the next year. And the next. And each time I called Barrell plumbing, because workmen with any sense of professionalism should warranty their own work. Each time they schlepped out here, charging me ~$100/hr of their driving time, and decided that they needed to replace a different part of my perfectly fine, not too old heater. Each time I wound up paying them over $400.

This year my heater is broken AGAIN, and after having Barrell plumbing come out to look at it for the last three years, I refuse to be suckered by this company again. After having the SAME professionals come look at my heater three years running, work on it, and then tell me everything is fine, I must believe that their shoddy workmanship has contributed to my heater failing every year for the past 3 years.

Barrell Plumbing gets 2 stars because they WILL 'fix' your heater in a hurry. But if you want your heater to stay fixed, I do hope you get someone else to look at it after they do.

After posting my previous review about how dissatisfied I was with MacCo, the company CEO (Stephen) personally reached out to me about a month after my initial review was posted.
After speaking with him for about 20 minutes on the phone and explaining exactly what had happened, he agreed with most of what I had to say and assured me that this is not how they run their business.

It has now been 2 months since my conversation with him and during the entire time, he assigned one of his supervisors to my case and was personally involved (through email) in making sure everything was running smooth. As of last week, the issue with the A/C unit at my parents place was finally resolved and corrected. On top of that, the water heater system was also serviced as a complimentary service for the inconvenience.

I decided to update my review not because I had to but rather because I got the feeling that Stephen genuinely cared and wanted to do what was right. Unfortunately, when companies grow and become very successful, they tend to forget how they got there and they don't always reach out to the dissatisfied customers but thankfully Stephen did.

Lastly, I'd like to let everyone who is reading this and other reviews to know that just because you found one bad apple, it doesn't mean you should give up on the whole tree.  
I am satisfied with their work and will continue to use their services in the future knowing that they have a responsible person guiding their team.

Though you may receive good service, you will pay through the roof, and then if you seek feedback on why the cost is so high, the owner will yell at you and berate you.  

The service provided by Andrew Fodera, the plumber who provided my service was great. He was on time, respectful, answered questions and very helpful. However, you will pay through the roof for the service.  Andrew came to my home twice for no more than an hour each time to assist with a leaky kitchen faucet and continuously running toilet.  I was informed I needed to replace the kitchen faucet and he adjusted the chain in the tank and tightened some bolts.  Andrew returned to install a new kitchen faucet that I had already purchase.  The total for the two visits $791.96.

Feeling this was very high for two hours of work, I contacted Ron Pescatore to inquire about the bill and understand the charges. Only to have him yell at me on the phone and ask me repeatedly what I thought his time is worth.  I indicated that I expected to pay a reasonable hourly rate, but am very surprised at 2 hours of time for the work provided totaled nearly $400 an hour.  He continued to yell over the phone about the cost of his trucks and time to drive to my home stating more than an hour to drive each way.

Be advised, you are paying for labor, owners time to coordinate, drive time and god knows what else.  I take responsibility for not getting a cost estimate prior, I have learned my lesson.

I will pay my bill, but I would recommend that no one hire this company, given the high prices and the treatment you may receive from the owner if you reach out to better understand the cost.  Just know that with this company, you will pay through the roof for basic plumbing needs.

STAY CLEAR FROM THIS COMPANY! Wish I could give a negative star. Very very dishonest! Came and tried to prolong work hour by unnecessary job. The main guy is a big talker, and wastes your time by his life story and investment strategies, and you have to pay for the time he talks! A 30 minutes work eventually took them more than 3 hours to finish. They lied about a machine's price and charged very high price for bringing it to the house. Will never ever use them again. Take my advice, stay away from them!