Baker Elman Plumbing

As part of a basement renovation project a hot and cold water line had to moved. Made an appointment, day of the plumber showed up on time and finished promptly leaving no mess behind.

My kitchen faucet broke and they fixed it. They ended up coming out 3 times because the faucet set I bought was faulty (obviously not their problem) - the plumber was exceptionally friendly and helpful, as was the lady I spoke at the office. I really appreciated them charging me such a reasonable amount. I would recommend them without hesitation

On the day of the install, they were on time (something that seemingly never happens). They showed great care in my home when bringing in the new heater and removing the old one. I like watching and asking questions - which I know can be annoying but these guys welcomed my curiosity and happily answered all of my questions. I hope I don't need unforeseen plumbing help anytime soon but if I do, Baker Elman is who I will call.

I called Baker Elman about replacing an old hot water heater. I originally wanted a tankless hot water heater, but they were a lot more expensive and I decided against it. There was no pressure about what I should get from Baker Elman and the choice was entirely mine. They were punctual, fast and very neat in doing the job. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a plumber.

We had noticed rust coloration in our hot water. After providing some information about our water heater over the phone, Baker Elman was able to tell me it was 9 years old, and probably on its way out. We arranged for them to come replace it the following Thursday (2/23). But on Saturday morning (2/18), the water heater started leaking onto the basement floor, so I called them back and left a message. On Monday morning (2/20 -- President's Day) they got back to me, and were able to send someone out that afternoon to replace it. I was thrilled that we did not have to be without hot water for an extra three days! Throughout the process, Sheryl kept in touch with me by phone to keep me updated, and the cost was exactly what she quoted me. They were professional, courteous, organized, and more accommodating than I could have hoped for.

This is the second time the tub faucet has leaked in the past 4 years and we hardly ever use that bathroom. I thought to replace the Symmons unit with a Moen which I had purchased from Home Depot for $125. Kenny advised that the existing Symmons unit was better than the Moen and replaced parts essentially creating a brand new fixture for 1/2 the price of the Moen, which I returned for refund. Kenny said that the Moen product had deteriorated in quality over the past several years. He said to use the faucet periodically in order to keep the part "lubricated". I will use them again when we have a new sink put in the kitchen as part of a remodel.

Working with Baker-Elman was a great experience from start to finish. Sheryl was extremely prompt in replying to the request for service that I left on the web site, and she was very thorough in requesting information about the problem and pictures of the affected plumbing. With that information in hand, she and her team were able to diagnose my problem via email before anyone even came to the house! When Sheryl's colleagues Tony and Mike showed up to fix the problem the next morning (promptly on time, I should add), I could immediately tell I was in good hands. They were knowledgeable and efficient in confirming the diagnosis and then repairing it. I highly recommend this company.

My gas company shut off my heat because my boiler was emitting too much CO...in December. Panicked, and about to go away for the holidays,Baker-Elman came through for me. They were concerned for me given how cold it was, which was nice. They installed it as promised and I've been toasty warm every since.

They came when they said they would, they did the installation very professionally, and they cleaned up after themselves. My wife had most of the contact with the workers and she liked them a lot. Management was very communicative and resolved a couple small issues expeditiously. I selected Baker-Elman because they are certified as installers for the Eternal hot water heaters. They were slightly more expensive than their competitors but I am glad I went with them. This was a no hassle installation, yet it was complex enough that there could have been problems.

They charged me a fair amount. It was somewhere in the $2000 range. Their service is variable depending on which technician they send out. Some of the technicians were more competent than the others. However, they were punctual. They did what I asked them to do. I would use them again.

The first technician that came out checked all systems and concluded that everything was working properly. To help matters he purged some air from the system. He called into his office and later explained that he had exhausted his options and had not found anything 'wrong' and that if I did still think that things were off, that I should call back and ask for the company owner. Given that we still felt the hot water was running out too quick, I called back and sure enough the owner came by and was aware of the situation. He did a thorough examination of all the components, checked water temperature at various points in the house and after 30mins of inverstigation (including measuring the amount of time it took for the hot water to run out) he also concluded that all was ok and, and he put this very diplomatically, that we may be taking longer showers than we think. Although he had satisfied me that the system is indeed working properly, he even went a step further by calling the manufacturer of the system and walking them through his steps and analysis. He then called me back and relayed the whole conversation to me which closed the matter for me once and for all. Turns out that the owner did not want to be paid for his visit as I had already paid the visit of his technician. All in all my wife and I are very impressed with Baker Elman and now consider them as 'our' plumber.

