RP HOLMES

They were reasonably priced; they charged $741. They were friendly. However, they were not very responsive. I may not use them again in the future.

Chris was very knowledgeable during the site visit for the estimate, and was very helpful every time I called with another question about the process. There was another company (Suburban) whose estimator was also extremely knowledgeable, but their price estimate was $2,000 (33%) higher than R. P. Holmes' estimate. The installation took two days, mostly because access to my cellar is so tight that they had to disassemble the burner/boiler system to get it down the cellar stairs. I was irritated by a few things during the installation. The installers smoke cigarettes, and they smoked both in my house and around it, leaving their butts on the floor and around the house. I hate smoking!!! They could have gone to the sidewalk when they needed to smoke. The installers also told me on Wednesday afternoon that they would have to come back another day to finish the job, but they weren't sure when that would be – they would have to check the schedule at the office. They came back at 8:30 AM the next day (Thursday), without calling first, and expected that I would have saved them a parking space for their truck on this urban street. When I asked why they hadn't called before coming on Thursday, one of them replied that he had left his cell phone in my cellar the day before. But you can be sure he didn't leave his cigarettes there! I was also disappointed with the contractor who drilled a hole in the foundation wall. The foundation of my house is made up largely of chunks of a glacial aggregate known as Roxbury puddingstone. It is essentially glacial till (gravel and small stones) mixed with mud that hardened over thousands of years into rock. It is very prone to breaking if great force is applied. As I feared, a large chunk (2' x 1and quot;) piece of the foundation wall was pushed out of the interior of the foundation by the drilling. Fortunately for me, Holmes will have their own mason repair this for me.

I have been using them for over 40 years. They are very trustworthy and they do not leave until the job is done. Over the years I have had complete satisfaction.

It went great--from our first meeting with Chris to the workers leaving a very clean basement.

They clean up. They are very reliable and they show up when they say they would show up. Like all plumbers they are pricy but I think they are fair. I've been using these guys forever like twenty years or more. My experience with them has always been good but I had one bad experience. One guy had some personal issues. As I said they are pricy but I don't know because I haven't been using a lot of other plumbers, so I can't relate one to the other. They are always straight forward with me. I would definitely use them because they are pretty good.

They were able to diagnos the problem I was having with the boiler when my heating company technicians could only speculate as to what the problem was. If I am going to spend thousands of dollars I want to know if it will solve the problem, and RP Holmes was able to assure me that was the case. They were diligent in measuring the radiators to appropriately size the boiler. Some other vendors merely used the existing boiler as a basis for sizing the boiler, which is not the best approach. They were able to get me on the schedule very quickly and finished the project on the same day as they committed to do. They were professional and we were very pleased with the work. One common issue came up after installation and they sent out a technician who resolved the problem and also took the time to go over maintenance of the boiler. I have also used RP Holmes for smaller jobs such as replacing fixtures in the kitchen. I highly recommend RP Holmes.

Very Well!! I Use RP Holmes all the time for all my plumbing needs.

In March of 2010 my gas furnace caught on fire. It was my fault. I had neglected to clean out the heat exchange unit through which the flue gasses normally pass. When it finally plugged up the flue gasses -- and flames -- bypassed it and burned the insulation and outside panels. I turned off the furnace and the house began to cool down. Unfortunately, this coincided with the great rainstorm that flooded many basements. Thus I had difficulty finding a plumber to replace my furnace; most were busy pumping out basements. R. P. Holmes came to my rescue. They responded within a day to inspect the furnace. After a day needed to obtain an appropriate new furnace they showed up to do the job. It was messy because my basement too had some water in it, but only about half an inch. They finished the job in that one day, including the removal of the old unit. They were quick, thorough and professional. The price was reasonable as well. They get my highest recommendation.

RP Holmes is always very professional and responsive. I have called them several times in the past for estimates on larger jobs, but their quotes were usually on the high end. When my water heater broke, however, I had confidence that they would get the job completed quickly and with quality workmanship. They did not disappoint. I don't recall the exact final price but it was better than expected. I would use them again.

All estimates provided by other plumbers assumed, as I did, that the discharge would be at the front of the house, the shortest route. The Holmes representative gave several reasons why that configuration had drawbacks and suggested discharging the water into the back yard which sloped slightly away from the house. It made sense. Holmes' proposal was written promptly and professionally and included more details than others I received. The first proposal was for a direct and least expensive way to get the pipe from the front of the house to the back. I decided to do it in a way that was more esthetically pleasing but cost more. The installation required drilling through 2 cement walls which, unfortunately, kicked up more dust than I expected. Care was taken to make the pipes that ran along the basement ceiling fit in with existing ducts to make them less obvious. Appointments were kept and time estimates were accurate. The people I dealt with were polite, pleasant, and professional.

They have been our plumber for about 25 years since we bought the house. They did a good job. They told me what it was and what it would take. They lived up to their words. Their price is comparable.

They have always provided good service.

outstanding work, Chris was great, excellent company

They were very good. They were responsive.

