HINCHEY BROTHERS PLUMBING & HEATING

Started off feeling positive. Ended feeling RIPPED OFF. I hired these guys again because the field technicians are great guys and they do quality work. They've helped me out of a bind in the past. Communication from the front office was frustratingly slow - dragging the project out for weeks. They gave me a quote, which I agreed to not knowing anything about plumbing or radiators. During the process I did some research about how much the radiators cost, plus spoke with other local plumbers about what a job like this should cost in labor. I estimate if was overcharged by several hundred dollars. I did sign the initial agreement however, so I paid my final bill. The work was done well in the end, but I'll never hire them again. Lesson learned - do your homework!

Exccellent

Hinchey did a really nice job plumbing a new sink, refrigerator, dishwasher and running a new gas line to my stove. Really friendly and nice people. It was more expensive than expected but quality work.

Hinchey Brothers came out, quickly assessed the problem, and fixed the broken pipe connector super fast. The repairman was very nice, professional, and did a great job. Very happy with their work.

Very high quality work. They are not the cheapest around, but you get what you pay for, the quality of their work is worth what they charge.

If you want it done right the first time call Hinchey Bros. We have had work done with other plumbers (through contractors) and know the difference. Bill installed 3 radiators in our basement that required connection to a Lochinvar Knight boiler which is an efficient system unfamiliar to most -- his work is meticulous. Prior to that Kenny came out during a snow storm to get our boiler back up and running so our pipes would not freeze. Outstanding, experienced plumbers who know how to handle older homes.

Everything went smoothly. Technician arrived on time, worked hard and carefully. Price was based on an hourly rate disclosed up front when I made the appointment. It's more expensive than you can find if you shop around but worth it for such an important system.

Plumber arrived promptly and was professional and clean. My only gripe is the cost. I wasn't expecting $700+ to reconnect a couple of sinks and install a toilet. It cost half as much as the tile job, but the tile job took 3 days (plumbing job took 4.5 hours). I might try another well-rated outfit the next time I need a plumber.

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They put the water heater in my house without calling me. I told him to call me and he didn't call me. We had a huge argument over the phone. I knew I needed a new water heater, but I said that before you install anything to call me. They never called me, they just did it. I was angry about that. 

I told them not to install anything until they had called me first. By the end of the day they hadn't called me so I thought nothing had been done. So I called them up and said what's going on. They said well it's done. I said what's done and they said well the new hot water heater, the replacement. I said I didn't tell you to do that. I told you to call me first and we got into a big argument. I wanted to report them to the licensing board, but I did, but they never back to me. They told me I was too hung up on the warranty. I said I have every right to be hung up on whatever I want to. This is my house. You installed something and what if I wanted a new hot water heater. Well, that would have cost you a lot more money. I said well that was not their decision to make. That's my decision. They never even told me what they were doing, they just went ahead and did it. I was furious. 

I had that argument with them and I was arguing with who I thought with their wife. Apparently it was their mother who runs the business. She's very controlling and she was trying to tell me that I was too hung up on the warranty. I just said no, no, no, no. This is my house and you didn't tell me what you were going to do. I told you to call me first. She said well we're calling you now. No, no, no I didn't mean after the fact, I meant before so I could a decision about how much money to spend. Well, do you want to take it out and I said no I don't want you to take it out. I was thinking about putting a new one in, that was a good point, but I said no don't bother. 

Because the overriding factor was the fact they never called me to tell me what they were going to do, I would have to give them an F. They're good plumbers but they were very busy. They didn't take the time to call me to wait for my response. They didn't take the time to probably go back and get something that was new if I asked for it. They just assumed that I wanted a used one. Basically, they probably were right in the long run, but I have no warranty on that thing now. They attached what was left of the warranty on the heater that was leaking. And that is what they do. They transfer the warranty over to whatever else you're buying if it is used and they charge you for that. They charge like 50 bucks for the transfer. I said what is that for - paperwork? Now I have a water heater that has probably 5 more years of life on it but no warranty. Which really sucks because once that dies I will have to buy a new one and I will have to buy a full new warranty on it. I guess that's the way it works but again a conversation about that would be nice. 

I use Hinchey Brothers Plumbing & Heating.  They were here October of 2016.  You can give them A's for everything, that's why I keep using them, that's a good company.  I have used this company for the past 5 years.  I would tell others that they are dependable.  The workers are fine, no problems.

