John Nugent & Sons Inc

Extortionate pricing! We replaced three smoke detectors (supplied the new ones ourselves) and were charged $537 for what amounted to 45 minutes worth of work. The work was OK but the pricing was pretty extortionate. When scheduling the visit, I described the work in detail and asked the company for a quote. They said they would need to come and look at it and would charge $95 for the visit if no work was done. When the electrician arrived, he took one look at the smoke detector and said their standard price was $179 to replace each detector with customer-supplied detectors. Unfortunately, by then I was already $95 out and wanted to get the work done (since these are smoke detectors). If this was a standard price, then why couldn't they tell me on the phone up front. I would have just gone to someone else. I feel like we've been price gouged.

Great! First-class family-owned small business.

There is no other way to summarize my review other than "John Nugent & Sons tried to fraudulently sell my 91-year-old mother a new furnace." They did this in the most despicable way possible, by injecting fear into her mind. Fear that her furnace was emitting carbon monoxide levels that were unsafe, as well as the ludicrous claim that flame roll-out from the furnace was a possibility. They came out on a service call for a furnace that had died. The technician replaced the igniter and fixed the problem. Then he performed some carbon monoxide measurements following a protocol that I had never seen before. I've been in the homebuilding and residential construction consulting business all my life. More importantly, for ten years (2009- 2020) I was an accredited building scientist, holding the Building Performance Institute Building Analyst designation. BPI is the leading residential building science accreditation for people working on existing homes. BPI-BAs are trained to perform Combustion Appliance Zone Safety Testing, commonly referred to as a CAZ test. This is testing on atmospheric drafting (as opposed to sealed combustion) appliances such as furnaces and water heaters. I write this review to both warn people away from John Nugent & Sons and to direct consumers to independent experts who can assess their atmospheric drafting appliances correctly, and without the inherent conflict of interest of a company that wants to sell you a new furnace no matter how big a lie they must tell the consumer. Google home energy auditors or simply go the BPI website and search for these folks by state. The John Nugent & Sons technician, using a testing protocol that is nowhere to be found in any BPI testing, measured 15 ppm of carbon monoxide in my mom's home and told her that per company policy he had no choice but to turn off the furnace and provide her with space heaters until she had her furnace replaced. He tried to scare her into thinking this was a serious health concern. He went one step further in his "fear tap and dance" by mentioning the possibility of flame roll-out. Flame roll-out is the worst outcome of severe back drafting of an atmospherically drafting gas appliance. I was there listening to this and since I know how leaky (ie- drafty) this house is I knew from experience that you could likely never cause this furnace to back draft. The CAZ testing protocol to assess if there's a carbon monoxide danger from atmospherically drafting gas appliances is complicated but suffice to say John Nugent & Sons did none of these steps. They include testing for a baseline atmospheric pressure, spillage and draft, as well as putting the entire house into a state to induce a worst-case depressurization scenario. These tests must be performed and given a Pass/Fail determination (with the exception of the baseline pressure), in order to assess the carbon monoxide levels. John Nugent & Sons did none of this and tried to pass themselves off as experts and scare her into buying a new furnace. Two days after this incident I was able to get a BPI- Building Analyst into my mom's home to perform a CAZ test. Now remember, Nugent & Sons measured 15 ppm carbon monoxide and told my mom they needed to immediately turn off the furnace and replace it. Carbon monoxide detectors don't trip unless they measure 70 ppm of carbon monoxide over 1-4 hours, or 150 ppm over 10-50 minutes, or 400 ppm over 4-15 minutes (Nugent & Sons measured for approximately 20 minutes and the highest it got was 15 ppm of CO). A well-tuned gas stove puts out 5-15 ppm of CO, measured near the stove. The BPI- Building Analyst I hired did a full CAZ test and we learned the furnace is completely safe. They found that the CO level in the flue was 23 ppm and there is virtually no chance to back draft the CAZ. I know this was a long review, but I'm so mad at this blatant attempt at fraud that either I warn consumers away from Nugent & Sons here or I go tell my story to the Fairfax County district attorney and see what they will do with this information.

