Franco Belli Plumbing & Heating & Sons

We had an issue with our apartment where the hot water coming from the shower only lasted 5 minutes max! Serge and his helper came and diagnosed the issue and provided a detailed explanation on how everything works. He told us that we needed a new gas regulator on our hot water heater.

We had just bought the house last year, so he suggested that we get a new hot water heater (plus gas regulator) under warranty. Franco Belli Plumbing & Heating took care of everything for us! They called the hot water heater manufacturer and got us a new hot water heater under warranty then installed it in 3 hours! Everything works perfectly now! They charged us for 2 hours of diagnostic time and 3 hours for installation.

Great customer service! Definitely will use these guys again and again!

Thanks Manny and Serge!

Had previously had good experiences with this company as my co-op has used them for a few years. That said, last time they came and did radiator work they caused a lot of damage to my window sill from a saw they were using to cut radiator pieces. Both the window and the radiator need to be repaired/repainted. I was put in touch with Paul who was apologetic, and offered to have someone come paint it. I replied back with my preferred solution, and ask of $75 to have my painter handle it while he was here for other work. I've followed up 5 times since and Paul has never responded. Before and after pics of the damaged window attached.

These guys are right. The did a big boiler job for us, mitigated some gas issues, and ultimately were a really solid team of professionals. Planning to give them more work this year and refer them to colleagues. They shoot straight, price fair, and their crew knows their stuff. Pretty pleased.

They had worked on the heater fix in Dec 2021 by replacing the Pressure Relief Valve (external).  The total bill is $852.72.  I had asked 3 times (initial assessment, office and the on-site tech), none of them provided price quote.  Then they billed me $250 for the 1 hour they took to by the replacement part, but never disclosed of this billable hour upfront.  The valve was billed for $247, market value is $150.  I had to pay $500 just for the replacement part.  Emailed the company a few times and no productive response so far.  The worst part is after the onsite tech claimed the work is done and left, 4 mins later, the replaced new valve started leaking again.  The company owner claimed there is nothing wrong with their service quality.  After they adjusted the pressure, leaked stopped.  It makes me wonder if the part replacement($500) is even necessary?  Hope my experience is helpful to you since I don't wish anyone has to go through this like me.

This company charged my credit card without my permission, months after they performed work for which i was terribly overcharged to begin with. This is the most misleading, incapable company, and not to mention (again)  that they fraudulently charged my credit card.
Consumer beware.

FRAUDS-DISHONEST
I started to change the float system in my toilet tank got it all drained and old removed and hit an impasse. I called the company which forwarded me to a cell phone. I told him the issue, asked him a price. I had the equipment already (brand new float and flapper combo) has already taken the tank apart and old float and flapper our. He told me if I had the equipment it would be 175+tax. I agreed. He told me to call the front desk and give them my credit card. I did such and he sent over a worker.
The worker was respectful and neat and did a great job. But he told me he had to use his own equipment since he was responsible for the job. I told him to use mine or take mine since I just opened it and won't have use for it.
He completed the project. It worked and still works great.

Four days later I get a charge for 275+. I email/call and text him. He tells me to call the store for a reason and then calls me and said it's because they used their own equipment. It was a forced issue. I asked for a refund 100.00. I told him I would dispute the claim for 100.00 because I was willing to pay the agreed to cost not a billed one he made up. I NEVER SIGNED A RECEIPT FOR 275+.

NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH INDIVIDUALS LIKE THIS. Good riddance

This place has great reviews but horrible expierence. I call to make the appointment last week for today from 8am-12noon. Get up early today, waiting for the plumber to come to my home and 1230pm rolls around no plumber, I call the office, no apology after I explain to him the situation. He tells me he will call plumber to see what the hold up is. 45 mins later no call back. I call him the office again. No apology again, puts me on hold comes back and says I need to cancel with the actually plumber not the office. Meanwhile I made the appt with the office.. what??? I got angry telling him I wasted  a whole morning waiting when I have a million things to do and you can't cancel the appt for me, his response, again no apology and says you made the appt with him I can't cancel it. He was cool as a cucumber, not a Care for how fucked up this all is. Wow all I got to say.
..................