I use Hinchey Brothers Plumbing & Heating for my heating and air conditioning service.  They were here last probably in November of 2016.  They come out when it starts getting cold, they come out every year to service.  You can give them A's all the way through it, that's why I use them, they're a good company.  I have used this company for the past 5 years.  I would tell others that they're dependable.  The workers are fine, no problems.

Excellent!! Highly recommend. Serviced old plumbing on a old house.

They were very professional from the beginning to end. The installer arrived on time and worked diligently for the duration. It took 4 days to complete as we needed all new piping (our old boiler was 36 years old). Everything they did was clearly specified and there were no surprises. When we had questions they were easy to communicate with and always replied in a timely fashion. We feel the price was reasonable for the amount of work done.

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They were great!

Called the day before to confirm arrival time (early morning to late morning) they showed up at 9:30 as advertised.

We walked the house and I showed the plumber the items we wanted addressed:

Replace Bathroom Faucet - We supplied the faucet Hinchey installed, works great

Replace Kitchen Faucet - I purchased the wrong faucet style so we skipped this one

Repair sprinkler pressure relief valve (top of the list) - Completed and he added a union so we could replace in the future if needed

Repair exterior hose spigot - he indicated that the spigot was fine, but that the spigot manufacturer made a special adapter for their brand spigot to work with a garden hose. Rather than replacing the spigot he showed us where to get the adapter ($20 part saved lots of time and money)

Evaluate temperature control on upstairs shower - couldn't do this without a new valve. Didn't have one and it was only and incidental request so we passed on this.

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It was a Saturday night on the coldest day in 50 years and my heat broke. I knew i would be lucky to get anyone that wasn't completely booked. I Checked out Angie's List and remembered another time I had called Hinchey Brothers. The last emergency i had they were not the first to respond. This time, i called and got the answer machine. It said if this was an emergency, call another number. I called and the message said we are very busy, leave your number and we will get back to you. I expected this. What i didn't expect was a return call within minutes. The technician happened to be near by and he said they were so busy but could come by in 1/2 hour. That was great as my place was starting to cool down fast. Kenny came over on time, assessed the situation and after a while of trying different fixes, he got my heat up and running!!    I think that many people don't understand the costs to have a well trained knowledgeable and trusted professional come into your home and work on systems critical to your wellbeing and safety.  Especially on the coldest night in 50 years. I plan to have Hinchey Brothers come and completely go over my system when it warms up and they are my guys from now on!!

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I called the office on Thursday and they fit us in for Monday for a shower that would not turn off.  The guy arrived within time window provided, took the face plate off the shower handle and showed me what needed to be replaced.  He replaced one of the items that needed replacing but then told me that he wasn't sure when the part could be identified and ordered until the following week.  The shower head continued to leak which he warned me it would until the other part was replaced.   That costs us $189.00.  He was at our house for maybe 50 minutes and the part (small rubber circle) may have cost $5.00 at most.  When I asked about the costs, he mentioned that the rate is $130.00 / hr but then told me that there is an additional charge for covering driving time.  Keep in mind, this company is in Melrose and we live right on the border of Melrose and Malden.  
That evening, I was drawing a bath for my girls and the shower head flew off and hit me on the back of the head.  When we tried putting it back in place, it kept coming off so that evening we did our best to shower with the water coming out of the shower like a fire hydrant.  
I called the next morning and they sent someone out to fix the shower head.  
Two days later, the guy came out and replaced the valve stem and balance cartridge in the shower.  The cost was $183.00 for labor and parts.  The parts, available at Home Depot, ran between $40-50.  
All-in-all, we were charge almost $400.00 to replace a shower valve stem and balance cartridge that at most was $60.00 in parts and less than an hour in labor.   Disappointing but the shower is no longer leaking.

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Our water heater sprung a leak in the evening on the 21st. I called Hinchey Brothers at 7AM on the 22nd. I had never used them before and was not an established customer. But they promptly returned my call. We scheduled the work for that day. The technician named Mike was very professional and pleasant. It was not an easy replacement and required Mike to drill into our chimney. It took much of the day. In fact I left Mike at the house to finish up. Mike left our water heater area looking wonderfully improved. He cleaned it up beautifully and left nothing behind. We couldn't be more pleased with our experience with Hinchey Brothers. We will certainly use them again and heartily recommend them to all.