Allen Plumbing & Heating Inc

I called Allen Plumbing in the morning because my kitchen faucet had a leak and I was giving a party in the evening. Laurie (who answered the phone and does the scheduling) was really kind. Although the schedule was already full for the day, she found a way to make room in a plumber's schedule to install a new faucet for me. She kept in touch with me to let me know what the status was of fitting me in, and when it would be, which allowed me to prepare for the party. Jack (the plumber) was really great, worked efficiently, and left the space under the sink cleaner than how he found it. These folks are so thoughtful and professional in every regard. I really highly recommend them!

'The response was great! No waiting to see if the plumber will ever return your calls or emails with this company! The secretary books you, and calls 30 before they are to arrive. Very pleasant communications.YES, this plumbing actually returns calls and emails! They don't leave the small homeowner hanging as to whether or not they are going to ever reply like other contractors in the area. The technician Jack Blandino was very professional, taking care to be tidy. Jack replaced a cracked flange and showed me the lousy patch-up job the last plumber did to fix a leaking toilet.(it was supposed to have been 'fixed'). He showed me EXACTLY what the problem was and gave me an estimate before the work began. No extra fees tacked on at the end either. He replaced a toilet valve which was leaking as well as a basement/ outside water valve.The toilet was very difficult to get to fit evenly in the floor and he worked to see that it was done properly once and for all. Prices were consumer friendly, considering the difficulty of the problem. I have used a few plumbers this year in renovation services and this one is the BEST as far as Communication/Booking/Neatness /Courtesy and Expertise. I have chosen them for all my future home and tenant plumbing needs and highly recommend for the Cambridge area homeowner. Kudos to Jack Blandino service tech.

They are *good* - actually, make that *Great*. They impressed right away with their responsiveness: when I initially called, they were swamped - with taking care of their current customers' emergencies - and told me to call back in several weeks: so, I was impressed with (1) their frankness and (2) their loyalty to current customers. When I went to set a date, they said they'd need to call back "next week" to set up a precise time/day - which they actually did. Let me emphasize how surprising this was: we've had a lot of experiences with many plumbers, and, most of the time, they (1) fail to show up, (b) don't call, and (c) can be impossible to set another time with. So imagine howy impressed I was when THEY called ME! They were really swamped, so there were several further cancellations/delays, BUT: each time, they called me in advance to apologize and set up another time. I still give them an "A" for punctuality, because they handled the delays so well - this was, after all, in the later part of an extremely brutal winter with many emergencies. The actual technicians (Mike and L.B.) were really nice, friendly, professional, and completely competent. Also: let me put in words of praise for Laurie, their office person - she is polite, helpful, and really thoughtful - a real pleasure to deal with. - Eric

When we turned on heat at the start of the cold season, our furnace kept becoming pressurized past the high limit to 30 psi and discharging a whole bunch of water through the relief valve. I called my regular plumber (A&A Plumbing). He ran some diagnostics and figured that the high limit control had likely failed. He said he couldn't replace it and so I started calling other plumbing companies listed on Angie's List in the Somerville area. Allen Plumbing said it's within their expertise, but there would be a $150 dispatch charge since it was the weekend. I was concerned about safety and didn't want to wait until Monday and so I agreed to the weekend charge. When the plumber arrived, I described the problem and the diagnosis of my regular plumber. The work was neat and with the subsequent testing took about an hour. But I was taken aback by the final bill of $675. In addition to the $325 repair charge and $150 weekend dispatch charge, there was also a $200 charge for diagnosis. Although my regular plumber had diagnosed the problem and I provided this information before the work began, Allen Plumbing insisted on charging me $200 for confirming the diagnosis!

The work turned out fine and they showed up promptly. They ordered a needed part and it arrived the next day.

We had a clog in a shower. Michael quickly and efficiently snaked the drain. Drain works. No complaints.