In response to your response. Your office guy gave me no care in the world that I stood home from 8am- 1pm waiting for your plumber. No apology, no feeling bad. I felt dropped and not cared for. That's not customer service. I understand freak accidents happens like heading to the Hospital but the way it was handle (the customer service) is what I had the problem with. Then telling me I need to get a hold of the plumber myself to cancel because he put me hold and he tried to reach him and couldn't. And saying I need to cancel with plumber because I made the appt with him when really I made the appt with the office. I even told your office guy before I hung up on him that I will be writing a negative review on Yelp, why didn't he try to call me back and clear things up with me, make it right? No call back.

Told me to call back in two weeks so I did. Big mistake! The guy over the phone would not let me speak and he was extremely rude. I couldn't even set up an appointment without giving my credit card information up first. I was just treated like they didn't care to help me and were so overwhelming popular that they didn't need my business. All I wanted was for someone to come check out my heater. It was just very disappointing.

I live in Brooklyn and have used Franco Belli Plumbing to fix plumbing in my co op apartment. Franco Belli Plumbing is always responsive and affordable.  Thank you Franco Belli Plumbing.

I am 100% pleased with the service I received from Franco Belli Plumbing today on my radiators and boiler.  The guys were here first thing at 8:30am and had the problem with the non-functioning third floor radiator diagnosed and fixed within 30 minutes. They noticed one of the radiators was spitting wildly on the third floor and fixed that too.  I've had these problems for years and had other plumbers come to look at them...only to quote insanely high prices per radiator and tell me I should just gets new boiler....not these guys.  They had it all figured out and fixed on a very reasonable hourly rate.  Manny the supervisor called after to check in, confirm I'm happy, and thank me.  I'm genuinely relieved to have found Franco Belli - they are my plumbers for life!  Thanks guys!  Really great work.  

Caveat: the process of scheduling the appt was a little quirky, but the scheduler was lovely and they over delivered at every important opportunity.

Manny and Frank did a great job helping remove an old radiator and cutting and sealing a floor pipe. They were easy to work with, and explained everything they were doing, on-time, and responsive. So glad I found them after another local plumber never showed to our appointment, and some others wouldn't give me a price estimate without charging me to come out. I'd recommend this company to anyone.

I had a very mixed experience with these guys. Manny and his helpers seemed like nice enough guys initially. The TL;DR is that they wired the system incorrectly which resulted in a lot of wasted heat and potential damage/wear to a brand new boiler. Manny also wasn't shy about squeezing an exorbitant amount of money from us (far beyond his quote over the phone) and then taking a really aggressive tone with my wife when she rightfully expressed concern about the unexpected cost.

They came to the rescue over the Christmas holidays when my hot water heater sprang a leak. They installed the new hot water maker and connected all of the plumbing just fine. However, the electrician they sent (which they made me pay separately) didn't know what he was doing and wired the aquastat on the hot water maker (which is indirectly heated from the gas boiler) to fire up the boiler whenever it needed to make more hot water. The result was that every time someone would take a hot shower, the boiler would have to fire on full blast to circulate enough hot water to the hot water maker and everyone in the house would bake because the boiler would also make steam as a byproduct that overheated the house. The correct way to wire it would've been to wire the aquastat to turn on the pump to bring in the hot water from the boiler to the hot water maker. Something that wouldn't be rectified until more than a year later by a more knowledgeable plumber. But what really soured our experience with Manny was the way we were aggressively squeezed for a lot more money than was initially quoted. Anyhow, we finally have a plumber we can trust so we count ourselves fortunate.

Update: This company is now harassing me on Yelp. Screenshot uploaded.

Our first interaction was great. They made a speedy appointment and had great reviews. Plumber and his assistant arrived within the window and were very nice. I needed a shower leak sealed, a running and clogging toilet fixed, and another shower head installed. First he insisted there was nothing wrong with my toilet. He said he put paper in, flushed it and it's fine. (This toilet clogs literally every day. The previous tenants had the same problem. I know it's not right.) But he just did an unclogging (which it didn't really need) and went on his way. Then onto the showers, including silicon for the leak -- which I told him I'd already done myself, but sure. Overall they were there for two hours, a third of which was spent sitting on my toilet seat talking to me. Just talking. About contractors and how showers are installed because they recommended I call one about the shower. Despite multiple attempts to end the conversation by saying, Ok. I got it. Thanks for coming! it just went on and on. I know he was being nice. And it would have been a lovely gesture had they not included this chat session in the hourly rate and made me pay for it. But I didn't complain because, again, he was a nice guy and I mistakenly assumed they'd done a good job. No need to get the guy in trouble.