I was pleased with all aspects of their service. The person answering the phone was helpful and friendly, and it was easy to make an appointment. The service technician (Joel Miller) arrived promptly and was engaging and professional throughout. He conducted the furnace inspection efficiently and went above and beyond by answering all my questions and explaining features of the furnace, water heater, gas stove, and outside vent. I was impressed by Joel's expertise and his friendly style in imparting information. There was nothing rushed or pressured about the visit. I would recommend this company to others and highly recommend Joel Miller as a technician.

Excellent counsel from Jason on what to look for (oil leaks off the filter he replaced) as well as suggestions (keeping all registers open and unblocked by registers or furniture

Jason investigated the issue and knew exactly what needed to done. Walked me through the troubleshooting process so I was aware of his process of elimination. Excellent work!

This job went great! I was called before hand to let me know tech was on the way. Shawn arrived on time and removed an old one piece toilet and installed new two piece toilet in secondary bedroom. He also took the old toilet with him and cleaned up after job was complete. Very happy with my service.

Technician was capable, checked unit elements, cleaned it and explained what I needed to do to maintain electrostatic cleaner and showed me what was causing unnecessary noise and eliminated it.

Great job. Not only fixed my furnace issue but adjusted for best performance and then educated me on things I should keep an eye on down the road… just in case. Very professional. Would be 5 stars if priced just a bit better, but the service Jason provided is certainly excellent.

Fabulous. Jason my tech was punctual and explained everything he was doing and what he found. He replaced all my filters and was very pleasant.

I’ve worked with John Nugent & Sons for years on HVAC maintenance and repair. So when I had some issues requiring a plumber, they were a natural choice. Was able to book an appointment for the following day. There was a delayed arrival of scheduled plumber, so Tika kindly arranged with one of their on-call plumbers to come out. Shawn was amazing. Knowledgeable, professional, and friendly. Identified the problems immediately and fixed them quickly. I am very happy to be working with John Nugent & Sons.

John Nugent & Sons service call - My experience Kenny called 40 minutes prior to arrival on site to install the outdoor unit fan motor, we did not answer and he left a message. He knocked on the door and rang doorbell when he arrived, again we did not answer as we were getting ready for work and did not hear. He again knocked and rang doorbell to let me know that he was onsite and that he was about half way through the installation of the fan motor, he wanted to make sure that I knew he was there. After completion of installation of the outdoor unit he knocked on door and rang doorbell, my son answered and he presented his invoice for payment. NOTE; He has yet to come in the house to see if the AC is actually working. My son provided a CC for payment, it was processed and Kenny advised that we would receive an email with the receipt. My son asked if was going to come in and check the system, he said no, the system is working fine. Question? How would he know this without coming into the house and measuring the temperature of the air at the vent and comparing it to the return temperature? Starting AC: Delta T between 16°F and 22°F. When you start AC, the difference between the current temperature in the room and the air coming out of the AC vents (in HVAC, we refer to this difference as ‘Delta T’) should be the highest. Running AC: Delta T between 14°F and 18°F. When the AC is running for some time, you should see the temperature coming out of the AC vents lower by about 1°F-4°F. AC Close To Set Temperature: Delta T between 10°F and 14°F. When the temperature in the room is close to the temperature you set on the AC thermostat, you should see that the air coming out of the AC is not as cold as it was below (Delta T reduction). My son told me that he had paid Kenny and that he left. I asked if he came in the house and checked the system. He said no, Kenny told him that we needed a maintenance contract for him to perform that work. How can he know that the AC system is working without checking it? Telling me that the motor is running pulling the correct amperage has nothing to do with the system cooling. That tells me that the fan is working properly. I approached Kenny in his vehicle and asked if he was going to check the system, he said no, it was working fine. I asked him how could he know if he didn’t come inside? He said I needed to call the office and get a maintenance contract. He did not check the temperature of the air at the vents. He did not check the indoor unit, the pan, over flow switches, filter condition, nothing. He replaced the fan motor and left. In closing, I will never use John Nugent & Sons again. I will make sure to post this review on social media. I would certainly never purchase or recommend a maintenance contract based on this level of service for a repair call. invoice# 644566 John Richardson

Work was done exactly as they said it would be, with great quality, care and consideration. Work was completed in half the time they estimated.

