Ray Cadotte Plumbing & Heating

Professional, courteous, timely. Our boiler was acting up during the holidays and Ray quickly diagnosed the problem over the phone, and gave us a quick rundown on how to get it up and running. It was extremely easy to schedule a follow-up appointment to look at the issue a little further. Our boiler is running smoothly again, and we also have a better understanding of how our system was put together thanks to his advice.

Ray quoted a replacement natural gas steam boiler at a price well under what both Boston Standard and Sila quoted me. Well under meaning close to 20% less. Ray is very responsive by phone and he shows up when he says is going to. Ray had done maintenance on our old boiler prior to this complete replacement. He actually performed maintenance on our old steam boiler, unlike when Boston Standard and Sila did maintenance they would simply turn it on and made sure it fired up. When Ray came and did maintenance after the 4 years we had both Boston Standard and Sila maintain our boiler he disassembled and cleaned out the incoming piping, replaced the glass water tube level, added a skimming drain, skimmed the boiler, etc. The prior 2 companies never did that level of work and it was in bad shape. In addition, not many technicians have knowledge of steam boilers these days even though they are still quite common in New England homes. Back to the new replacement boiler that we just had completed. Ray did a fantastic job on the installation. I really couldn't ask for better service. He was timely and efficient (we had our heat back on the same day), explained everything thoroughly (usually multiple times for my benefit) and has called and come back to check on everything a couple times since the installation. He's really gone above and beyond. We have 1-pipe steam radiators and he understands the intricacy of steam quite well. Ray also did all the plumbing when we had our kitchen renovated. He was our contractor's choice for a plumber (which is how we found Ray) which gave him that extra credibility knowing other professionals use his services. I would not hesitate to use Ray again in the future and recommend him to everyone.

Ray is always very prompt, professional, friendly, respectful, which is particularly important for me given that I am a single woman and can often be treated less than respectfully. He came to fix my heat and realized that a switch had been flipped, he made some minor adjustments, which got the heat back on line and did not charge me. He has a great sense of humor, has in the past charged me very reasonable rates and is super responsive.

I got several estimates, but Ray's was absolutely the best. He wasn't the cheapest, but the cheapest guy did not know what he was doing and was not going to change any of the pipes. Ray came in and did a wonderful job installing the new boiler, getting the inspection and helping me fill out paper for my heat loan and rebate. When my neighbor's boiler failed a month later - and spit water from the radiators all over our house - he answered our emergency call, diagnosed the problem over the phone and helped us get someone there ASAP to fix. I can't say enough good things about Ray.

He is my main man. I love the man. I just call him Ray and tell him if I have a problem. I actually leave him a key. I do not even have to be home for him to come. I always use him. If I have a little problem, I actually put a call to him and tell him to take care of it.

Ray's price for just the furnace installation was $3000 less than a competitor. I wanted to get a "Heat Loan" (0% interest for 7 years). This required Ray to submit a formal proposal with my application to MassSave. He gladly did this and worked with me through the process. When the "Heat Loan" was approved and I could get the loan, he put in the furnace immediately. With my permission he worked Saturday and late into the evening to get me heat ASAP. He installed the radiators flawlessly. Ray always cleaned up after his work. Ray is a great guy, accommodating and professional. His work is excellent.

Quick response, competitive price, neat job

Ray was fantastic. I called him on the Thursday before Christmas and he responded immediately. He had our new boiler up and running 2 days later?after spending a very long Saturday in our basement. Ray is a consummate professional. He took the time to thoroughly examine our old system and determine what work was needed. He explained what needed to be done and why, and he made himself available at every step of the project to answer my questions, etc. I could tell by watching him work that he really knew his stuff. The routing for the new black pipe he put in is a work of art. Every turn and angle was thought out carefully and it really shows. Ray also brought in a highly competent team. From the guys who delivered our new boiler and carted away the old one, to the chimney sweep who inspected our chimney, to the electrician who wried the boiler?every member of the team was knowledgable, courteous, punctual, and honest. They even cleaned up after themselves before leaving. We have a very old house, and there were several challenges to contend with. Ray stuck to his original quote, with the exception of just a few add-ons that became necessary when additional problems were noticed during the project. Ray talked with me about these first and sought my ok before doing the work. Another thing I really appreciated about Ray is his focus on safety. He would not leave the boiler until he was absolutely sure it was safe to operate. New boilers can be a bit temperamental because of the oils used in the manufacturing process and pipe fitting, so Ray stayed until it had calmed down enough to leave alone. He also installed a combustion air system, because he was concerned that our basement was too small to provide the necessary amount of oxygen for safe and efficient operation. I can't say enough about what an excellent job Ray did. I have dealt with several other plumbers and HVAC companies that failed to impress. I will never call anyone but Ray again!