Fast forward a week. I have to call them AGAIN because the toilet has clogged up at least half a dozen times and it's back to running again despite the first plumber's insistence that it was fine. Another plumber arrives and tests it with toilet paper. He said that while at first there was no clogging, he realized he wasn't using the amount of paper a person normally would -- a common mistake, he says. The minute he used a slightly larger amount, instant clog. He suggests that it's the toilet paper. I tell him this is the fourth variety we've used and it doesn't block the toilet upstairs. He says, Oh. Then it's the toilet. You'll need to replace it. I'm fine with this. I tell him to have his company send me a quote. He checks the leaky shower one last time and confirms it needs a contractor -- I wanted a second opinion after the first guy appeared to be wrong about everything else. He mentions knowing the plumber in question and admits he does get rather chatty. He was here for maybe 15 minutes, I signed the paperwork, and he left.

A little later I get the phone call telling me they're charging me approximately $200 for this visit -- a visit that was only necessary because they failed to properly do the job first time. I tell them absolutely not. The first plumber refused to believe there was a problem with the toilet, didn't properly inspect it, and in 1/8 of the time the other guy identified the problem and told me it needs to be replaced. Why am I paying you for the same job twice? Now at this point I'm talking to the owner, who proceeds to fight me for nearly a half hour. Here are some of the winning things he said:

- So you've just been without a toilet for a week? (No. I've just been doing your job and unclogging it repeatedly.)
- Why did I just believe him when he said it needs to be replaced? (Why did I believe YOUR plumber? I don't know. Reasonable expectation that he knows how to do his job?)
- He thinks I'm too excited. (Really? Are you going to call me hysterical next?)
- They did their job. It's not their fault it didn't work. (Great work ethic.)
- Why didn't I refuse to sign the invoice or tell the first guy I wouldn't pay him because he talked so much instead of complaining to the owner? (Mind you, I wasn't asking for a refund for those services. Just stating that maybe after all that, charging me $200 for 15 minutes to fix your own work wasn't the best idea.)

Finally, he starts to understand that I'm not trying to rob him blind, and when I tell him I refuse to use him moving forward and to send just me my invoice, he starts trying to make it better.  My favorite was when he told me he's not going to charge me so he can sleep at night, like he's doing me this huge favor by being a reasonable human being and treating his customer with some amount of consideration. He apologized for upsetting me but after 30 minutes of having EVERYTHING I said be refuted and questioned and essentially having him insinuate that I was trying to put one over on them, I wanted none of it. I wanted my invoice and our business would be done.

Then, as the cherry on the sundae, I get the invoice from them -- the one that I asked include what the plumber said about replacing the toilet and the estimate for it so I can give it to my landlord -- and it just says that the toilet paper is the problem. ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME. The incompetence is astounding.

I still need to get this toilet replaced but I will absolutely be going elsewhere to do it.

Hi!  My name is Yaniv.  I live in the Park Slope area.  I hired Franco Belli to address an issue with my boiler.  Manny, the plumber I worked with, was unfailingly polite and responsive.  Still, I would strongly, strongly urge you to look elsewhere.

Over the course of one month, three separate visits, and $2,000 in charges, Manny attended to my heater.  The boiler was exactly as dysfunctional after a month of his work as it was when he started.  I decided, reluctantly, to get a second opinion.  The other plumber (no advertisements here) diagnosed the problem in--no joke--ten seconds, had the boiler up and running again in less than half an hour, and he did it all at a quarter the cost of what I had already paid Franco Belli.  

I expressed my frustration with Manny at having spent $2,000 to no avail. He became (suddenly, uncharacteristically) non-responsive.

Here's the upshot: I bet Franco Belli fixes most of the problems they encounter without a hiccup.  You might have a great experience with them.  But there are a lot of plumbers in the neighborhood, some of them truly excellent: I suggest you keep looking.

