Papalia Home Services

Our schedule for the installation and delivery of new appliances was pretty tight. Scott arrived right on time and even started the work to hook up the fridge so it would be faster when the new fridge arrived. He returned after the new appliances were delivered - again, totally on time - and everything went smoothly.

There was dispatching charge for the estimate. They charged $ 40 for it. The guy who came out was knowledgeable, informative, helped me to think on some different options. When I found how much they are going to charge me for, I realized it was a ridiculous amount of money still he probably made me think of the different options I could cut cost and allowed to do it myself. But as a service call he was really good. They are very expensive as far as price is concerned. The quality on the information and the quality of the interaction was very good. I have come to realize that they are too expensive but I might use them in the future.

Update: 5/10/2011: The company contacted me, took responsibility for the technician's actions and reimbursed the money I had paid for the service. They explained that they have a big staff, provide service in 40+ towns and try to train their technicians to provide good service. I accept their explanation that it was an isolated incident and that the technician mishandled the service call. Based on the company's positive response to my report, I am changing the overall grade to B. I will consider using them again, and if I do, I will post another update on my experience. Original Report: I had moved into this house in Sep 2010. The water heater is quite new and was installed in summer 2009. The parts on the heater are covered for 6 years and labor for 1 year. On Dec. 11 evening, I noticed water heater was not working. I called Papalia plumbing. The owner called me right back and asked me a few questions about it and speculated that the smart valve controller is broken. He said it would be difficult to get the part on the weekend and that it will be better if he came over Monday morning. He came Monday morning, slightly later than scheduled. He troubleshooted the heater for almost an hour, and also called the manufacturer in between. After that he told me that the smart valve controller was broken, and there was an issue with the expansion tank as well. He told me that the smart valve controller is not covered under warranty, and so I will have to pay for everything. He gave me a written estimate for $1210.99 for fixing everything. Then he proposed that I get the heater changed instead and get a tankless heater. He gave me a written estimate of $4077.35 for that and said I will get $1500 credit from the government and $700 from the gas company and my net cost will be only $2200 and therefore it was better to replace it than fixing the old heater. I did not believe him, so I told him I did not want him to fix it or replace it as I believed the part would be covered under the warranty. He did not agree with me. So he charged me $160 for the visit. After that I called another plumbing company - they came immediately and said the smart valve controller was broken. Then he told me that the parts are covered under warranty, so my total cost for fixing it would be $250. I asked him to proceed. He went back, got the part and replaced it by that evening. When replacing the valve he noticed that the connector wire was partially burnt. He said it would be safer to replace the connector wire too but he didn't have it in stock. He told me it costs approximately $50. He told me he didn't want me to be without hot water, and the heater seemed to work after he replaced the valve, so he said he would leave the heater running and would come back later with the wire and replace it. He ordered the wire and came back next day and replaced the wire at no additional cost to me. Papalia lied to me about the parts' warranty coverage, tried to charge me almost five times the fair price for the job, and tried to sell me a new water heater that I did not need. Needless to say, I won't use them again, nor recommend them to anybody.

The job went very well. It was satisfactory because of the quality of work. He knew what to do. He did some measurements. He gave me a quote. He told me that they were hooked on to the furnace downstairs. They had to do a lot of proper tubing downstairs off the oil burner and then run it around to baseboard heating. It was a pretty big job. He was here all day. It was quality work. He was knowledgeable. He was dressed appropriately. He was clean. He did a great job.

Papalia has great customer service on the phone but the prices are sky high. We bought a new electric water heater to replace our old one (which was on its last legs). I asked the customer service rep if the technician could help me bring the water heater inside, since it was outdoors and too heavy for me to move. She said that would not be a problem. The technician showed up on time and immediately told me that they couldn't help me move the heater unless I paid them $150 labor charge. Ridiculous. They said something about the complicated way to get it in (just through the basement door, and around the corner, actually). They quoted me $800 just for the installation, even after telling me that it was a "simple job". Then it was another $500 for labor, which apparently only included moving the heater and shortening a pipe to make the new heater fit. I mentioned that I had gotten quotes for half the amount, and the technician wouldn't budge on negotiation. I then had to pay $40 for the estimate AND move the heater by myself into the basement. Bottom line - great turnaround time, but the estimate process and general cost was WAY too high for me.

They were prompt, courteous, and reasonably priced. All over they were really nice. They really took the time to explore into the situation and found an alternative that cost a lot less. It took a little more work on there part and it was just very nice.