I called Allen's plumbing regarding a quote for a water heater replacement. I went over all the details of what I needed with someone named Michael and he was supposed to call me back that day with a quote. He did not call me back. When I called to follow up the next day he had no recollection of the details of what I was looking for. He asked me to tell him what brand other plumbers had recommended to compare "apples to apples" and when I did, he gave a quote $300 above the one of a competitor (=30% higher price). When I remarked on the fact that this was $800 more expensive than the cost of the heater itself he said: "Do you think it's easy to install a water heater?" I felt it was rude and unprofessional and chose not to pursue this any further. No actual work was performed. I don't know about the quality of the work but there appears to room for improvement from a customer service and professionalism standpoint.

Allen Plumbing came to snake a particularly troublesome bathtub drain. The plumber was responsive, fast, professional, pleasant, and got the job done. Saved me the headache. I usually snake that drain myself, but this was particularly bad clog and the tenants had already used two bottles of Draino so the whole bathroom was full of fumes. I'm very glad I called. This is the second time I've used these folks. This experience was totally different than my first experience and very good. The first experience was more complicated, but in the end it was good. I like these folks and would recommend them.

This was a long, drawn-out, and somewhat frustrating experience. However, the owner of Allen Plumbing was the person who responded to my issue, and throughout the entire repair time, he was very responsive, very professional, fair, and incredibly patient. Right after or before Thanksgiving our boiler stopped working. It was of course freezing the night it died and we called the plumber first thing in the morning. Allen Plumbing came out and replaced the transformer. The heat came back on, all was good. It was a somewhat expensive visit in my mind -- over $500 -- but I was warm. Then it died again a day later. Allen Plumbing returned to find the transformer had shorted out again. They replaced it at no additional parts charge--just labor. They suspected there was a short in the water auto-feed. So they replaced the entire water auto-feed system at a cost of around $450. It was fine for a few weeks, and then it died again. Realizing that the issue was not the auto-feed itself, they began to suspect there was a short in some other electrical component, but couldn't confirm where because they couldn't reproduce the event or chain of events that caused the short. They thought it was outside the unit. So they basically built in a fail-safe that would allow me to restart the boiler if it died again -- so the transformer wouldn't burn out in the instance of a short. Well it was fine for over a month. Then on New Year's Day it died again. I used the fail-safe restart button, and it came back on, and I thought we were in the clear. But several hours later it died again and the fail-safe didn't work. So Allen Plumbing returned, and low and behold the restart button worked again. Why it didn't work the night before, I have no idea. Eventually Allen Plumbing became certain the issue was in electrical wiring unrelated to the boiler itself, probably the thermostat wiring or the wiring that brought power to the water auto-feed. We decided to wait it out and see if it died again. I was instructed to monitor everything in hopes of recording a chain of events that was leading to the short. If the boiler shorted again, the plan was to call in an electrician. Well the boiler did short again. Allen Plumbing sent over an excellent electrician with whom they often work. I gathered he wasn't cheap, though. At this point I'd spent over $900 to not fix the boiler situation and I was getting somewhat impatient and concerned with cost. I thought about calling my own electrician and getting my own quote, but in the end I thought it would be better to let them control the situation. The electrician came and replaced the electrical wiring for the thermostat and the auto-feed. He was fast and quiet, and whatever he did completely fixed the problem. I was expecting another bill. I even called after a month to inquire about a bill (I had called them again to snake a drain and figured I might have an outstanding balance with them). But there was no bill. Allen Plumbing covered the electrical. Unless it was a mistake :). Anyway, for all the hassle, I think they were extremely fair in their pricing in the long run. The owner, I think, regarded the situation as a learning experience for himself in some ways. I think he recognized that I'd paid for an auto-feed replacement I probably didn't need--though at the time it was a logical next step for him take. And he almost certainly didn't charge me for all the time he spent at my house. I absolutely hope he never has to eat expenses on my behalf again, but he did earn a long-term customer in me. Because this entire situation happened quite a few months ago, it is possible I've made small errors in the exact chain of events, but it's pretty close to accurate. Allen Plumbing should feel free to correct me if I've misrepresented their conclusions in any way.