Seeing so many positive reviews for an organization that squeezed me for money while causing more damage than if they never came here at all - this is extremely dismaying to me because I rely on Yelp.

I had just moved into a house and required maintenance on my steam boiler before the 2015 winter season really kicked in.  I looked around on Yelp and chose the most positive reviews.

I called up Franco Belli, and they gave me an hourly charge with an estimate of '2-4 hours' to take apart, clean the steam boiler and put in a chemical that helps clean the water and balance the PH, and also check that it was working.

Let's keep this short.    There are two aspects to my bad experience.

First is, they were on site 5 hours, but one hour was spent on the road driving to go pick up a part.  Not only that, but they went out again as the part 'was bad'.   When I called the master plumber, I was assured the one hour would be knocked off.  When I receive the bill, it's still 5 hours.  I call them up and I'm told that they were there an extra 10 minutes, and that 'rounds up' to one hour.  I yelled and screamed til they knocked it off.  Is this the normal way to squeeze the customer in this industry?

Second, and this is why I'm finally writing this review.    When the plumbers were here, they said it was normal, upon final check, that the boiler was short cycling, although he didn't use that term.   He said it turned on and off a few times initially (because he NOTICED THIS), and eventually it'll stay on.  He said this was a normal thing for it to do initially.  Also the pressuretrol fell right off while he was there, and he cursed and pushed it back on.     Both of these things turned out to be big mistakes on my part - for trusting them.

Fast forward a few months later, and the boiler is still short cycling, and part of my house is forever freezing.   After scrambling around, and not calling these people back, a real plumber, recommended by a homeowner friend, stops by and discovers a) the system is short cycling because it's 'surging' (googleable plumbing/heating term), b) the water gauge itself is dirty and not accurate and was never cleaned, c) the pressuretrol is totally broken, d) the low water cutoff mechanism was malfunctioning, really due to the surging which they never noticed.  All of a, b, c and d would have been caught by these plumbers.    But the real scary thing is, the pressuretrol would never have worked (it was totally clogged), and as a result the auto-shutoff for the pressure being too high, had that ever happened, would never have triggered.

I have the quote from October right here, Test low water cut off and auto feeder which is absolute BS.  It never worked while you were here.  Shame on you for lying to me for my money.  And you never bothered checking the pressuretrol, despite this work having been a full maintenance of the boiler.

I wouldn't use the term crooks.  I'd use the term 'indifferent' and 'greedy' to describe this company, as they were far more eager for the billing than to actually do a good job.

Now I will take a deep breath and revel in my heat, after months of suffering.

edit: 'Manny', who is mentioned everywhere on the below glowing reviews, was only the 'telephone guy' in my experience.  The guys who came were not Manny, and I'm wondering whether they knew anything about my boiler at all.   Maybe it would have gone better if Manny had been here himself - Manny, if you're reading this, take note of what your guys are doing.

Manny is indeed the boiler magician, as his assistant calls him. He came to fix my boiler after a plumber a few days earlier couldn't do it. He patiently and professionally analyzed the various problems and replaced parts that weren't working correctly. He also stayed after finishing to make sure it properly worked through a few cycles. The man is a genius and both him and his helper were so pleasant and professional. Highly recommend.

Yes, I agree with Belle M.  -- DON'T USE THESE PEOPLE FOR SMALL JOBS -- they send the hacks out to do them.  I had a small simple job (installing a mini radiator), they hire poorly trained people for these jobs -- the first attempt at install was totally screwed up, plus hustling behavior for the guy they sent out, then they charged me $500 for it. It's like they're using YOU for on-the-job training for their entry-level employees.

In general -- you're going to get screwed in the plumbing business because it's a licensed business that restricts competition.  But at least for $500 you should expect a simple job to be done right and professionally -- but don't expect that here.

We were out of town and my tenant had a plumbing emergency and found Franco Belli on Yelp
It was right before Xmas and it was hard to get anyone to come so quickly. They did an excellent job for a very fair price.
So when his apt. had another issue we called them and they spent 3.5hrs and did a fantastic job. This was the first time we had direct experience with them.
They solved a very complex blockage problem between the washing machine in the bathroom and the kitchen drain in the next room. They really kept at it until they figured the root cause and then they fixed it.
I cannot recommend Larry and his partner highly enough. Trustworthy, competent and experienced. They also cleared up very well.