We woke up to no heat. The furnace had gone out. The house was at 53 degrees. It was Saturday. I called call Papalia at 8:00am, they said they would have someone out before 12:00pm, there would be a $125.00 emergency fee. The technician arrived at 9:00am. Luckily, the pilot light had just gone out. He was finished by 9:20am. There was an additional $124.00 "troubleshooting fee". Total $250.00...seems steep for lighting the pilot light. But at least we have heat! It' 13 degrees outside!

Papalia was the only company willing to help me repair an NTI Trinity Combustion high efficiency boiler. We needed to replace a part. They did that and Chris was wonderful. Very helpful and courteous. Then a few weeks later, we had a huge leak from one of our radiators into the floor and they were able to come at 1 AM and stop leak. And then again a few days later with a new part and work to souder pipe. Adam was great. They are more expensive than others but their work is excellent. They are also very knowledgeable and will explain things to you.

Adam, the plumber they sent, arrived within 30 minutes of my call, diagnosed the problem, gave me a quote, and completed the job quickly. Best emergency plumbing experience ever. I would recommend this company to anyone. It was way above my previous experience of having to spend half a day on the phone trying to find someone who could come quickly, while water off and I'm missing work to deal with it. We are in Wayland, and within their service area.

Lets face it, plumbers are never cheap, but this technician went above and beyond my original service request. I asked a question about another plumbing/water issue and he patiently answered all my questions and concerns and was an absolute professional in demeanor and attitude. After completing the original repair request, he evaluated the second, "new" issue and then went ahead and repaired it! He detailed all teh work performed on teh bill/report but there was no extra charge for the extra work performed. All systems have been woking perfectly since and I call that value for the money.

We had them replace our hotwater heater upon moving into our new house. When they were doing this they sold us a service to check for other leaks and the plumbing in general. shortly after we noticed the toilet was leaking into the basement. They came back and charges us another 200 dollars to repair the toilet due to the leaking gasket. Upon speaking to another plumber after having another leak repaired (garbage disposal) he told me that the repairs were on the high side. No problems with the repairs they have performed, but not so sure of the prices.

The plumber was thorough, and answered all the questions that I had. He provided a couple of tips as well.

I called to request an estimate for a new gas furnace and air conditioning. Requested that the person come after 5:30 in the evening to talk to my husband and I. The answer from the person who took the call was that my timeframe is during "emergency hours" so no one will come at that time and no one will come on a weekend either. We don't want to use vacation time just for an estimate on work we'll have to use vacation time to have done, so I'm calling another place.

Pleasant and professional...the kind of contractors I like to work with.

We are repeat customers and have always had outstanding, professional service from Papalia Plumbing. They respond quickly, often within a couple of hours if requested. The arrive promptly, are friendly and efficient, and have always been able to complete the repair at the first visit. They also leave the work area clean. We have recommended them several times and have always had good feedback from those who used their service. Needless to say, they are my plumbers!

I called Papalia and left a vm at 9pm on a Thursday night and they called back at 7am Friday morning to set up a visit by 9am. I told them I had a work meeting at that time, could they please delay til 11am they said no problem and the plumber arrived at 10:59 sharp, very polite and professional. Within 10 minutes he assessed the situation and explained my options, one of which was to simply buy one of the toilets that he carried on his truck, and have them install it. I knew that my old toilet was old and not very functional (I'd had to replace one of the parts about 18 months earlier), so I trusted his assessment. He called one of his co-workers to help him carry out the old one, then he installed the new one. The new one was a high quality brand, but not top of the line expensive; just what I needed, at a very fair price for that brand. The only disadvantage was that they carry only white toilets on their trucks but it didn't matter for that tenant apartment. While he was on site I asked him about a drain problem I have with a shower, and he gave me advice and recommended a bio-clean drain product that I purchased for about $45. Another plumber might have sold me on the idea that he needed to "snake" the drain to solve the problem, which would have cost me $150. So I was grateful for his advice. I was amazed that the plumber took only about 1 hour and 15 minutes from start to finish. I have had another very positive experience with this plumbing company and will always call them first.

The plumber showed up within 45 minutes of my first call, right as scheduled, and was extremely polite and personable. The fellow was very clear in his explanation of our options and, when I asked, provided me with specific technical descriptions of the work he would need to do. I appreciate that he was patient enough to do that. He called a helper to the site and they used the roof outlet of the plumbing stack to do a snake down into our main sewer line and remove the clog. Most of the work was done from the outside, so there were no cleanup issues, which was great. I like that this company uses a pricing book, charging by task performed and not by the time. I felt like they weren't just making up the price and I knew they would have no incentive to drag out the process. I still think it may have been a bit pricey, but considering that it was quick and painless and they were able to remove the clog without having to do more invasive plumbing work, I was happy. I would use this company again and recommend to others.