We have used Ray for a few plumbing matters over the past year. He was recommended to us by our GC to replace some corroded pipes in our attic. It was not an urgent job, and unfortunately, it did take a while to get on Ray's calendar, but once we had it scheduled, he was prompt, efficient, professional and oh-so-nice to work with. When we had an emergency situation with our boiler in November, Ray replied with great urgency, and came over from another job during his lunch hour to assess our situation. He noted the age and poor condition of our boiler at that time, but could not have been more "low pressure" about replacing it. He simply suggested coming back to clean the boiler on a less urgent basis and said that he would be happy to discuss options for replacing it when we were ready. This summer, Ray is working with our GC to assist us in renovating 2 bathrooms, which has involved a great deal of plumbing work. We have also hired him to replace that dreaded old boiler and to create a heating "manifold" to help control our old radiators. My favorite thing about Ray is that it seems important to him that his clients really understand the work he is doing--he made a great effort to sit down and and talk to us about the work we wanted to complete and what our various options and solutions were. I would highly recommend him, IF you can get on his schedule. Understandably, in an industry with many questionable professionals, Ray is in great demand. Coupled with the fact that he only lives in the Boston area part-time, it could be difficult to coordinate a project with him. It also means that he may be out of the area when emergencies arise.

Ray was very professional and gave me a price qoute that he stuck to despite some additional challenges given my home's set-up. He also explained every detail of the work to be done so I could understand why things were needed and how much they would cost. Ray perfomed the work in the time he originally stated, and came back several times for some follow up items that are needed in a new boiler install. Each and every time Ray came to the house he did so promptly. He also was great at repsonding to inquiries and phone calls.

Ray is the best contractor we ever used and we would recommend him to anyone needing plumbing or heating work done. Ray performed the work in a very professional manner. He really knows plumbing and heating in a very deep and complete way. We now have wonderful boiler that heats our house very quickly and efficiently. Ray is very punctual and is also a great communicator. He explained everything he was doing, including repiping our lines so that they work much more effectively than before. He even located a pipe that was flowing backwards and preventing steam from getting into our bathroom radiator. Ray completed the project on time and his final invoice matched his original proposal. Both Ray and his subcontractors cleaned up each day after their work was done. Ray is very personable with a funny, dry sense of humor. Also, he was very careful not to let our indoor cats out.

He is a master plumber and a very considerate man. He took special pains to accommodate my schedule and also was very sensitive to the needs of my cat who is easily frightened!

We received a number of bids to replace our boiler. We decided to go with Ray due to his excellent recommendations for our particular house. We are renovating an old Victorian home and he was very knowledgeable about which boilers would work best. He also was able to install the boiler to meet a rebate deadline which helped us out quite a bit financially. It was clear he truly cared about his work and customer service. He took the time to explain how the boiler worked and answered all of our questions. Since the installation we had a gas fireplace installed and the plumber subcontracted for the job commented on the quality of the boiler installation. Aside from being a highly qualified plumber, Ray has a great personality and sense of humor.

My 2-family house had oil-fired steam boilers in both units. One was new, and Ray converted it to a gas system with a conversion burner and new gas piping. In the other unit Ray replaced the oil boiler with a gas boiler along with an indirect-fired water heater. He did a nice job locating the indirect tank to minimize the space it takes up in the basement, even though I think it made the piping more difficult, and used high-quality materials for the circulator. He arranged for the chimney inspection, tank removal, and city inspection, and that all went smooth. National Grid needed to install a gas meter, and I arranged for that myself. When NG came and did that I gave Ray a call and he came over right away to finish up and get my heat turned on, as it was cold out. Ray was punctual, efficient, pleasant, and happy to answer lots of questions, which I appreciated. He gave me some good tips for operating a steam heating system, and took care of a few other small things in the days he was over, at no extra charge. I had gotten a few quotes and Ray's was very competitive and I felt good about his responsiveness in discussing and planning the work. All in all I'm very satisfied with the work and would choose him again.

I had four plumbers come to give me quotes. Ray and another plumber quoted me the same price, but Ray included the make-up air unit in his quote where it was an add-on in the other quote. As the unit is required for code I picked Ray because the price was effectively $800 cheaper. Ray had the new boiler delivered from a plumbing supply company on a Saturday at a time I specified. He started the work on the Sunday. I gave him a key to our house (can't be home during the week for work) so he finished installing the boiler on Monday. On Thursday he returned and had an electrician wire the boiler and thermostat and the plumbing inspector came and signed off on the boiler. He came by that evening after I got home from work, showed me how the boiler works, how to clean it, and how to change the settings. I gave him a check and he told me if I have any problems to give him a call. He also fixed the water shutoff valve that happened to break on our toilet Wednesday night free of charge. I recommended Ray to my neighbor and have called him back for other work since. I was really impressed that he cut and threaded pipes in my garage! He also cleaned my basement when he was done.

Ray was a joy to work with. He presented a professional demeanor and appearance. His work was impeccable and completed ahead of schedule and coordinated the work with my tenants. I have elected to hire him for all my plumbing needs in the future.

Ray was a pleasure to work with, from our first conversation onward. He was professional, knowledgeable and didn't have any sort of sales pitch as did many of the other contractors I'd consulted. After I was told something concerning by another provider, Ray called the manufacturer to clarify, before I was even a client. His diagnosis of the problem seems to have been correct, and while he did significant re-piping, boiler skimming and teaching his price was markedly less than quotes from others who seemed less experienced or trustworthy. I loved that part of the fix empowered me to perform follow up routine maintenance independently. I also think it was telling that Ray did not expect any payment up front, or even on the 9 hour day he spent doing the work; follow up service in a couple weeks was built into his quote and he would have waited until the job was complete before taking payment. A++ service, attitude, professionalism and value.