I just had to replace a water heater in the building.  Steven and his helper showed up same day and swapped the boiler same day despite having to remove doors to get the boiler in.  After getting the hot water working, they scheduled a follow=up appointment to finish cleaning up and taking everything away.  The nicest people and you can  speak to the boss.
Manny came by on the 2nd visit to help clear up some other issues and i could not be happier.

This review is for Manny. Our boiler stopped working the week before Thanksgiving, so I started my search for a professional who could help me with the repair. When I first called and spoke to Manny, I didn't realize how fortunate we have been, but two weeks later today, I can say with confidence that Manny is a true professional and we could not have managed without him. Since we had a complex situation, it took a long time for us to figure out what we needed to do. Throughout the process, Manny was as knowledgeable and efficient as he was kind and generous with his expertise and insights. It is so evident that Manny cares about the work he does, but he cares even more about getting it done the right way. Over five visits in two weeks, he patiently walked us through every problem, and was always honest and accessible in his communications. I cannot recommend him more highly and while it was frustrating to be sure for us to have to deal with a malfunctioning boiler and we had our fair share of the few days without heat, Manny is as good as it gets in the world of heating and plumbing professional. Franco Belli is fortunate to have Manny on its staff because people like him are not only so valuable, but also increasingly rare. Thank you so much, Manny.

As I sat in a hair salon waiting for my wife to be done I observed a plumber greet an employee with a courtesy not often seen. He was clean and unobtrusive as he did his job without intruding on customers. The respect and quality of work, especially professionalism,  is what will prompt me to request Stratos for any needs that may arise in my houses.

My heat went out in the middle of a coldsnap. Other companies were so busy they wouldn't even return my calls or were asking extortionate  rates for what I knew was a minor repair.  Manny made an appointment with me for later in the week, and he kept it despite a blizzard striking the morning of. Manny was friendly, the work was done pretty fast, and my heat was on before lunch. I'd use this company again.

Manny was amazing! We had a leak in our boiler room for our 8 unit coop and 4 other plumbers told us we needed to replace the whole thing... we got bids as high as $19,000! Then Manny came by and suggested we look closer to see if its fixable- he discovered the problem was actually a gasket that was rotted and not a cracked section of the boiler as everyone else told us. It was a day of work to replace it, but in the end we saved thousands of dollars and huge hassles of dealing with the DOB etc. Manny is the man!

Can't say enough about Manny and the good people at Franco Belli. They answered all my questions, did the job, and found ways to save me money by not breaking tile. Also, at no charge, Manny gave me suggestions on a type of faucet to buy, and THEN took my call when I was at the plumbing supply store. When the plumbing supply store sold me the wrong thing, two plumbers from Franco Belli negotiated the return. They were wonderful, knowledgeable, and kind.

Franco Belli is probably the fifth or sixth company to work on the boiler in my apartment, and from now on, this is the only company I will use for my plumbing and heating needs. The recent cold snap resulted in two damaged pipes in the century-old converted brewery where I live. Ken Torres and Paris Newkirk expertly installed new pipes and insulated them, all the while informing me of the details. Project manager Manny Roveccio (aka The Boiler Whisperer) and Evan Glicksman masterfully repaired my existing boiler (thereby saving me the expense of a new unit) and patiently waited for it to cycle through many times before departing from my home. I could see that they were performing way beyond the usual fix-it routine. All four gentlemen tidied up their work areas. All four treated me with incredible respect and compassion. All four were organized, skillful, and professional. They made all previous plumbing and heating people who had been to my home look like clowns.

Excellent customer service. Excellent work for both residential and commercial.  I've been referring customers and using them for our co-op and our families homes for years. Truly a credit to the plumbing profession.  Very reliable and affordable.

Nick in Bay Ridge.

Manny and Evan came to the rescue! The heat stopped working yesterday afternoon and they came over first thing in the morning to fix it, fitting us into their already packed schedule. They had quite a job to do as the boiler was flooded with water, but Manny analyzed the situation and figured out how to fix everything. He was patient and kind and explained everything he was doing so I could understand what was going on. He and Evan problem-solved and stuck it out until everything was in working order, even waiting through a few cycles to make sure. Manny also made up a follow-up appointment for maintenance to ensure everything is still running properly. Another reviewer called Manny a boiler magician and indeed, he is! If you need help with your plumbing and heating, definitely call Manny and Evan from Franco Belli!