We were told the replacement toilet would be the same color. It turned out to be lighter and there was nothing we could do about it. We were charged $718 to replace the toilet, including labor. This seemed high. Also, considering it took the plumber approximately twenty minutes to replace the outside faucet, the $169.25 he charged seemed excessive. However, the plumber did replace the water filter on the main line coming into the house for free with the new filter I had on hand. He also told me how I could easily eliminate a small leak in a faucet myself. The plumber convinced us to purchase a $98 Gold Club Membership, which I still am not convinced saved or will save us money.

Our master bathroom sink clogged up. I called Papalia Plumbing on Sunday and scheduled to have someone come over the following Tuesday (it wasn't an emergency). They came right on time (early by almost an hour in fact) and were very courteous and professional. They did the job in about a half hour and made efforts to clean up after the job. I was very satisfied. I tried unclogging the drain myself using a steel snake but couldn't do it so I thought the price was pretty fair. They have a book describing services and associated prices. I appreciate this feature because I felt it wasn't a number they just pulled out of the air, so to speak.

It was uneventful, easy installation without any major difficulties. They brought in the new heater, replaced the old one and took it away as well. The work area was clean and dry upon their departure

When my husband removed our old kitchen faucet in preparation to install a new one, the hot water shut-off valve under the sink began to leak -- on a Sunday. I called Papalia because they are local and I've seen their trucks in my neighborhood. They told me it would cost $150 just to come out on a Sunday. We managed to stop the leak enough to wait until Monday to avoid the fee. They called me promptly at 7am on Monday, as they said they would and scheduled someone to come out between 8 and 9am that morning. The tech arrived soon after 8:00. We explained to the tech that even though the plumbing under the sink was a hack job at best (previous home owners, probably), we only wanted the minimum amount of work done since we are planning on gutting remodeling the kitchen in the next few months or so. We just wanted the leaks to stop and have the faucet properly installed. The tech quoted us approx. $480 to replace the hot and cold water shut-off valves and install the previously purchased faucet. We thought this was too high, so we decided to use the shut-off valves in the basement if we ever needed to shut the water off, and asked the tech to just seal the leaks and install the faucet. The tech did the work quickly - in about 1/2 hour, maybe less. He cleaned up after himself and was pleasant to deal with. That said, $331 (before Angie's List $25 off coupon) was extremely steep. We had already purchased the faucet. The tech supplied the connection hoses. The job took less than an hour, so I would have expected to pay a lot less... Oh well.

We have a contract with them for the annual maintenance. The guy that comes home seems to be trustworthy and I actually like him. They are a bit expensive but they let me know what the bill is going to be for the work that they are going to do. They charge for the work that they do and it's not per hour charges.

In my home, the propane-fired hot water heater also provides the heat for the home. My water heater needed replacement so I got two estimates, Papalia's estimate being the lower of the two by several hundred dollars. The special-order water heater was ordered from the Manufacturer and once the heater came in, the job was scheduled for Fri 9/25/09. On 9/25, Papalia came to the house on time and got right to work. They were prompt, courteous and cleaned up after themselves. That night, I noticed that the water heater was not working properly. Papalia came back that same night, after work hours on a Friday, to look at the problem. The issue was a defective part from the Manufacturer and not Papalia's fault. On the following Monday Papalia obtained a replacement part and installed it on Tuesday. The water heater is now working flawlessly. Mike St. and Mike Ray (from Papalia) responded quickly to the problem and I did not have to pay for the service calls. I appreciated their prompt attention. I am now MORE likely to use them in the future than if I had not had a problem because I know how responsive they are to getting the job done to the customer's full satisfaction in a timely manner.

everything went great- got estimate for putting 2 outside faucets in the house (there were none to begin with), and was able to do the work right away. Price seems like it was a little high, but everything was done perfectly. No messes left behind; other than the new faucets, you'd never know anyone was here. I'd consider the extra $ a form of insurance- I have no doubts about their work, and I can rest assured it was done correctly. Will use them again for plumbing if needed; have called their heating division to quote some other work.

Mike came over promptly and gave an estimate for four jobs - three faucet changes and a non-functioning outside hose. The estimate was approximately 700. After he investigated the kitchen sink, a piece fell off the next day. Not sure if this was just a coincidence as it had never happened before. In any case, now we really needed help so we called and he came back the next day. However, it later became apparent that this one piece caused the price to rise. Something we were not told about until the work was completed. Without our knowledge, the bill was higher due to the expense of "parts." At the same time, it seemed that these were the same parts he originally intended to replace so we were left wondering why the price rose. When he came back to finish the job, he completed the three faucets but could not fix the hose because it was a larger job than anticipated. The original estimate was for four jobs but, in the end, we were left with a higher bill for only three jobs completed.