Barrell Plumbing & Heating

It was frustrating and confusing having Barrell try to repair our system. The first time they came, they checked our interior system but did not check our AC condenser outside the house. That should have been a red flag. They ordered a blower wheel for our AC system but could not install it, saying it was either damaged or the technician didn't know how to install it properly. They ordered a new part, which did not come in. They ordered that same part again (blower wheel and motor). They installed the parts and claimed that the system was fixed. Unfortunately, they did not fix our system. We tried the AC and the heat (furnace) but neither worked; only the fan was working. We didn't want Barrell to come to our house again, since they seemed incompetent and didn't even document the work that they did, so we contacted a highly rated HVAC company on Angie's List. That company, B & G Heating and Air Conditioning, was excellent. They informed us of what they were doing and they fixed our system, quickly and professionally. Barrell had done the wiring wrong. We are happy that B & G was able to repair our system. At the same time, we have had to pay much more to get the job done since we had to hire a different company to complete the work.

Excellent. They came out when they said they gonna come. They replaced 2-3 valves. Price was decent. When you call them, They shown up and dependable.

They do excellent work, but their rates are a little high.

That was $640, with parts and labor. They are so good and reliable, and they come. I had something back up completely in my basement, my little shower down there just filled up a couple of years back and at 2 o-clock in the morning, they came, cleaned everything up and fixed it.

I think it was $742. The pricing was super, that made me happy. They were just so good. They took care of it immediately. When they say they are going to be here, they show.

It was about $850. That is with the parts and labor. I’m not wasting money.

I love Barrell Plumbing. I call them and they will come. I have used him both at my house and my office, I call him and he is there. He is super. I’ve got a problematic area down there, you can’t get to it, it’s behind the heating system. That was $2,000. They’re just so good. Their crew is good, they do it right. I wasn’t thrilled with the original $2,000, but I just think it was a difficult place to get to, so it was a lot more than anyone had planned.

horrible. I'm having my CC company to dispute the charge, as I believe it's extremely wrong to charge me for no agreement, no services provided

This inspection should not have taken more than one hour especially since there was nothing to fix. The extra time it took for Earl the technician to return to his truck several times for various items contributed to lengthier service which I didn't understand would cost me more--such as putting tape over a vent to reduce the airflow, changing the filter which didn't need changing, bringing in the shopvac which wasn't working properly anyway. Those were things I could have done without paying another $80. For decades I have paid a set-rate for yearly heating/ac inspections (spring and fall) with the only additional costs being any repairs that were needed. I'm very dissatisfied with this method of charging by the hour and will look for another company in the future.

I live in a big building and they are currently doing some major work for us. We have not been billed for the receiver tank yet. They have actually been working with us for probably eight or nine years in our building. They know our building very well and their response time is always very quick. Their employees are very professional and they answer any question that anybody has. They are very experienced and they have gotten us out of some emergencies on very little notice. They have saved our building a few times from disasters and leaks. It is a fragile building so they are always there for us when we need them.

Oil to gas conversion. Overall the job was good, but they let too much time go between the quotation and the actual work, which got the job scheduled in a cold period. It all worked out, but I shouldn't have had the stress of having no boiler in November when I contacted them in August. The work was good, although they could have planned the positioning of the equipment better.

We have used Barrell many times. I have had the feeling they overcharged us but continued to use them. This last time it took them an hour and a half to unclog a toilet and snake a sink that had a hair clog. This meant we had to pay two hours. The plumber seemed to be dragging things out. After he left i noticed that the sink he just unclogged was dripping. He came back the next day and fixed it in 20 minutes. Interesting to see how much more quickly he moved when we weren't paying by the hour for the visit!

We had another company come in for routine maintenance. They told us we had a crack in the firebox and they shut down our system without telling us. Joe's tech came in gave us a full assessment of the problem and made some upgrades to the system.

They installed an outdoor faucet for me. I had used it one season. When I turned it on for the first time this spring, it leaked badly. They came and replaced the 0-ring, a job thattook 5 minutes and required no tools. I got an unitemized bill for $175.00.

They came and did what they said they were going to do. They are very efficient and they are informative on what to look out for in the future. The price is reasonable. They save me money and it is great. Sometimes, I call for help, say, I need this and they don't charge me for that. I have had many, many people from the company come to my place, so it has been an ongoing relationship with them.

I called for service Monday morning and was worked into a busy schedule by the afternoon. The plumber determined that the problem was ice forming in the system due to low coolant causing the system to over work. He turned off the system and set the fans to operate manually allowing the warm air to circulate and defrost the system. He returned the next day to insure that it was defrosted, check the coolant levels, and restart the system.