Perfect. Quick despite being a difficult job. No mess. Courteous service. Shawn was confident, experienced, and capable. He provided the quality service I have come to expect from John Nugent and Son's for all my HVAC needs.

Called John Nugent & Sons after hours and left a message on HVAC emergency line. Got a call back from their technician Chung Lin very quickly, who told me to look for any blown fuse in the furnace circuit board inside the house, not the exterior AC unit, and offered to come out if needed. Sure enough found a blown fuse and replaced it. Problem solved. Excellent and honest expert opinion, free of charge.

I called John Nugent & Sons and Brandon came, discussed the problem with me, and gave me an estimate. I scheduled the work and he came back yesterday to install the new amp. He was very professional and the area was spotless when he was done. I would 100% recommend Brandon and John Nugent & Sons. So happy to have found a great electrician and company finally!!!

We were extremely happy with the work John Nugent & Sons did for us. We were particularly pleased with both Jorge and Justin. We needed to have an outdoor line run from our circuit box to an outdoor location and have 2 separate GFCI circuits installed for our swimspa (hottub and small pool) + an outdoor outlet installed. Lots of complications arose due to the complex nature of connecting to the spa tub…but nothing they couldn’t handle! Always on time, great communication, and lovely to have around! About a month later, we had to replace the new spa…Jorge returned to both unhook and reconnect the new spa…with flawless work. Would trust these guys with anything complicated!!! And the work looks absolutely stunning!!

Mr. Youness El Oikili from John Nugent and Sons did an outstanding job installing a new complex Carrier II thermostat - he was professional, courteous, considerate, technically astute and completed all the work on schedule and on budget -- and the thermostat works superbly. I highly recommend John Nugent and Sons -- and commend their outstanding technician, Mr. Youness El Oilili. I purchased for the thermostat and the installation - received a discount because the Thermostat had a high wholesale price.

They were the lowest bid of four contractors. They also offered State water heaters. The State WH they were replacing had serviced me and my family for 40 years and 2 months. They worked with me on getting the upgraded State WH I desired. hey projected 4 hours to complete the job. They were in and out in 2-hours and 15 minutes. Not one drop of water spilled on hardwood floors as the old heater, which could not be completely drained before the removal was taken through the house. Outstanding customer service and plumbers that did the job. We plan to have them become our HVAC maintenance contract after our current contract concludes. I was referred to Nugent by another satisfied customer. I am fully satisfied and they are firm located in Northern Virginia.

They have been excellent and I have no complaints. I would highly recommend them as well.

Larry was fantastic, he arrived on time, gave us pricing and completed the work in one day. He was very professional, clean in his work, polite and thorough.

Before I start, I wanted to say that I've used John Nugent and Sons before on my other property and have been happy with their services. Recently we purchased a new property and contacted them to check our HVAC system for any issues. The technician arrived and I showed him the units. Honestly, he didn't appear much freindly. He told me that he will only check the AC units ( 1 in the main level and 1 in the attic). While opening the main level unit he was constantly complianing that the unit was not installed in the right manner and was struggling to open the main conduit. He finally opened and did some minor checking and moved on to the upper level unit. He did not spend much time with the 2nd unit as well, just checked the drain pipe and moved on. He gave me the report and moved on. 2 weeks after the check, I have my drain pipes clogged and water leaking from the main unit. I'm sure the technician did not do a thourough job of checking the drain pipe. The other techs from John Nugent also clean the drain pipes - this one refused to do any such work. Just wanted John Nugent to know that I'm not happy with their service this time around.