I called at 7:30 and the phone was answered promptly. I described the job I needed done and they were able to schedule someone to come later that morning-so far so good. I was told it was $50 to send someone and that would be folded into the cost of the job. It wasn't until the plumber showed up that I was told that a service call was $250. I was surprised since I had been told $50 but he explained that was a Dispatch fee and not the Service Call fee. I hadn't realized they would have a second fee and essentially a minimum cost. That should be explained when scheduling the visit, I think. However, the service person was extremely professional so I figured I would go ahead. I needed about 14 ft of dryer vent duct replaced under the floor of second floor. There was already duct running through the space but the wrong type. Without looking through the duct opening to get a sense of whether it was a straight run to replace the duct, I was given an estimate of $950. I decided that was too expensive so I didn't have them work on it. Also, I was surprised that the coupon I had wasn't usable. That was probably my fault for not realizing that there were separate dispatch and service call fees. Other providers don't charge them separately. I don't think I would call them again. They seem to be pretty expensive.

I lucked out getting Allen Plumbing who answered the phone at 8AM and set up a morning service call same day. I called 4 others and 4 hours later only 2 have called back. We found everyone polite, friendly, prompt,, and quick& clean work. We were given an estimate before doing the job so we'd know what to expect. I'm guessing what we paid was the going rate, but it was worth it to get it done so quickly. I'd definitely recommend them.

THey were responsive when I called. Showed up within 30 minutes of when they said they would arrive. I think the problem may have been much smaller than what I had done--cleaning the hot water heater--not sure that actually needed to happen That said--respectful and good communicators They seem reliable so despite the fact that the 250 charge irritated me I will liley call again if i need a plumber etc.

In a house I recently bought, there was a bath drain clog and stains on the kitchen ceiling right under the bathroom. To investigate this, I chose Allen Plumbing that offered reasonable rates and could come to my house faster than other providers I checked. A plumber came and tried to clean the clog. Although he couldn't do it and he didn't find any bath leak that could cause the ceiling stains, he promised that he or his colleague would come a few days later to try to clean the clog again, as well as to open the kitchen ceiling and examine the potential leak. A colleague of him came and managed to unclog the bath drain. Also, after examining the stains, he said they looked old enough so there was no need to open the ceiling and recommended to call the company if new stains appear or existing ones increase or become wet (which hasn't happened by now, as of 3/30/14). Also, one of these plumbers (sorry, I forgot who) found problems (not related to stains) with the shower cartridge (and rebuilt it) and with bath spout and diverter (and replaced them).

They made it good as new for 1/4 the price of replacing it.

THANK YOU ALLEN PLUMBING! I had a furnace making alarming noises, was home alone with a 1 year old, and you sent someone out the day after a long weekend, in the snow, even though it wasn't an emergency (though it would have become one soon). Michael did a great job and was able to get all the needed parts in place within 4 hours even though the problem kept metastisizing, with more and more parts breaking as the job went on. They let me know by text when someone would arrive and it was spot on. I will definitely be calling Allen Plumbing again.

Unfortunately the issue didn't reproduce while he was here, but he did do a very thorough tune-up and cleaning and so far we haven't had any more issues. They said if it does happen again, though, to give them a call and they'll be over right away to do diagnostics.||There are probably lots of good plumbers/heating specialists out there who are good. But Michael is really great and worth the extra cost. His attention to detail, clean-up, thoughtfulness, etc. really make him a pleasure to work with.

We live in 5 year old condo w/ a 5 year old rooftop heating system that had never shown signs of trouble. Imagine our surprise, then, when we awoke on a record-setting cold day without any heat in our unit. With an infant in the house, this was much more than an inconvenience. That morning, I frantically searched Angie's List for a reputable heating repair company that would be willing and able to provide emergency service in -20 degree windchills ... on the roof. Allen not only promptly returned my call, and professionally processed my service request, but arrived right when they said they would later that same morning. I don't have enough characters to adequately express the lengths to which Michael went to diagnose and fix the problem, and when a same-day solution wasn't in the cards, to see that a temporary fix kept us warm overnight. Was the price a bit high? Perhaps. But I can confidently say I have never seen such dedication to doing the job and doing it right. Thank you!