They seemed honest and responsive. They were hard working.

3 hours from the time I first saw a puddle beneath our old water heater to the time we had the new one installed. Ray was fast, informative, personable & capable. A very satisfying experience all around.

Ray was very prompt returning my first phone call. He came right out to look it over, and called me back later that day with the installed price for a new one. I gave him the go ahead and he ordered it for us. It was a pleasure to find a plumber who I didn't have to keep calling to find out when he would return to do the installation. The installation looks very neatly done, and of course the heater heats the water great. It was a very satisfying experience overall.

Ray was very responsive and communicative through the whole process. The only thing that held him up was the arrival of the boiler. This whole project started right before Superstorm Sandy, and by the time he ordered the boiler the storm had already hit and the boiler manufacturer was bogged down with orders for the storm affected areas. Fortunately the old boiler, while leaky, still worked, so we were able to use that right up until the new boiler finally arrived. So that was a bit frustrating, but Ray can't be blamed for that. The delay even caused him inconvenience because he already had the whole install scheduled and set up, and then the boiler got delayed. Installation was fast and very professional, we were without heat for only a few hours on the day of the conversion. And he's been excellent about following up with us ever since to make sure the system is working as it should.

Ray was great to work with. He was always very quickly responsive, very thorough and gave us the best price. He was also very accommodating in trying to work around my needs, where possible, which was so helpful since my office was right next to the work area. Before starting the work, he did a more thorough assessment of our energy needs than the others I got estimates from. When our hot water tank suddenly stopped working, days before we'd planned for him to start, he made a special trip in to deal with it. He did this on the morning before Hurricane Sandy hit! Can't beat that kind of responsiveness!

We had a very old gas steam boiler (Pennco 25) that had been temperamental the past two winters. We had someone else come in before Ray to see if it could be fixed, and they let us know that it would probably need constant care and would continue to be unreliable. He then told us how hard it was to find anyone that could install steam systems, how so many people screwed it up, skipped over inspection requirements (chimney liner, make up air), and that he was one of the few people that could do it right. He quoted us around 17,000 for the work. After the shell shock, we looked around on Angies list to make sure we were getting a reasonable deal. Ray came in and clearly knew what he was talking about. He mentioned all of the things we had been warned that most plumbers didn't know about. He worked with a chimney company and was able to get someone in to line the chimney, did the calculations to determine that a make up air unit (fan in the can) was required, and was able to describe in details the various components of a properly installed steam system. Ray removed the old furnace and had the new one hooked up temporarily within a day to make sure we had head. We did have to provide our own electrical work, but had someone we worked with in the past and Ray was able to explain the work required. The electrical work and make up air was finished up a few days later along with the inspection, and in the end it cost about half as much as the original estimate.

Left him a message in the middle of the night, regarding leaking hot water heater. He called back right away. He explained over phone how to shut off safely. He came day after as requested (he would've come sooner), when he said he would. Got full info re. the situation, fixed everything - timely, professional. Also fixed boiler at the same time. He replaced hot water heater which was 13 yrs old.

When our aging steam boiler fired up for the first time at the start of the 2011-2012 heating season, the boiler vesel cracked leaving us without heat on the second floor. We called several plumbers to get estimates and timeframes, and discovered that there are not many listings on Angie's list that will install new steam boilers and service our area. Ray was one of two providers that ultimately bid on the project. In addition to feeling more confident in Ray's level of expertise (the other provider didn't take an interest in the chimney situation which needed attention for a city inspection), Ray's price was lower and he was able to start the job sooner. The boiler install went smoothly, on budget and on schedule. Since our old boiler was a millivolt system, we needed a new electrical circuit installed which Ray coordinated. He also provided a temporary solution so that we could have heat while waiting for the electrician. In addition to installing the boiler, Ray adjusted some backward sloped pipes to eliminate water hammer. Having gone through a full heating season with his work, I've been very impressed by the results and hadn't even realized that a steam system could operate so quietly until now (almost entirely silently, in fact, except during the coldest days when you can here the thunk of the air vents closing on the radiators). After the install, the water in the system needed to be flushed several times to eliminate grease from the new pipes; Ray offered to do this for me but I opted to follow his instructions by phone which were very straightforward. As I mentioned above, Ray noticed that our chimney was not up to code for the new high efficiency boiler (higher moisture content in flue gasses due to lower temperature in the combustion product). We weren't able to follow up with the chimney work until the spring since there was exterior masonry work involved, but Ray followed up diligently. Once the chimney work was finally completed, he coordinated the final inspection even though his work was done (and paid for) months earlier. Working with Ray was pleasant throughout the entire engagement. He was responsive to phone calls and met or exceeded all our expectations. The fact that he provided all this while beating the price of the other guy should tell you all you need to know.