Overall, I would definitely use them again. There were one or two times that I had to call them twice since they didn't call me back, but according to them, they were having problems with the voicemail notifying them of awaiting messages. They were great keeping track of when to contact my tenant (to schedule visits) versus me (to schedule payments, etc.). I was charged a half-visit for the first trip, but I did get the Angie's list discount.

We have a primary sump pump (pump 1), which worked very well and went through hurricane Irene without any problem. We wanted to add a battery powered backup sump pump (pump 2) in case the electric power is off and the pump 1 doesn't work. We hired Baker Elman to do the job after seeing all the good reviews. However, our experience with the company is horrible and definitely won't recommend it to anyone else. 1) they are not good at what they do. The quality of the work is extremely bad. Two weeks after hurricane Irene, Kenny from the company came over and installed pump 2. We trusted the company and did not test the pump 2 right then, which turned out to be a huge mistake. On the first raining day after the installation, we went to the basement to check the water level in the pit. It appeared that both pump 1 and 2 did not work. After many phone calls, Kenny finally showed up and indicated that the pump 1 was broken by itself while he made the pump 2 work. It was hard for us to believe that the broken pump 1 had nothing to do with Kenny's work. But the company kept denying it. In order to fix the pump 1, we found another plumbing company and was told what the problem was. It was actually very simple ---- When Kenny did the work, he did not put the pump 1 back to the right place. The float was blocked by the wall and could not trigger the pump to work. We can't believe that he did not do the simple job well initially, and then couldn't identify the simple mistake. It cost us additional money to identify the problem and added us so much stress to worry about the possibility to get flooded in the basement. While trying to let the company fix pump 1, pump 2 didn't work anymore. Apparently, we were given a non-function pump. 2) They are neither professional nor responsive. When we noticed the pump problem, the receptionist took the message and always said that Dave would call back soon. However, we waited a couple of days and no one called. We had to call them often to bother them enough to get a phone call back from the owner of the company, Dave. 3) Dave had extremely bad attitude to slove the problem. He would just deny any responsibility the company had. Even with clear evidence of their mistake, it took long time to get it solved. Because we hired the wrong company, we got unnecessary stress and paid additional cost. I wish people will find the review and don't get fooled by the overall rating.

Our (not so) old water heater was leaking. I called up and spoke with the receptionist who was very nice. She said that due to the cold weather there were many no-heat situations that qualified as emergencies. However, she could see that a leaking water heater was also an important call. She was able to schedule me for the next day. The only slightly odd part was that she could not tell what time they would come. However, that was okay with me since I was grateful that they were fitting me into their full schedule. The next day, the plumbers called to say they would arrive in half an hour, which they did. Two guys came and were very polite, efficient, knowledgable, and nice. They took time to explain extra things, and cleaned up when they were done. They even took away the old water heater. I am very pleased with the service they provided. Thank you!

It went better than I expected. I have no hesitation in calling him for any other plumbing problem, or recommending him to others. Philip C. Garber, Consul Ads, of Chile in Boston

It turns out the parts to the drain were terrible quality and need to be replaced but he did manage to improve the situation before leaving. When we are ready to get the drain fixed, we will definitely be calling Baker Elman!