Manny came by to fix a problem with our boiler a few weeks ago. He was efficient and neat throughout the whole process. Unlike others I have called in the past, he was pleasant and honest with me. I will definitely call and recommend Manny for future projects.

Franco Belli has been an absolute lifesaver for our building. They have helped with heating issues (they can fix Triangle Tube Systems), plumbing issues and fire sprinkler care.
They are nice, reliable and fair!

After experiencing some initial frustrations with the company and posting a negative Yelp review Franco Belli promptly and graciously corrected the issues we were experiencing at no charge.

I've used this plumber a few times in the past and what separates them from the rest is honesty. If you have no knowledge of plumbing or heating, other companies might take advantage of you. They might create unnecessary work or tell you that you need to replace a certain part in order to squeeze more money out of you. Franco Belli sent a guy who was nice and helpful and TOLD ME how to fix the problem if it should happen again in order to help me save money. That is integrity in a nutshell. That reason alone makes this my go-to company for any plumbing or heating needs.

Franco Belli recently installed a water meter in our basement and also reset and resealed a leaky toilet. They were easy to work with. Fast. Accommodating. Kind and efficient. I would be happy to work with Franco Belli again in the future.

Called them to take a look at low hot water pressure in our shower and bathroom and kitchen sinks. They sent two plumbers out.  They were courteous and professional, texted before they arrived, and did not waste time. Now my shower has plenty of hot water and the sinks have no issues as well. Has a positive experience,  would call again in the future.

My boiler was not working. I had a company come out and say that it was so old and carbonized the best bet was to replace it.  I called other companies who either refused the work of attempting to fix and clean or suggested a full replacement. Upon recommendation of my realtor, I called Franco Belli Plumbing.  I spoke with the manager there, Manny, who after seeing photos of my boiler, insisted he could fix the boiler.  And fix it he did! Manny knows what he is doing, he's like a boiler artist, a Mozart of heating systems. He just gets it. My boiler is up and running perfectly, and judging from the way it looked on the inside before and after - is running even better than it was before.  Such fair pricing as well, after a lot of researching and calling around - Manny did this amazing work and saved me from using another company and their easy way out of installing an entire new boiler at $5K when I could get another 10 years out of this one. Don't hesitate to call Franco Belli Plumbing & Heating!  Manny is the best!

I've never written a Yelp review but my experience with Manny from Franco Belli Plumbing  requires that I shout their names from the rooftop! I was having trouble with the plumbing connected to my ptac unit and Manny came to my rescue.  He was extremely responsive, friendly and professional.  He patiently weighed several different options and stayed with me to confirm that his final fix worked.  The price was reasonable and I never felt that he was trying to rip me off.  I can't recommend them highly enough!

Manny at Franco Belli did a great job diagnosing the problem I was having with my Quietside water heater (which is a terrible machine--if you're thinking about installing one, DONT). There was a major installation issue that he figured out, then got on the phone with the company to get them to send me a replacement part, which he and an associate then came and installed. I'm really hoping that's the last time I'll need to call them about this heater, but I'll definitely call them again for other plumbing or heating issues that come up!

Amazing plumbers!!! I first met them when they fixed an emergency gas pipe leak and I couldn't thank them enough -- beautiful professional job. I should have called them 6 weeks ago when my boiler wouldn't start. I did the mistake in calling Arnica plumbers who installed my boiler in 1998. Arnica's plumber said a part that I needed for my boiler wasn't being made anymore -- so after a patch up job and an 800 dollar bill my boiler only worked for 6 weeks. He tried to push a new boiler on me. So last night my boiler stopped working I called Arnica and an appointment wouldn't be available for a full day. I'm flying tomorrow noon for Thanksgiving holiday and they wouldn't make an exception. I called Franco Belli and that part that Anika said wasn't made anymore Franco Belli found it in a heart beat. I love these guys in two hours I had heat again. They know the trade and they don't rip you off!!! Amazing workers -- thank you so much for being honest and reliable!!!