The whole visit took less than an hour. What we thought was a clogged drain was a poorly adjusted drain assembly. The plumber arrived only a few minutes late (and the company called to let us know about five minutes before that he might be late due to traffic). He was polite and professional. He left the bathroom as clean as he found it.

They are honest, get the job done, do what they say they will do. I trust them and will continue to use them for years.

Do yourself a favor and find someone with honest pricing. Guy they sent seemed knowledgeable and professional. Wasn't able to compete job because he couldn't reach the unit within the condo. Presented bill for $165 for 22 minutes of work. When questioned how is that possible he told me and quot;suppliesand quot;. Barrell over charges. When I asked for more specifics they quickly dropped the bill to $125. And when asked for how that broke done they told me labor $95 (min. rate) and $30 for the spray to clean the condenser. Never mind that they were doing all the units in the condo association and presumably charging everyone a $95 minimum rate plus at lead $30 for supplies. When inquiring more they told me they waived a dispatch fee of $25 and additional lubricant fees. ???? I feel cheated. I'm sure they do find work since the guy they sent was professional but the office who was dictating prices over the phone is over charging its customers or worse bilking them.

I like them because they respond to me very quickly. They will give you a price and do the work. They clean up. They do a good job of leaving my house in a good condition. Their price was on the higher side, but to me it was worth it. I will consider using them in the future.

They did a good job. I would use them in the future.

Sunday night late around 10pm, I was finishing the dishes and had no hot water....went to the basement and found the hot water heater just beginning to leak. I called Barrell Plumbing and left a message. I had a call back shortly after and Keith walked me through safely draining the rest of the water from the hot water heater so that I did not have a flood. He told me to call the office early on Monday. I spoke to Katie early AM and she had someone at my house by 8am. We were back up and running by 11am with a new hot water heater. Everyone I worked with was very professional and helpful. I would definitely use them again and have for years. We have always had professional, on-time service. We feel very confident Barrell Plumbing.

I have now used Barrell Plumbing on two occasions and they have been wonderful both times. The first job was to restore water pressure to our shower. The plumber arrived right on time, was very professional, friendly, and fixed the problem in under 10 minutes. The second time they unhooked our old dishwasher and installed a new one. Again, the plumber arrived right on time, worked quickly, efficiently and cleanly. I had a problem receiving the delivery of the dishwasher and Katie, the wonderful woman who scheduled everything for me, was very understanding and flexible with rescheduling the hookup of the new machine. I would highly recommend Barrell Plumbing!

We found the company to be professional and responsive. The work took several days during a particularly cold period during which time we had no heat or hot water. They brought in electric heaters to help out, and began the job pretty promptly. It took several days to take out the old system, do the new piping for the new high efficiency system and get it up and running. When we expressed concern that things were going a bit slowly, they brought in additional help. There were a few glitches after the system was installed and they were very good about sending people over to make changes and repairs until everything was working at 100%. When the Cambridge plumbing inspector (the good one, not the guy who can barely be bothered to get out of his car) came by to sign off on the work he was impressed by the quality and the attention to detail. Although Barrell is a little more expensive (but by no means the most expensive estimate we received), we were happy with their work and the new system. We would certainly use them again -- this after spending many years looking for a good plumber we can count on.

Barrell did an excellent job of diagnosing the original problem, finding, diagnosing additional problems, and being very clear, forthright and and honest about the massive problems we faced as the project expanded. They used photo technology, and other other means to show us what was wrong and met with us frequently both on and off-site to explain all the complex issues involved. They worked with the Clean-Up crew and their schedule from another company designated by the insurance company, made themselves available by phone and email and in person. They constantly kept us abreast of their progress and problems as they arose. They gave us decent estimates and were honest with us when they were not sure what the full costs would eventually be. They actually did come very close to their original estmates, despite the complexity of the problems and mutltiple people and units involved. They worked under tremendous pressure from the original unit owners whose unit had been affected and met with them, the Trustees and the Managment Co., when communications broke down and work nearly came to a halt. They were instrumental in helping to alleviate those owners fears and instrumental in getting them to cooperate when all else had failed. Given the timing, complexity, difficulty, pressure and expanding nature of the problems involved - they performed magnificently. While they are not cheap - they were also fairly reasonable in our estimation and stayed pretty close to their original estimate despite many wider problems that arose during the process of trying to complete this job. Not only would I highly recommend them to anyone, we are using them again for additional problems in our building and they continue to provide outstanding service. After years of poor or 'not so good' plumbing services, we finally feel we've come upon a business that we can work with, that are honest and reliable and who do excellent work. You can't ask for much more than that.