In Dec. 2011 our garbage disposal failed, and I called the firm Baker-Elman Plumbing for a fix. The plumber they sent said that the appliance could not be repaired and volunteered to purchase and install a new one. I agreed: he went to a local plumbing supply shop, returned, and installed the new disposal. He said that the appliance cost $550, that the total fee, including a $130 sevice charge and $10 for parts was $690, and that he wanted to be paid immediatley. I suggested that the firm send me a bill, but he wanted to be paid on the spot. I subsequently used the internet to discover that the device he installed, an InSinkerator Evolution ProExcel 4, can be purchased at Faucet Depot for $339.99 and at Kitchen Bath Plus for $432.15. Many other sites advertize it for under $400. (Oddly, Sears asks $599.98 for it. To be fair, I should add that I don't know what shipping charges are added to the cited prices.) The Baker-Elman service man left without giving me a bill, a receipt for the disposal, or whatever printed literature is distributed with the disposal. After three phone calls to Baker-Elman I reached Mr. Elman on Dec. 29. He said that he would send me a bill and the missing ProExcel 4 literature the following week. As of today, Jan. 11, he has not sent it. I think that Baker-Elman is expensive and poorly managed.

Years ago I need a water line put into my basement for a washer, and Baker Elman did that as well. I had gotten several bids and they were the most reasonable. Because I was so satisfied with their service, they are the first plumbing company I will call when I need work done.

Prompt arrival. Excellent quality work, completed within estimated time and price. Courteous and professional. Would definitely use Baker-Elman again.

Our hot water boiler stopped working. I called the company, They came on the same day. He cleaned the boiler dish and told us that he does not promise it will solve the problem. If that happen, there is a part needs to be replaced. He also noticed the pipe from boiler to hot water supply line are rusted, it will leak someday and sent us the quote for replacing the boiler which cost about $2300. The boiler worked for one day and it stopped again, I called the company hoping they will come back to replace the part as he told us before. But they told us there is nothing they can do except to replace the boiler. I found another company who cleaned the rod (It seems a common problem when we checked internet for the same brand of boiler) and it solved the problem. They also replaced the rusted part which only cost $350. Our boiler has been working fine since.

They came right out. They were very responsive. They tried to email receipt of their services. They listened to my needs. I would use them again.

Arrived home at 7p on Sunday night to see our basement had flooded with water still discharging from broken pipe. I called several emergency plumbers (via Angie's List) and Baker Elman was the most responsive. They had a technician at my home in approximately 2 hours who was able to stop the leak. Baker Elman advised that it would be more economical for them to return the following day (so as to not continue incurring emergency rate charges) which was greatly appreciated. As promised, Baker Elman returned the following day to put a more permanent fix in place (and restore our hot water). We did not have a plumber prior to this experience, but we do now. Baker Elman is a terrific provider.

I found them through Angie's List. I have no basis for comparison on the price. They did the job really well.

I contacted Baker Elman the morning I discovered that water was running from somewhere in my kitchen and running into our downstairs apartment. Karen answered the phone right away and was tremendously helpful and kind. We could not schedule anything until the next afternoon, which I did, and she made a couple of suggestions on how to deal with it until then. I subsequently made another call and found another plumber who could come over a day sooner, so I had them come and find/fix the leak. Unfortunately, despite my best intentions, I got busy and failed to remember to call Karen back to cancel my appt the next day. They did come at the promised time ( she called and left me a message to let me know they were there) but we were not home to receive them. I feel badly about their making a wasted trip but wanted to write this review to at least say how positive my limited experience with them was.

We called the company to request a quote on the plumbing work noted above. Within a few days, one of the owners of the company came by our house for an initial look and a free quote for the work to be performed. He was extremely professional and personable. He provided us with a quote and let us know that we could book an appointment at our convenience and didn't pressure us to get something on the calendar that day. A few weeks later, a plumber from the company arrived promptly at the house (right around 8 AM as promised). Although it sounded as if he knew some of the details of the job, it was apparant that he wasn't entirely clear on the situation and what was previously discussed when the owner first came out. I had to reiterate and review the issues with him a number of times while he tried "troubleshooting" other solutions that were discussed and dismissed with the owner during the original quote. Although this was somewhat annoying (since none of these other ideas worked), I appreciated his persistence in correcting the issue. He even replaced a pressure valve that didn't seem to be working well anymore; this was not in the original work order. All in all, he took just over 4 hours to perform the job and fix the additional faulty pressure valve. The price came in exactly as quoted. It's been over a week and the radiator is working great. We will definitely consider for future plumbing needs.