I phoned and left a "no heat" message around 6am. I got a call at 7am and explained the problem. I was told I would get another call at 8am (same day) to confirm when a person would come to the house. I got the call, as promised at 8am and was told to expect the plumber to come around 10am -10:30am. I got a call at 9:30am that the time would be 11am as their current job was taking longer than expected. The plumber arrived at 11am. (I got a call around 10:30am that he was "on his way." The cost ($150 minimum) to scope out the problem was explained to me. I signed a work order. Within the hour the problem was identified (burnt out sensor -Probably caused by dirty air filter). The parts and replace filters would be $345--which I agreed and updated the work order. He left to get the parts, repaired the furnace, replace the air filters on both of my furnaces (one for each apartment ). I paid with a check (he would have accepted a credit card too). I was extremely pleased with the timeliness, prompt phone response and updates--and pleasant professionalism of the plumber. Perhaps the price was high. I don't know as everything is costly these days. I was relived to get my heat restored on New Year's Eve with a severe blizzard on the way!!

When we first called, they were booked solid for a few days, but on the day of our appointment they called to see if they could come early, which was great for me. Michael arrived half an hour early, was very courteous in the face of a pretty ugly mess. He described what was wrong with our boiler, the effects that could have, and then told me what he could do today and what would have to wait for later. He got the boiler in working order promptly, and then spent a few minutes reviewing how we might go about addressing the remaining issues.

I had an energy audit early on a Saturday morning, and the gas boiler was found to have high levels of CO in the exhaust, which would be deadly if the chimney got clogged. National Grid came in less than 10 minutes and disconnected the gas line to the boiler and immediately left, leaving me to deal with things on a 20º day. I called lots of plumbers, but it was a very busy day for plumbers! Finally Allen Plumbing was able to come help me. Mike showed up, and he was the nicest plumber I've ever met, and very professional. He wore booties to walk through the house, explained what he needed to fix, and just did a great job otherwise. The price, well $400 is a bunch of money no matter how you look at it, but for such short notice, on a Saturday, and because it was critical to get the heat back on, I think the price was reasonable. I would not hesitate to call them for any future needs.

Went very smoothly and well. Adam from Allen Plumbing gave me a headzup phone call at about 8:30am to let me know that Michael would arrive by 9:15am (which is when he showed). Michael figured out where the problem originated, showed me the evidence of the cause?some black rubber washers were disintegrating and the bits were being pulled farther downstream and clogging the hose and faucet. He cleared the clog and replaced a section of hose and the water pressure is back to 100% and the dishwasher is running fine. The visit and repair work took a little over an hour I think. Thanks!

Terrific company that called me bak on emergency clal within 15 minutes. Fixed the heating system that night in record time. I'll use them again in the future for some preventive maintenance.

Wow what service. I needed a plumber before thanksgiving but I have an old stove so it would be hard to find someone who knew how to relight the heater. I looked on Angie's List and found Allen's Plumbing I sent email late last night git a response early this morning spoke to Adam he told me he would squeeze me but it would be short notice. Got call 930 Michael was here by 945 very nice very personal able. He was quick in and out by 10. I found a new plumber no more waiting for my landlord. I without hesitation I will pass their name on and use them again. Thank you

I originally called last Friday and was told they could not come until Saturday and that there would be an emergency fee. I told them to wait until Monday. He was very professional. He was quick, very informative and cleaned up after himself. He did a good job.

Contacted Michael from Allen Plumbing after finding his company on Angie's List. He was very responsive to email and we made an appointment for getting an estimate. The estimate was very reasonable (had a couple of other estimates, and I have to say his was not the least expensive estimate) and we decided to proceed with installing the gas pipe. Michael inquired about the gas insert we were going to install and he looked up the dimensions and layout so he could position the gas connection that it did not interfere with the installation of the firebox (the fireplace is fairly small). The fireplace crew was very pleased with where the gas connection was placed. Michael came out when the fireplace crew installed the gas insert, to connect the gas pipe. The inspection was scheduled shortly thereafter. Again: Michael and Adam (the Office Admin) were very responsive, they would call 30min before Michael would arrive, they were very flexible in terms of scheduling (insert installation, inspection), and always on time. The installation is very neat and clean, Michael used steel pipes throughout, the inspector was impressed.