Before signing a contract, I got five estimates. RP Holmes was in the middle, but did lower their price a bit when I provided them with facts about a lower bid from a reputable competitor who charged less for the hot water heater and its installation. The very lowest bid did not include completing all the necessary tasks that Holmes included in their proposal. I would have been left with holes in the wall to fill, electrical work to get done, etc. Bidding on the job involved determining the right size boiler for the house. The Holmes salesman was very willing to discuss with me how to determine the right size, as different bidders had come up with different answers. I developed confidence in him and the company through these conversations, as well as from references he gave, including one man in the property management business who had been using RP Holmes at many properties for many years. My sense was that this company is knowledgeable, reliable, steady, honest and competent. My high expectation was met completely when they did the work. They have been around a long time, and their employees seem to be long-term people who know their stuff. Once the contract was signed and a deposit made, everything went smoothly, including my interactions with office staff who had to handle scheduling and ordering equipment. The crew showed up on time in the morning of the first day. They efficiently took apart and removed the old iron boiler and got to work on the new one. They did this even though two men from the oil tank removal company showed up that morning and did their work in more or less the same basement space. The Holmes foreman was very experienced, and the youngest was hard-working and strong enough to take on the tough job of drilling two holes, big enough for large PVC exhaust pipes, in a foot-thick concrete foundation. Over the 1 1/2 days, I believe there were 3 Holmes people working together. Their electrical contractor and his assistant were also working for many hours. The Holmes salesman also stopped in each day to see how things were going. They were all responsive to any matters I raised. When the job was done, they cleaned up completely. The only thing I would have preferred to be done differently is that the salesman neglected to tell me about a $300 "green" rebate I could get on the high-efficiency hot water heater and a $25 rebate on a new thermostat. I had learned about these from other companies I had talked to anyway, and applied for them when the installation was completed. Now several months after the work was done, I am a completely satisfied customer.

Great work overall, but I think they're a bit pricey compared to other plumbers I've heard about (I haven't hired other plumbers, so maybe this is just the price of plumbing!). The plumber seemed pretty rushed, but the end result was very good. I like that they'll do a free estimate if the work is over a certain size -- it seems like it's getting hard to find contractors who'll do that.

This was pretty basic plumbing work. It was all done in the basement, and the pipes were easily accessible. The job was done well, and was consistent with other work I've had done by RP Holmes. My only concern was that they billed me for 2 hours of labor when in fact the work only took one hour. I called their office to explain this and they reduced the labor charge accordingly. I used RP Holmes because I needed this work done quickly. If I had the time, I could have done this myself for much less.

Excellent work. It took 2 men almost 2 days to complete this job. The were extremely helpful, courteous, timely, and professional. Removing an old oil furnace is a messy job; however, they kept the work site as clean as possible. This was important to me because I have a finished basement. They also took care of disposing my old furnace, ordering my new furnace, getting the building permits and scheduling the inspection, and getting an electrician to wire the new furnace properly. So in essence, they were not only the plumbers, but they were the general contractor for the job. I would definitely recommend them, especially if you live in Newton.

The price was competitive. They are very responsive to any problems we have had. They are very professional. They showed up when they said they would.

We find their prices are often high compared to other plumbers. Some of their guys are top level, but others are average. Some of their less experienced men took longer to do a job, which ended up costing more because of the hours involved. There were a few occasions where we felt this was not warranted given that the job was not difficult. After having this experience several times, we changed to a different plumber that provides more consistent service. If you get one of their best guys, they are fine and you will be happy with the work---it just depends who you get when you call.

The guy that did it devised an excellent plan and did a fantastic job. There were several other companies that told me that it could never be done. He did fantastic work and I was very pleased with the service overall. The price was great and the quality was better.

He came on time and did really good work. We thought we were having a plumbing leak and could not find the problem. When he came, he spent a lot of time with us trying to find the problem. He helped a lot and when he found it, he came back the very next day with the part he needed to fix it. All it ended up being was the roof vent, but we had to pay for the service calls for the two days.

GREAT EXPERIENCE; I WOULD DEFINITELY USE THEM AGAIN. THE COMPANY SCHEDULED THE APPOINTMENT PROFESSIONALLY AND THE SERVICE PROVIDER ARRIVED RIGHT ON TIME. HE WAS COURTEOUS, EXPLAINED THINGS CAREFULLY, AND WAS VERY CONSIDERATE ABOUT KEEPING HIS WORK AREA CONFINED and MY HOUSE CLEAN. I SHOULDN'T LET MY HUSBAND TRY TO FIX ANYTHING PLUMBING RELATED! I HAVE HEARD ONLY GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS COMPANY AND THEIR PROFESSIONALISM. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

I will start with the positive. I was given an estimate of three hours to install the washer, dryer and oven range. It was done in that time with a minor inconvenience (a cosmetic piece was left off of the range which they came back the following business day to attach). Now, the not so pleasantries...Holmes billed me for four hours of time to install the Insinkerator claiming that I had electrical and appliance issues when the issue was the system required an extend flange due to the configuration of the kitchen sink (diagnosed by the appliance company technician). After two hours of troubleshooting the steam boiler and replacing the valves on all the radiators, they did not resolve the water leakage issue. What made matters worse is they refuse to call me back to remedy the heating issue so I had to go with another plumber, and the invoices did not reflect the credits that the company agreed to provide for the misdiagnosis of the insinkerator.

I priced this job with a number of plumbers on Angie's list, and RP Holmes was nearly $300 less than some of the top-rated plumbers in my surrounding area. Some of the other plumbers were not only more expensive, but they were trying to up-sell me to a bigger water heater. I called on a Tuesday and they did the work Friday of the same week. Their plumber, Mark, did excellent work. He was quick as well and I even got a few tips for some smaller plumbing work I am planning to do myself. Ask for Mark if you can. I highly recommend RP Holmes. I will call them for any future plumbing needs.