Excellent. RJ Parker designed the system w me and Foreman Isaac Coello led a very experienced crew in a major job.

Beware this company does not have a transparent hourly rate. Having determined a failed light and electrical outlet problem lay in the circuit panel, this company responded and determined three breakers should be replaced for 726 dollars. the actual bill subtotal shows 935 dollars, though the difference is not explained. when asked for a breakdown of why it cost 💲 726 dollars to replace 3 breakers in less than an hour, part of the explanation was unintelligible circular talk of local rates for service but not for hourly service. rather, for each item replaced. No parts were left to see the actual condition of parts claimed in need of replacement. when challenged on labor rates, it was explained that one category of fees labeled "miscellaneous" was to make sure the newly installed breakers worked - so when pressed for a written explanation of miscellaneous, the item was written on the receipt as "Verify all three affected circuits are clear of additional faults due to damaged circuit breakers before turning circuits on, further verify power was restored to all affected areas -" When i challenged this as simply turning on the switches to see if they worked, and that that should be part of the service, i was told that this company trains and instructs it's employees to linger at the site to ensure there is subsequent problem for at least half an hour or more, and that there is no other labor category to charge this time to, so it is considered a "Miscellaneous" charge - of, in this case, $159.00. I did not ask them to linger, and i expect testing the repair for functionality to be part of the job. i explained this, and was offered a reduction in the bill of 159.00 as a "courtesy". then the full invoice came showing a full claimed charge of 935 dollars, with no explanation at all for the difference between the 726 and 935. The final new bill of 567 (726-159), for replacing 3 breakers in less than an hour. That amounts to an hourly rate of between 5 and 600 dollars an hour, if they can find a way to charge you for it. Buyer beware. And be sure to ask about the miscellaneous charge category, and ask if testing the repairs is part of the job. When i put comments to the email address and website comment boxes offered by this company, asking questions about the billing, i received no/no responses until daily inquiries for several days, and stipulating i would not pay the bill without a written explanation of what i was being actually billed for. I finally received a phone call to test my resolve and negotiate. I do not recommend anyone do business with this company as long as it is managed in this manner.

Nugent & Sons fixed pendant kitchen lights that had detached from broken ceiling boxes. Nugent gave a $211 estimate to repair a single light. Total time for the repairs to three lights was close to three hours; the first light repair took about half that time. The repairs appear to have been well done. But we believe the bill was excessive, and unjustified. We paid the $1071 on site. The invoice was delivered later, and consisted of two unintelligible charges: “Customer Provided Lighting Fixture*Each $633", and “Miscellaneous Minor Repair $438". Asked for an explanation of the invoice, the Nugent accounting office (Chris) said that $211 for each of the three lights was the total of $633, as estimated. And the $438? The explanations offered changed, conflicted, and became increasingly creative. Among the explanations for the $438 were the following. ● Nugent charged $40 for each electrical ceiling box installed to support the lights. Nugent said $40 was a reduction from its “book rate” of $65 each. Those same boxes sell at Home Depot for approximately $3 each, less when purchased in quantity. ● The remaining $318 ($438 - $120) was for extra time, beyond 45 minutes, for each of the three repairs, billed in one-half hour increments, which is the shortest time increment Nugent bills. However, in our home, two of the three lights were repaired within 45 minutes. (Note that if each of three repairs runs over the 45 minutes by only a minute or two, Nugent will charge $318 for an additional one and one-half hours of work.) ● Nugent argued that the extra charges were justified by what Nugent “saved” us in drywall repairs by not needing to cut the drywall. So the less Nugent does, the more it charges. We were never told before or during the jobs that there might be additional charges for time or for materials – and certainly not for such excessive and creative pricing of time and materials. Consequently, we cannot recommend Nugent & Sons to others.